PhD Studies

Changes of Plan

• If a doctoral student does not take the exams during the study years according to their studies plan, they must submit to the Committee a request to postpone the exam date, stating the reason for the delay.
• In order to change the subjects studied in the work plan, the doctoral student must submit a request for subject change indicating the reason why and study plan after changes to the Committee. Changes in studies plan may be approved only on condition that the minimal number of credits required by the VU Regulations will be collected.
• A consultant may be assigned to the doctoral student at any stage of the studies, if necessary. For that, a request to the Doctoral Committee must be submitted together with the agreement of the desired consultant and list of his publications. Any active researcher may be appointed as a doctoral consultant.

Progress Report

• Progress report of doctoral studies is reviewed in accordance with the doctoral student’s study plan by the Committee at the end of each studies year.
• After each year of studies, the doctoral student submits a written progress report to the Committee according to the approved progress report form. This report signed by a doctoral student and their supervisor has to be delivered to the Doctoral School and also sends pdf copy to the administrator of LSC Doctoral school by the 15th of September.
• Doctoral students who are reporting for the last year of their studies must remember that they must pass all the examinations set out in the plan during their doctoral studies, otherwise the study plan will be deemed to have not been completed. Doctoral candidates who have completed their final year of study must submit a manuscript of their dissertation with their report to the committee if they wish to defend their dissertation in the normal way in the following year.
• The doctoral student has to give the presentation of the report to the Committee in the presence of the supervisor. If the supervisor is unable to attend such a meeting, he/she must provide the Committee with written feedback on the doctoral student’s work during the reporting period.
• Hearings of progress reports also include consideration of requests submitted by doctoral students (changing of work plans, postponement of examinations, credit granting etc.).

Examinations

• The coordinator of the chosen course has to be contacted for taking the examination because he/she selects the examination board, coordinates the date and time.
• The order regarding the examination board, date and time has to be issued before taking the examination by the VU division in which the examination is taken. Orders of examinations taken at the LSC are prepared by the Doctoral School administrator.
• All the information about the examinations taken at the LSC (i.e. the subject of the studies, the composition of the examination board, place, date, time and form of the examination) have to be submitted to the administrator of the Doctoral School at least three days before the examination. If the examination takes place in the form of a seminar, the title of the presentation has to be reported as well.
• A copy of the order for taking the examination should be saved, especially if the order is prepared not at the LSC. All orders issued at the LSC can be found in the VU documentation system AVILYS.
• A record of each taken examination has to be filed in the doctoral programme examinations report, where the assessment received is written and signed by all the members of the board. A copy of the signed protocol must be sent to the administrator of doctoral studies after passing each examination. Doctoral students enrolled from 2022 onwards do not need to fill in an examination protocol paper form. The examination results are entered directly into the DVS AVILYS.
• The doctoral programme examination report together with copies of all the orders issued for taking examinations must be brought to the LSC Doctoral School or to the VU Department for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Studies (Central building, Room 108) after passing all the examinations. This remains for those who were enrolled before 2022.

General Competence Skills Development

• The Doctoral Committee must approve credits collected for the development of general competencies. Therefore, a doctoral student has to submit a request for endorsing credits to the Doctoral Committee with all the undertaken activities listed. It has to be supplemented by a table describing these general competence skills developing activities and copies of the certificates or other documents confirming participation in the activities mentioned.
• The credits for transferable skills are calculated according to the table for calculating the credits.
• It is recommended that a request for an estimate of the number of credits and/or approval of general competency development credits be submitted to the Committee along with annual progress reports.

Academic Trips

• The Order by the Rector must be issued before any academic trip. To do this, you need to submit a filled-in and signed Request for an academic trip. For the Rector’s Order to be drawn up, the request for the academic trip must be accompanied by a document confirming the availability of such a trip. It must contain information that the internship is arranged, and the given event is held in the given time span (e.g. event programme, information about the event on the website, invitation of the organizers, registration documents etc.).
• The finances of the trip must be used during the days of the trip specified in the order (and the application). Arrival is possible no earlier than the day before the scheduled event, and leave, no later than the day after.
• The financial resources of mobility funds are coordinated and the request has to be signed by Dr Daiva Baltriukienė, Director of the Doctoral School.
• If you pay the conference fee yourself, the payment (as well as other travel-related expenses) must be made after the issue of the order from your bank account. Within five working days after the trip, you have to provide an account statement with payment execution, the Report on students' travel expenses (in Lithuanian) with financial documents of the actual expenses arising during the trip. LSC doctoral student field trip documents are handled by administrator Ilma Jonaitytė, room 244, tel. 8 5 2687008, .
• Fuel costs for expeditions around Lithuania for doctoral studies may be reimbursed from doctoral mobility funds. To do this, an order for the trip must be drawn up specifying the route, the car and the car registration number. The costs of additional return to Vilnius would not be refunded (but accommodation costs may be reimbursed).
• If a planned trip for which an order has already been issued is cancelled or underwent some changes, you must fill out a form of the request to change the order and submit it to the administrator of the Doctoral School.

Virtual events

• Doctoral students must submit a request to participate in the event (the same as request form for an academic trip) indicating the type of funds from which the registration fee is paid. To draw up an order information in which country the event is organized or organizers located is needed. The registration fee for virtual events can be paid for by doctoral students after an order has been issued allowing them to participate in the event. Invoices for remote events must be issued in the name of Vilnius University and uploaded to VIPIS.
• The participant’s fee may be paid by the doctoral student personally or the invoice could be paid through the VU (this may take longer).
• In order to reimburse expenses, it is necessary to submit to the Doctoral School an invoice received in the name of the VU, an account statement with payment execution, filled and signed Report on students' travel expenses (in Lithuanian).

Using Doctoral Funds

• Doctoral students financed by the state budget receive part of the funds for reagents, which are distributed through the Doctoral School according to the description approved by the Doctoral School Council.
• These finances may be used for doctoral studies through the Doctoral School by doctoral students of the 1–3 year of studies funded by the state budget. Money could not be spent by doctoral students during the calendar year of admission (their funds will be transferred only next year), EU-funded (their studies are administered separately) and doctoral students during the last year (money is reserved for the defence of their dissertation).
• All purchasing must be made in accordance with the requirements of public procurement. Consultations are provided by a specialist in public procurement Laimutė Čekutienė (; Room C513, tel. 223 4425).
• The purchase of long-term equipment using doctoral funds must be planned in advance according to the order describing the usage of these funds.
• The invoice must be signed by the doctoral student and their supervisor after making the purchase according to the public procurement procedure. After putting on the accounting stamp (which can be done at the Doctoral School, Room C504), the invoice should be signed by the materially responsible person. After collecting all the signatures, the invoice (together with the contract of the order if necessary) has to be delivered to Laimutė Čekutienė (Room C513). Invoices for payment will be accepted there until the 1st of December.
• Finances for doctoral students whose studies are funded by the EU are administered separately by the LSC department to which the doctoral student is assigned. The administrator of the corresponding institute can consult about their spending.

Academic Leave

• Academic leave is granted for childcare or illness after presenting a child's birth certificate or a copy of the document from healthcare workers and submitting an application for academic leave. During the years of studies, a doctoral student may take a one-year academic leave because of personal reasons after providing only a filled-in request for academic leave. The request must be submitted at least 5 days before the leave is due, and the doctoral student may not take leave during the month for which the scholarship is received.
• The application for academic leave is filled in by using a form approved by the VU. After filling in, this form must be signed by a doctoral student, their supervisor and the person responsible for doctoral students (Chairperson of the Committee or Director of the Doctoral School).
• Upon academic leave, the study period is extended accordingly. During academic leave, the doctoral student cannot have academic trips (in such a case he or she has to return from leave).
• The filled-in request for return from academic leave form must be submitted in order to return to doctoral studies after academic leave. A doctoral student who has not returned after academic leave without a valid reason or academic trip for 15 days is expelled from doctoral studies.
• A person, who was on academic leave on the recommendation of a doctor, a medical advisory commission or due to pregnancy and childbirth or parental leave and submits the request for the termination of doctoral studies before the expiry of the academic leave period, is exempted from returning tuition fee.

Dissertation Defence

Organization of Dissertation Defence

• For the organisation of the dissertation hearing and the preparation of the protocol, please contact the PhD School Administrator.
• The dissertation must be discussed in the LSC in the presence of the scientific supervisor and the consultant and the protocol of the hearing must be prepared. After debates, it is decided whether the dissertation can be submitted for further defence.
• The Chairperson of the Committee, upon receiving the dissertation defence request together with the manuscript of the dissertation, will organise a meeting of the Committee within a maximum of two weeks (except for the months of July and August), at which reviewers will be appointed. The scientific supervisor may recommend possible reviewers.
• The reviewers should submit their conclusions within one month. The PhD candidate must reply in writing to the reviewers to answer their questions.
• The dissertation should be presented by the PhD candidate at the meeting of the Committee, where, if the dissertation fulfils the requirements, the Committee should decide on the dissertation defence board, the date, the place and the language of the defence and submit it to the Rector of the University for approval. The scientific supervisor may recommend to the Committee the members of the defence board. The members of the defence board must have no conflict of interest with the PhD student or his/her supervisor, and preferably at least one member should be from a foreign research and study institution.
• After receiving the order, the PhD student prepares all the documents required for the defence (which are listed and their forms are available on the VU website https://www.vu.lt/studijos/doktoranturos-studijos#pagal-2017-m-doktoranturos-reglamenta) and takes them to the VU Doctoral and Postdoctoral Department at least 1.5 months before the scheduled defence. The dissertation is prepared and submitted for printing.
• The printed dissertation must be shared with the members of the Defence Board and the University Library (except for dissertations to be defended in closed session).
• The defence of the dissertation should be organised and audio-recorded by the staff of the Doctoral School.
• The dissertation defence documents and the audio recording of the meeting shall be returned to the VU Doctoral and Postdoctoral Department no later than one week after the dissertation defence.
• Within two weeks after the dissertation defence (except for dissertations defended in a closed session), the defended dissertation must be taken to the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania and uploaded to the Lithuanian Academic Electronic Library (eLAB).

Organization of Dissertation Defence Externally

• If the doctoral student is not able to defend their dissertation during the studies period and within a year after the end of their studies, the dissertation is defended externally.
• After completing the application for permission to defend the dissertation on an external basis, all the necessary documents have to be prepared. The documents must be brought to the VU Department for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Studies (Central building, Room 108). The person responsible for doctoral studies directs the registered application together with the provided documents to the appropriate Doctoral Committee.
• Two reviewers shall be appointed at the Committee meeting. Their reviews should be submitted to the Committee. If reviewers conclude that the dissertation can be defended, it has to be presented by the doctoral student at the Committee meeting.
• If the Committee decides that the dissertation can be defended, it appoints the consultant, provides for or approves examinations, the composition of the Dissertation Defence Board, date, time and language of defence during the meeting.
• After that, all the necessary documents (listed in Lithuanian at https://www.vu.lt/studijos/doktorantams/disertaciju-gynimas/dokumentu-sarasas-ginti-daktaro-disertacija-eksternu) are prepared and have to be brought to the VU Department for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Studies (Central building, Room 108). Further defence procedures take place in the usual way.