Doctoral School - in English language for international candidates

The enrolment process at the Doctoral School takes place in the form of competitive selection according to the following rules

1. Admission to the Doctoral School takes place within the established (in the form of a separate resolution passed by the Senate of AWF Warsaw) maximum limit of places for foreign candidates under the study programme conducted in English for a given academic year The limit set for a particular year also applies to individuals who wish to apply for a place at the Doctoral School in the form of a transfer from another doctoral school unless, after seeking the opinion of the head of the Doctoral School, the Rector decides otherwise.

2. One-off and non-refundable enrolment fee is charged for participation in the enrolment process at the Doctoral School, as indicated in Article 79 Section 2 point 1 of the LHES Act. The actual fee in a given year is established by a separate ordinance of the Rector.

3. In the enrolment process, the enrolment commission takes into account the special needs of candidates with disabilities. In each case, the head of the enrolment commission decides on the scope and manner of considering the needs as well as activities to be performed in order to meet those needs.

4. The scheduled date of opening and closing the enrolment process for the academic year of 2026/2027: 1 July 2026 - 18 September 2026.

Members of the enrolment commission and their activities

1. The enrolment commission responsible for the enrolment process at the Doctoral School is composed of at least 5 independent academic research workers (with a professor or doctor habilitated degree) employed at the University, including the Chair of the Scientific Council for Sport Sciences, and head of the Doctoral School who also acts as the head of the commission. The enrolment commission shall include at least two academic staff members from foreign universities authorised to supervise doctoral candidates, with expertise in sport sciences. A representative of the doctoral students shall participate in the recruitment process as an observer. The exact number of the enrolment commission members in a given year is determined by the head of the Doctoral School.

2. The enrolment commission carries out content-related analysis of documents submitted by candidates for the Doctoral School, conducts interviews and, based on criteria defined in the present rules of enrolment, draws up a ranking list that is approved by the Rector prior to being made known to the candidates. The enrolment commission, on behalf of the Rector, decides to either accept or reject the candidate. Should the candidate to the Doctoral School be rejected, they have the right to submit a request for reconsideration of the decision to the Rector.

3. Decisions and other documents are signed by the head of the enrolment commission on their behalf.

4. The enrolment commission meetings are minuted. The person responsible does not have to be a member of the commission.

5. In case a member of the enrolment commission is incapable of participating in the commission’s activities, the head of the Doctoral School can appoint an additional member of the commission in order to meet the criterion of a minimum number of members indicated in Section 1.

6. When the enrolment process for a given year is finished, the enrolment commission is dissolved, with the reservation of Section 7.

7. The Rector can extend the period of activity of the enrolment commission for a specified period if there is a need for them to express their opinions on matters related to requests for reconsideration of decisions to reject the candidates in a given year.

Requirements for admission to the enrolment process

1. To be admitted to the enrolment process, candidates have to meet the requirements defined in Article 200 Section 1 of the LHES Act, i.e. they:

1) have an M.A. or M.Sc. degree or similar, or;

2) do not meet the criteria stated in point 1 but they have completed undergraduate studies or have finished year 3 of uniform master’s studies. In such cases, the decision regarding admission to the enrolment process is made by the Rector after seeking the opinion of the Scientific Council for Sport Sciences at AWF Warsaw;

3) are not Ph.D. students at any other doctoral school, or if they are,

- they submit an application to be removed from the list of Ph.D. students at that doctoral school and will be removed from the list no later than one day before the decision to be admitted to the Doctoral School at AWF Warsaw is made;

Moreover, they:

4) have registered in the electronic enrolment system;

5) have submitted all the documents indicated in § 7 of the current rules;

6) have paid a full enrolment fee by the deadline specified in § 6 of the current rules.

2. Prior to submitting the required documents, candidates should have a preliminary conversation with the Principal Investigator of the ongoing University Research Project or Monothematic Research Task at AWF Warsaw, or Principal Investigator of another research project where research will be carried out for the dissertation. The said Principal Investigator of the ongoing research project evaluates the feasibility of the research proposed by the doctoral candidate indicated in § 9 Section 2 point 1 of the present rules and regulations and selects an independent academic staff member who may act as a prospective scientific supervisor of the candidate after admission to the Doctoral School or obliges the candidate to establish cooperation with an independent academic staff member employed at AWF Warsaw or designated by AWF Warsaw. The candidate may propose their own academic staff member from a foreign institution; however, such a person may serve exclusively as an auxiliary supervisor or co-supervisor (provided that they meet the requirements set out in Article 190 Section 4 of the LHES Act - namely, that a supervisor or co-supervisor must hold at least the degree of post-doctoral/habilitation degree, and an auxiliary supervisor must hold at least the doctoral degree). The candidate should be interviewed by an abovementioned independent academic staff member who has been selected either by the Principal Investigator of the University Research Project or Monothematic Research Task or by themselves from the list announced by AWF Warsaw and should obtain the consent of the prospective supervisor after being admitted to the Doctoral School. Candidates who, at the stage of submitting their application documents, have not obtained the Principal Investigator’s consent to join a research project currently conducted at the University shall nevertheless be admitted to the admission procedure.

3. Obtaining the consent of the prospective scientific supervisor, employed at AWF, to act in this role (in accordance with the template indicated in § 7 Section 2 point 3 of the present rules and regulations).

4. Moreover, candidates for the Doctoral School are required to obtain a written consent from the head of an organisational unit of the faculty (department), to undertake professional teaching practice within the required scope, conducted either at AWF Warsaw or at a foreign university, in accordance with the template indicated in § 7, Section 2, point 4 of these rules. Failure to meet this requirement shall result in exclusion from further stages of the enrolment process.

5. Foreigners can enter and receive education at the Doctoral School within the study programme conducted in English, based on Article 323 of the LHES Act and the rules indicated below.

6. Detailed procedures of entering and receiving education at the Doctoral School are as follows:

1) The candidate is obliged to submit a certificate confirming the equivalence of university diplomas and other documents certifying the completion of studies issued abroad, which are subject to recognition through nostrification or recognised by operation of law, to an appropriate higher education diploma issued in the Republic of Poland that entitles the holder to apply for admission to the Doctoral School.

2)Documents prepared in a foreign language other than English must be submitted together with their English translations made by a certified translator.

3) Candidates are required to provide proof of English language proficiency at a minimum level of B2 (completed courses, examinations, or certificates recognised by AWF Warsaw).

4) Proof of Polish language proficiency at the B2 level shall not be required from the candidate due to their enrolment in the study programme conducted in English.

Enrolment procedure – detailed schedule

The above schedule of the enrolment procedure is subject to changes. Such changes can be made by the Rector or the authorised Vice-Rector upon the request of the head of enrolment commission. Should any changes in the calendar occur, candidates will be informed about them by email in due course.

Rules of electronic enrolment

1. AWF Warsaw conducts electronic registration of the candidates for the Doctoral School in the System of Electronic Enrolment (SEE).

2. Registration course: candidates wishing to apply for a place at the Doctoral School are required to:

a) set up an individual enrolment account,

b) enter personal data,

c) choose enrolment to the Doctoral School,

d) insert a photo with dimensions 35x45 mm

e) pay the admission fee (the bank account number is provided in the SEE) within the deadline specified in these Rules. The admission fee is non-refundable.

3. AWF Warsaw cannot be held responsible for candidates’ inability to register before the deadline or to introduce changes due to Internet network failures beyond the control of the University.

4. The final date for payment of the admission fee by the candidate shall be the last day of electronic registration in the SEE, as specified in § 5 of these rules.

The enrolment process involves

1. Evaluation of the feasibility of the research proposed by the doctoral candidate within the framework of University Research Projects, Monothematic Research Tasks, or other research projects in which the candidate will conduct research, taking into account the candidate’s achievements and expectations demonstrated during the admission process.

2. Evaluation of academic and scientific achievements based on documents submitted by candidates.

3. Evaluation of the initial concept of a Ph.D. thesis.

4. Evaluation of the interview.

Points for particular components of the enrolment process are awarded as follows:

Documents required in the enrolment process

1. Incomplete documents or documents delivered after the deadline will not be accepted, which will result in candidates’ inability to enter further stages of the enrolment process at the Doctoral School.

2. Candidates are required to meet the deadline for submitting the following documents (§ 5 section 1 point 2 of the present rules):

1) Application to the Rector of AWF Warsaw for admission to the Doctoral School,

2) Written opinion (evaluation) of the Principal Investigator of the ongoing University Research Project or Monothematic Research Task or other research project under which the research for the doctoral dissertation referred to in § 4, Section 2 of the present rules will be carried out (Appendix 1 to the present rules), or a written statement from the candidate declaring the lack of possibility to join a research project currently conducted at the University, in the case of candidates referred to in § 4, Section 2 of these rules.

3) Written statement of a prospective supervisor declaring their readiness to supervise the candidate following admission to the Doctoral School (Appendix 2 to the present Rules)

4) Written consent of AWF Warsaw or a foreign university for the completion of teaching practice in the required number of hours (Appendix 3 to the present rules - in the case of consent granted by AWF Warsaw)

5) Concept of the Ph.D. thesis (paper and pdf electronic versions) prepared according to the template (Appendix 4 to the present rules) and signed by the candidate and their prospective scientific supervisor,

6) Candidate’s statement on readiness (1) to be present on a daily basis in the organisational unit where research, teaching, and organisational practice is carried out at AWF Warsaw or, in the case of doctoral candidates residing abroad, at a foreign university providing doctoral education (2) to complete one on-site stay at AWF Warsaw per semester, on dates specified by the Head of the Doctoral School and (3) to personally attend the inauguration of the academic year at AWF Warsaw for the purpose of formal enrolment on the list of doctoral candidates and the completion of all required formalities, on the date specified by the Head of the Doctoral School (Appendix 5 to the present rules),

7) Personal data sheet in paper form and in electronic form (in Word and PDF format) (Appendix 6 to the present rules),

8) ID card or passport (available for inspection only),

9) Original or a certified copy of the Master’s diploma, or a certificate confirming the award of the Master’s degree or an equivalent degree. A certificate confirming the award of the Master’s or an equivalent degree shall be submitted exclusively by candidates who do not yet hold the Master’s diploma at the time of submitting their documents. Such candidates shall be obliged to submit the diploma no later than on the date of the admission interview, prior to its commencement.

10) Two photos 35x45 mm; (exclusively at the individual request of the Doctoral School Secretariat, if it proves impossible to retrieve the photograph from the SEE)

11) Confirmation of the enrolment fee payment

12) Medical certificate on the existence or absence of health contraindications to participate in classes carried out in accordance with the curriculum of the Doctoral School; the certificate should be delivered to the recruitment committee no later than on the date of the admission interview, prior to its commencement.

3. The head of the enrolment commission may also ask the candidate to provide documents other than the ones indicated in Section 2 (or concerning foreigners only). However, the provision of documents is not obligatory and not doing so will not result in the candidate’s inability to enter further stages of the enrolment process at the Doctoral School.

Interview

1. The first part of the interview involves the Microsoft Power Point presentation of the concept of a Ph.D. thesis by the candidate. The presentation should last no longer than 10 minutes.

2. The second part of the interview involves a discussion with the candidate about the concept of the Ph.D. thesis taking into account:

1)candidate’s competences related to planned research,

2) quality of the methodology of research related to sport sciences.

Limit of places in the academic year of 2026/2027

Number of places available – in preparation

in preparation

Candidates for supervisors