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Faculty of Mathematics

University
of Belgrade
Faculty of Mathematics

Department of Computer Science and Informatics

Doctoral studies

Doctoral dissertation

The procedure for proposing and defending a dissertation topic and for the submission, evaluation and public defence of the doctoral dissertation.

Doctoral dissertation topic submission and topic defence

The procedure for submitting, evaluating and defending the doctoral dissertation topic is laid down in the Regulations Governing Doctoral Studies at the Faculty of Mathematics (Articles 34–40) and comprises the following steps:

  1. Acquiring the right to submit the topic

    A student may submit the doctoral dissertation topic after fulfilling all the obligations of the study programme for the first year of studies (Article 34).

  2. Submission of the topic to the Department

    The student, in agreement with the prospective mentor, submits the topic to the competent Department on the form in Annex 6 to the Regulations. The submission includes (Article 34):

    • the topic rationale, covering the scientific area, subject of research, basic hypotheses, aims and expected results, research methods and a preliminary list of literature, signed by the student and the prospective mentor;
    • a statement that the student has not submitted the proposed topic at another higher education institution in Serbia or abroad;
    • the candidate's biography;
    • the candidate's bibliography.

  3. Consideration by the Department and proposal of the committee

    The Department considers the submission and, if necessary, asks the student and the prospective mentor for additions or corrections. If the Department's opinion is positive, it proposes to the Teaching and Research Council of the Faculty of Mathematics the Committee for the Evaluation of the Scientific Soundness of the Doctoral Dissertation Topic and the Appointment of the Mentor, as well as the doctoral dissertation mentor. The committee has three to five members, at least one of whom is not employed at the Faculty of Mathematics. All members must meet the prescribed requirements (Article 35).

  4. Appointment of the committee

    The Teaching and Research Council appoints the committee within 60 days of the Department's proposal, not counting the summer break set by the teaching calendar (Article 36).

  5. Oral defence of the topic

    The student defends the proposed topic orally before the committee within 30 days of its appointment, demonstrating knowledge of the scientific area of the topic and of the relevant content of the courses in their doctoral study plan. If the defence is unsuccessful, the student may repeat it once more, within one year. If the repeated defence is also unsuccessful, the student loses the right to complete doctoral studies at the Faculty of Mathematics (Article 37).

  6. Report of the committee

    Within 30 days of the committee's appointment, its chair prepares the report on the scientific soundness of the topic, based on the opinions of the committee members and the results of the oral defence. The report is signed by the members who agree with it, while members with a different opinion may submit a separate evaluation (Article 38).

  7. Acceptance of the topic and University consent

    On the basis of the committee's report, the Teaching and Research Council decides on accepting the doctoral dissertation topic and appointing the mentor (Article 39). If the decision is positive, the Faculty of Mathematics sends the proposal to the competent council of the University of Belgrade for consent, and once consent is obtained the decision is delivered to the student and the mentor. If the competent University council does not give its consent, the Faculty of Mathematics may lodge an objection with the University Senate within 15 days of receiving the decision (Article 40).

Submission, evaluation and defence of the doctoral dissertation

The procedure for the submission, evaluation and public defence of the doctoral dissertation is laid down in the Regulations Governing Doctoral Studies at the Faculty of Mathematics (Articles 41–57). The following rules apply to students enrolled from the academic year 2026/2027. For previously enrolled students, the rules described on the page Students enrolled before 2026/2027 apply, while steps 3–8 are the same for all students. The procedure comprises the following steps:

  1. Meeting the conditions for submitting the dissertation

    A student may submit the doctoral dissertation for evaluation when the following conditions are met (Article 42):

    • the student has completed all the obligations of the study programme;
    • the student has the mentor's written consent to submit the dissertation and the mentor's opinion on the research carried out and the scientific contribution achieved, confirming that the dissertation corresponds to the approved topic;
    • the student has at least two scientific papers in the area of the doctoral dissertation, published or unconditionally accepted for publication, listing the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Mathematics as the student's first affiliation.

    For the Computer Science programme, the following conditions also apply:

    • at least one of these papers must be published in a journal of category M21, M22 or M23, with the student as first author;
    • at least one paper must be single-authored.

  2. Submission of the dissertation and originality check

    The doctoral dissertation is prepared in accordance with the University of Belgrade guidelines on the format and content of the doctoral dissertation, available on the page Standards for doctoral dissertations (in Serbian). The student submits the electronic version of the dissertation in PDF format through the information system of the Faculty of Mathematics and two printed and bound copies to the Secretariat. The Faculty of Mathematics checks the originality of the dissertation with appropriate software, and the mentor reviews the resulting report and prepares a written evaluation of originality, which is submitted together with the dissertation (Articles 43–44).

  3. Consideration of the dissertation by the Department

    After the dissertation is submitted, the Department considers the material and gives the Teaching and Research Council its opinion and a proposal of the members of the Committee for the Evaluation of the Doctoral Dissertation. The committee has three to five members. At least one member must not be employed at the Faculty of Mathematics, and at least two must be from the scientific area of the dissertation (Article 45).

  4. Appointment of the Committee for the Evaluation of the Dissertation

    The Teaching and Research Council appoints the committee within two months of the proposal, not counting the summer break. The committee has three to five members, including at least two faculty members employed at the Faculty of Mathematics and at least one external member. As a rule, the mentor may not be a member of the committee, except in exceptional cases provided for by the Regulations (Article 46).

  5. Report of the committee and public inspection

    The Committee for the Evaluation of the Doctoral Dissertation submits its report within 45 days of its appointment. The report contains an assessment of the scientific contribution of the dissertation and a conclusion on whether it is ready for defence, and the committee may ask the candidate for certain changes and additions to the dissertation (Article 47). The dissertation and the committee's report are made available for public inspection for 30 days, before the Teaching and Research Council decides, in the Library and on the website of the Faculty of Mathematics and on the University of Belgrade portal. During this period, written comments on the dissertation and the report may be submitted, and the committee must consider them and give its opinion within 30 days (Article 48).

  6. Decision of the Teaching and Research Council

    After the public inspection period, the Teaching and Research Council considers the committee's report and any comments. If it adopts the report, the Council appoints the Committee for the Defence of the Doctoral Dissertation, which has three to five members. The Council may also request changes or additions to the report, or not adopt it (Article 49).

  7. University consent

    After the report is adopted and the Defence Committee is appointed, the Faculty of Mathematics sends the relevant decisions and supporting documents to the competent council of the University of Belgrade for consent. Once consent is obtained, the public defence may be scheduled. In the case of a negative decision of the University council, the Faculty of Mathematics may lodge an objection with the University Senate within 15 days (Article 51).

  8. Public defence of the doctoral dissertation

    The defence is oral and public and, as a rule, takes place at the Faculty of Mathematics before the Committee for the Defence of the Doctoral Dissertation. Notice of the date, time and place of the defence is published on the website of the Faculty of Mathematics at least five days in advance (Article 52). During the defence, the candidate presents the content of the dissertation, the research methods, the results achieved and the scientific contribution in a presentation of at most 45 minutes, and then answers questions from the committee members and the audience (Article 55). After the defence, the committee decides by majority vote whether the candidate has successfully defended the doctoral dissertation. A doctoral dissertation may be defended only once (Article 56).

If the doctoral dissertation is rejected, the student has the right to submit a new topic once more, without re-enrolling in doctoral studies or retaking exams. If the dissertation is rejected a second time, the student may not re-enrol in doctoral studies at the Faculty of Mathematics (Article 50).