PhD in Psychology

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

At the University Pécs you may study psychology at doctoral level. This can help you start a career at academic institutions, private or state-own research companies, or for-profit businesses, where you can transfer your broad knowledge into an applied field.

Head of program: Dr. Ferenc Kocsor, PhD



Degree
PhD in Psychology
Duration of Training
4 years (8 semesters)

Language
English
Intake
Fall

Deadline of Application

Next Starting Date
Fees
Tuition fee: EUR 3,500 /sem.

Application fee: EUR 140
  • Description of the program
  • Application procedure
  • Application requirements
  • Examples of subjects during the studies
  • More information

The program offers graduates in psychology, biology, medicine and other social sciences the opportunity to broaden their theoretical and practical knowledge to achieve new scientific results. Courses will cover, but will be not limited to, topics such as social cognition and social representation, psychophysiological measurements, and qualitative and quantitative research methods. 
The study program consists of two separate blocks (Semesters 1-4, Semesters 5-8). During the first block, doctoral students master advanced research skills and take theoretical courses which help them to elaborate their own research plans and design their experiments. At the end of the 4th semester, students’ knowledge and research progress is assessed by a complex examination, which is a prerequisite for continuing doctoral studies. In the second block, intensive interaction between students and their supervisors is encouraged. Students are expected to focus mainly on their research, but also participate in teaching activities in order to prepare for a carrier in an academic environment. Research results have to be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences. A doctoral thesis must be submitted not later then the end of the 8th semester. After a succesful thesis defence, the applicant will be awarded a PhD degree in psychology.
 

Discipline
Human and Social Sciences
Academic Level/Type
PhD

For a successful application please follow the steps below:

  1. To apply, click on the Apply Now button, and start your application.
  2. Register on our application site, fill the application form, upload the necessary documents and submit your application!
  3. After you have submitted your application, you are going to receive information on the further steps.
  4. If we received your application fee, we are going to start the evaluation of your application.

 

Skype interview 


The interview takes around 10-15 minutes. During this interview our colleagues are going to ask questions about your motivation and interests. The main goal of this discussion is to learn more about your language knowledge, personal skills and scientific interest – to be able to make the right decision to help our multicultural and open-minded community and academic integrity.
 

Postgraduate diploma (or higher) (MA or MSc in a relevant field), please attach a transcript for the courses you have completed (title, credits) Transcripts of records showing satisfactory completion.

The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English.

You must take the original entry qualification documents along with you when you finally go to the university.

Applicants who are still conducting their studies at the time of application must submit an official letter from their institution indicating the date of graduation. Students cannot enroll at the Program until they have successfully completed their studies at the Master's level.

Language requirements:

Intermediate English language proficiency certificate:
•    Official copy of the following language exam certificates:  
o    TOEFL (iBT internet-based): 66 points (www.ets.org/toefl)
o    ECL: B2 level (http://www.ecl-test.com/)
o    IELTS: Overall Band Score: 5.5 (www.ielts.org)
o    Cambridge ESOL: B2 level (www.cambridgeenglish.org)
o    TELC: B2 level (https://www.telc.net/en.html)
o    or a written document certifying an advanced command of English

Furthermore your application file should contain:
- Europass CV in English
- List of publications (if already) and other scientific, or related professional activities
- Motivation letter (introduction plus field of interest, etc.) in 3000 to 3500 characters.
- Preliminary Research Proposal in 5,000 to 20,000 characters.*
- Copy of valid passport or national ID
- Medical certificate, (please fill the document and attach the serologic test results)

  • vaccination card (showing that you are immunized against HEP B)
  • HEP A/B/C test*
  • HIV test*
  • Chest X-ray: Please attach the chest’s X-ray result (not the film!) in English/Hungarian! (not older than 3 months)

 

Preliminary Research Proposal*

A written statement of the research design that includes an explanation of the purpose of the study and outlines the research methodology.
It should consist of the following parts:

The intended title of the dissertation
The aim of the underlying research as well as the clearly stated motivation for the research
Literature review, i.e. review of the state of the art in the literature
List of references

Before the application, it is obligatory to contact a preferred supervisor who is able to help you elaborate on your research project, which you can choose from the suggested topics. In case you submit a proposal that has not been approved by a supervisor, you will not be shortlisted for an interview. You can find the list of available research topics below:

Krisztina Csókási, PhD  (csokasi.krisztina@pte.hu)
1.   Psychosocial determinants of perioperative pain and pain management strategies 
2.   Measurement of happiness orientation; links between happiness orientation and personality traits disorders on caregivers/spouses

Anita Deák, PhD, habil   (deak.anita@pte.hu)
Emotional traits and emotion-regulation from affective neuroscience perspective

Ferenc Kocsor, PhD, habil.    (kocsor.ferenc@pte.hu)
1.    Measuring affective responses during face categorization with eyetracking, EEG, and psychophysiological methods - testing the Multi-level Affective Feedback Model
2.    Affective and semantic processing in face perception - measuring the incongruency effect with eyetracking, EEG, psychophysiological methods
 

Ádám Putz, PhD      (putz.adam@pte.hu)
1.    The effect of beauty stereotypes on the perception of sexual assault
2.    The facilitation of within- and between group cooperation in a new economic game

Orsolya Vincze, PhD   (vincze.orsolya@pte.hu)
1.    Dynamics of collective memory: how the past weights on the present vica versa
2.    Relationship between national identification and ego identity states
3.    Collective traumas and conspiracy theories

András Norbert Zsidó, PhD    (zsido.andras@pte.hu)
1.    Attentional biases towards threats - capturing the vigilance-avoidance effect with eye-tracking and EEG.
2.    The effect of statistical regularities in time and space on suppressing task-irrelevant phobia-related stimuli.
3.    Investigating the effect of phobia-related task-irrelevant stimuli on task performance with subjective (survey) and objective (physiology) measures.

 

1st semester
Current topics of psychology I. (Cognitive background of person perception)
Emerging domains of psychology I (Social representation)
Methods of psychological research I. (Computer aided experiment design)
2nd semester
Frontiers in Research Methodology I. (Qualitative research methods in social psychology)
Emerging domains of psychology II. (Body representation)
Methods of psychological research II (Narrative psychology)
3rd semester
Methods of psychological research III. (Advanced statistics)
Current topics of psychology II. (Social identity and minorities)
Emerging domains of psychology III. (Organizational socialization and organizational culture)
4th semester
Emerging domains of psychology IV. (Behavioral and physiological ascpects of emotion)
Methods of psychological research IV. (Psychophysiological and EEG studies)
Frontiers in Research Methodology II. (Methods of eye-tracking)
5th semester
Research seminar I.
Research and teaching practice I.
6th semester
Research seminar II.
Research and teaching practice II.
7th semester
Research seminar III.
Research and teaching practice III.
8th semester
Research seminar IV.
Research and teaching practice IV.

For further information please contact:
Ms. Vanda BŐCZIN-SIRKECI
international coordinator
Phone: + 36 72 501 600/64127; +36 30 186 1686
E-mail: foreign.humanities@pte.hu
English website of the Faculty

If you have any questions about the program, please contact: 
Dr. Ferenc Kocsor, PhD
Head of the program
Email: kocsor.ferenc@pte.hu