Qualification criteria

1. An eligible candidate must hold a Master’s degree or an equivalent degree in Social Sciences.

2. Possible subject areas for a PhD project include:

• history of social thought,
• methodology of social research,
• sociology of culture,
• sociology of art,
• social anthropology,
• sociology of politics,
• sociology of social change,
• social policy,
• social communication,
• theory of social science,
• sociology of religion,
• social dillemas,
• Polish society,
• sociology of social structures,
• social demography
• migration studies
• digital sociology
• youth studies
• feminism and gender studies
• sociology of work
• social work

3. The recruitment procedure is competitive. Points are assigned for each stage of the evaluation process:

a) A research proposal (0-15 pts.), which may be an outline of the prospective PhD dissertation. The proposal should be written in Polish or English and should contain between 10,000 and 20,000 characters without spaces (not including bibliography). The proposal is evaluated by two reviewers appointed by the recruitment committee chairperson. Reviewers are chosen from among researchers entitled to supervise PhD projects in the discipline. The average of points granted by each of the reviewers in the following categories constitutes a final evaluation of the project:

• formulating the research objective (0-3 pts.)
• knowledge of the current state of research (0-3 pts.)
• proposed research methodology (0-3 pts.)
• originality and cognitive value (0-3 pts.)
• feasibility and validity of the project supported by the opinion of an independent researcher (0-3 pts.)

b) An interview (0-20 pts.), the aim of which is to verify  the candidate’s competence and research interests in relation to the project proposal as well as their general knowledge in the discipline. The interview may be conducted in Polish or, in special cases and by consent of the recruitment committee’s chairperson, in English. The final evaluation of the interview is the average of points awarded by each member of the Recruitment Committee in the following categories:

• thematic knowledge of the research project - 0-5 pts, 
• methodological knowledge - 0-5 pts, 
• knowledge of the current state of research in the area of the topic of the research project, the literature on the subject and the ability to present it - 0-5 pts, 
• scientific conversational skills - 0-5 points.

c) Evaluation of scholarly activity in the last 5 years (0-7 pts.):

• paper published in journals indexed by Scopus/Web of Science database - 0-2 pts,
• paper published in an academic journal, book or chapter in a collective work published by the publishing house included in the Ministry of Education and Science’s list - 0-1 pts,
• active participation (with candidate’s paper presentation) in an international academic conference -0-1 pts, 
• domestic or foreign scholarship/internship (at least 7 days) - 0-1 pts,
• outstanding achievements in a student association or research projects carried out as part of professional activity - 0-1 pts, 
• academic awards or prizes - 0-1 pt.

The relevant certificates/proof of achievement is required at this stage. In the case of publications, either a hard copy or a certificate of acceptance for publication needs to be provided.