Publication requirements

Overview

Publishing research results is an integral and mandatory part of doctoral training. Publications both demonstrate the candidate’s research achievements and contribute to the accumulation of research credits required for the absolutorium and for submission of the dissertation. The doctoral school’s regulations specify both the number and the quality requirements of publications and the registration and documentation obligations that must be satisfied.

Requirements and point conversion

  • Absolutorium requirement: a minimum of 30 publication points must be collected. Publication points contribute to research credits (1 publication point = 3 research credits).
  • Final dissertation submission requirement: at the moment of final submission for the degree procedure the candidate must hold at least four scientific publications, of which at least one is published in an international journal and at least one is published in a domestic journal of A–C classification. These four publications are a formal condition for the final submission; they are not required to obtain the absolutorium itself (the absolutorium is conditional on the 30 publication points and submission of the dissertation proposal for pre-evaluation).
  • The four-publication requirement and the 30-point requirement must both be met at the time of final dissertation submission. Achieving four publications alone is not sufficient if the 30 publication points threshold has not been satisfied.

The doctoral school uses the following scoring scale (the scoring table are also published in the doctoral regulations):

Scoring table

In collaborative publications the point value is divided proportionally among authors in accordance with the doctoral school rules (the exact distribution method is set out in the rules).

Registration and record-keeping obligations

All publications must be recorded in the following systems:

  1. MTMT (Hungarian Scientific Works Database) — registration in MTMT is mandatory by the end of the first active semester. The MTMT coordinator for the Faculty is Eszter Révész (revesz.eszter [at] lib.pte.hu (revesz[dot]eszter[at]lib[dot]pte[dot]hu) or ktk-mtmt [at] lib.pte.hu (ktk-mtmt[at]lib[dot]pte[dot]hu)). Contact the coordinator for technical assistance with MTMT records.
  2. ORCID — each doctoral candidate must create an ORCID identifier and link it to the MTMT profile. ORCID provides a unique, persistent identifier for authors and is required for consistent record-keeping.
  3. Bibliographic identifiers — where applicable, Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) identifiers should also be recorded in the MTMT profile for publications indexed in these databases. Guidance regarding Scopus / WoS identifiers is available in the Faculty documentation.
  4. Doctoral school’s internal web application — in addition to MTMT, all publications must be entered in the doctoral school’s internal tracking application. The internal record ensures that the doctoral school can verify and approve items for credit allocation.

Practical guidance for publishing

  • Affiliation: every publication must include the correct institutional affiliation: PhD student, University of Pécs, Faculty of Business and Economics, Doctoral School of Business Administration (or the appropriate Hungarian variant).
  • Publication plan: prepare a publication plan in consultation with the supervisor. Some journals’ review cycles extend over many months; strategic planning is essential.
  • Publication fees: the Doctoral School and the University do not routinely finance publication fees or APCs; candidates should prioritise journals that do not charge fees or that offer fee waivers. Information about open-access options and funding is available from the University Library and the Faculty.
  • Predatory journals: avoid predatory open-access journals that offer publication without proper peer review. Signs of predatory practice include unclear peer review, aggressive unsolicited invitations, false or misleading indexing claims and opaque fee structures. Consult resources such as Clarivate Journal Master List, SCImago Journal Rankings, Beall’s List, and always seek the supervisor’s advice before submitting.

Scoring, credits and examples

  • Conversion:1 publication point = 3 research credits. To reach 30 publication points therefore corresponds to approximately 90 research credits if all points are obtained through publications.
  • Examples: a single Q1 article already fulfils the 30-point threshold, but the four-publication formal requirement for final submission would still need to be met (i.e., at least four separate publications with the required composition).

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