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DPES offers postgraduate programmes leading to a Ph.D. degree, available in both Czech and English, and offered in full-time as well as part-time (combined) form. Full-time students enrolled in the Czech programme receive a monthly stipend during the four years of their studies. The amount depends on the student’s academic performance, dissertation project, publishing and research activities, as well as their participation in teaching and other doctoral programme commitments.

Each doctoral student is assigned a supervisor according to the focus of their dissertation. Ph.D. students at DPES are organized into four research teams, each led by a person responsible for a specific field of research and education. Research assistants and other faculty members at KPES are also affiliated with these teams according to their areas of expertise.

DPES Research Teams

• Analytical Political Science – led by doc. PhDr. Tomáš Lebeda, Ph.D.

• European Studies – led by doc. Daniel Marek, Ph.D., M.A.

• Czech Politics and Local Politics – led by doc. Mgr. Pavel Šaradín, Ph.D.

• International Relations and Modern History – led by prof. PhDr. Jiří Lach, Ph.D., M.A.

DSP Political Science admission procedure:

Admission into DSP is conducted in accordance with Section 48 (3) of Act no. /1998 Coll. On Tertiary Education and in accordance with Section 49 of Act no. 111/1998 Coll. on Tertiary Education. The admission procedure includes testing of theoretical and methodological knowledge in the area of political science in relation to the topic of the dissertation, and successful presentation of the dissertation research project, which must be in accordance with the scientific and research focus of the workplace.

The study is intended particularly for graduates of follow-up master degree study programs from the study field of political science. At UP FA, this incorporates the following master study programs: Governance and Democracy, European Union, Political Analysis and Strategy, and War and Peace Studies. Admission requirements for graduates of master degree programs in political science from other Czech or foreign universities are identical. Graduates from related study fields of social science or humanities are also required to prove sufficient field-specific knowledge necessary for study of DSP Political Science.

The admission procedure evaluates:

competences for scientific and research work;

skills related to presentation and support of a dissertation research project (which must be in accordance with the scientific and research focus of the workplace);

the ability to communicate in at least one foreign language, particularly in relation to the submitted research project topic. The ability to communicate in English is an absolute prerequisite.

The application must include a dissertation project of 5–10 standard pages.

It is required to state the aim of research work and reasoning, theoretical starting points, an overview of the state of knowledge in the field, research questions, hypotheses supported with theory, and a reasoning for the methodology chosen in order to investigate the particular matter. In addition, it is also necessary to clearly present the evidence base on which the dissertation will be built.

The admission procedure will take place in two rounds:

1st round – evaluation of dissertation projects (May 1 - May 20, 2026). Applicants whose projects are not recommended will be informed of their rejection and will not proceed further in the admission process. Successful applicants will be invited to the oral interview.

2nd round – oral entrance examination for applicants who have advanced from the first round. The admission exam is conducted in English and consists primarily of a discussion of the planned dissertation project. The purpose of the exam is to assess both the applicant’s academic preparedness and their ability to communicate and produce scholarly outputs in English.

All candidates submit relevant materials in English, Ph.D. thesis proposal, CV etc. Nevertheless, applicants are not required to hand in legally proven translation of their university diplomas if they have been issued in the Czech Republic.

The rules for admission procedure into doctoral study are set in the UP Admission Procedure Code.