Following the Comprehensive Examination at the end of semester 4, semesters 5-8 are spent taking tutorial seminars and working on research leading to the dissertation. Credits have to be earned for publications and other research and tertiary teaching activities. Altogether 240 credits have to be amassed by the end of semester 8 in order to get the Absolutorium, the certificate of the completion of studies.

The dissertation must be submitted three years (to the day) after the comprehensive examination at the latest. In special cases the submission date may be extended by a year. Before submitting the dissertation though, an in-house defence is organised about the almost final version of it to provide the student with feedback and advice for finalising the dissertation.

The certificate of a second foreign language examination also has to be presented at the submission of the dissertation at the latest. 

Starting the administration of submitting the dissertation has to be started at least three months before the submission. In practical terms this means by 30 September in the autumn semester or 31 March in the spring semester using the forms at https://btk.elte.hu/phd/dokumentumok in Hungarian and https://btk.elte.hu/en/content/documents.t.3265?m=125 in English.

Find the guide regarding the completion of the doctoral studies in Hungarian and in English.

Please read more about the steps here:

• Doctoral Research and Dissertation
• The Dissertation
• The In-House Defence
• Dissertation Defence