Doctoral studies regulation

The procedure for the selection of doctoral candidates and the requirements for the award of a Doctoral Degree (PhD) in the Department of Art Theory and History are governed by Law 4957/2022, as in force, and the Department’s current Internal Regulation, further specified by decisions of the Department Assembly.

Doctoral candidates must hold degrees from Greek Universities or recognised equivalent institutions of other countries. A basic prerequisite is possession of a Postgraduate Degree (Master’s degree). Graduates of Technological Educational Institutes (TEI), the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE), or equivalent schools may be accepted as doctoral candidates provided they hold a Master’s degree. By exception, candidates with recognised research or authorship work may also be accepted.

Candidates complete, on their own initiative, and submit to the Department Secretariat, during the months of September and February of each academic year, a relevant application accompanied by a detailed research proposal (up to 15 pages), curriculum vitae, and academic certificates. Degrees awarded by recognised equivalent institutions abroad must bear the legal endorsements and be accompanied by official translations and equivalence decisions. The application must include the proposed title, the proposed language of writing, and the proposed Supervisor of the dissertation. The application and the corresponding research proposal must be submitted in Greek.

The selection procedure and the final decision depend on the candidate’s required qualifications as specified below, and primarily on the willingness of a faculty member to supervise the specific dissertation.

In special cases (e.g. candidates with internationally recognised research or authorship work) and following a justified decision of the Assembly, a candidate without a Master’s degree may be accepted as a doctoral candidate.

Basic criteria for candidate selection, which are necessarily taken into account, are:

a) The overall grade of the Master’s degree, which must not be lower than seven (7), excluding the postgraduate thesis, the grade of which must also not be lower than seven (7).

b) Excellent knowledge (C2/G2) of one foreign language and very good knowledge (C1/G1) of a second foreign language. Submission of a recognised certificate of foreign language proficiency exempts the candidate from a written examination – translation into Greek of a text of approximately three hundred (300) words -lasting one (1) hour. Complete studies at an equivalent educational institution abroad constitute sufficient proof of the required knowledge of the language of instruction. For foreign candidates, good and certified knowledge of the Greek language is also required.

Supplementary criteria for candidate selection include especially:

a) Publications in reputable scientific journals.

b) Presentations at reputable scientific conferences.

c) Other research activity.

The Department Assembly, after considering the submitted applications, categorises them based on the relevance of the research subject and appoints a three-member Committee per category of applications. Each three-member Committee, consisting of faculty members of the Department, examines the respective applications and supporting documents and invites the candidates to an interview. It then submits to the Department Assembly a detailed report stating the reasons why each candidate should or should not be accepted, as well as the proposed Supervisor, if this was not proposed by the candidate. The Department Assembly, after obtaining the opinion of the proposed Supervisor, considers it together with the Committee’s report and approves or rejects each candidate’s application with justification. The approval decision also specifies the language of each dissertation.

The Assembly also appoints, for each doctoral candidate, a three-member Advisory Committee (AC). One member of the Committee is the Supervisor, who may hold the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor at the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA) or another university, or may be a researcher of grade A, B, or C serving at a research centre under Article 13A of Law 4310/2014. The other two (2) members may be faculty members from the first three ranks of the Department or other university departments, or professors from recognised equivalent institutions abroad holding a Doctoral Degree, or researchers of grades A, B, or C from research centres under Article 13A of Law 4310/2014 or recognised foreign research centres or institutes, with the same or related scientific field as the dissertation under consideration. At least one (1) member of the AC must be a faculty member of the Department of Theory and History of Art. Each faculty member of the Department may supervise up to five (5) doctoral candidates at most.

If, for any reason, the Supervisor ceases to hold the position or is demonstrably unable to fulfill supervisory duties for an extended period, in any case no less than one year, the Department Assembly, evaluating the circumstances, assigns supervision to another person, following the candidate’s request and the opinion of the proposed Supervisor, or otherwise to one of the other two (2) AC members, even exceeding the maximum number of doctoral candidates allowed per Supervisor. If the initial Supervisor transfers to another university or department or retires, they continue to serve as Supervisor of the dissertations they had undertaken, and the degree is awarded by the university to which the Department where the dissertation was initiated belongs.

The procedure is further determined based on the provisions of Law 4485/2017, as follows:

The duration for the preparation of the dissertation cannot be less than three (3) full calendar years from the date of appointment of the Advisory Committee. The language of the dissertation is Greek, unless otherwise decided by the Assembly.

Upon request of the candidate, at the end of each year, it is possible, after a relevant recommendation of the AC and a specially justified decision of the Assembly, not to count, in cases of force majeure or exceptional circumstances, part of the time elapsed. Suspension of studies under the above is granted for a total period of up to twelve (12) months.

Each year, the doctoral candidate orally presents a detailed report before the AC, which is also submitted in writing, regarding the progress of the doctoral dissertation. A copy of the report, comments on it by the Supervisor or AC, as well as the corresponding progress report signed by the AC members, are filed in the candidate’s personal file.

The dissertation topic may be changed upon a justified request of the candidate to the Assembly and after consultation with the AC, which submits a relevant recommendation.

The doctoral candidate is obliged, when requested, to provide teaching services to the Department.

Doctoral studies are offered free of charge. Doctoral candidates have up to five (5) full academic years from their initial registration, enjoying all rights and benefits provided for second-cycle students. For up to five (5) years after completing their doctoral dissertation, they retain rights to access, borrow, and use the electronic services of university libraries.

After the submission of the dissertation (in eight copies) by the doctoral candidate to the Secretariat of the Department, the Department Assembly decides, upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, the appointment of a 7-member Examination Committee for the evaluation of the dissertation. The Examination Committee includes the members of the Advisory Committee, except for those who have retired, and the remaining four (4) members are appointed by the Assembly. The retired members of the Advisory Committee are replaced by an equal number of members meeting the criteria for appointment as Advisory Committee members, as stipulated in this Regulation based on the second and third items of paragraph 2, article 39 of Law 4485/2017. The other four (4) members of the 7-member Examination Committee may be faculty members from the first three ranks of the Department or other university departments, or professors from recognised equivalent institutions abroad, holders of a Doctoral Diploma, or researchers of ranks A, B, or C from research centres under article 13A of Law 4310/2014, or from recognised research centres or institutes abroad, with the same or related academic expertise as the dissertation under evaluation.

Within 30 days, and no later than 45 days from the formation of the Examination Committee, the Chair of the Department convenes the Examination Committee by special invitation at a specified place and time, where the doctoral candidate publicly and orally presents the dissertation. These deadlines may be extended by a maximum of 45 days upon approval by the Assembly.

The public oral examination of the candidate is announced at least one (1) week in advance by an announcement from the Department Secretariat posted on the notice boards of the School and Department. It may also be announced through relevant publications in newspapers.

During the oral examination, the candidate presents the subject to the Examination Committee and the public within a maximum of 45 minutes and responds to questions posed by the Committee. The question and answer session shall not exceed one and a half hours. During the presentation and discussion, the candidate may use visual aids. The public presentation requires the physical presence of at least four (4) members of the Examination Committee, while the remaining members may participate via teleconference. Retired members of the Advisory Committee, who have been replaced as mentioned above, may attend the session without voting rights.

After the above process, the Examination Committee withdraws to decide whether the dissertation and its presentation by the candidate were successful. The Committee evaluates the dissertation regarding quality, completeness, original thought, and its contribution to science and approves it based on these criteria by a majority of at least five (5) of its members. The oldest member of the Committee presides over the session.

If the voting result is positive, the Committee decides the grade (excellent, very good, good) of the dissertation by majority vote.

The Committee, under the responsibility of its Chair, prepares minutes briefly and clearly recording the supervisor’s recommendation, the procedure of the dissertation presentation, the main points of the discussion, and the voting rationale of the Committee members. Members of the Examination Committee who dissent submit a detailed memorandum explaining their disagreement. The minutes are signed by all Committee members and forwarded to the Assembly.

If the dissertation is approved, the candidate is obliged, in order to be awarded the doctoral degree, to submit to the Department Secretariat six (6) additional copies of the dissertation, which will be distributed as follows:

* One (1) copy to the Library of the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA), also in digital format.

* Two (2) copies to the National Library.

* Two (2) copies to the Library of the Hellenic Parliament.

* One (1) copy to the Documentation Center of the National Research Foundation, also in digital format.

Before the doctoral degree document is granted, the candidate, with the Department’s assistance, must complete a special form of the Documentation Center (DC) of the National Research Foundation (NRF) with a summary of the dissertation and scientific information concerning its content. This form, along with one copy of the dissertation, is sent by the Department Secretariat to the DC of the NRF for inclusion in the National Archive of Greek Doctoral Dissertations.

The date of the doctoral award ceremony is considered the date of the dissertation examination by the 7-member Committee, and the date of graduation is the date of the Assembly session. Before the formal graduation ceremony, the doctoral candidate may receive a certificate confirming the successful completion of their dissertation.

The swearing-in and graduation ceremony of the candidate as a doctor takes place in the presence of the Rector or the responsible Vice-Rector, the Dean, and invited guests, with the reading of the Examination Committee’s minutes at a special public session of the Assembly convened by the Department Chair. The doctoral oath is as follows:

Having been awarded the Doctoral Diploma of the Department of Art Theory and History, at ASFA, I swear to exert every effort to promote the science I have chosen to serve and culture in general. My research will always be oriented towards seeking the values of authenticity and truth, which I will always serve with the aim of improving and advancing science and culture.

The Doctoral Diploma mentions the Institution, the School, the Department, the identification number, the name, the father’s name, the place of origin, the field of study, the title of the dissertation, the grade, and the date of award. It is signed by the Rector, the Dean, the Chair of the Department, and the Head of the Department Secretariat.

The Doctoral Diploma may also be issued on parchment, if requested by the doctoral graduate, who in this case bears the cost, as determined each time by the competent authority.

An Appendix to the Diploma is attached in Greek and English, in accordance with the provisions of Law 3374/2005, as amended, a template for which is attached to the present Regulation and constitutes an integral part of it.

The approach, content, and results of the doctoral dissertation constitute the product of the candidate’s personal and creative work, who retains the intellectual property rights for any form of future use (e.g. publications, application, etc.), provided that proper acknowledgment is given to the Department, the Supervisor, and the other members of the Advisory Committee. Any substantiated disclosure of extensive plagiarism without substantial original contribution constitutes grounds for the invalidation of the degree, regardless of the time of its acquisition. The Supervisors and other members of the Advisory Committees provide guidance for the preparation of the doctoral dissertation without participating in its actual composition and, consequently, do not claim intellectual property rights over it.

Doctoral candidates who had already been admitted to the Department prior to the approval of the present Regulation shall be subject to its provisions in line with the stage of their progress and provided that the corresponding 7-member Examination Committee has not been appointed for them after entry into force of Law 4485/2017.