Ancient History

The admission procedure to doctoral study programmes at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University is two-round. In the first round, the documents submitted in advance are assessed. The second round takes the form of an oral interview. Only those applicants who succeed in the first round are invited to the second round.

Deadline for submitting applications: 1 January - 30 April

Deadline for submitting documents for the admission procedure: until 15 May

Documents for the admission procedure (1st round):

• signed CV;
• list of publishing activities (if any);
• doctoral thesis project, with an emphasis on the methodological aspect and on the results to be achieved, a list of sources and secondary literature will be obligatory;
• a list of sources and modern literature that the applicant has already studied on the proposed topic.

  Documents for the admission procedure must be sent electronically to doc. Michal Habaj (49155@mail.muni.cz) and inserted into the e-application (rubric “Documents”) by 15 May. Applicants are required to include their full name and application number on all attached documents. The entrance examination (2nd round) takes the form of an oral discussion over the doctoral thesis project.

  Notice: A poof of completion of a Master’s degree programme (officially certified copy of the diploma, in the case of education obtained abroad also the so-called recognition) shall be submitted by the accepted applicants upon enrolment in the studies. For the entrance examination, a proof of completion of a Master’s degree programme is not required.

1st round: success limits 60 points (out of 100). The applicant is assessed in the following areas:

• Doctoral thesis project (max. 40 points);
• Studied sources and literature (max. 30 points);
• Scholarly contribution of doctoral thesis (max. 30 points).

  2nd round: success limits 70 points (out of 100).

The main objectives of the doctoral degree study programme in ancient history are to educate scholars in the field, to prepare them so that they will be able to create quality grant projects; to build a team dealing with the methodology of the field and cooperating in solving topical issues of ancient history; to encourage doctoral students' publication and their participation in scientific meetings; to provide regular meetings with foreign experts in the form of lectures, discussions, or consultations; to create optimum conditions for complementing doctoral studies abroad.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• publish scientific papers and monographs at a good level independently
• lecture on selected topics in university teaching
• contribute on a professional level to solving important issues of the field and to the general development of the field
• find their bearings in the international scholarly environment
• give public lectures
• formulate the results of their research in a foreign language in front of an international audience
• consult editions and translations of scholarly books on professional level and review them before and after their publication

The graduates of the Ph.D. programme in Ancient History may find work at scientific institutes, at universities and high schools, in public and state service, in museums and galleries, in heritage protection.

A standard scope of a Ph.D. thesis is 200,000 characters. It is possible to write the thesis either in Czech or in English, or eventually in German (in agreement with the Doctoral Board and the supervisor). The student chooses the subject of the thesis either from the set of subjects available at the Department of Classical Studies or individually (in discussion with the Doctoral Board and the supervisor). The thesis must always include an overview of existing research in the field, an analysis of relevant secondary literature and its critical evaluation as well as a chapter on methods of the researched topic; ancient sources must be studied in the original.

The outcomes of the dissertation must be new and independently gained findings that can be upheld among scholars at home and abroad and that contribute to the development of the field. Independent and new approaches to the solution of a selected issue are highly estimated. At least one solution of a particular issue of the dissertation must be accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal and presented at an international conference during the doctoral studies.