The doctoral studies represent the third cycle of studies offered by Babeş-Bolyai University with the purpose of expanding knowledge through original scientific research. They allow the acquisition of a level 8 qualification according to The European Qualifications Framework and to The National Qualifications Framework. Doctoral School of Sociology functions withing the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work and offers doctoral program in Sociology.
The doctoral program is scheduled for a period of 4 years (8 semesters) and includes:
- a training program based on advanced academic studies, carried out in a doctoral school and composed of activities performed in institutionalized study groups (30ECTS);
- an individual program of scientific research/artistic creation;
- public defense of minim 4 research reports in front of the Guidance and academic integrity committee;
- public defense of the doctoral thesis –
- fulfilling the national minimum standards established by CNATCDU through Anexa 25 a OMEN 5110/2018 and Minimal Doctoral Standards OME-No.3.018 Official Monitor Part I no.7 January 29, 2025 – ANNEX 25 in the area of Sociology
The curriculum for the 2026-2027 academic year includes 3 classes:
- Ethical Foundations in Social Sciences – Prof. emerit. dr. Petru Iluț, e-mail: petru.ilut@ubbcluj.ro, Prof. habil. univ. dr. Dégi László Csaba, e-mail: laszlo.degi@ubbcluj.ro
- Social Impact Assessment – Prof. habil. univ. dr. Dan Chiribucă, e-mail: dan.chiribuca@ubbcluj.ro, Prof. habil. univ. dr. Mircea Comșa, e-mail: mircea.comsa@ubbcluj.ro
- Quantitative Methods in Analysing Social Structures – Prof. habil. univ. dr. Veres Valér, e-mail: veres.valer@ubbcluj.ro, Prof. habil. univ. dr. István Horváth, istvan.horvath@ubbcluj.ro
As per OMEN 3131/2018 the contents regarding ethics and academic integrity are included in the class Methodological and Ethical Foundations in Social Sciences.
Also, Babeș-Bolyai University supports and implements European Doctorate as an effort for internationalization and improving the quality of the doctoral programs. http://news.ubbcluj.ro/ubb-implementeaza-doctoratul-european/
Further information about the doctoral program may be accessed here: https://doctorat.ubbcluj.ro/eng/the-organization-of-the-doctoral-studies/
Activities in the doctoral program are carried by faculty members and affiliated staff with prestigious activity both nationally and internationally.
Habilitation is the process that certifies the right to coordinate PhD thesis in a specific field. The habilitation process is regulated by the UBB (https://doctorat.ubbcluj.ro/ro/abilitarea/). Upon receiving the certificate form the Ministry of Education, the candidate addresses the doctoral school. In order to be accepted, he/she must comply to the requirements set in the UBB Decision no. 21244/23.10.2017.
Additional information regarding the habilitation process is here: https://doctorat.ubbcluj.ro/ro/abilitarea/
PhD coordinators
prof. habil. dr. Chiribucă Dan
prof. habil. dr. Comșa Mircea
prof. habil. dr. Culic Irina
prof. habil. dr. Pantea Maria Carmen
prof. habil. emerita. dr. Roth Maria (retired)
prof. habil. dr. Veres Valér
prof. habil. dr. Dégi László Csaba
conf. habil. dr. Iovu Mihai-Bogdan
conf. habil. dr. Petrovici Norbert Immanuel
lect. habil. dr. Telegdi Csetri Viorela
Council of studies
prof. dr. Dégi László Csaba (Doctoral School Director)
prof. dr. Valér Veres
conf. dr. Mihai-Bogdan Iovu
drd. Imre Georgiana
Affiliate members
Prof. dr. Breaz Alina Maria, Prof. dr. Buzducea Doru, Prof. dr. Durnescu Ioan, Prof. dr. Hatos Adrian, Prof. dr. Kádár Magor-Elek, Prof. dr. Popp Lavinia-Elisabeta, Prof. dr. Rusu Horațiu, Prof. dr. Sârbu Emanuel Adrian, Prof. dr. Tomiță Mihaela, Prof. dr. Vincze Hanna Orsolya, Prof. dr. Voicu Bogdan, Prof. dr. Antal Imola, Conf. dr. Baciu Ana-Cristina, Conf. dr. Balogh Martin, Conf. dr. Berszán Lídia, Conf. dr. Csata Zsombor, Conf. dr. Hărăguș Paul Teodor, Conf. dr. habil. Gyorfy Lehel-Zoltan, Conf. dr. Litan Cristian-Marius, Conf. dr. Man Titus-Cristian, Conf. dr. Motoi Gabriela, Conf. dr. Muller-Fabian Andrea, Conf. dr. Neamtu Nicoleta-Chivuta, Conf. dr. Poledna Sorina-Norico-Maria, Conf. dr. Rebeleanu Adina Daniela, Conf. dr. Szabó Árpád Töhötöm, Conf. dr. Vasiluța-Ștefănescu Marius, Conf. dr. Băican Eugen, Lect. dr. Dávid-Kacsó Ágnes, Lect. dr. Földes Ionuț, Lect. dr. Gál Katalin,Lect. dr. Geambasu Réka, Lect. dr. Ghețău Cosmin, Lect. dr. Marschalkó Eszter – Enikő, Lect. dr. Mateescu Oana-Maria, Lect. dr. Pásztor Gyöngyi, Lect. dr. Péter László, Lect. dr. Poenaru Florin, Lect. dr. Pop Cristian-Ioan, Lect. Rusu Dan Octavian, Lect. dr. Simionca Anca-Simona, Lect. dr. Sipos Roxana, Lect. dr. Teodorescu Adriana – Georgia, Lect. dr. Tranca Loredana, Lect. drd. Hărăguș Mihaela
The PhD program is normally structured for 4 years. If by the end of the doctoral program the PhD student does not defend the thesis he/she can extend the duration of the program for a maximum of 4 years (law 49/2013), with the agreement of the PhD coordinator.
During the entre doctoral program, PhD students are active members of the doctoral school by involvement in teaching and research projects carried by the departments.
During 2025-2026 academic year we have 40 students enrolled:
- 15 in the 1st year
- 7 in the 2nd year
- 14 in the 3rd year
- 4 in the 4th year
List of PhD students and their research topics (”doctoranzi” section).
Analysis of the 32 doctoral theses defended at ȘDS between January 2020 and September 2025 reflects a constant scientific productivity during these years and the firm anchoring of the SDS in research directions of maximum current relevance. The variety and international openness of the topics studied – which include analyses of complex phenomena such as transnational migration, digital inequalities, educational policies, as well as the dynamics of the labor market and the social assistance system – demonstrate the institution’s ability to train researchers capable of critically addressing the challenges of contemporary society.
[/su_spoiler]Regulation – PhD student
UBB Regulation regarding the doctoral program
Doctoral School of Sociology Regulation
National Guide for the Preparation of Doctoral Thesis
Decision regarding European DoctorateUBB
Regulation regarding habilitation process and accepting new members
Decision regarding access to the doctoral grant – supporting memorandum model Ist year, supporting memorandum model IInd and IIIrd year
Purchase requisition for materials
Purchase requisition for domestic travels
Doctoral grant settlement procedure
Strategy for preventing and combating the phenomenon of plagiarism at Babeș-Bolyai University
Methodology on the similarity analysis on doctoral theses using Turnitin software
Artificial Intelligence in Academic Writing. BBU Science Council point of view
Minimal standards regarding the PhD title
SOCIOLOGY, POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES COMMISSION
For those admitted IN the 2025 academic year – Minimal Doctoral Standards OME-No.3.018 Official Monitor Part I no.7 January 29, 2025 – ANNEX 25
In order to be awarded the doctoral degree, the following minimal standards must be met:
- Publication, as author or co-author, of at least two articles in journals indexed in international databases (IDB) or at least two book chapters in volumes published by a category A1 or A2 publisher (from the list for conferring teaching titles), in the field of doctoral studies or related studies (from the list for conferring teaching titles). Of these two articles or chapters, at least one must be published during the doctoral studies period, while the other may be published previously;
- The recognized international databases (IDB) are: ISI/WoS/Clarivate, SCOPUS, Cabells, CEEOL, CSA, DOAJ, EBSCO, EconLit, Erih Plus, GESIS, HEIN Online, IBSS, Index Copernicus, OVID, JSTOR, SSRN, Informa, De Gruyter, Cairn.info, Google Scholar (scientific articles), Persee, Project MUSE, ProQuest, PsychLIT, PubMed, REPEC, Revue.org, ScienceDirect, Springerlink, Tandfonline, Ulrich;
- Presentation of at least one paper at a national or international scientific conference during the doctoral program, in the field of doctoral studies or related fields (according to standards for conferring teaching titles).
Your scientific activity, including the fulfilment of minimum standards, is mandatory to report in the system of the Babeș-Bolyai University, Management of the academic/scientific activity of UBB, accessible at the following link: https://infocercetare.ubbcluj.ro/Account/ResetareCont Form for Verification of Compliance with Minimum Academic Standards SOCIOLOGY, POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES COMMISSIONFor those admitted BEFORE the academic year 2025 – ORDER No. 5110/2018 September 17, 2018 – APPENDIX 25 Minimum national standards
In order to be awarded the title of doctor, it is necessary to meet the following minimum standards:
1. the publication of at least two articles in journals indexed in international databases (BDI) or at least two book chapters in volumes published by a A1 publishing house (publishing houses with international prestige) or A2 (publishing houses with recognized prestige), as per annex no. 25 to the Order of the Minister of National Education and Scientific Research no. 6.129/2016 regarding the approval of the minimum necessary and mandatory standards for the awarding of teaching titles in higher education, professional degrees in research and development, the quality of doctoral supervisor and the qualification certificate;
2. the recognized international databases (BDI) are: ISI Web of Science, SCOPUS, EBSCO, ProQuest, CEEOL, Ulrich, ERIH, Index Copernicus, CSA, GESIS, IBSS, SAGE, OVID, ECOLIT, Psychlit, PubMEd, Elsevier, Springerlink, Persee, DOAJ, Jstor, SSRN, REPEC, Informa, Project MUSE and HEIN Online.
Your scientific activity, including the fulfilment of minimum standards, is mandatory to report in the system of the Babeș-Bolyai University, Management of the academic/scientific activity of UBB, accessible at the following link: https://infocercetare.ubbcluj.ro/Account/ResetareCont Form for Verification of Compliance with Minimum Academic Standards
Regulations – authorization and co-optation of new members:
To obtain the status of doctoral supervisor in Sociology and become a member of the Doctoral School of Sociology, the applicant must:
- a) Defend their habilitation thesis and obtain the habilitation certificate by ministerial order according to OMEN 3998/2024;
- b) Until and including the academic year 2025/2026, meet the minimum necessary and mandatory standards for conferring teaching titles in higher education, research and development professional degrees, doctoral supervisor quality and habilitation certificate as provided in OMEN 6129/2016, and starting with the academic year 2026/2027, meet the minimum national standards necessary and mandatory for conferring the habilitation certificate in Sociology, according to Annex 3 of the Minister of Education and Research Order no. 3019/2025;
- c) Meet at least the minimum standards established by the UBB Senate for occupying the position of university professor, and the specific requirements and procedures of the Doctoral School of Sociology, as follows:
– Habilitation certificate in Sociology
– Scientific publications:
- Minimum three scientific articles in the last three years, indexed in international journals indexed ISI/WoS/Clarivate
- For at least two of the three articles, the author must be listed as main author and must fall within the core domain
- At least two articles from those published in the last three years must be included in the first two quartiles of the field (according to the article influence score, as per WoS – Journal Citation Report at the time of publication). For each article, candidates must specify the ISI/WoS/Clarivate category of the journal, and whether the publication falls within the core domain (N)* or related domains (C)**
– Membership in professional academic networks
– No existing sanctions regarding previous breaches of academic ethics or complaints under analysis by the UBB Ethics Committee or other competent bodies. If this criterion is not met, the application is rejected without proceeding to the members’ vote.
– Obtaining at least 2/3 of the votes from the current doctoral supervisors, expressed through their secret ballot.
Definitions according to CNATDCU:
*Core domain (N):
Contains the ISI/Web of Science/Clarivate categories used for journal classification, specific to each field of the commission. For Sociology (including specializations in Sociology, Human Resources, Anthropology, and Social Work), these include:
Sociology; Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary; Social Issues; Multidisciplinary Sciences; Social Sciences, Mathematical Methods; Social Sciences, Biomedical; Demography; Development Studies; Statistics & Probability; Criminality & Penology; Anthropology; Cultural Studies; Management; Psychology, Applied; Psychology, Social; Industrial Relations & Labor; Social Work; Family Studies; Substance Abuse; Gerontology.
**Related domains (C):
Contains the ISI/Web of Science/Clarivate categories used for journal classification, considered related to the main domain. For Sociology (including the mentioned specializations), these include: Ethnic Studies; Communication; Business; Economics; History; Literary Theory & Criticism; Philosophy; Religion; Ethics; History & Philosophy of Science; Hospitality Leisure Sport & Tourism; Public, Environmental and Occupational Health; Rehabilitation; Health Care Sciences & Services; Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications; Education & Educational Research; Education, Scientific Disciplines; Education, Special; Psychology, Educational; Health Policy and Services; Psychology, Multidisciplinary; Psychology, Developmental; History of Social Sciences; Political Science; Geography; Public Administration; Women’s Studies; Urban Studies; International Relations; Language & Linguistics; Regional & Urban Planning; Humanities, Multidisciplinary.
NEW!
Before submitting the application file to the IDS, for the transparency procedure, doctoral students will schedule themselves on this platform: https://solicitari.doctorat.ubbcluj.ro/events.
Forms and templates from ISD can be found at the following link: https://doctorat.ubbcluj.ro/eng/forms/
The IDS site is a useful resource for students and researchers interested in the Ph.D. program at the Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca. It provides easy access to the forms needed to complete the Ph.D. program. The site provides the necessary forms for the enrollment process and for conducting doctoral studies. The site contains forms for the different stages of the Ph.D. program, such as admission registration, confirmation of enrollment in the program, submission of the Ph.D. thesis, application for enrollment for the Ph.D. defense, and many more.
Admission is organized by the Institute for Doctoral Studies. Information may be found here.
laszlo.degi@ubbcluj.ro
edit.vilk@ubbcluj.ro
telephone: 0756-831.955
