Financing of doctoral studies

Tuition

Starting from the academic year 2021/2022, the tuition fee for the doctoral programme in English has been abolished. In relation to this change we can offer the same funding as in the Czech programme also to students of the English programme.

Note that doctoral students still need to cover their individual living expenses (e.g., accommodation, food, travel costs, insurance, etc.). We also expect doctoral students in the English programme to take a basic-level course of Czech language during their study.

0 CZK

Tuition fee for the English PhD programme

Funding

One of the most common questions from people interested in Ph.D. studies is the amount of monthly income they can expect during their studies. Faculty of Informatics is aware of the opportunities offered to graduates of Master's studies in the commercial IT sector. Therefore, within the limits of the given system of postgraduate education in the Czech Republic, the faculty is trying to offer the best possible financial conditions to prospective Ph.D. students.

According to Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education, § 91a, the doctoral income is a combination of a scholarship and a salary and it cannot be lower than 1.2 times the minimum monthly salary in the Czech Republic. This minimum salary is set each year and is valid since July 1st. For the academic year 2025/2026, the doctoral income is therefore not lower than CZK 24,960 per month.

New and current students will have to apply for the basic doctoral scholarship through an application in the Information System MU, which will be made available from September 15, 2025.

MU Scholarship Regulations Rector's Measure 2025/26
FI MU Scholarship Programmes Dean's Measure 2025/26
New students from 1 September 2025

With effect from 1 September 2025, the doctoral income of a full-time student in a standard doctoral study programme who started studying from the academic year 2025/2026 will always consist of a doctoral scholarship and the salary resulting from the employment contract at the faculty:

  • Basic doctoral scholarship at the Faculty of Informatics

    CZK 18,000 per month

    The doctoral scholarship will be granted at the request of the student, provided that the standard period of study in the current study programme has not been exceeded after all periods of unsuccessful previous studies in doctoral programmes at a state or public university have been counted. In the case of concurrent studies, the student is entitled to apply for a doctoral scholarship in only one study programme.

    The doctoral scholarship is specified in Article 8 of the MU Scholarship Regulations.

  • Employment in the amount of 20% of full-time employment

    Approximately CZK 7,000 net salary per month

    Each doctoral student will automatically receive a part-time employment contract of 20% at the faculty with gross salary of CZK 10,500, which corresponds to approximately CZK 7,000 net salary. These funds will preferably be paid from the supervisor's research projects (where the research topic of the project must be related to the dissertation topic) or from centralised faculty funds. In the case of a higher level of involvement of the student in the research project, the time and salary may be increased accordingly. Further information can be obtained from the supervisor.

The student's income may be further increased by, for example, the following sources:

  • Scholarship to increase the attractiveness of doctoral studies

    maximum CZK 7,000 per month

    This scholarship is automatically granted to all full-time students in the first three semesters of their studies. Thereafter, it is paid to students with at least one high-quality publication in the last three semesters, taking into account the student's contribution to the publication. The sum of the reported share of the student in all such publications must be greater than or equal to 100% in order to receive the full amount of the scholarship (i.e., CZK 7,000). In the case of a lower share, a proportional amount corresponding to the percentage share will be paid. The share of the student is reported when putting the publication record into IS. It is calculated as a portion of the whole share of the faculty on such a publication, distributed among the Ph.D. students co-authoring that publication.

    The compliance check is carried out once per semester, always before the date of the Doctoral Board meeting according to the schedule of doctoral studies at FI MU. Thus, when choosing a conference or journal, it is necessary to discuss with your supervisor that the intended publications meet the given criteria.

    The scholarship for increasing the attractiveness of doctoral studies is specified in the currently valid Measure of the Dean of FI MU - Scholarship Programmes.

  • Income for teaching

    Doctoral students may participate in teaching activities at FI MU, e.g., by teaching seminars. This activity is remunerated according to the teaching workload, but only when the teaching assistance of 150 hours for the entire study is reached (this is stated in the rules for full-time doctoral studies, which will be published during September 2025).

  • External scholarships

    Apply for external funding from non-profit associations such as JCMM:

As a result, an active full-time doctoral student can expect a minimum monthly net income of approximately CZK 32,000 during the standard period of study: CZK 18,000 basic doctoral scholarship + approximately CZK 7,000 net salary + up to CZK 7,000 scholarship to increase the attractiveness of doctoral studies.

Existing students

With effect from 1 September 2025, the doctoral income of a full-time student in a standard doctoral programme who started studying before the start of the academic year 2025/2026 consists of:

  • Basic doctoral scholarship at the Faculty of Informatics

    25,000 CZK per month

    The doctoral scholarship will be granted at the request of the student.

    Article 8 of the MU Scholarship Regulations specifies the doctoral scholarship.

The student's income may be further increased by, for example, the following sources:

  • Scholarship to increase the attractiveness of doctoral studies

    maximum CZK 7,000 per month

    This scholarship is automatically granted to all full-time students in the first three semesters of their studies. Thereafter, it is paid to students with at least one high-quality publication in the last three semesters, taking into account the student's contribution to the publication. The sum of the reported share of the student in all such publications must be greater than or equal to 100% in order to receive the full amount of the scholarship (i.e., CZK 7,000). In the case of a lower share, a proportional amount corresponding to the percentage share will be paid. The share of the student is reported when putting the publication record into IS. It is calculated as a portion of the whole share of the faculty on such a publication, distributed among the Ph.D. students co-authoring that publication.

    For students who have already been determined as eligible for this scholarship on the basis of a high-quality publication before 1 September 2025, the original scholarship rule (i.e., there will be no retrospective recalculation of the percentage) will remain in force for that publication, including the stipulated validity period of four semesters. However, the maximum amount of the scholarship will now be CZK 7,000 per month also in this case.

    The compliance check is carried out once per semester, always before the date of the Doctoral Board meeting according to the schedule of doctoral studies at FI MU. When choosing a conference or journal, it is necessary to discuss with your supervisor that the intended publications meet the criteria.

    The scholarship for increasing the attractiveness of doctoral studies is specified in the currently valid Measure of the Dean of FI MU - Scholarship Programmes.

  • Income for teaching

    Doctoral students may participate in teaching activities at FI MU, e.g., by teaching seminars. This activity is remunerated according to the teaching workload.

  • Income from projects

    Within the framework of many research projects carried out at FI, it is possible to participate in research and receive additional funding in this way. Further information about this possibility can be obtained directly from the supervisor.

As a result, an active full-time doctoral student can expect a minimum monthly net income of approximately 32,000 CZK during the standard period of study: 25,000 CZK basic doctoral stipend + up to 7,000 CZK scholarship to increase the attractiveness of doctoral studies.

Overview of changes from September 2025
  • Compared to the situation before 1 September 2025, the basic doctoral scholarship for current and new students will increase.
  • New and current students must newly apply for the basic doctoral scholarship via the application in the Information System MU, which will be made available in September 2025.
  • Several changes have been made to the scholarship to increase the attractiveness of doctoral studies (the so-called publication scholarship):
    • For publications reported in the Information System MU from 1 September 2025, the percentage of domestic authors per publication must be newly indicated. This percentage then enters into the calculation of the student's percentage contribution to this high-quality publication and thus affects the amount of the publication scholarship for the following semester.
    • The amount of the scholarship paid is changing in the following way:
      • CZK 7,000 for the first three semesters of study (even if the student has already produced a high-quality publication, but has not yet achieved a 100% contribution on that publication or has no publication)
      • CZK 7,000 in case of 100% (or higher) share on high-quality publications in the given period,
      • in the case of a lower percentage on high-quality publications, a proportionate amount will newly be paid (previously no scholarship was paid).
        For example: if a student reached a share on a high-quality publication of 85% for a given term, the scholarship in the amount of CZK 5,950 will be paid in that term.
    • The validity of a given high-quality publication as a condition for receiving a publication scholarship is reduced from four semesters to three.
    • The maximum amount of the publication scholarship for new and current students is set at CZK 7,000.
    • The calculation of the student's percentage share of the publication, which enters into the calculation of the amount of the publication scholarship, is as follows:
      • Only the shares of doctoral students at FI on the publication are taken into account for the calculation of the publication scholarship (the shares of other authors do not affect the calculation).
      • If a given publication is reported with a 100% share at the Faculty of Informatics, then the doctoral students will divide these 100% proportionally; the distribution ratio is calculated from the actual student's share of the publication as listed in the IS MU.
        For example: the co-authors of a publication are two doctoral students who have reported a percentage share of 30% and 20% in the IS MU. When calculating the publication scholarship, these students will divide 100% of the share, so the first one will be granted with 60% and the second one with 40%.
      • If the reported percentage of publication in the Faculty of Informatics is smaller, this percentage is divided.
        For example: in the above example, if the share of the Faculty of Informatics on a given publication was only 80%, these learners would split that share and their resulting percentages would be 48% and 32% respectively.