Doctoral Committees (DC) of Physical geography, Cartography, geoinformatics and remote sensing and Social geography and regional development each have three representatives on the Doctoral Board (DB). Concerning the fact that DB guarantees doctoral studies, DB approved the following structure of responsibilities related to Part IV, Article 27 of the MU Study and Examination Regulations:

1. Entrance examination for doctoral studies: The Department of Geography will have 1-2 admissions committees composed of the DB and DC members, as needed. DB approves doctoral thesis.
2. DB provides the appointment or dismissal of supervisors (based on a proposal from the DC).
3. DB provides the dean with recommendations on the appointment and dismissal of the chair and members of the doctoral state examination board (based on a proposal from the DC).
4. DB provides the dean with recommendations on the appointment and dismissal of the chair, board members and reviewers for a doctoral thesis defence (based on a proposal from the DC).
5. The doctoral state examination takes place first, the defence of the dissertation second, if necessary, even in one day. The range of topics for the doctoral state examination is prepared and continuously updated by DC.
6. DB considers the evaluation of the course of studies and the proper fulfilment of study requirements in a doctoral programme based on the information of the DC chairperson.
7. DC and supervisors are responsible for the study programme in Parts A and B and the programme and course of these courses. At least 3 courses in the 1st year and 2 courses in the 2nd year of doctoral studies are completed by an examination.
8. Reminders of the DB and DC activities and the course of doctoral studies of Geography can be sent to the DB chairperson or DB members.

The goal of the doctoral studies is to complete the basic teaching duties according to the Study plan developed by the supervisor, pass the doctoral state examination and submit a doctoral thesis for defence, prepared under the supervision of the supervisor. The basic teaching duties, regardless of the field of study, are distributed in the first three years in the following breakdown:

• Part A: includes required courses according to the chosen field of study, determined by the Doctoral board/committee, usually completed with an exam (see below).
• Part B: includes elective and selective courses recommended by the supervisor to expand the necessary knowledge regarding doctoral study and the topic of doctoral theses.
• Part C: includes the active participation of students in geographical seminars.
• Part D: includes student assistance in teaching according to the requirements of the Department of Geography. The chairman of the relevant doctoral committee is responsible for adequately fulfilling teaching duties in the combined form of study based on the proposal of the study program prepared by the supervisor.
• Part E: preparation of dissertation theses. The theses mainly contain an overview of the solved issues based on a search of domestic and foreign literature, including methods of processing the topics of the doctoral theses. They are submitted to the supervisor in the form of a written report.
• Part F: paper at an international professional forum in English. It is about actively presenting a paper at an international conference in English at least once during your studies.

The doctoral state examination precedes the defence of the doctoral theses (they can be held in one day). The application for it (see Application for the State Doctoral Examination) and other requirements related to it are determined by Article 32 of MU study and examination regulations. Its more detailed definition is specified for individual programmes of doctoral study.

Articles 31 and 33 of the MU Study and Examination Regulations deal with the doctoral theses and their defence. The actual processing is governed by the instructions, see Pokyny pro vypracování disertační práce na PřF MU (only in Czech).

The prerequisite for starting the procedure (see Doctoral thesis defence application, only in Czech) in connection with the doctoral theses defence is the student's publication activity according to alternative A or B:

A: one publication of a part of the work or the whole work in a foreign peer-reviewed journal (except for Slovakia)
B: two publications of a part of the work or the whole work in the journals Geografie - Sborník České geografické společnosti (Prague) and Geografický časopis (Bratislava)

Changing the journals listed in point B for other peer-reviewed journals in the Czech Republic or Slovakia is possible only based on an individual student request addressed to the doctoral board.

A confirmation from the relevant journal editors that the article has been accepted for publication after the review process is sufficient to initiate the procedure.