About doctoral thesis

All rules and procedures can be found on the University of Ljubljana website.

For each completed course, a doctoral student must submit a Certificate of Exam Completion to the student office, which is confirmed by the lecturer conducting the exam.

The student must submit the disposition of the doctoral dissertation in the 2nd year of the doctoral study programme, by the last Friday in January of the current year. The student office invites the student to submit the Application for the Disposition of the Doctoral Dissertation with all enclosures. In addition to the dissertation disposition application, the student also submits a Declaration on the Use and Processing of Personal Data, which is used for the purpose of application, defence and promotion of the doctoral dissertation.

Based on the application, the Committee for Monitoring Doctoral Students (KSDŠ) is confirmed for the student, which also participates in the presentation of the dissertation disposition. The Committee consists of at least three evaluators among university teachers or researchers who are experts in the broader field of the doctoral dissertation topic, with a valid teaching or scientific title. At least one evaluator must be from another university or research organisation, exceptionally from another member of UL. If the mentor and co-mentor are members of the Committee, the number of members is increased accordingly.

Presentations of doctoral dissertation dispositions are public and take place in the first week of March of the current year.

Study Programme Textile Engineering, Graphic Communication and Textile Design

The mentor and co-mentor in the doctoral study programme Textile Engineering, Graphic Communication and Textile Design are university teachers at the University of Ljubljana with the titles of assistant professor, associate professor or full professor, or researchers with the titles of research associate, senior research associate or research advisor, and have demonstrated research activity with relevant bibliography in the broader field of the doctoral dissertation topic (3 to 5 references).

The mentor and co-mentor can also be individuals with appropriate habilitation from another institution (domestic or foreign) who have references from the broader field of the doctoral dissertation topic, participate in the study programme or are employed at an institution with which the University of Ljubljana or a member of the University of Ljubljana has concluded an agreement or contract for cooperation.

The minimum requirement for demonstrating the research activity of the mentor and co-mentor is that in the case of fundamental research they achieve 150 Z points in the SICRIS bibliography in the last five years and are classified in the indicator of significant achievements with a quantitative assessment of A1/2 more than 0 points.

In the case of artistic research, the mentor or co-mentor must be appointed to the title of university teacher in the field of art in accordance with habilitation criteria (Article 40 of habilitation criteria); in this case, a mentoring group is appointed in which the mentor or co-mentor from the scientific research field who meets the minimum requirement for demonstrating research activity must participate.

In the event of a justified absence of the mentor or co-mentor from the doctoral study for at least 6 months (e.g. illness, maternity or paternity leave etc.), Z points in SICRIS and points in the significant achievements indicator A^1/2 achieved in a one-year extended period or several years in the event of an absence longer than one year are taken into account.

Candidates must submit written consent from the mentor and potential co-mentor, as well as a brief conceptual outline of the scientific research work no later than at the time of enrolment in the study programme.

Study Programme Art

The mentor or co-mentor in the doctoral study programme Art is a university teacher at the University of Ljubljana with an appropriate title who has demonstrated artistic activity in the last five years, recognised for its impact in the broader international arena, mastery in the use of expressive media, artistic originality and authenticity, and innovativeness in accordance with the applicable habilitation criteria at the University of Ljubljana (Rules on the Criteria and Procedure for Awarding the Recognition of Important Works of Art as a Requirement for Appointment to the Titles of University Teachers at the University of Ljubljana).

In the case of scientific-artistic research, a mentoring group is appointed in which the participating mentor and co-mentor meet the requirements for mentoring/co-mentoring in a doctorate in science or a doctorate in art.

Candidates must submit written consent from the mentor and potential co-mentor, as well as a brief conceptual outline of the artistic research work no later than at the time of enrolment in the study programme.

The public presentation of the doctoral dissertation topic is led by the President of Committee for Monitoring Doctoral Students (KSDŠ), who invites the candidate to present the disposition of the doctoral dissertation.

The candidate begins the presentation with the title of the doctoral dissertation topic in the Slovenian and English languages and, using presentation slides, presents the disposition of the doctoral dissertation in approximately 20 minutes. The presentation includes the research problem, aim, objectives, hypotheses, research methods, key expected results and contribution to science.

After the presentation, the members of the Committee ask questions (usually two questions per member). Once the candidate responds to the Committee members’ questions, they also answer questions from the audience.

After the presentation, the Committee consults on the disposition and notes in its record whether the public presentation was adequate and if the doctoral dissertation title is appropriate. The Committee also provides any suggestions for supplementing the disposition of the doctoral dissertation and sets a deadline by which the candidate must prepare corrections and additions.

The doctoral dissertation is prepared in line with the mentor’s instructions and in accordance with the Regulations on Doctoral Studies at the University of Ljubljana. The instructions for preparing the initial pages of the doctoral dissertation can be found here.

When the research work is in its final stages and conclusions can be drawn in line with the set hypotheses or research questions, the doctoral candidate submits a draft of the doctoral dissertation to the members of the Committee for Monitoring Doctoral Students, mentor and co-mentor, and presents the research results, emphasising the main findings and contribution to science. The presentation is usually public and a record is made of it. If corrections to the draft doctoral dissertation are necessary, the Committee sets a deadline for the candidate to submit the draft.

The doctoral candidate submits the doctoral dissertation in electronic and printed form, along with the consent of the mentor and potential co-mentor no later than two years from the enrolment in the final year of the study programme or in an additional year.

Once the mentor and members of the Committee confirm that the doctoral dissertation is suitable, it is forwarded to the student office for the cover and first internal pages review. After the necessary revisions, the mentor approves the submission of the electronic version of the work via the online system.

After the mentor, upon reviewing the similarity analysis in the online system, marks the work as suitable, the student submits spiral-bound copies to all Committee members, along with written consent from the mentor and co-mentor, urgently before the end of the topic period (two years after the enrolment in the final year or an additional year). The student office stamps each copy with the date of receipt on the first page and forwards the copies to the Committee members. If the student agrees with the Committee members that the dissertation sent by email suffices as officially received, they must also email the student office to officially record the date of sending the final version.

The Committee members provide an assessment of the doctoral dissertation within two months of its final submission and submit it to the student office. Along with the dissertation assessment, the Committee members also provide an opinion on the suitability of a published or accepted article for publication. A published or accepted scientific article is a requirement for scheduling the doctoral dissertation defence.

The student office forwards the doctoral dissertation assessments and one copy of the dissertation to the Study Commission of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering (Študijska komisija NTF) and then to the Senate of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering (Senat NTF).

Once the assessments of the doctoral dissertation are confirmed, the student submits hardbound copies of the dissertation to the student office. The number of copies depends on the number of Committee members, mentor and potential co-mentor: one copy for each Committee member + mentor + co-mentor + 5 copies for libraries (one copy for the library at the Department of Textiles, Graphic Arts and Design at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, one for the Central Technical Library at the University of Ljubljana, and one for the University Library Maribor, two copies for the National and University Library).

After the confirmation of the doctoral dissertation assessment at the Faculty Senate, the student can defend the dissertation. The defence can be scheduled no earlier than 3 days after the Faculty Senate meeting and no later than one month after the assessment confirmation at the Faculty Senate meeting.

Upon successful defence of the doctoral dissertation, the student receives a temporary certificate of completion of studies valid until the original diploma is issued at the doctoral promotion ceremony at the University of Ljubljana.

The promotion process begins as soon as the student has a published scientific article. If the article has already been published, the process is initiated immediately; otherwise, it begins only when the student submits to the student office a certificate of article publication.