Application

The competition for admission to the state-funded PhD studies in sociology is held once a year. 

To be eligible for the open competition for admission to the PhD studies, you must have a Master’s degree or a diploma certifying an equivalent qualification.

Before submitting your application, it is recommended that you review information about the research areas and the proposed PhD topics and supervisors of the LCSS Institute of Sociology before applying for the PhD in sociology.

If you are still undecided about the topic on which you would like to further your knowledge and write your dissertation, we suggest that you review the PhD topics and contact a potential supervisor for a consultation.

Applicants to the PhD programme will need to submit the following documents:

  • An application for admission to the competition;
  • A diploma, its annex/appendix, certifying a Master‘s degree or an equivalent qualification;
  • A certificate of recognition of a higher education qualification obtained abroad issued by the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education;
  • Two letters of recommendations from scholars in the field of sociology;
  • Curriculum vitae (signed);
  • List of scientific publications (with full bibliographical description) and copies of scientific articles;
  • Proof of knowledge of foreign languages;
  • Research project (in electronic format);
  • A copy of the personal data page of the passport or a copy of the identity card;
  • Other documents as specified in the admission terms and conditions for PhD students.

Admission preparation memo

Preparation for document submissionSubmission of documentsAdmission meeting
(motivational interview)
Publication of admission results

Preparation for document submission

  • Carefully review the admission requirements to avoid missing important information (there is little change in the competition procedures from year to year, so in the absence of a confirmed admission procedure for the current year, you may review the terms and conditions of the previous year’s competition).
  • When preparing your research project, please check whether the topic of the project is in line with the research lines and the proposed PhD themes of the LCSS Institute of Sociology.
  • If you have completed your Master’s degree or equivalent studies at a foreign university, you should submit your diploma for recognition as soon as possible. Documents for the recognition of your qualification in Lithuania should be submitted to the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (LT link; EN link). Please note that the recognition procedure can take up to several months.
  • Contact scholars and teachers in the field of sociology who know you and can write letters of recommendation.

Submission of documents

  • Fill in the application form for the open competition addressed to the Director of the LCSS, checking that you have filled in all the required fields, and that you have indicated the field of PhD research, the format and the preferred dissertation topics in order of priority (no more than two).
  • Pay the application fee.
  • Submit your documents.

Admission meeting (motivational interview)

  • You will be informed of the date and time of the admission meeting at the end of the application period. During the admission meeting, the Doctoral Committee will invite applicants to a motivational interview.
  • During the motivational interview, please be prepared to briefly introduce yourself and present your research project.
  • The Doctoral Committee evaluates each applicant according to the following selection criteria:
    – publications evaluated in accordance with the current methodology for evaluating scientific production, approved by order of the Minister for Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, and other scientific activities;
    – the average of the applicant’s grades in the Master’s degree programme or equivalent higher education studies and the grade of the final thesis;
    – knowledge of foreign languages;
    – the relevance of scientific qualifications, scientific publications and scientific experience to each of the chosen themes;
    – research project;
    – motivational interview;
    – other criteria approved by the minutes of the Doctoral Committee.

Publication of admission results

  • Information on the PhD students who are offered doctoral studies in sociology will be published in the manner and within the time limits set out in the Competition Terms and Conditions.