CURRICULUM OF THE ANTHROPOS DOCTORAL SCHOOL
POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

The general curriculum at the Anthropos Doctoral School of the Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences enables the student to acquire interdisciplinary knowledge in the humanities and social sciences, and to implement an individual research plan. One of the most important foundations is the master-student relationship and constant contact between the doctoral student and the supervisor.

The educational program is divided into two parts – the period before the mid-term evaluation (first two years) and after this evaluation. The School Council, in consultation with the coordinators from the individual institutes that make up the School, will determine the course schedule each year. Within this, PhD students choose seminars and other classes.

During the first two years, doctoral students will attend joint interdisciplinary seminars conducted by researchers from the institutes that make up Anthropos Doctoral School and invited guests from Poland and abroad. The doctoral students will also participate in a joint doctoral seminar, which will put them in contact with different supervisors, topics, types of seminar work and research methods. Another block of common classes in Academic and Specialized Skills will be devoted to the development by doctoral students of their scientific work and soft skills. This block will include, among other things, exercises in writing different types of academic texts, presenting research results, copyright law, research ethics and securing funds for research. Doctoral students will learn to organize conferences and present the results of their work at doctoral conferences held annually (each doctoral student will co-organize such a conference at least once).

At the end of the first year, PhD students will present a prospectus of their individual research plan in an open seminar, which is intended to be a public defence of that prospectus, including an exercise in discussion and argumentation skills. In accordance with the provisions of the Law on Higher Education and Science of 20 July 2018, the doctoral student’s individual research plan is to be presented to the granting institution within twelve months from the date of the commencement of training.

In addition to attending classes together, doctoral students will pursue an individual training track at the institute of their choice – through participation in group work, departmental seminars and consultations with their supervisor. In the first and second year, each doctoral student is required to attend at least one seminar organized by one of the co-founding institutes of the Anthropos Doctoral School other than the student’s main affiliation at the start of studies.

After two years of training and passing the mid-term evaluation, doctoral students will follow an individual training track, participating in institutes and preparing their doctoral thesis under the supervision of their supervisors.

1. During the program of study, each doctoral student shall be required to obtain at least 32 ECTS credits.
2. During the first two years of training, a PhD student is obliged to prepare for publication one monographic article meeting the requirements for publication in scientific peer-reviewed journals and one text the type of which (article/review/polemic) should be agreed upon with the dissertation supervisor and the appropriate coordinator of the Doctoral School.
3. Excess credits earned in one year can be rolled over into the next year of studies.

The Anthropos Doctoral School educational program guarantees the attainment of a level II qualification at level 8 of the Polish Qualification Framework, as defined in the Regulation of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of 14 November 2018 on characteristics of level II learning outcomes for qualifications at levels 6-8 of the Polish Qualification Framework (Journal of Laws 2018, sec. 2218).

The training program is designed so that graduates of the Anthropos Doctoral School acquires the necessary knowledge, skills and social competences for success in their careers within and beyond academia. Completion of the minimum number of classes and various activities, as indicated in the curriculum, and confirmed by obtaining the appropriate number of ECTS credits, is equivalent to the achievement of level II qualification at level 8 of the Polish Qualification Framework.

By passing the classes of the Interdisciplinary Colloquium in the Humanities and Social Sciences (P8S_WG), seminars offered by the institute where the student’s individual research plan is implemented (P8S_WG), seminars at an institute other than their affiliation (P8S_WG), as well as Practice and Dissemination of Research classes (P8S_WK) and Academic and Specialised Skills courses (P8S_WK), the doctoral student acquires knowledge of the global achievements of a given scientific discipline, the main developmental trends of this discipline and its methodology, the dilemmas of modern civilization, as well as the economic, legal, ethical and other conditions of scientific activity and the principles of dissemination of research results.

In doctoral and supervisor seminars (P8S_WK), doctoral students develop skills, such as the formulation and verification of research hypotheses, argumentation and discussion. The students also improve their scientific and mainstream communication skills during the classes Academic and Specialized Skills courses (P8S_UK), during scientific conferences, seminar talks, and preparation for publication of articles and other scientific texts (reviews/polemics) (P8S_UK). By preparing a work schedule and an individual research plan (P8S_UO), as well as by cooperating with research teams operating within individual institutes, PhD students learn how to organize scientific work (P8S_UU).

Specific learning outcomes are verified during the four-year training program. A student is obliged to pass classes in the form indicated by the instructor (the grading format should be indicated no later than during the first class).