Calendar of Ph.D. Application and Admission

April 1 – September 20, 2024	Registration, validation of the applications, and admission of candidates. Ph.D. candidate registration platform: https://admitere.pub.ro.
April 26, 2024 May 29, 2024 June 26, 2024 July 24, 2024 August 28, 2024 September 20, 2024, 16:00	Validation of Ph.D. applications by the SD-AC secretariat. Evaluation of Ph.D. applications by doctoral supervisors.
April 30, 2024 May 31, 2024 June 28, 2024 July 26, 2024 August 30, 2024 September 23, 2024	Results of evaluation and awarding the Admission or Rejection. [April 2024 Results] [May 2024 Results] [June 2024 Results] [July 2024 Results] [August 2024 Results] [September 2024 Results]
September 25-26, 2024	Evaluation of the Ph.D. candidates (oral interview) by the Admission Committee and allocation of ministry scholarships based on the established hierarchy. [Final list of admissions and scholarships]
September 30, 2024	Matriculation of the accepted candidates. [Final results]
October 1, 2024	Start of the doctoral internship.

Legislation and admission regulations

The Doctoral School of Automatic Control and Computers (SD-AC) organizes the admission for doctoral studies based on public competition according to the following regulations:

• The methodology regarding the organization and development of the doctoral admission contest of the Organizing Institution of Doctoral University Studies IOSUD – UPB [link].
• The rules of the Doctoral School of Automation and Computers [link].

The admissions to the doctoral study program are made within the limits of the places allocated annually by:

• Ministry of Education for doctoral study programs under the financing regime from the state budget in the form of doctoral grants.
• UPB, as the Organizing Institution of Doctoral University Studies, for the self-funded doctoral study programs, in which case the doctoral student supports the tuition. The tuition amounts are published here [link].

Admission

Step 1: Validation and counseling

Candidates should initiate the completion of the admission application, as early as possible, to properly conduct the admission process using the platform https://admitere.pub.ro, Doctorate section. To identify a Ph.D. supervisor to coordinate the doctoral program, following the desired research topics, please consult the dedicated section of the doctoral school website [link].

Step 2: Registration

The applications can be registered online, continuously, according to the admission calendar, using this platform: www.admitere.upb.ro. The applications must contain the following documents:

a) Application form (Annex 2) [download];

b) Curriculum vitae (Europass format [link] is recommended);

c) Publications list [download];

d) Scanned documents* (upon signing the doctoral study contract will bring the original documents):

• graduation diplomas (bachelor’s, master’s);
• diploma supplements (bachelor’s, master’s);
• high school diploma (baccalaureate);
• birth certificate;
• marriage certificate or other name change documents (where applicable);

e) Proof of payment of the registration fee, which can also be paid online;

f) Copy of ID card;

g) Declaration certifying that the candidate has not previously benefited from a financed doctoral studies program (Annex 4) [download];

h) The Ph.D. Proposal in Romanian or English (Annex 5) [download];

i) A letter of recommendation from an expert in the field.

* Candidates who graduate from a master’s program during the current year can register and participate in the admission competition, and after graduating from the master’s program, they must submit their study documents (diplomas and transcripts) to the competition’s Ph.D. application.

The registration fee for the doctoral admission competition is 200 RON, except for candidates who have completed a master’s program in POLITEHNICA Bucharest for which the registration fee is 100 RON.

Step 3: Application and candidate evaluation

SD-AC permanently ensures the transparency of the selection and admission procedures, the evaluation criteria, and the standards imposed on the candidates. Equal opportunities, as well as non-discrimination of any kind, are naturally ensured.

The devised doctoral supervisor individually evaluates the candidate’s application, validating or invalidating it. An online interview can be organized with the Ph.D. supervisor. During the interview, the candidate is expected to briefly present their academic and professional career and the most relevant research results. Moreover, the candidate will expose the topics and concerns of scientific research to be covered in the doctoral thesis, focusing on contributions and new solutions that will be investigated.

Following the evaluation, the candidate receives the grade Admitted or Rejected. If she/he is admitted, she/he is granted a place in the doctoral program within SD-AC.

Following the evaluation, the candidate receives the grade Admitted or Rejected from the Ph.D. coordinator. If admitted, the candidate will participate in the admission competition at the level of the Doctoral School, to be allocated a position in the doctoral program within the SD-AC (budget-funded or self-funded), including the doctoral scholarships granted by the ministry.

Step 4: Final admission and scholarship allocation

According to the admission calendar, the Admission Committee evaluates the candidates declared Admitted by the Ph.D. coordinator to allocate positions to the doctoral program within the SD-AC (budget-funded or self-funded) and to award doctoral scholarships granted by the ministry.

Candidates will be assessed on the level of training and information in the field, the ability to highlight major research guidelines, the ability to formulate solutions (theoretical and experimental) for the research topic, and the ability to follow a doctoral program.

The quantitative evaluation criteria are presented in the Admission Methodology, article 5 (Annex 3) [link].

The candidates will prepare for the entrance exam with a presentation based on the topic proposal for the doctoral research (Ph.D. proposal) in Romanian or English according to this model [presentation].

Step 5: Matriculation

The results of the admission competition are validated and displayed on the SD-AC admission page (see admission calendar).

All admitted candidates will matriculate online within 48 hours of the results being posted (subject to the presentation of proof of graduation from a master’s program (master’s degree or certificate of graduation, transcript)).

The matriculation consists of uploading to the admission platform the proof of payment of the 50 RON registration fee. It is paid online, with all the necessary information being available on the platform.

All the candidates declared admitted will complete and sign the contract for doctoral studies until the beginning of the academic year.

For foreign candidates from EU and non-EU countries

Candidates for EU citizens are registered following:
https://international.upb.ro/international-students/applying/students-from-eu-countries

For candidates who are nationals of non-EU countries entries must be made following:
https://international.upb.ro/international-students/applying/students-from-non-eu-countries

Foreign candidates will follow the same procedures and the same flow of application validation and admission as Romanian citizens. They can apply for the admission competition starting in July 2024 after the validation of the registration documents.