Astronomy – recruitment 2023/2024

Astronomy – limit of 5 places

The candidate shall submit the application for admission to the School only in the system of Internet Recruitment of Candidates (IRK)
IRK registration instruction – instruction
Once all required documents are attached in the system of IRK, pages are saved, and the fee is paid, no further steps need to be taken. The application is saved and does not need to be submitted.

Recruitment schedule
a) registration in the Internet Recruitment for Candidates, referred to as “IRK”, submitting an application to the IRK for admission to the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences:
from 8^th of May to 19^th of June 2023;
b) sending recommendation letters: until 30^th of June 2023;
c) recruitment procedure:
– publication of the interview schedule: until 4th of July 2023;
– qualification procedure: from 4^th of July to 21^st of July 2023;
Schedule of the qualification proceedings [LINK] (publication date: 28.06.2023)
in remote mode
– announcement of the ranking list: until 4^th of August 2023;
Ranking list
– accepting documents from qualified candidates: from 7^th of August to 21^st of September 2023;
– announcement of the list of accepted candidates: until 30^th of September 2023

In justified cases (e.g. where the candidate stays abroad), at the written request of the candidate addressed to the chairperson of the qualification team appointed for the particular academic discipline, the qualification proceedings may be held remotely, using appropriate communication methods and technologies.
Applications for remote qualification proceedings must be submitted within two days of the publication of the schedule. Applications should be submitted as a scanned document signed by the candidate to: rekrutacja.nsp@uw.edu.pl
Template of the application for remote qualification proceedings

Recruitment fee
200 PLN

Scholarship
Each doctoral student (who does not hold a degree of doctor), studying at the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Science in the discipline of astronomy, receives a scholarship in the amount not less than:
– PLN 4000 gross for the first two years of studies (before the mid-term evaluation);
– PLN 4500 gross in the next two years after the mid-term evaluation.
The scholarship is reduced by ca. 11% due to compulsory deducted toward social security.
Supplement for people with disabilities: PLN 800.31
The total period of receiving the doctoral scholarship at doctoral schools shall not exceed 4 years.
Datailed information about payment of scholarship can be found in the ‘Rules and Regulations of the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences’ and the act of 20 July 2018 – The Law on Higher Education and Science.

Topics of research projects and supervisors [LINK]

We greatly encourage you to see the recruitment guide. The document contains incl. the scope of the qualification examination [LINK].

Required documents
The candidate shall submit a School admission application only through the IRK. The application shall include the following:
– indication of the selected discipline in which the candidate plans to pursue education. By submitting an application for admission to the Doctoral School is understood as submitting a completed and paid recruitment application via the Internet Recruitment of Candidates (IRK). Submission of an application via the IRK is tantamount to submitting an application for admission to the Doctoral School chosen by the candidate;
– a scan of the graduation diploma of uniform master’s degree or postgraduate studies or an equivalent diploma obtained under separate regulations, or in the case of candidates pursuing education in the European Higher Education Area – a certificate of holding a master’s degree or a statement that the diploma or certificate conforming the award of a master’s degree will be delivered by September 21, 2023, in the case of a diploma equivalent to a uniform master’s degree or postgraduate studies graduation diploma, a candidate shall justify such equivalence. In case the diploma was issued in a language other than Polish or English, the candidate shall attach its certified translation;
– a description of the initial research project proposal (with the title) in English; The description may not exceed four pages, font type: Times New Roman or equivalent, font size: at least 11 points, line spacing: 1, upper and lower margin: at least 1.5 cm, side margins: at least 2 cm; The references shall be include in the page limit.
– a resume or CV outlining the candidate’s scientific activity, including scholarly interests and achievements during the five calendar years preceding the application (if a candidate became a parent during this time, as evidenced by a scan of the child’s birth certificate attached to the application, this period shall be extended by two years for each child), including, but not limited to: publications, research and organizational work at student research groups, participation in scientific conferences, participation in research projects, awards and honorable mentions, research internships, research skills training programs completed, activities promoting science, activity in science movement representative bodies, average of their university grades, professional career, level of proficiency in foreign languages;
– scans of materials evidencing scientific activity mentioned in their CV and/or resume;
– a document confirming at least B2 proficiency level in English or a declaration of the level of proficiency in English allowing education at the School;
– the scan of a declaration by the planned supervisor, confirming their agreement to undertake the duties of a supervisor and of the number of doctoral students, for whom they perform the duties a designated supervisor, in accordance with the template constituting Appendix no.4 to the Resolution no. 17 of the Senate of the University of Warsaw of 20th January 2021 on rules of admission to doctoral schools at the University of Warsaw (the University of Warsaw Monitor of 2023, item 43), the candidate may also attach a scan of their planned supervisor’s opinion and opinions of other academics about the candidate and their scientific activity and/or proposed research project;
– the photograph of a candidate’s face that allows for their identification;
– a declaration confirming whether the candidate was or is a doctoral student or a participant of doctoral studies or whether they have initiated a doctoral dissertation process or whether proceedings to award them a doctoral degree have been initiated – and if yes, the title of their doctoral dissertation or the research project prepared by a candidate, including the name and last name of the candidate’s tutor or supervisor;
– a declaration confirming that they have reviewed the Resolution no. 17 of the Senate of the University of Warsaw of 20th January 2021 on rules of admission to doctoral schools at the University of Warsaw (the University of Warsaw Monitor of 2023, item 43) and Articles 40 and 41 of the Code of Administrative Procedure;
– contact data of two persons who will send recommendation letters regarding the candidate:
+ sd.nsp.astro@uw.edu.pl for astronomy,
It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that the person who makes the recommendation sends the letter. Failure to receive the recommendation letters does not mean that the application for admission to the School is incomplete; the letters may be taken into consideration when evaluating the candidate’s scientific potential.
– scanned transcripts of records of the graduate and postgraduate studies or the uniform Master’s degree studies, or equivalent documents (e.g. diploma supplement);
– abstract of the master’s thesis or master’s project in English (up to 3,000 characters with spaces).

All required documents (except photo) shall be attached as PDF files.

Templates of documents
1) Template of the supervisor’s statement
2) Template of the declaration of the delivery of the diploma
3) Template of the declaration about the command of English

Supervisor
It is worth starting the recruitment process to a doctoral school at the University of Warsaw by finding a supervisor, who are willing to provide care for the doctoral student and perform scientific supervision over their research project. In order to find a supervisor, candidates for the Doctoral Schools are encouraged to search through the website of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw [LINK].
According to the School Regulations, a potential supervisor can only be a person with:
– the habilitated doctor (doktor habilitowany) degree or an equivalent degree or the title of professor as well as has to be an employee of the University of Warsaw or the employee of the institution co-running the School (Institute of Mathematics Polish Academy of Sciences);
– the status of retired professor at the University of Warsaw.
The dissertation supervisor can be a person, who remains a dissertation supervisor for no more than five doctoral students or persons applying for being awarded the doctor degree(e.g. participants of doctoral studies who have initiated a doctoral dissertation process). In exceptional instances, the Director of School may increase this limit.

Form of qualification proceedings and number of points to be awarded
One-stage proceedings
The maximum number of points to be obtained in the qualification proceedings – 100 points

Assessment criteria and method
Initial research project proposal (maximum number of points – 5)
When evaluating the initial research project proposal, the following shall be taken into account:
1) the feasibility of the project in the context of documented competencies of the candidate;
2) the academic importance of the project;
3) anticipated added value for the scientific community of the academic discipline.

Scientific activity of the candidate (maximum number of points – 15)
When evaluating scientific activity, the following elements, confirmed by means of scanned documents, shall be taken into account:
1) scientific publications (a scan of the front page is required; in the case of multi-author achievements, the percentage share of the candidate’s participation in the achievement must be defined)
2) confirmed participation in student competitions;
3) confirmed participation in research projects (a scan of the certificate issued by the project coordinator is required);
4) presentations delivered or seminar and conference messages (a scan confirming presentation delivery is required);
5) documented research internships;
6) achievements within students’ research groups (a scan of the certificate signed by the chairperson of the group is required).

Qualification examination (maximum number of points – 40)
Verifying the candidate’s knowledge and skills within the particular academic discipline in oral form.

Interview (maximum number of points – 40)
The interview entails an assessment of the candidate’s scientific potential. The interview may comprise the following elements:
1) discussion of the candidate’s Master’s thesis (understanding of the subject, research hypotheses, their implementation, results obtained and conclusions);
2) questions about the academic record and the course of the graduate and postgraduate studies or the uniform Master’s degree studies, including subjects related to the doctoral dissertation;
3) questions pertaining to information included in letters of recommendations, including the nature and results of cooperation of the candidate with the authors of these letters;
4) questions pertaining to the doctoral project and other information included in the documentation submitted by the candidate.

The interview shall be held in Polish or English, according to candidate’s preferences indicated in the IRK. If Polish is selected, a part of the interview may be held in English.

Condition of admission to the School
The requirement for admission to a School shall be a place on the Ranking list that is within the limit of places and getting no less than 50 points from the entire qualification proceedings.

Further steps….
In accordance with the recruitment schedule, after the qualification procedure, the following documents shall be submitted by the candidates recommended to be admitted to the School by September 21, 2023:
– the original document entitling them to take up education in the School or an official copy thereof (e.g. diploma of completion of the second-cycle programme). In case the diploma was issued in a language other than Polish or English, the candidate shall attach its certified translation.
The candidate shall obligated to submit a legalisation (authorisation) or apostille (if the document was issued by an institution operating in the educational system in a country that is a party to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, concluded in The Hague, 5 October 1961) of the diploma. More information is available on: [LINK]
– the following documents printed out from the account in the IRK system (You can download the templates of documents from the ‘Enrolment application’ tab – ‘Documents and further steps’):
a) a declaration concerning undertaking education in the Doctoral School;
b) an application for admission to the Doctoral School;
c) personal data processing declaration for educational purposes.
The documents should be submitted :
Doctoral Schools Secretary’s Office
Banacha Street 2 c, 02-097 Warsaw (ground floor, room no. 00.05)

Health & insurance – PhD students
Health insurance is mandatory for all students for the whole duration of their stay in Poland. Are you a non-EU citizen? You can sign the insurance agreement with the National Health Fund (NFZ – Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia) and pay monthly contributions to the NFZ. The cost of the insurance of international students who are not citizens of EU is around 11 EUR per month (c. 55.80 PLN).
EU citizens are eligible for free health services in Poland providing that they present a valid European Health Insurance Card.

Welcome Point
We highly recommend that you check out the website of Welcome Point, the central information service for international students. The Welcome Point team is dedicated to assisting you throughout your stay in Warsaw, providing support at the beginning and during your studies. They are available to answer any questions you may have about studying at UW and living in Poland and help you navigate other university offices. Read more.

The qualification team for the discipline of Astronomy:

prof. dr hab. Szymon Kozłowski – chairperson
prof. dr hab. Łukasz Wyrzykowski – vice-chairperson
dr hab. Michał Bystrzejewski, prof. ucz.
dr hab. Maciej Zenon Nieszporski
dr Mariusz Gromadzki
dr Krystian Adam Iłkiewicz
dr Przemysław Mróz
mgr Grzegorz Ostrowski – representative of doctoral students (observer)

Contact
Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences
S. Banacha Street 2 c, 02-097 Warsaw (room no. 00.05 and 00.06)
E-mail for candidates: rekrutacja.nsp@uw.edu.pl
Recruitment Coordinator: Damian Połomski