The doctoral studies at the Faculty of Economics had a mentoring character before passing new regulations in 2006, i.e. the Serbian Law on Higher Education. Having introduced the new way of the study based on the Bologna processes, the Faculty abandoned the mentor concept. Doctoral studies have been intensively developing. The Curriculum has been developed according to the concept “3+2+3”, i.e. its structure consists of three years of undergraduate studies, two years of graduate studies and three years of doctoral studies. The adequate ECTS points allowing the possibility to all the candidates to enroll doctoral studies if they realize previously 300 ECTS points in undergraduate and graduate studies follow this concept. Doctoral studies have 180 ECTS points at least.
Primary aim of the Curriculum of doctoral studies at the Faculty is to train the Ph. D candidates for their independent research work. The most significant part of the Curriculum is to prepare the themes of doctoral dissertations, carrying out researches, writing and defense of dissertations. Students are independent in choosing narrow scientific fields for their doctoral dissertations. They select the program they are interested in, the theme being relevant and current being in accordance with contemporary scientific trends in the field.
Candidates must specially concentrate on the methodology and scientific method in the field. An important aim of the curriculum is including the Ph. D candidate into the educational and scientific-research work at the Faculty. In this way, a systematic and serious training and recruiting the best students for the future work at the University will be attained.
When defining the research and educational structure of the doctoral studies, a great care is taken to select the themes, subjects and research projects connected to the scientific fields being in the focus of interest and which represent the basis for solving the current problems of contemporary business.
The Curriculum of the doctoral studies determines the aims and learning outcomes of the Curriculum, academic, i.e. scientific title, entrance requirements, list of obligatory and elective study fields, i.e. courses with general contents. It also determines the way and time for conducting studies, point worth for each subject in accordance with the ECTS, point worth of the doctoral dissertation. It points to prerequisites for enrollment of some courses or groups of courses, elective way of courses from other study programs, requirements for passing from other study programs with the framework of the same or related study fields, and so on.
Four segments form the structure of the Curriculum:
•Lectures and consultations of core and major scientific fields with the obligatory and elective courses (A).
•Work in the scientific-research process (B),
•Work in the educational process (C),
•Doctoral dissertation (D).
The work deals with the basic concepts, aims and competences of doctoral studies in the field of Business Informatics at the Faculty of Economics, as well as the ways of valorization of all the activities the candidates realize through the segments of the curricula. Every cited segment is dealt in particular way and the accepted rules and standards are given in details.