Dean’s Provision No. 5/2018
Rules for Registration, Submission and Publication of Final Theses
In order to implement Article 12 of the Study and Examination Code of Charles University (hereinafter referred to as the "SEC CU"), Article 7 of the Rigorosum Examination Code of Charles University (hereinafter referred to as the "REC CU") and Rector's Directive No. 72/2017 (hereinafter referred to as "RM 72/2017"), I hereby issue the following Provision, which supplements and specifies the procedures concerning the announcement of topics, submission, registration of final theses and making them available.
Part I.
Article 1
Introductory Provisions
1. A final thesis is considered a bachelor's thesis, a master's thesis, a dissertation and a rigorosum thesis within the meaning of Sections 45(3), 46(3) and (5) and 47(4) of the Higher Education Act, as amended. The thesis shall be in paper (printed) form and in electronic form.
2.The student, or the participant in the rigorosum procedure (hereinafter referred to as the "student"), is responsible for the submission of the paper and electronic forms of the thesis and for the accuracy and completeness of the thesis files entered into the Student Information System (hereinafter referred to as the "SIS") as well as for its compliance with the paper form of the thesis that is being submitted; the Faculty is responsible for the publication of the thesis.
3.The text of the thesis, both defended and undefended, as well as the texts of the appendices of the thesis, the abstract of the thesis, the reports on the thesis, the record of the course and result of the defence arepublished in the digital repository of CU (hereinafter referred to as the “repository”); the persons responsible for uploading individual files, the deadlines for the publication of the thesis are set out in Articles 4 and 7 of RM 72/2017.
4. This Provision also regulates the procedure for publication of habilitation dissertations Article 8.
Part II.
Bachelor'sTheses, Master's Theses and Dissertations
Article 2
Faculty Coordinator, Responsibilities and Powers of the Faculty Staff
1. The Dean appoints a Faculty Coordinator for the area of registration and publication of final theses in accordance with Article 8(1) of RM 72/2017.
2. The activities of the Faculty Coordinator are outlined in Article 8(2) of RM 72/2017. The Faculty Coordinator shall in particular:
a. communicate with the Institute of Computer Technology of CU (hereinafter referred to as the "ICT CU") in matters relating to the registration of final theses,
b. coordinate the activities of the Faculty in the area of registration and publication of final theses in cooperation with the ICT CU, i.e. give instructions to the faculty staff to perform relevant tasks in relation to the registration and publication of the final theses in their electronic form according to paragraphs 3 to 4,
c. in cooperation with the Study Department approve the insertion of a thesis appendix containing a file in a format other than those specified in Article 5 (1), (2) of RM 72/2017.
The Faculty Coordinator is not the contact person for students. Students should address their questions to their thesis advisors or to the department that announced the relevant thesis topic, or to the Study Department or the Department of Ph.D. Studies and International Affairs. A staff member of the Study Department has been appointed the Faculty Coordinator for bachelor’s and master’s theses matters. A staff member of the Department of Ph.D. Studies and International Affairs has been appointed the Faculty Coordinator for dissertations matters. The names of the Faculty Coordinators, including their contact details, can be found on the Faculty website.
3.The Heads of the Faculty Teaching and Research Departments (hereinafter referred to as the "departments") are mainly responsiblefor:
a. announcing the thesis topics,
b. assigning thesis topics to students,
c. recording the date of submission of the thesis in its paper form and checking the formal details of the submitted work in accordance with Article 5(4),
d. checking the record of the work and all the formal requirements in accordance with Article 7,
e. the submission of the paper copy of the thesis to the Institute of Scientific Information after the defence, namely within 20 calendar days of the defence at the latest.
Heads of individual departments may delegate one or more staff members to perform these activities.
4.The Head of the Institute of Scientific Information is mainly responsible for:
a. making the thesis in its printed form available,
b. instructing the person going through the printed form of the thesis that the obtained information may not be used for profit or passed off as the study, research or other creative activity of a person other than the author,
c. cataloguing the printed form of the thesisor adding library and location data to the automatically created cataloguing record.
5.The Head of the Institute of Scientific Information may delegate one or more library staff members to perform these activities.
6.For each bachelor’s and master’s thesis, the Head of the Study Department shall check the following:
a.correctness and completeness of the registration of applications for defence,
b. correctness and completeness of the results of the defence entered in the SIS and in the student's file, including the record of the defence,
c. finalisation of the thesis record, following the insertion of all mandatory data on the thesis and other requisites within the specified time limit. This includes the electronic version of the thesis; electronic forms of the advisor's report or the supervisor's report as well as the reviewers’ opinions; the record of the course of the defence; abstracts.
The Head of the Study Department may delegate these activities to the staff of the Study Department depending on the relevant field of study.
Article 3
Announcement of Topics, Assignment of Theses
1. Individual departments, or the staff authorised by the Heads of individual departments, announce the theses topics via the SIS. The student may propose a topic himself or herself and may also individually contact the teacher and ask them to supervise their thesis. If the thesis advisor and the student agree, the advisorshall enterthe new topic in the SIS, either by themselves or through a designated member of the staff.
2. The student may apply for the topic listed in the SIS during the period specified in the academic year schedule. He/she shall register electronically in the SIS and within one month of registration, he/she shall prepare and submit to the Head of the department a draft of the Assignment of the final thesis. The Head of the department shall consider the submitted draft of theAssignment, appoint the advisor and submit the Assignment to the relevant Vice-Dean for approval. Once the Vice-Dean has approved of the Assignment, the Head of the department shall inform the thesis advisor. The thesis advisor confirms the assignment of the thesis to the particular student in the SIS. If the advisor of the thesis is not an academic staff member of the Second Faculty of Medicine, the assignment of the thesis to the student shall be confirmed in the SIS by the Head of the department or a staff member authorised by them. From this moment on, the assignment of the thesis to the student is binding. An authorised staff member of the department shall prepare a paper form of the Assignment with the identification of the student to whom the thesis is assigned. The Assignment report shall be approved by the Head of the department with their signature. A change in the topic of the thesis is subsequently possible only on the basis of a written request from the student, which is considered by the Head of the department and approved by the relevant Vice-Dean.
3. In the case of dissertations, the candidate submits the topic of the dissertation during the admission procedure in the combined programme of scientific and professional education. The supervisor approves and confirms in the SIS the assignment of the thesis to the candidate. From that moment on, the assignment of the dissertation to the candidate is binding. A change in the topic of the dissertation is subsequently possible only on the basis of a written request from the candidate, which is considered by the Chair of the Subject Area Board.
4.From the moment of the binding assignment of the thesis, the student is only able to edit certain information about the thesis in the SIS. At the same time, the student is enabled to save the electronic form of the thesis, its appendices and abstracts via the SIS.
Article 4
Requirements, Formal Design, Submission of Theses and File Checking
1. The thesis must meet the criteria set out by the SEC CU, the Faculty and the department that has announced the topic of the thesis, meet the requirements of a professional text and be within the appropriate word limit in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article. The formal requirements for the preparation of a professional text are included in Appendix 1 of this Provision. Abstracts must be uploaded into the SIS together with the electronic version of the thesis.
2.The thesis must include a signed binding declaration of the following facts:
a. the student has prepared the thesis independently,
b. all sources and literature used have been properly cited,
c. the thesis has not been used to obtain another or the same degree.
3.The thesis must include:
a. a copy of the Assignment,
b. an abstract, both in Czech and English, or in the language in which the study programme is conducted,
c. a summary of the conclusions of the thesis,
d. a list of literature or other sources cited (including websites).
4. The length of the thesis must be at least:
a. bachelor’s thesis - 40 standard pages (72 thousand characters including spaces) excluding annotations and appendices,
b. master’s thesis - 60 standard pages (108 thousand characters including spaces) excluding annotations and appendices,
c. a classic dissertation should be at least 60-80 standard pages long (up to 144 thousand characters including spaces) excluding references cited and appendices,
a dissertation based on a minimum of four published notifications should be at least 30-40 standard pages long (up to 72 thousand characters including spaces) excluding references cited and appendices.
5.The final thesis should be submitted by the student by the deadline in accordance with the schedule of the academic year, in two forms:
a. One printed copy of the thesis shall be submitted by the student to the department at which the thesis was assigned to the student1. Prior to the submission of the thesis, the student shall sign the statementcontained in the thesis in accordance with paragraph 2 with their own hand.
b. An electronic version of the thesis (identical to the printed version), unless its nature precludes it (see Article 3 of RM 72/2017), shall be uploaded by the student via the SIS web interface at https://is.cuni.cz/studium/ in the module "Thesis Topics (Thesis Selection)", exclusively in PDF format, see Article 5(1) of RM 72/2017. If the thesis has an appendix or appendices (e.g. multimedia formats or software works), the student shall also upload this appendix to the SIS (it may be in a format other than PDF), see Article 5(2) of RM 72/2017; in the case of multiple appendices, the student shall upload one compressed file (e.g. in ZIP format) containing all appendicesof the thesis, see Article 5(3) of RM 72/2017. If the nature of the appendix does not allow saving it in the above-mentioned formats, the student shall upload the appendix in another format and, at the same time,ask the Faculty Coordinator to approve of the format of the appendixof the thesis, in accordance with Article 5(5) of RM 72/2017. The size of the files saved in the SIS is limited to 850 MB. Should any of the thesis files be larger than 850 MB, the student shall submit files complying with this limit via the SIS, and files exceeding the limit shall be submitted together with the printed copy of the thesis on a DVD or possibly in another way, as agreed with the department.
6.The deadline for the submission of the thesis in printed and electronic forms is the same, the thesis is considered submitted if the student has submitted both forms of the thesis by the deadline.
7. The student is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the submitted electronic form of the thesis and its appendices and for the compliance of this form with its printed version. A serious discrepancy between the electronic and the printed versionsof the thesis may constitute grounds for disciplinary proceedings.
8. The student is also responsible for submitting the abstract, both in Czech and in English, or in the language of the study programme in which the student is enrolled.
9. All files related to the thesis are checked by an internal antivirus programme after they have been uploaded into the SIS. In the event that any of the submitted files are infected with a virus, the system will notify the user immediately after the file has been uploaded, the file will not be accepted by the system and the thesis will not be considered complete. In such a case, the files in question must be repaired and re-uploaded into the SIS.
10. If all uploaded files have passed the check according to paragraph 9, the final thesis can be submitted. The system shall inform the user of this fact.
11. In the event that the student, after submitting the electronic form of the thesis through the SIS, finds out that he/she needs to make additional changes in the electronic form of the thesis, he/she shall ask the Head of the department to unlock the record of the thesis in the SIS for editing. The thesis may only be unlocked for editing by the deadline set by the department for the submission of the thesis for defence. If modifications need to be made in the SIS after the deadline set for the submission, such changes (changes to descriptive attributes or uploaded files normally submitted by the student) will be made upon an approval by the Head of the department orby an authorised staff member of the department.
12. In the event that the thesis contains data that cannot be published on the Internet, the student shall extract the relevant parts into an appendix of the thesis. In such a case, when submitting the thesis through the SIS, the student shall propose to exclude the appendices of the thesis from publication. The proposal may also be made by the thesis advisor or the supervisor, no later than the date of the thesis defence.
13. The similarity check of the thesis text against the database created and maintained within the inter-university project Theses.cz shall be carried out automatically after the submission of the electronic version of the thesis, within one working day of the submission of the thesis. The result of the check shall be available at the thesis record in the SIS, namely to the student-author of the thesis, the thesis advisor or supervisor and the reviewers.
Article 5
Application for Defence
1. The deadline for the submission of the application for defence is specified by the schedule of the academic year.
2. The application for defence must be submitted on the prescribed form, an electronic version of which is available in RTF and PDF format at www.lf2.cuni.cz/studium/formulare-a-poplatky. The completed and signed application form shall be submitted by the student to the Faculty Study Department.
3. In the case of dissertations, the candidate shall submit the application for defence, an electronic version of which in RTF format is available at www.lf2.cuni.cz/studium/doktorske-studium/disertacni-prace-a-obhajoba. The completed and signed application shall be submitted by the candidate to the Department for Ph.D. Study and Foreign Affairs.
4. Confirmation of the student's registration for the thesis defence is conditioned by the submission of the thesis in both printed and electronic forms. An authorised clerk or an authorised staff member of the Department for Ph.D. Study and Foreign Affairs shall record the date of the submission of the printed copy of the thesis in the SIS. The date of the submission of the electronic version of the thesis is recorded by the SIS automatically. The deadline for the submission of the thesis in both the printed and the electronic form is the same. The Head of department or an authorised staff member shall check the record of the thesis and all the details of the submitted thesis and record the result of this check in the SIS. Based on this information entered in the SIS and on other facts decisive for the possibility of filing the application for defence (in particular, in accordance with Article 9 (8) of the SEC CU), a staff member of the Study Department or an authorised staff member of theDepartment for Ph.D. Study and Foreign Affairs shall approve or disapprove of the student's application for defence.
Article 6
Defence
1. The submitted theses shall be made available for public viewing via the SIS at least five working days before the defence.
2. The thesis advisor or supervisor and the reviewers of the thesis shall become familiar with the electronic form of the thesis in the SIS. The Department may provide the thesis advisor or supervisor and the reviewers also with the thesis in its printed form. However, this is not a rule. The printed form of the thesis shall be available at the thesis defence.
3. Once the thesis has been submitted, but at least five working days before the thesis defence, electronic copies of the thesis advisor's or supervisor's report and the opinions of the reviewers shall be added to the thesis record in the SIS so that the student can become familiar with these reports and opinions. The thesis advisor or supervisor and the reviewers shall also submit signed printed versions of their reports to the department so that they can be included in the student's records. In justified cases and upon an agreement with the Head of the department, an authorised staff member of the department may upload the report of the thesis advisor or supervisor or the reviewer on their behalf into the SIS.
4. After the defence, an authorised staff member of the department shall upload the record of the course of the thesis defenceas well as the result of the defence into the SIS, namely within five working daysof the defence at the latest.
Article 7
Review and Publication of Theses
1. After the defence of the thesis, the author of the thesis has the possibility to add a file with any errata of the thesis (containing corrections of typographical and similar minor errors) to the thesis record in the SIS, namely within 15 days of the defence at the latest.
2. After the defence of the thesis, an authorised staff member of the department shall check the completeness of the thesis record in the SIS, including attached files as referred to in Article 2(5), with regard to the requirements for publication of the electronic form of the thesis and the consistency of the Czech and English title of the thesis with the printed form of the thesis, namely within five working days of the defence at the latest.
3. After the review has been carried out, a staff member of the Study Department shall confirm the record of the thesis for publication by performing so-called finalisation, namely within 20 calendar days of the defence at the latest.
4. In the case of a dissertation, the review and confirmation of the record of the thesis for publication by finalisation shall be carried out by an authorised staff member of the Department of Ph.D. Studies and International Affairs, namely within 20 calendar days of the defence at the latest.
5. The request to exclude the appendices of the thesis from publication in accordance with Article 4 (12) shall be considered by the Faculty Vice-Dean responsible for the subject matter. The result of this assessment shall be recorded in the SIS by an authorised staff member of the Study Department of the Faculty or by an authorised staff member of the Department for Ph.D. Study and Foreign Affairs prior to the finalisation of the record of the thesis in accordance with paragraph 3.
6. Once the thesis record has been finalised and the deadline according to Article 7 (1) of RM 72/2017 has passed, the electronic form of the thesis shall automatically be sent to the University repository for publication and the thesis record shall be catalogued in the library system. The Faculty shall publish the thesis through the subject-matter database in accordance with Article 12 (5) of the SEC CU.
7. In the case of a particular thesis, the thesis advisor/supervisor may request an extension of the deadline for publication of that thesis, for up to three years of the date of the thesis defence. This request shall be submitted throughthe SIS, no later than on the day of the thesis defence. The request for an extension of the deadline for publication of the thesis is considered by the Faculty Vice-Dean responsible for the subject matter. The result of this assessment shall be recorded in the SIS by an authorised staff member of the Study Department of the Faculty before the finalisation of the record of the thesis in accordance with paragraph 3. In the case of a dissertation, it is the responsibility of an authorised staff member of the Department for Ph.D. Study and Foreign Affairs.
8. In the case of extension of the deadline for publication of the thesis in accordance with this article, only other data about the thesis, not the text of the thesis itself or its appendices, shall be exported to the repository and the library system after the deadline according to Article 7 (4) of RM 72/2017 has passed. Information on the postponement of the publication shall be published in the repository together with the justification. The Faculty shall send one copy of the final thesis subject to the deferral of publication to the Department for Studies and Student Affairs of the Rector's Office without undue delay after the date of the defence. The text of the thesis and the appendices shall be published after the expiry of the extended deadline in accordance with paragraph 3 or paragraph 4.
Part III.
Article 8
Rigorosum Theses
1. The rules for rigorosum theses are regulated by the Rigorosum Examination Code of Charles University of 14 December 2016.
Part IV.
Article 9
Habilitation Dissertations
1. A habilitation dissertation is considered a dissertation within the meaning of Section 72(3) of the Higher Education Act, as amended.
2. In accordance with Article 10 of RM 72/2017, the candidate for habilitation shall submit a habilitation dissertation, both in paper and electronic form, to the Personnel and Payroll Department - Research Board Support (hereinafter referred to as the "Research Board Support").
3. Habilitation dissertations are published for public viewing at least five working days before the defence.
4. Habilitation dissertations are published after the defence at www.lf2.cuni.cz/veda-a-vyzkum/habilitacni-a-jmenovaci-rizeni, as well as through the repository, namely within 21 calendar days of the date of the defence at the latest.
5. Publication applies to habilitation dissertations that have been defended, including the opinions of the reviewers and the record of the course and result of the defence to the extent stated in the minutes or the statement of the Research Board of the Faculty. The publication is non-profit-making.
6. The review and publication of habilitation dissertations and other files, according to paragraph 5, is entrusted to a staff member of the Research Board Support, in accordance with specified terms. At the same time, this person is appointed Faculty Coordinator for habilitation dissertations.
7.Printed monographs or printed collections of articles are excluded from publication, as stipulated by Article 10 (10) of RM 72/2017.
8. Postponement of publication of the entire dissertation is only possible in justified cases and by procedure specified in Article 10 (11) of RM 72/2017. A request for postponement of the publication of the dissertation or a part of it shall be submitted by the candidate to an authorised staff member of the Research Board Support, namely within five days of the date of the dissertation defence at the latest. The request shall be considered by the Dean or the Vice-Dean responsible for the subject matter.
9. All files related to the theses are checked by an internal antivirus program after uploading to the repository. In the event that any of the submitted files is infected with a virus, the repository administrator will notify the Research Board Support Officer, the file will not be accepted by the repository and the thesis will not be considered complete. In such a case, the relevant files must be repaired and re-uploaded to the repository.
10. The format and file size of habilitation dissertations are governed by the same rules as final theses.Theother provisions of this Provision on Final Theses do not apply to habilitation dissertations.
Part V.
Article 10
Final Provisions
1. This Provision repeals Dean's Provision No. 12/2010 as of the date of its entry into force.
2.This Provision of the Dean shall become valid and effective on the date of its signature.
In Prague on 7 May 2018
prof. MUDr. Vladimír Komárek, CSc.
Dean of the Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University
1) The procedure might differ depending on the thesis type
