PhD structure

A list of guidelines and resources to illustrate the main steps of the PhD programme, from the first year to the dissertation defence.

The doctoral programme is designed to provide advanced training and facilitate the progressive development of independent research:

  • In the first year, PhD students attend compulsory courses and take the first steps towards their dissertation by reviewing and refining their research proposal in close coordination with their supervisor. The year concludes with a PhD colloquium, where students present their work and receive feedback from faculty members and their peers.
  • In the second year, students continue with targeted compulsory courses, particularly on research methods and transferrable skills, and typically begin carrying out empirical research and writing their dissertation. This culminates in a second colloquium. 
  • Years three and four have no compulsory courses to attend and most of their time is typically dedicated to empirical work and writing the doctoral dissertation. 

Research abroad and double qualification

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The Phd Dissertation

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Doctoral credits

Doctoral credits (DCs) represent a measure of the workload required to complete the training and research activities in the PhD programme. Each year, you must earn 240 doctoral credits, with each credit corresponding to 25 hours of work. 

The distribution of credits is as follows:

  • Research activities: these represent 77.5% of the total workload required and account for 186 doctoral credits.
  • Research and teaching training activities: these represent 22.5% of the workload required and account for 54 doctoral credits.

For more details, see the programme’s doctoral credit table.

Table of Doctoral Credits

Grading system

In the PhD Programme on Political and Social Sciences, formal assessment of graduate work is based on a pass/fail system.

However, to provide more detailed feedback on coursework, students also receive letter grades. These range from A (90–100%), for excellent work, to F (0–59%), for unsatisfactory work. Intermediate grades include B (80–89%) for above-average work, C (70–79%) for satisfactory work, and D (60–69%) for work that meets the minimum requirements but remains below average.

This grading system is designed to help students better assess their progress and identify areas for improvement.