Instructions for participation in the dissertation exam

1. The dissertation exam is a state exam, and the provisions of § 63 of the Act apply to it.
2. The PhD student is required to complete the dissertation exam within:
   a) 18 or 24 months, depending on the standard length of the study program in full-time study. In the case of interrupted studies, the deadline for completing the dissertation exam is extended by the period of interruption of doctoral studies;
   b) 24 or 36 months, depending on the standard length of the study program in part-time study, starting from the beginning of doctoral studies. After these deadlines, taking the dissertation exam in both full-time and part-time study is possible only in justified cases based on a written request from the doctoral student, with the statement of the supervisor and the chair of the field or joint field committee, and with the approval of the dean.
3. The dissertation exam is organized by the chair of the field committee for the accredited study program by submitting a proposal for the dissertation examto the dean. The proposal includes an assessment of the fulfilment of the doctoral student’s individual study plan, a proposed reviewer, a proposal of at least five members of the exam committee, and the proposed date of the dissertation exam.
4. Conditions for taking the dissertation exam by the doctoral student include:
   • submission of a written application on the prescribed form, with the supervisor’s recommendation,
   • submission of thesis outlines for the members of the exam committee (2 printed copies + PDF format),
   • submission of the written work for the dissertation exam (2 copies in spiral or soft binding + PDF format),
   The written work for the dissertation exam consists of:
   a) overview of the current state of the research problem,
   b) aim of the thesis,
   c) methodology and research methods,
   d) preliminary results and discussion,
   e) list of references.
   • submission of a list of published works (prepared according to STN standard) – 2 copies,
   • obtaining at least 90 credits (4 compulsory subjects × 10 credits + 1 compulsory elective × 10 credits + 10 credits for Scientific Publishing + 15 credits for Dissertation Methodology + 15 credits for Dissertation Project A = 90 credits).
5. At least one review report must be prepared for the written work for the dissertation exam by a designated reviewer appointed by the dean.
6. The right to examine at the dissertation exam is held only by university teachers in the positions of professors and associate professors (§ 75(1) of the Act) and other experts approved by the relevant scientific board (§ 12(1)(d) of the Act). The dissertation exam is conducted before at least a five-member committee, consisting of members of the program committee of the study program and the field committee, or distinguished experts from related study fields at universities and research institutions. The supervisor is present but does not decide on the outcome of the dissertation exam.
7. If the doctoral student has enrolled in a dissertation topic announced by an external educational institution (§ 54(12) of the Act), the dissertation exam is conducted before a committee in which members appointed by the university under § 63(4) of the Act and members appointed by the external institution are equally represented. The committee must have at least five members. The dissertation exam consists of the defense of the written work and a scientific discussion on the research topic.
8. The exam committee evaluates the result of the dissertation exam in a non-public session and decides by public vote on the overall result by a majority of votes of the present members. In case of a tie, the chairperson’s vote is decisive. Grading follows the ECTS classification scale: A (1), B (1.5), C (2), D (2.5), E (3), FX (4).
9. The chair of the committee concludes by evaluating the doctoral student’s demonstrated activities and knowledge and issues a certificate of completion of the dissertation exam.
10. If the doctoral student receives a failing grade (4) – FX, the dissertation exam may be repeated no earlier than after two months. After a repeated FX evaluation, the dean excludes the doctoral student from further studies.
11. If the doctoral student cannot attend the exam on the scheduled date, they must excuse themselves in advance to the chair of the committee, who will set a replacement date. Failure to attend without a serious reason is considered a failure. The same applies if the student withdraws from the exam.
12. The validity of the dissertation exam is defined in Article 29(3) or (4) of the Study Regulations of SPU in Nitra.
13. In a crisis situation, the student may take the dissertation exam without physical presence via videoconference or other ICT tools.
14. Videoconferencing may also be used in other cases, especially for committee members and reviewers from abroad.
15. The public part of the dissertation exam is considered public even if SPU provides a live broadcast.
16. In a crisis situation, the public part is also considered public if SPU provides an audio recording accessible to the public for listening on the premises of SPU for three months after the end of the crisis situation.