Study requirements

The study plan contains obligatory courses Colloquium of PhD students (zápočet) and General and Regional Physical Geography (exam). The exam in “General and Regional Physical Geography” is in a form of a written review (15 to 20 pages). The review describes the topic of the dissertation in the context of physical geography, which relevant concepts it develops (it serves as an introduction to the dissertation). The topic is assigned according to the specialization studied. The examiner is (if possible) an associate professor and a person different from the supervisor. The study plan also includes two or three courses (with exams), at least one should be taken outside the Faculty of Science. All the courses are taken in the first two years of the studies. The state doctoral exam is taken between the end of the second year and the end of the third year.

Study requirements and the progress is specified in the study plan.

Creative activity requirements

The dissertation contains own results and results that are published or accepted for publication. If the dissertation is a monograph, at least one article must be published in a foreign journal with IF and the other two in the database WoS/SCOPUS. The PhD candidate must be the first author of at least two of these articles.

If the dissertation is a monothematic set of publications, at least one of these publications must be an article in a foreign journal with IF. The total number of original scientific texts is four (articles in scientific journals, chapters in monographs). The PhD candidate must be the first author of at least two of these texts.

If a publication has not been published yes, the PhD candidate has to submit a confirmation of acceptance for publication. Two of the four publications can be under review. It is recommended that at least one of the articles where the PhD is the first author is published (or accepted for publication) in a journal with IF above the median of the field of physical geography.

The result of the defence is determined by a committee according to the quality of the dissertation and the opponents’ reports.

Internship

The student has to go abroad for a study or research internship. The international mobility is an integral part of the study plan, the length (at least one month) and the exact form are determined according to the dissertation topic.

Other study requirements

It is recommended for the students to take part in teaching activities in collaboration with their supervisor, the head of the department and the guarantors of the study programmes. The students can also be supervisors and opponents of bachelor theses.

State doctoral exam

The state doctoral exam consists of the defence of the main theses of the dissertation, the obligatory subject of general and regional physical geography and a specialized exam related to the dissertation topic.

1. Dissertation theses

These theses serve as a material for a scientific discussion on the progress of the dissertation writing.

1) Introduction – main research questions and the aims related to them, definition of research problems dealt with in the dissertation, theoretical concepts

2) Literature overview

3) Methods used

4) Progress and preliminary results

5) References

6) Publications the student has already published on the topic (only scientific articles)

The theses are presented in 15 minutes. The maximum length is 2,500 words. The theses are sent to the committee at least two weeks in advance.

2. General and regional physical geography – examples of topics for the state doctoral exam

(The topics are cross-sectional, the aim is to verify the overall knowledge.)

Different development of reliefs in different climatic zones

Formation and development of the glacial zone

Influence of the planetary atmospheric circulation and relief on river regimes

Water supplies on Earth in relation to the environmental changes

Main factors influencing the geodiversity and biodiversity

3. Specialized exam – examples of the topics for the state doctoral exam

(This exam verifies knowledge in the field of the dissertation.)

Modelling selected processes in physical geography

Influence of glacial processes on relief development

Extreme river regimes

Drought, its characteristics and causes

Impact landscape fragmentation on biodiversity, organism mobility and substance flows