Graduate School of Matehematics and Computer Science > FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
3. When do I need to decide whether to accept the scholarship and what is the enrollment deadline?
4. In broad terms, what does the doctoral program consist of?
6. When is the PhD presentation day and what is its purpose?
7. What is the complex exam, and form what subjects do you need
to prepare for it?
8. When can you start organizing the home defense and what rules apply to it?
9. What materials must be submitted for graduation and when will the defense be
announced?
10. How many reviewers are there, how many members does the defense committee
consist of, and how many must be present at the defense?
11. Is it possible to suspend the doctoral studies, i.e. to include passive
semesters, and how does this affect the duration of the training?
1. When is the application deadline, what does the admission process consist of,
and what documents must be submitted?
It depends on which scholarship you are applying to.
For Stipendium Hungaricum applicants detailed information is given at
our
doctoral website. In this case the deadline for submitting the
application is typically in January, the written entrance test is in April, and
decisions about acceptance are made by June, or so. But please check the link
above for details of the application process.
If you are eligible to apply for a Hungarian state-sponsored PhD scholarship (this
is the case e.g. if you are an EU citizen), detailed information on admission
can be found on the
doctoral website. In this case the deadline for
submitting application materials is typically the end of May, and the candidate
is notified about acceptance (or rejection) at the end of June or beginning of
July.
If you are not eligible for a Hungarian state-sponsored scholarship or a
Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, you must finance your PhD studies yourself.
The cost is currently 4500 Euros/semester. The application process is the same
as the one described for state-sponsored scholarships above.
2. In addition to the state scholarship, or the SH scholarship, is it possible
to find other sources of income for the duration of the PhD studies?
It is, but it’s not necessarily easy. It is allowed to establish a part-time or
even full-time employment during the PhD studies. (The latter, on the other hand,
makes your studies almost impossible). It is also possible that the supervisor
can provide a financial supplement to the scholarship from an ongoing scientific
grant. Furthermore, particularly talented students who have already achieved
research results during university can apply for the
"Rényi Doctoral Fellowship"
program of the Rényi Institute, which aims to increase financial support.
Please note that the deadline for this may differ from the BME application
deadline.
3. When do I need to decide whether to accept the scholarship and what is the
enrollment deadline?
For state-sponsored scholarships the deadline is the beginning of the semester.
The fall semester begins on September 1, the spring semester on February 1, and
the registration deadline is the fourth day of the registration week.
For SH scholarship holders, the deadline for arriving to
Hungary is September
30.
4. In
broad terms, what does the doctoral program consist of?
The doctoral program is regulated by the documents entitled Training Plan, and
Minimum Requirements for Degree Acquisition, which are available
on the doctoral
website.
In broad terms: academic, research and teaching credits must be obtained during
the program, and the requirements for the absolutorium (see below) must be
fulfilled.
Academic credits can be obtained by completing courses or reading courses, or
summer schools. A course completed at another university can also be taken into
account with the permission of the head of the doctoral school.
The most important part of research credits is publications, the minimum
requirements of which are contained in the above-mentioned document. Another
important part of the research credits is the participation in some seminars: in
at least 6 of the 8 semesters, you must participate in a seminar with the
consent of your supervisor.
Teaching credits can primarily be obtained by teaching 2 hours per week (a total
of 6 semesters), but in one semester (a total of max. 4 credits) credits can
also be earned for homework scoring, midterm exam scoring, consultation, or BME
promotion activities.
After the first two years of the program, a complex exam must be taken, where
the study and research progress must be reported. We will write about the
complex exam in more detail in a separate question below. The typical duration
of PhD training is 4 years, for which the scholarship is awarded. If the degree
is not obtained by the end of the fourth year, one more year is available (without
a scholarship), but the final dissertation must be submitted within 3 academic
years of the complex exam. The 3 academic years can be extended by one more year
in particularly justified cases, upon request, and the Doctoral Committee (HBDT)
decides on this.
Absolutorium requirements: completion of at least 240 credits, within which it
is necessary to ensure that there are enough credits in the various categories
as prescribed in the sample curriculum:
Academic: 25 - 40 credits
Teaching: 20 - 32 credits
Research 1 (consultation): 80 - 128 credits
Research 2 (publication): 40 - 80 credits
Research 3 (dissertation): 0 - 8 credits
5. What courses can I take for academic credits during my PhD program, and where
can I find a list of these courses?
The list of doctoral courses are available on the website of the Doctoral School
(courses menu).
You can find the currently available courses in Neptun. The courses belonging to
the doctoral program are collected in the sample curriculum entitled Subjects (Mathematics
PhD 2016) in Neptun. You cannot get credits for basic courses at the BSc level. It is
possible for the supervisor or another instructor to announce a reading course (totaling
a maximum of 12 credits). In addition, doctoral courses completed at other universities (e.g.
ELTE) can also be credited with the permission of the head of the doctoral
school, who in this case also determines the number of the credits.
6. When
is the PhD presentation day and what is its purpose?
The PhD presentation day usually takes place after the first year of the PhD
program, in the middle of September (typically on the university Sports Day,
since then the lessons are cancelled anyway). On the presentation day, all PhD
students present the progress they have made during their first year of research.
This is to allow the Doctoral School Board (DIT) to assess progress. Typically,
a submitted article is already considered good progress, but we emphasize that
it is not a formal exam, and it is possible to fail on this Presentation Day. At
the worst, the DIT will warn the student if it sees that the research is not
progressing at the right pace.
7. What is the complex exam, and form what subjects do you need to prepare for
it?
The complex exam has two parts: the academic part and the research part. A few
months before the exam, the DIT selects the exam subjects for the academic part
(in consultation with the supervisor). Here is an example of a possible choice:
Analysis: Matrix analysis, and Functional analysis
Stochastics: The basics of probability, Information theory
The examiners are also appointed by the DIT, the subjects are listed on the
website, but it is advisable to contact the exam committee members, and discuss the exact topics as soon as
possible.
In the research part of the complex exam, the doctoral student reports on the
research results and possible publications achieved in the first two years.
Typically, at least one submitted publication should be completed by the time of
the complex exam. Otherwise, it is difficult to consider the progress of
research as acceptable.
The academic and research parts of the exam are evaluated separately by the
committee, and it is necessary to pass both parts for the exam to be successful.
Any part of the exam that the student fails, can be repeated once within the
same exam period (typically, the complex exam takes place in July of the second
year, and the repeated exam, if necessary, must be held sometime before August
31).
In the case of an unsuccessful complex exam, the PhD studies cannot be continued.
8. When can you start organizing the home defense and what rules apply to it?
The home defense is only prescribed by the internal regulations of the BME (so
it is not part of the national doctoral training plan), and accordingly, the
rules for the home defense are less formal than those for real defense.
Typically, the supervisor consults with the head of the Doctoral School about
whether the number and quality of the publications is deemed sufficient for the
submission of the dissertation. If so, the home defense can be organized. For
the home defense, two home reviewers must be appointed, who will review and
evaluate the thesis and make recommendations for possible corrections. The two
reviewers can even be appointed by the supervisor, but it is advisable to at
least inform the head of the doctoral school. The two reviewers can be anyone (there
are no conflict of interest rules), but it is advisable to choose reviewers who
can later possibly take on the role of official reviewers. (The official
reviewers are later appointed by the HBDT, so there is no guarantee that they
will be the same as the home reviewers, yet in practice there is often a match
in at least one of the reviewers, sometimes both.) The chairman of the home
defense can even be a department employee (in the rank of professor or associate
professor), again there are no conflict of interest rules. The secretary (who
writes the transcript of the home defense) is typically a departmental assistant
professor or teaching assistant. At the end of the home defense, the home
reviewers must declare whether they see the dissertation as suitable for an
official defense (after possible corrections have been made), and those present
must openly vote on the same. The transcript of the home defense must be
attached later among the materials submitted for graduation.
9. What materials must be submitted for graduation and when will the defense be
announced?
The complete list of materials to be submitted can be found on the doctoral
website (link). Materials must be submitted both electronically and on paper.
Before submitting the materials, it is advisable to consult the head of the
doctoral school once more to see if the list of publications is sufficient to
organize a defense. (The HBDT will vote on this, but the head of the doctoral
school can form an informal opinion in advance. This may be necessary, for
example, if the home defense took place while some publications were still under
review.) If all materials are complete, the HBDT votes on whether the defense
can be organized, and if so, a committee and official reviewers are appointed.
The evaluators typically prepare the evaluation within 3 months. After the
evaluations have been received, a date can be set for the defense with the
appointed committee and the reviewers (the negotiation about the date is
typically done by the candidate by contacting the committee members).
10. How many reviewers are there, how many members does the defense committee
consist of, and how many must be present at the defense?
There are two reviewers, and it is important that at least one of them must be
present at the defense. The number of committee members is at least three, but
typically the committee consists of four members: a chair, a secretary, and two
members. The participation of the chair at the defense is mandatory. Also, a
total of at least five members (reviewers + committee members) must be present
at the defense.
Is it possible to suspend doctoral studies, i.e. to enroll in passive semesters,
and how does this affect the duration of the training?
It is possible to enroll passive semesters. In the two years before the complex
exam and in the two years after the complex exam, 2 passive semesters can be
used. The supervisor and the administration of the doctoral school must be
notified of the passivation of the semester, and the application for the passive
semester must be registered at Neptun. Of course, the doctoral student does not
receive a scholarship during the passive semesters.
It should be noted that the passive semesters taken after the complex exam do
not increase the time available for submitting the dissertation.
11. Is it possible to suspend the doctoral studies, i.e. to include passive
semesters, and how does this affect the duration of the training?
It is possible to include passive semesters. Both in the two years before the
complex exam and in the two years after the complex exam, 2-2 passive semesters
can be included, if necessary. The supervisor and the administration of the
doctoral school must be notified of the passivation of the semester, and the
application for the passive semester must be registered in Neptun. Of course,
the doctoral student does not receive a scholarship during the passive semesters.
It should be noted that the passive semesters taken after the complex exam do
not increase the time available for submitting the dissertation (i.e. the
dissertation must be submitted within 3 years of the complex exam).
1. Primary Complaint - The student may submit a complaint
or appeal in writing, addressed to the Head of the Doctoral School, on paper, in
a sealed envelope to the Head of the Dean's Office.
2. In case of conflict of interest - If the complaint concerns the Head
of the Doctoral School or a conflict of interest exists, the student may appeal
to the Director of the Institute of Mathematics as indicated in (1).
3. Appeal - If the student is not satisfied with the decision of the Head
of the Doctoral School or the Director of the Institute, he/she may appeal
against the decision to the Doctoral Study Committee (DTB).
The decision of the Doctoral Study Committee shall be subject
to legal remedy to the Student Legal Remedy Committee (HJB)
Last modified: 2025.03.25.