Applied Economics and Administration

Level of study: Doctoral
Mode of study: Full-time and Part-time
Program code: P0311D050037
Duration of study: 4 years
Degree awarded: Ph.D.
Program supervisor: doc. Ing. Lenka Slavíková, Ph.D.

The doctoral study programme Applied Economics and Administration is designed for those who want to understand how social institutions, the public sector and the decisions of individual actors work – and how their functioning can be studied and improved. We combine economic approaches with insights from philosophy, sociology and political science. The programme thus builds on the tradition of Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and encourages students to analyse societal problems not in isolation, but within their broader institutional, political and social contexts.

During the four-year programme, students develop into independent researchers and specialised expertsin their chosen field. Alongside in-depth expertise, they develop the ability to critically engage with scientific knowledge, formulate their own research questions, communicate research findings and cooperate in both domestic and international environments. Graduates find employment not only in academia and research institutions, but also in public administration, regulatory institutions, the non-profit and private sectors – wherever there is a need to understand complex problems and develop solutions with real societal impact.

What will you study?

The study plan combines economics, research methods and a social-science perspective on the functioning of institutions and society. Students develop their specific study programme through their Individual Study Plan (ISP), taking into account their academic specialisation and dissertation topic.

Compulsory subjects: Economics and Regulation • Research Methods • Spatial Planning and Governance

Compulsory elective subjects: Behavioural Economics • Public Service Management • Governance in the EU and Nation States • Society, Ethics and the Environment • Harm and Recovery in the Context of Institutions and Organisations

FOR CURRENT STUDENTS

FOR APPLICANTS – ADMISSIONS

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FOR CURRENT STUDENTS

Key dates and schedule

Defenses of dissertation projects, state final examinations and final dissertation defenses are usually held twice a year.

The next scheduled defense dates are 2–3 November 2026.

The following dates will be scheduled for late March / early April 2027.

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How doctoral study works

Doctoral study is a four-year journey combining fulfilment of the Individual Study Plan (ISP), specialised courses, independent research and publication activities, internationalisation and a series of milestones leading to completion and defence of the dissertation.

For a quick overview, see our doctoral study roadmap.

Detailed rules, binding documents and forms are available in the section Rules, documents and forms.

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Rules, documents and forms

Updated versions of the doctoral study directives and their appendices will be published here during September 2026.

Study and Examination Regulations of UJEP

UJEP Scholarship Regulations – effective from 2 December 2025

Supervisor Standard

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Grants and support for doctoral research

The Student Grant Competition (SGS) enables doctoral students to participate in their own research projects in cooperation with academic staff. Projects may support data collection, research activities, presentation of results and other activities related to dissertation research.

Detailed rules, deadlines and conditions of the competition are usually published in November, with project proposals submitted in January: Information on SGS at FSE UJEP

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Practical information and frequently asked questions

How are doctoral courses organised?

The basic requirements for completing each course are specified in its syllabus in STAG. Doctoral courses are usually taught in blocks or on the basis of an individual agreement with the lecturer. Courses are organised in the same way for students in the full-time and combined forms of study.

After registering for a course, you will be informed by the lecturer about its organisation. If you have not received instructions by the end of November, contact the lecturer directly. We recommend completing doctoral courses by the end of June, and no later than 20 August, to allow sufficient time for the result to be entered into STAG and included in the Annual Study Report.

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When and how should I register for courses?

Each academic year, you should register in STAG by October only for those courses that you will actually complete during that year, in accordance with your ISP and the current programme course offer. Some compulsory elective courses are not offered every year. Before registering, therefore, check the current Recommended Course Plan for your programme. If you need to change the planned year in which a course is to be completed compared with your approved ISP, this constitutes a change to the ISP.

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I want to change my ISP. What should I do?

The ISP is the binding plan for the entire course of doctoral study. From the 2026/27 academic year, it includes not only courses but also the dissertation topic, research activities, other study requirements and their timetable.

If you need to change your ISP, first discuss the proposed change with your supervisor and submit it to the programme board by 30 September or 15 February. Changes to the ISP are approved by the programme board on the basis of the supervisor’s statement.

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I want to change my supervisor. What should I do?

Submit a reasoned written request for a change of supervisor to the Vice-Dean for Science and Doctoral Studies, including a proposal for a new supervisor. The relevant programme board will consider the request; the new supervisor is appointed by the dean on the recommendation of the programme board.

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I want to change my dissertation topic. What should I do?

Discuss the proposed change with your supervisor first. If the new topic differs substantially from the doctoral exposé/project on the basis of which you were admitted, you must prepare a new project and submit it, together with your supervisor’s statement, to the programme board for approval.

A change of dissertation topic is possible only until successful completion of the Defence of the Dissertation Project.

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Can I change between the full-time and combined forms of study?

Yes. From October 2026, students may apply to change their form of study within the same doctoral study programme. The supervisor and programme board provide their statements, but the final decision is made by the dean, taking into account the faculty’s staffing and capacity.

The application must be submitted no later than 30 days before the beginning of the academic year from which the change is to take effect.

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Can I transfer from one doctoral study programme to another?

No. The new UJEP Study and Examination Regulations do not allow transfers between doctoral study programmes. If you wish to study a different doctoral programme, this cannot be achieved by changing programmes within your current study.

Only the form of study may be changed within the same programme.

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What is a colloquium and how should I prepare for it?

A colloquium is an interim presentation and academic discussion of progress in the doctoral research. Students present in particular the results achieved so far, current work on the dissertation, any publication outputs and the plan for the next stage of the research.

We recommend preparing approximately 5–10 slides, focusing primarily on what has been achieved during the preceding period and on the next research steps.

Colloquium I must be completed by the end of the first year and Colloquium II by the end of the second year. Each is worth 5 credits.

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When and how do I submit my Annual Study Report?

Each doctoral student submits an Annual Study Report once a year according to the current faculty schedule. The report summarises fulfilment of the ISP and the student’s results during the preceding academic year.

The student submits their report, the supervisor provides a written evaluation of fulfilment of the ISP, and the programme board subsequently evaluates the student. Supporting evidence must be provided for reported activities, particularly conference participation and stays abroad.

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What happens if I do not earn 30 credits per year?

An average of fewer than 30 credits per year is a significant indicator that study requirements are not being fulfilled. The programme board evaluates fulfilment of the ISP as a whole and takes the student’s specific circumstances into account. Only in cases of serious failure to fulfil study requirements may it recommend further action to the dean.

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Do I have to complete a stay abroad during my doctoral studies?

The requirements of the doctoral study programme include a study or research stay of at least one month at a foreign institution, or another corresponding form of international cooperation. This may include, for example, direct participation in an international creative project with results published or presented abroad.

Plan the activity with your supervisor sufficiently in advance and always provide evidence of its completion.

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What evidence do I need to provide for conferences, stays abroad and other activities?

Activities reported in the Annual Study Report must be verifiable. For conferences, therefore, keep the programme, certificate or other confirmation of your participation and presentation. For a stay abroad, retain confirmation from the host institution.

For publications and projects, their status and the parameters relevant to the award of credits must be verifiable.

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I am a full-time student. Do I have to submit an SGS/IGA project?

For students studying under Dean’s Directive No. 3/2025 in the full-time form of study, submission of a multi-year internal SGS or IGA project in the first year of study is part of their study requirements.

Follow the conditions and deadlines of the currently announced competition. This requirement does not apply to students in the combined form of study.

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When do I have to defend my dissertation project?

The Defence of the Dissertation Project is a study milestone that must be successfully completed by the end of the third year of study at the latest.

The project is 20–30 pages long and contains, in particular, a clearly formulated research objective, a review of relevant research and a detailed methodology proposal. The completed project, together with the supervisor’s statement, must be submitted no later than one month before the planned defence date.

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What is the minor defence and when does it take place?

The minor defence is an internal presentation of the essentially completed dissertation before the final defence. It takes place at FSE UJEP and is attended by members of the department in which the student is enrolled, and where appropriate by other members of the academic community, opponents and guests.

Minutes are taken of the minor defence and constitute a prerequisite for submitting an application for the state final examination – the dissertation defence. The student arranges the date sufficiently in advance with their supervisor and the relevant department.

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How is doctoral study completed?

This depends on when you started your studies.

Students studying under Dean’s Directive No. 3/2025, i.e. those who commenced their studies in the 2025/26 academic year or later, take a state final examination consisting of the defence of the dissertation. Students may apply for the state final examination once they have completed all compulsory courses and modules of the ISP and obtained at least 210 credits.

Students studying under Dean’s Directive No. 4/2020 complete their studies under the transitional arrangements: first the separate State Doctoral Examination and subsequently the dissertation defence. These two examinations may be organised on the same day, but the dissertation defence may begin only after successful completion of the State Doctoral Examination.

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When can I apply for the State Doctoral Examination?

The separate State Doctoral Examination applies only to students studying under Dean’s Directive No. 4/2020.

Students may apply after successfully completing all courses in their ISP and obtaining at least 125 credits from other study requirements. The application includes a proposal for five thematic areas prepared in cooperation with the supervisor. Each area is based on at least ten original scientific articles related to the dissertation topic and the field of study.

Students who commenced their studies in the 2025/26 academic year or later no longer take a separate State Doctoral Examination. Their state final examination consists of the dissertation defence; they may apply after completing all compulsory courses and modules of the ISP and obtaining at least 210 credits.

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What do I need to complete before applying for the dissertation defence?

For students who commenced their studies in the 2025/26 academic year or later, the dissertation defence also constitutes the state final examination.

Before applying, the student must complete all compulsory courses and modules specified in the ISP, obtain at least 210 credits, and successfully complete the minor defence of the finished dissertation, for which minutes are prepared.

Detailed requirements for submitting the application and organising the defence are set out in the relevant directive.

Students studying under Dean’s Directive No. 4/2020 follow different transitional arrangements: first the separate State Doctoral Examination and subsequently the dissertation defence.

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What is the Dissertation Abstract and what should it contain?

The Dissertation Abstract is a concise summary of the dissertation, 1–2 pages in length, and may, like the dissertation itself, also be written in English.

It should briefly present:

• the objectives of the dissertation formulated as research questions or hypotheses,
• the methodology used,
• the main results and new findings,
• the societal relevance of the findings,
• the impact of the results, particularly their publication or other professional use.

The student submits the abstract together with the final version of the dissertation when applying for the final defence / state final examination, in accordance with the relevant directive. Under Dean’s Directive No. 3/2025, the documents are submitted through STAG.

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FOR APPLICANTS – ADMISSIONS

Admissions to the doctoral study programme are usually announced in the spring, with applications accepted until the end of August. Current deadlines and detailed admission requirements will be published once the next admissions round is announced.

Applicants are required to submit, in particular, a CV and doctoral research proposal in English, complete the electronic application and pay the required application fee. English is an integral part of doctoral study.

The doctoral research proposal presents the applicant’s initial concept of the topic, objectives and planned approach to the future dissertation. We recommend discussing the proposed topic with a potential supervisor in advance, particularly with regard to the supervisor’s research expertise and actual capacity to supervise the dissertation.

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Applicants with qualifications obtained abroad

If you completed your Master’s degree abroad, make sure to address the verification and recognition of your foreign higher education qualification well in advance.

The process may require the submission of officially certified documents and may take some time to complete. We therefore recommend starting the recognition process sufficiently early before the admissions deadline.

Detailed information on admissions will be published here once the next admissions round is announced.

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Available dissertation topics and supervisors