The aim of the doctoral training is to prepare students for academic research and lecturing activities and to provide them with opportunities for further academic training. There are 6 PhD schools and 26 programmes to choose from. The PhD programmes run parallel to those taught at the undergraduate level. The duration of studies is 3 years. During this period the chosen topic is researched with the guidance of a supervisor, organised courses are given and in order to obtain a PhD degree the student has to take a final examination and submit a thesis, written on their special topic.

Since 1993 the Faculty of Science runs PhD programmes in all branches of natural sciences. PhD programmes are organised into PhD schools (Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences (since 2006), Mathematics and Physics) approved by the National Accreditation Board. The high scientific standard of the PhD training is guaranteed by members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Doctors of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences as well as many other PhD holders taking part in the programme as lecturers, supervisors or school/programme leaders. Many internationally acknowledged scientists and experts participate in the work of the PhD schools as lecturers of short courses and seminars.

PhD in Physics

• Objectives: Except for the purely theoretical topics the programs are practice oriented: about 80% of time is allocated for individual research work. The special, one-semester advanced level courses and seminar series are organized to deepen students’ knowledge on the theoretical background of their research project and the methods that they are using. Emphasis is also put on developing skills in publication (writing papers), in preparing grant application and in project management. Thus Ph.D. graduates will be able to pursue their own research project independently and to organize and supervise a research team.
• In the theoretical part of their program, Ph.D. students have their own curriculum assembled after consulting their supervisor, from the permanent and temporary courses and seminar series, which are organized and announced yearly. Credit of the course or seminar series is earned depending on the character of the course in viva or by written examination or on the basis of semester work.
• In the major part of their Ph.D. training students work on a research project under the guidance of a supervisor (who must have a Ph.D. or higher degree and is generally a professor or associate professor). An important criterion for obtaining a Ph.D. degree is authorship in at least two scientific papers, written from candidate’s work and published in international (SCI) journals.
• At the end of the Ph.D. training, the candidate must go through a “Ph.D. procedure”. This involves: 1) an examination by a committee about topics in three selected fields of physics; 2) writing, orally presenting and defending a “Ph.D. Thesis”, which contains the results of candidate’s research work. Two independent referees (experts of the field) will review the “Ph.D. Thesis” and a committee from teachers of the program and independent experts will evaluate the oral presentation, and the public discussion of thesis work. The performance of the candidate during the “Ph.D. procedure” will determine the quality of her/his Ph.D. degree. (For further details of assessment and Ph.D. degree qualifications see “System of evaluation of students’ performance”.)
• List of the Ph.D. programs: Three Ph.D. programs are presently available in physics. More than 100 research projects are associated to these programs both in the departments of the Institute of Physics of the Eötvös Loránd University and in other research institutions outside the University. These are funded financially by a number of various sources, for example by the National Research Foundation, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and, in the case of international research collaborations, by various European and American grants. The programs are the following: Materials and Solid State Physics, Particle Physics and Astronomy, Statistical Physics , Biological Physicsand Physics of Quantum Systems

Eötvös Loránd University