Department of Psychology, Dukelská 9, 371 15 České Budějovice
phone: +420 387 903 3233, e-mail: ztrubelova@pf.jcu.cz
Guarantor of the study programme
prof. PaedDr. Iva Stuchlíková, CSc.
Description of the program
Four-year FULL-TIME program, ending with a state doctoral examination and the defence of a doctoral dissertation. The graduate will obtain a Ph.D. degree.
Profile of the graduate
Graduates acquire a deep knowledge of educational psychology and, in relation to their dissertation projects, of related disciplines (e.g. personality psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, but also psychotherapy, pedagogy, special education). They acquire a good orientation in current methodological approaches to educational psychological research, analytical and meta-analytical procedures and methods. They acquire the skills to conceive research projects and manage their implementation, to design appropriate methodological solutions to educational-psychological research problems, to work with research results, to communicate them to the professional community and to prepare their use in educational-psychological practice.
Graduates can work independently as researchers, are prepared to work in research teams, and are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary for effective collaboration with researchers in related fields and with educators in practice.
Important information for applicants
Applicants must submit:
- study application form,
- a certified copy of the diploma and the graduation certificate (recognized for the Czech Republic),
- a certificate of the language proficiency (C1 level The Common European Framework of Refence for Languages (CEFR) or comparable),
- curriculum vitae with a list of professional activities and publications in the field of psychology,
- research project proposal from the Educational Psychology domain.
Entrance examination
Graduates of Master's degree programmes in Psychology will be admitted to the study programme Educational Psychology. The degree must be recognized in the Czech republic according to the rules for recognition of foreign higher education in the Czech Republic. Process of recognition at the Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích is regulated by Rector's ordinance.
In the entrance examination process, applicants must demonstrate their English language proficiency at C1 level of CEFR or comparable. Knowledge, skills and adequate insight in the field of educational psychology as well as a very good orientation in the methodology of the field are essential for admission.
The entrance examination consists of two parts. In the first part, which takes place without the applicant being present in person, the committee assesses the research project proposal submitted by the applicant. Only candidates who are successful in the first part will be admitted to the second part. The second part is oral and could be held online or in person and takes place the Faculty of Education of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. Partial results from the first and the second part are not added to the overall score, the ranking of applicants is determined by the result in the second part of the examination.
The first part of the entrance examination
In the first part of the examination, the applicant's research project proposal in the field of educational psychology is evaluated by a committee. The research project proposal is evaluated with 0–100 points. A minimum of 60 points is required to pass the first part of the examination and to progress to the second part.
The topic of the project must be related to the doctoral research topics addressed in the department (https://www.pf.jcu.cz/en/faculty/departments/department-of-psychology, section Doctoral Education) and it is desirable to have the prior approval of the potential supervisor. A written research project proposal of maximum of 10 pages should be submitted with the application form.
The committee evaluates the quality of the submitted project according to the following criteria:
- the theoretical background (max 20 points);
- the formulation of the research question (max 15 points);
- the design of the intended research (max 25 points);
- an outline of the methodological approach to the problem (methods of data acquisition and analysis) (max 20 points);
- list of publications on which the project is based (max 10 points);
- professional language and citation practices (APA according to the current standard) (max 10 points).
Applicants who obtain 60 points or more in the first part of the examination will be notified of their successful completion of the first part of the examination by e-mail and will also be invited to the second part of the entrance examination, which will take place in June in the form of an oral interview at the JU PF.
The second part of the entrance examination
The interview, in presence or online on demand of the applicant, will focus on the applicant's motivation, previous research experience (including the diploma thesis) and the intended dissertation project. In the discussion of the project, the applicant should demonstrate that he/she has been engaged in educational psychology, that he/she is knowledgeable about the national and international context of this field, and that he/she has studied the current literature.
Applicants are ranked based on their score in the interview, with a maximum of 100 points. The minimum score for admission is 70 points. The score is calculated as the average of the scores given by each member of the admissions board.
Admitted full-time students become members of the academic community of the Department of Psychology PF JU and participate in its activities which includes also teaching practice in relation to their dissertation project.