Admission to GSSR’s PhD Programmes is competitive and consists of two stages. A candidate must successfully pass Stage I to qualify for Stage II of the admission process.
Assessment in both competition stages is conducted by an Admissions Commission from one of the School’s constituent institutes – IFiS, ISP andr IP, respectively – depending on the candidate’s choice of doctoral programme. The Admissions Commission is appointed by the Director of the respective institute.
The Admissions Commission evaluates on formal grounds the documents that constitute the Application Package (see Documents Checklist). If formal requirements are met, the Commission assess the potential contribution of each candidate to the Doctoral School, as reflected in the following documents:
- The description of the planned research
- The letter of intent
- The MA thesis or scientific publication
- The recommendation letter(s)
Based on these documents, the Commission also evaluates the degree to which a candidate’s research project matches the research themes and academic profile of IFiS PAN, IP PAN or IPS PAN, respectively.
Following the evaluation conducted at Stage I, the Commission selects the candidates who continue to the admission process’ second stage.
On July 26, 2023, GSSR sends out notification emails about the Stage I evaluation outcome to the email addresses that candidates provide in the Application Package. Candidates who have successfully passed the selection process’ 1st Stage receive details about the date of the interview, and, if applicable, the time and mode of the Psychology test (cf. details below).
Stage II. Interview conducted in English
Stage II. Interview conducted in English
Interviews are scheduled in the interval July 27 – August 2, 2023. They are conducted generally online.
Candidates who choose Psychology as their doctoral dissertation discipline when this is not the discipline of their previous studies must, prior to the interview, take a test about core issues in psychology. The test date is July 27, 2023. Testing details are decided by IP PAN and communicated via GSSR’s and IP’s websites. During the interview, the IP Admissions Commission may refer to issues covered in the test.
During the interview, each PhD candidate will be asked questions related to their research project and academic achievements. Regardless of a candidate’s academic background, the Admissions Commission of the respective Institute may also test a candidate’s knowledge of concepts and issues fundamental to the discipline within which the candidate seeks a PhD degree.
Candidates who fail to attend the scheduled interview without prior notification of the School and documented justification are considered to have withdrawn their application.
During the interview, each PhD candidate will be asked questions related to their research project and academic achievements. Regardless of a candidate’s academic background, the Admissions Commission of the respective Institute may also test a candidate’s knowledge of concepts and issues fundamental to the discipline within which the candidate seeks a PhD degree.
Candidates who fail to attend the scheduled interview without prior notification of the School and documented justification are considered to have withdrawn their application.
The Decision Process
Following each interview, all members of the Admissions Commission, independently and via secret ballot, score the candidate’s performance on a scale from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest) points. A candidate’s final score is the arithmetic mean (average) of these scores.
After completing all interviews, the Admissions Commission uses the final score each candidate received (i.e. the score based on the arithmetic mean) to rank interviewed candidates. The Commission uses secret ballots to vote on the resulting ranking, records the outcome of the voting, and communicates the results to GSSR. It also proposes supervisors for the candidates it recommends for admission to PhD studies.
On the basis of the Admissions Commission’s recommendation and the minutes of the evaluation process, the Director of IFiS, ISP and IP, respectively, decides whether a candidate is admitted to GSSR.
