Within the framework of doctoral education, students must gain independent international experience to become independent researchers after graduation. A study abroad placement is an essential activity within doctoral studies that develops the student, the university and the faculty.
Part of the study obligations during the doctoral study programme is a study or research stay at a foreign institution of at least one month.
Doctoral students choose between three types of stays:
Doctoral students are advised to follow the current offer of study stays, internships and scholarships for current opportunities abroad.
More options for study-related stays abroad can be found on the website of the Academic Information Agency search engine.
Doctoral students are allowed to go on a study stay, e.g., through Erasmus+ Europe, CEEPUS, and Freemovers. It is also possible to go through partner universities, or apply for various scholarships such as the Visegrad scholarship or Fulbright scholarship.
Detailed conditions for individual programmes can be found on the MU Centre for International Cooperation website.
A condition of the study stay is enrolment in courses at a foreign university, usually study stays last one semester.
Before the departure, the student must record the study placement in the IS application Internship and Stays.
The documents for study placements are:
Before the mobility: Learning agreement (LA).
After the mobility: Transcript of Records (ToR) a Confirmation of Study Period
Several programs, such as Freemover of Erasmus+ traineeship, can be used to support practical internship stays abroad.
Erasmus+ offers a specific program for PhD students called: Erasmus+ short term PhD mobilities.
You can find the conditions for practical internships through individual programmes on the MU Centre for International Cooperation website.
The most used type of stay for PhDs - can be used to record summer schools, research stays in libraries, archives, conferences, etc.
Documents for the placement: the templates of the documents can be found in the documents section of this page. Before the departure, the student must record the study placement in the IS application Internship and Stays.
Before the mobility: Foreign Activity Plan (FAP)
After the mobility: Foreign Activity Report (FAR)
Notes:
- the supervisor is the person in charge of doctoral students -(see Methodological Sheet CZS 1/2024 Article 2(3) and Article 3(3d).
- Issue of business trip vs. student - Art. 7 para. 1.
Funding:
Our faculty offers the possibility of funding a research stay through the Scholarship Programme for the International Mobility of Doctoral Students. The text of Measure 1/2025, including the annexes, can be found here.
Currently: The funds allocated under the Scholarship Programme to support international mobility of doctoral students in 2025, as regulated by MU Faculty of Arts Measure No. 1/2025, have been exhausted due to a high number of applications.
If you are applying for financial support outside MU, you must follow the conditions of the programme (different documents may be required, different programmes have different application deadlines, etc.)
Before submitting the application, it is necessary to register the stay the IS application Internship and Stays and upload approved Foreign Activity Plan document. Towards the end of your stay, you will complete and upload the Foreign Activity Report into IS.
From the academic year 2023/2024, short-term traineeships for PhD students are offered at the Faculty of Arts under the Erasmus+ programme. More information on this programme can be found here.
Other options:
Masaryk Distinguished Chair in Israel
Preferably at the beginning of your PhD studies, we recommend you to look at the study abroad options, programme conditions and especially the application deadlines so that you can plan your study abroad stay in line with the application to the relevant programme.
Together with your supervisor at MU, discuss the location, purpose and destination of your stay.
Doctoral students at the MU Faculty of Arts most often choose programmes such as Freemover, Support for International Mobility of Doctoral Students, Special Grant for Short-term Placements, etc.
If you are applying for financial support outside MU, you must follow the conditions of the programme (different documents may be required, different programmes have different application deadlines, etc.)
For international student trips: enter your stay in IS (using the Internships and stays application in the Student section) and upload a pdf of your completed and approved documents before mobility.
Please choose carefully whether your stay is for study, traineeship or other purposes.
If you are undertaking your stay within the framework of a project administered at the MU Faculty of Arts, please indicate this project in the "Related research projects and projects" section when registering your stay.
Each type of stay and scholarship requires different documents. Check with the specific stays to find out exactly which documents you need to complete and upload to IS for your stay abroad. Usually this is one document before departure and a second document to be submitted at the end of the stay.
Once you have your placement entered in IS and a documents uploaded, you can apply for a scholarship. For the Support for International Mobility of Doctoral Students programme - you apply through IS Document Office. For the Freemover programme or the Special Grant for Short-term Placements - you apply at the MU CIC (contact person Mgr. Zita Hrabovská).
At the end of your stay, make sure to ask your host university to sign a Certificate of Completion. This may be a different type of document for each type of placement. Check in advance which documents your type of stay requires.
Upload the documents in the evidence of your stay in IS and if applicable, apply for recognition of your stay.
What should I do if I can't get a signature at the host university?
Only have your supervisor sign the Foreign Activity Plan and Foreign Activit Report. You can also substitute the signature of host supervisor by confirmation of stay, or confirmation of participation at a conference, summer school etc.
Can I go on a library/archives trip abroad?
Yes, it is appropriate to use a faculty stipend for this trip. It is advisable to consider a minimum number of days for the trip to count toward your required foreign stay. A "foreign stay other" is used for this type of trip.
Do I have to earn credits while abroad?
You don't have to, but if you have a department/institute requirement to complete a course called "foreign internship," you must take the internship for that course.
Can I have the trip counted for a course?
Yes, you can. To satisfy the "foreign placement" course, you are normally required to complete a trip of at least 30 days (in some cases more), depending on the requirements of your department.
When can I apply for the faculty scholarship?
At the stage when you have confirmed the necessary documents before departure and the placement entered into IS in the Placement and Placement Record section.
Who can help me plan my trip?
Your supervisor. For administrative matters and questions regarding the faculty scholarships for stays abroad, you can contact the Faculty's International Office.
Who do I contact if I need to deal with a specific situation related to my studies?
Your supervisor or the departmental council.
How do I find out if my stay abroad is correctly registered?
The placement needs to be linked to your course of study. The placement should also be visible in your ISP (Individual Study Plan) or in the 'placements and internships' section, where you can see if the placement is linked to your course of study.
Documents filled in by the student before and after the stay and uploaded in the IS:
Documents, guidelines, methodologies:
Doctoral studies in shared dissertation supervision (cotutelle) are based on cooperation between the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University and a foreign university. The dissertation supervision is provided by the shared cooperation of two supervisors from both contracting institutions and the student completes an agreed part of the doctoral studies at the foreign partner institution. The study, the doctoral examination and the defence are arranged in such a way that the graduate receives both a diploma from Masaryk University and a diploma issued by the partner institution.
Studies of this type must be registered in the IS in the student's study record immediately after the signing of the cotutelle contract (provided by the study department, where one copy of the signed contract must be delivered). Each trip to a cooperating foreign institution must also be recorded in the MU IS before the trip abroad is implemented. To register individual trips, please contact the Study Department via e-mail phd@phil.muni.cz.
A template of the cotutelle contract is available at https://is.muni.cz/auth/do/rect/metodika/stud/doktstudia/46491930/cotutelle/ (access is possible only after logging into the MU IS).
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