Doctoral training at the Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (CMRC–BAS) is offered in full-time, part-time and individual-study formats, as well as within the framework of a research project under Article 21, Paragraph 7 of the Higher Education Act.

The duration of doctoral training is as follows:

  1. Full-time study – 3 years;
  2. Part-time study – 4 years;
  3. Individual-study format and doctoral training within the framework of a research project under Article 21, Paragraph 7 of the Higher Education Act – up to 5 years.

Doctoral training may be carried out jointly with a partner research organisation or university.

The competitive admission procedure for full-time and part-time PhD students funded under the state admission quota is announced for a period of two months in the State Gazette and on the CMRC–BAS website. The competitive admission procedure for PhD students under Article 21, Paragraph 7 of the Higher Education Act is announced for a period of one month only on the CMRC–BAS website, in accordance with Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Law on the Development of Academic Staff in the Republic of Bulgaria.

The deadline for submitting applications for participation in the competitive admission procedure for full-time and part-time PhD students funded under the state admission quota is two months from the date of publication of the announcement in the State Gazette. For admission to doctoral training within the framework of a research project, applications must be submitted within a period of no less than one month from the publication of the announcement.

Applicants must submit the following documents to the CMRC–BAS:

  1. Application form for participation in the competitive admission procedure;
  2. Curriculum vitae;
  3. Diploma or a notarised copy of the higher education diploma, together with its supplement (for the Master’s degree and, where the completed higher education follows a degree-based structure, for the Bachelor’s degree). Applicants who have not yet received their diploma must submit a certificate from their higher education institution confirming completion of their studies, which must indicate their overall academic grade and the grade received for the defence of their thesis (or the state examination);
  4. Certificate of recognition of higher education, where the diploma has been issued by a foreign higher education institution;
  5. Medical certificate for applicants who are not Bulgarian citizens and are not citizens of another European Union Member State, another state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation. The certificate must have been issued no more than one month prior to the date of application and must be certified by the competent authorities in the country from which the applicant applies;
  6. Declaration under § 5 of the Supplementary Provisions of Council of Ministers Decree No. 90 of 26 May 2000;
  7. Invoice confirming payment of the examination fee to the Centre for Training at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for participation in the competitive admission procedure.

The Director of the CMRC–BAS shall notify applicants in writing of the outcome of the eligibility assessment within 14 days of the expiry of the application deadline. In the case of applicants who are not admitted to the competitive procedure, the notification shall also state the reasons for their non-admission.

The notification shall include the syllabus of examination topics for the specialist subject examination and shall be sent to the applicants no later than one month before the examination date.

Applicants for doctoral training are eligible to participate in the competitive admission procedure if they have achieved an overall grade of at least “Very Good” (4.50) in their Master’s degree.

Applicants are considered to have successfully passed the competitive admission procedure if they have obtained an average grade of at least “Very Good” (4.50) in the written and oral specialist subject examinations and a grade of at least “Good” (4.00) in the foreign-language examination.