FAQ
An overview of the study requirements, including the timeline for fulfilling them, can be found here.
Yes, doctoral students are required to complete an international research stay of at least one month during their studies. This stay can be divided into several shorter visits.
Students in the part-time (combined) form of study may replace the international stay with another form of international collaboration, such as participation in an international research project.
Yes. The Doctoral Hub actively brings doctoral students together and organizes various networking and informal events (such as PhDay or PhD Welcome Day). These events are regularly announced in the Doctoral Hub calendar on the website.
At the same time, there are many student associations at VŠE that doctoral students can also join and participate in.
At the university-wide level, we also recommend attending the Research Seminar Series in Economics (RSSE).
In addition, more than 40 student organizations operate at VŠE, offering a wide range of opportunities to engage in academic, professional, social, and extracurricular activities.
The amount of the doctoral scholarship is set by law at 1.2 times the minimum wage, which currently corresponds to approximately 25,000 CZK per month. If the Individual Study Plan (ISP) is not fulfilled, the scholarship may be reduced or withdrawn.
In addition to the doctoral scholarship, doctoral students may also receive:
- extraordinary scholarships for outstanding academic results,
- an accommodation grant,
- additional financial support through participation in the Internal Grant Competition.
More information can be found here.
Doctoral studies are not a typical 9-to-5 job.
As a doctoral student, you carry out research and other activities related to fulfilling your Individual Study Plan (ISP) in a scope corresponding to approximately 28 hours of work per week. This time is primarily dedicated to conducting your dissertation research and meeting your study and research obligations.
Any additional activities beyond this scope (for example an increased teaching load or participation in additional projects) should be arranged through a separate agreement and appropriate compensation.
Yes. During your doctoral studies you retain student status, which means you can continue to use standard student benefits.
However, the specific conditions may vary depending on the type of discount and your age. For some benefits (for example state transport discounts), the student’s age may be decisive. For others, the key requirement is simply that you are enrolled in a full-time study programme.
If you are studying in the full-time form of doctoral studies, the state covers your health insurance during the standard period of study, even if you do not have an employment contract. Therefore, you do not need to pay it yourself, provided you do not have other specific sources of income.
The situation is different for social insurance. If you do not have an employment contract and are not self-employed, social insurance is not paid.
More information about insurance can be found here.
Yes, doctoral students can also apply for accommodation in university dormitories.
Applications are submitted through the ISKAM system. Incoming students who have not yet been officially enrolled in their studies need to contact the dormitories by email to arrange their accommodation request.
Yes. You simply need to submit a request through the Contact Centre.
The final decision is made by the Dean of the faculty.
Yes. All courses that the doctoral student plans to complete are recorded in the Individual Study Plan (ISP), including how the courses will be distributed across individual semesters.
For the actual course registration, it is necessary to complete the Course Registration Form, where all selected courses and the planned semester of completion are specified.
Yes, changes can be made later. However, it will be necessary to update the Individual Study Plan (ISP) and have it approved again.
Yes, it is possible to register more courses than required. However, all of them will be included in your Individual Study Plan (ISP). If you later decide that you do not want or are unable to complete one of the courses, it will be necessary to update the ISP and have it approved again.
It is possible to change your supervisor during your studies. The doctoral student should first identify a potential new supervisor and discuss with them whether they are willing and have the capacity to take on the supervision. Afterward, the student can submit a request through the Contact Centre.
It is also advisable to discuss the situation with your current supervisor, or potentially with the Head of the Department.
Yes. VŠE provides several measures to help doctoral students balance parenthood and doctoral studies.
In addition to the possibility to interrupt studies due to parenthood, doctoral students may also benefit from:
- the possibility not to count the period corresponding to maternity leave toward the maximum duration of study, even if the student does not formally interrupt their studies,
- the option to postpone the evaluation of doctoral study progress, including the deadline for submitting the report on activities and results demonstrating fulfilment of the Individual Study Plan (ISP), for the period corresponding to maternity leave.
In addition, a university kindergarten located on the VŠE campus is available for children from the age of two.
More information can be found on the website of the university kindergarten.