Supervisor

Procedures relating to the appointment of a supervisor or supervisors
According to § 7 section 1 of the Regulations of the Doctoral School of the Warsaw University of Technology: Academic supervision of the preparation of a doctoral thesis is provided by a supervisor or supervisors, or by a supervisor and an assistant supervisor. A candidate may have no more than two academic supervisors (a supervisor and a co-supervisor, or a supervisor and an assistant supervisor). An exception is made for industry-based PhD programmes, in which there is also an assistant supervisor from the employing company (a person holding a PhD or with at least five years’ experience in research and development).

According to Article 190 section 4 of the Act on Higher Education and Science, a supervisor must hold a postdoctoral degree or the title of professor, whilst an assistant supervisor must hold at least a doctoral degree.
In accordance with § 7 section 4 of the Regulations of the Doctoral School of the Warsaw University of Technology: At least one of the supervisors must be employed at the Warsaw University of Technology at the time of appointment.

The following limits apply to supervisors and assistant supervisors:

•     A supervisor may provide academic supervision to no more than 8 PhD students at the School, including no more than 5 PhD students whose scholarships are funded by a grant;
•     An assistant supervisor may provide academic supervision to no more than 2 PhD students.

Supervisors are appointed by the relevant academic council for the discipline.

In accordance with § 8 section 1 of the Regulations of the Doctoral School of the Warsaw University of Technology: Within one month of commencing their studies at the School, a doctoral student shall, through the Director of the School, submit an application to the relevant academic council for the discipline requesting the appointment of a supervisor, supervisors, or a supervisor and an assistant supervisor. 
Information regarding the deadline for submitting applications is sent to newly admitted doctoral students to their email addresses in the @pw.edu.pl domain. Documents must be submitted via USOSWeb by the specified deadline. Following an initial review, the applications are forwarded to the relevant disciplinary research councils.

In accordance with § 8 section 4 of the Regulations of the Doctoral School of the Warsaw University of Technology: The academic council of the discipline shall appoint a supervisor for the doctoral student within a period not exceeding 3 months from the date on which the doctoral student commences their studies at the School.

What are the consequences of failing to submit an application for the appointment of a supervisor by the specified deadline?
In accordance with § 14 section 8 of the Regulations of the Doctoral School of the Warsaw University of Technology, this may result in removal from the list of doctoral students, in accordance with § 13 section 11 point 2 of the Regulations of the Doctoral School – on the grounds of failure to comply with the regulations.

When can a second supervisor or an assistant supervisor be appointed?
A PhD student enrolled in semesters 2–5 may submit an application to the relevant academic board of their discipline requesting the appointment of a second supervisor or an assistant supervisor. This application must be endorsed by the supervisor and approved by the relevant head of the Warsaw University of Technology organisational unit where the PhD student is conducting their research. In the case of a supervisor or co-supervisor who is not an employee of the Warsaw University of Technology, the application must be accompanied by information on the candidate’s academic achievements and research activities. If the relevant disciplinary academic council fails to appoint a second supervisor or co-supervisor, the Warsaw University of Technology Senate may appoint one.
In justified cases, a PhD student may submit an application for the appointment of a second supervisor or co-supervisor to the relevant academic council for the discipline, via the director, after the fifth semester of study.

Important: In accordance with § 8 section 2 of the Regulations of the Doctoral School at the Warsaw University of Technology: If the supervisor or co-supervisor is not an employee of the Warsaw University of Technology, the application must be accompanied by information on the candidate’s academic achievements and research activities. In addition, some disciplinary research councils also require details of the academic achievements and research activities of candidates for the role of co-supervisor from the Warsaw University of Technology.

Additional information for participants in the ‘Implementation Doctorate’ programme
Participants in the ‘Implementation Doctorate’ programme are also assigned an additional supervisor by their employing organisation, who must be nominated within the timeframe specified in the tripartite agreement. The additional supervisor must meet the conditions set out by the ministry responsible for higher education. The scope of the additional supervisor’s duties is defined by the organisation running the programme. Please note! An additional supervisor is not the same as an assistant supervisor; the additional supervisor is appointed by the company employing the PhD student from amongst its own staff.

Procedure for changing a supervisor

In accordance with § 9 section 1 of the Regulations of the Doctoral School of the Warsaw University of Technology: A doctoral student has the right to change their supervisor, supervisors or co-supervisor, and to withdraw from having a co-supervisor, subject to compliance with copyright law and the principles of research ethics.

In justified cases, a supervisor or co-supervisor may resign from their role as supervisor. Such cases include:

1. termination of employment at the Warsaw University of Technology;
2. a stay abroad for a period of at least 6 months;
3. health or unforeseen circumstances forcing a reduction in professional and academic activity;
4. the exhaustion of possibilities for further collaboration with the doctoral student.

The procedure for changing a supervisor may be initiated:
1) upon a request from the doctoral student, submitted via the Director of the School to the relevant academic council for the discipline, together with a statement of reasons. It is mandatory to attach a proposal for a new supervisor, supervisors or co-supervisor, together with a statement from that person confirming their willingness to supervise the doctoral student;
2) upon a request from the supervisor or co-supervisor, submitted via the Director of the School to the relevant academic council for the discipline, together with a statement of reasons documenting the occurrence of the circumstances listed in § 9 section 2 of the Regulations of the Doctoral School of the Warsaw University of Technology or other circumstances constituting grounds for resignation from the role.

Please note that if a change of supervisor is initiated at the request of a PhD student, in addition to a separate statement of reasons, it is necessary to submit an application form for the appointment of a supervisor, supervisors, or a supervisor and a co-supervisor, along with any additional documents that may be required by the respective academic councils for each discipline (details are provided above in the section on the appointment of a supervisor). It is also recommended that the consent of the outgoing supervisor be attached to the application.

Where the change is made at the supervisor’s request submitted less than 6 months before the interim assessment, a negative result of that assessment is taken into account for the criterion referred to in Article 190 section 6 point 1 of the Act, in relation to that supervisor, which states that a person who, within the last 5 years, has supervised 4 doctoral candidates who were removed from the list of doctoral candidates due to a negative outcome of the interim assessment may not become a supervisor.

The discipline’s academic council should consider the application for a change within 60 days, excluding the period falling during the summer holidays.

Application to dismiss the supervisor

Application for the appointment of a supervisor

Application for the appointment of a second supervisorassistant supervisor after the 5th semester