Your brain longs for advanced knowledge. If you want to do something for yourself and others, SWPS University’s Doctoral School, where you can learn from the leading researchers in the filed of psychology, is the space for you.
Professor Grzegorz Sędek, social psychologist
Psychology
Doctoral School
Level: Doctoral Studies |
Duration: 4 years
Mode: Full-time | Classes: Monday to Friday
Language of instruction: English
program
Applications open on June 3, 2025.
Unique Teaching Program
SWPS University’s Doctoral School - Our Difference
We have developed a unique doctoral education model, which we offer in collaboration with international institutions that support universities in providing professional development for researchers. We accept candidates intent on academic and research careers. We provide them with optimal conditions for realizing their research aspirations, and we help them to launch their scientific careers. We understand that the most effective format of education, which ensures successful defense of doctoral theses requires several components such as: mentorship, collaboration with other researchers, networking, and sharing knowledge and experience with international colleagues.
-
Top specialists
Our doctoral students have an opportunity to work with renowned experts specializing in most advanced and current sub-disciplines of psychology, such as: experimental psychology, positive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology, visual communication, and business psychology. Our academic team includes lecturers from the Faculty of Psychology in Warsaw and SWPS University’s Institute of Psychology.
-
Flexible Teaching Program
Our teaching program includes lectures, seminars, workshops and individual meetings with thesis advisors. This enables you to gain theoretical knowledge and methodological and practical skills indispensable to carry out advanced research in the area of culture and religion studies. At the same time, flexibility of our program allows you to change and complete courses from other disciplines than your main discipline. Topics discussed during our seminars and workshops are presented from diverse perspectives and offer various scientific approaches.
-
Working in research teams
From the very beginning, our doctoral students work with researcher teams whose research interests are aligned with those of the student. Doctoral candidates participate in various initiatives and projects, observe other researchers, become familiar with the academic environment, and take part in conferences and debates. Working with expert researchers helps students to acquire theoretical knowledge and methodological and practical research skills indispensable for carrying out advanced research.
-
Mentoring program
As a student of the Doctoral School you can take advantage of our innovative mentoring program, which provides you with additional guidance on your way to a doctoral degree. The program offers group workshops, peer-mentoring meetings conducive to integration of doctoral students, exchange of knowledge and best practices among doctoral candidates, and individual consultation with mentors, who advise you on the development of your research career.
-
Funding for research-related activities
Doctoral students are eligible to receive funding for participation in conferences and other research-related activities deemed crucial for their doctoral research. You can also take advantage of various opportunities concerning collaboration with research centers abroad, which organize international conferences and symposia, and offer fellowships.
-
Partnering with the European University Association (EUA)
We are a member of the European University Association (EUA), which represents more than 850 universities and national conferences of rectors in 49 European countries. EUA plays a key role in the Bologna process and influences EU policy on higher education, research and innovation. Through constant interaction with a range of other European and international organizations, EUA ensures that the independent voice of European universities is heard.
Doctoral scholarships
Funding of your doctoral education
We offer free of charge doctoral studies for full-time students. Throughout the whole period of doctoral studies, students receive tax-free scholarships in the amount equal to 37%, and 57% after the mid-term assessment, of a professorial remuneration specified in the government’s regulation. The scholarships are subject to social insurance deductions, which means that doctoral students contribute to their state pension capital over the period of doctoral studies. In practice, the amount of doctoral scholarships, after pension deductions, amounts to at least: net PLN 3,076.53 (before the mid-term assessment), and net PLN 4,739.51 (after the mid-term assessment).
Our Doctoral School also accepts doctoral fellows who receive scholarships from research programs carried out by researchers from SWPS University. Detailed information is available in the Admissions Regulations.
Collaboration with research teams/centers
Learning practical skills from the the best
Review information on our research centers and teams and peruse the list of thesis advisors to select the center/team that will be most aligned with your research topic. This is the first step towards your application to SWPS University’s Doctoral School. You can work with research centers and teams located at any campus of SWPS University.
Behavioral Neuroscience Lab
The Center carries out basic research on perception, emotion regulation, empathic response, affective and cognitive perspective-taking, sensory processing (especially pain), and states of consciousness.
Center for Research on Biological Basis of Social Behavior
The goal of the Center is to explain human social behavior by applying biological, including evolutionary, perspectives. The Center researches phenomena such as emotional mimicry in the social context, social implications of the behavioral immune system, signaling pathway of creativity in women, and psychoacoustics.
Center for Research on Cognition and Behavior
The Center carries out basic research in the field of social cognition, and work and organizational psychology. For example, the researchers study social cognition of self and others, skewed assessments and moral judgements, embodied cognition, and media multitasking.
Center for Research on Personality Development
The Center for Research on Personality Development conducts studies on development of personality structures, personality disorders, and the impact of personality changes on human ability to face daily life requirements.
Center for Research on Social Relations
The Center researches social relationships in different social groups such as couples, teams, organizations, and nationalities.
Decisionlab: Center for Behavioral Research on Decision Making
The goal of the Center is to advance current knowledge about the fundamental human behavioral processes involved in decision making.
Eye Tracking Research Center
The Eye Tracking Research Center partners with Eye-Tracking Lab at Clemson University’s School of Computing (EYECU) in South Carolina, USA to carry out basic and applied research on the dynamics of cognitive processes such as gaze capture, human-computer interaction (HCI) – including virtual and mixed reality, multimedia in education, and accessibility of media.
Health & Coping Research Group
The Center specializes in health psychology, in particular various aspects of coping with prolonged stress.
Select a research center and thesis advisor
Step by step instructions
-
Review our research centers
Before you apply to our Doctoral School, review our Research Centers and choose a center or team, whose area of expertise is aligned with the topic of your doctoral thesis. Review the biographies of thesis advisors, in particular their research interests and requirements concerning doctoral candidates. Choose an expert with whom you would like to collaborate.
-
Contact your chosen research center
E-mail the head of the center/research team, where your thesis advisor works. Present the scope of your proposed research project, and indicate the researcher whom you have chosen as your thesis advisor. You may also contact the selected thesis advisor directly.
-
Obtain recommendation of the Head of the Center
Once you receive initial approval of your potential thesis advisor, submit a request for a formal recommendation to the Head of the Research Center. You will need this document while registering in our Application Portal.
Guide to Doctoral Studies
Before you apply to SWPS University’s Doctoral School
What is a doctorate? What does the research process look like? What are the steps to writing your doctoral thesis? How does a collaboration between a doctoral student and a research center looks like? Review our Guide to Doctoral Studies to learn more about our doctoral program, mentoring, scholarships, and grants for doctoral students.
Review our Guide to Doctoral StudiesThesis advisors
available in 2024/2025
Review profiles of the available thesis advisors. Read the attached overviews describing their research interests and thematic scope of doctoral thesis, which they can supervise.
Application
step by step
Review detailed rules and regulations
- Fill in the Application Form.
(June 3-17, 2024) - Submit copies of the required documents to the Office of the Doctoral School by June 17, 2024
- Attend an interview (July 9-24, 2024).
- Wait for the admission announcement (by September 30, 2024)
- Submit original documents for review to the Office of the Doctoral School as soon as you are admitted (mandatory condition).
Required
documents
- personal data form
- application and motivational letter, addressed to the Admissions Committee appropriate to a particular discipline
- Master’s degree diploma, including a diploma supplement or a university transcript, and your Grade Point Average (GPA) (copy)
- documents confirming your achievements (copy)
- overview of your proposed doctoral dissertation
- confirmation of the application fee payment
- formal approval of a research center or a research team
Documents
Rules and regulations
- Resolution on rules and regulations concerning admissions to SWPS University's Doctoral School 2024-2025
- Rules and regulations concerning admissions to SWPS University's Doctoral School 2025-2026
- Rules and regulations for admitting international candidates to SWPS University's Doctoral School 2025-2026
- Admission rules for candidates receiving external funding from research grants 2025-2026
- List of required documents and assessment criteria 2025-2026
- Documents confirming language proficiency 2025-2026
Forms
Fees
and scholarships
Application fee
Application fee is PLN 400
The application fee is nonrefundable regardless of the admission decision. Graduates of SWPS University are exempt from the application fee.
Funding of doctoral education
| Full-time | |
|---|---|
| Free of charge as it is funded by the Ministry of Education and Science (MEiN). | |
| Scholarships for doctoral students | |
| Over the period of doctoral studies, students who do not already hold doctoral degrees, receive tax-free scholarships in the amount equal to 37% (before the mid-term assessment), and 57% (after the mid-term assessment), of a professorial remuneration specified in the Minister’s regulation. | |
| before mid-term assessment | after mid-term assessment |
| net PLN 3,076.53 | net PLN 4,739.51 |