The Β΄Cycle of postgraduate studies, leading to the award of a Doctorate (Ph.D.), is governed by the provisions of Law 2083/92 (Article 12, paragraph 5) and the Departmental Regulations for Postgraduate Studies.

To register in the Β΄Cycle of postgraduate studies for the acquisition of a doctoral degree, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

The candidate must hold a relevant Diploma of Postgraduate Specialization or Postgraduate Degree from a Greek or foreign University, with a minimum mark of 7 out of a maximum of 10.

Adequate knowledge of a foreign language of the E.U., as defined by the conditions specified under the paragraph “Method of Selection” (page 2) of the present rules.

Degrees awarded by foreign universities must be recognized by DIKATSA.

The Agricultural University of Athens awards:

• To agriculturalists who hold the D.P.S. or an equivalent Diploma, a Doctorate in Agricultural Science.
• To the holders of a D.P.S. or equivalent Diploma in a non-agricultural science, a Doctorate of the Agricultural University.

Each candidate for a Doctorate:

• Submits a written application for registration in the Β΄Cycle of Postgraduate Studies to the Secretariat of the P.P.S.  The Secretariat inspects the candidate’s qualifications and forwards them to the Committee for Postgraduate Studies from where they are directed to the relevant Departmental Section for assessment.  The Sections evaluate the application and submit a detailed recommendation to the General Assembly.
• On the basis of the recommendation of the Coordination Committee, the General Assembly of the Department appoints a 3-member Advisory Committee for the supervision of the doctorate candidate. The Advisory committee comprises the student’s Supervisor, who is a Professor, Associate or Assistant Professor of the Department of Crop Science, and two other members of the teaching staff, one of whom may be a Departmental Lecturer (permanent or with at least 3 years’ service) or a Research Scientist of a recognized Research Centre.
• On the request of the 3-member Advisory Committee to the Coordination Committee and subject to the approval of the General Assembly, it is possible for a doctorate candidate to follow certain courses of any of the University Departments participating in the P.P.S., if these are considered to be necessary for the completion of the doctoral degree.
• The subject of the doctorate may be a continuation of the student’s D.P.S. project.  The project may thus serve as a starting point, providing questions or research problems to be answered, but the results of the project are not to be included in the doctoral thesis.
• On completion of his/her research, the doctorate candidate submits a complete copy of the work to the 3-member Advisory Committee for evaluation.  The Committee may recommend the student to proceed with the compilation of a thesis, or request additional research or modifications followed by resubmission of the work.
• The compilation of the thesis by the doctorate candidate presupposes that the 3-member Advisory Committee has evaluated his/her total research work and concluded that the candidate has fulfilled all his/her obligations prior to writing up the thesis.  Once the thesis has been completed, it is submitted by the 3-member Advisory Committee to the General Assembly, together with a detailed, fully justified recommendation, which indicates the content of the thesis, the originality of the work and the contribution it makes to the advancement of science.
• On the advice of the 3-member Advisory Committee, the General Assembly of the Department appoints a 7-member Examination Board, in agreement with Law 2083/92 (paragraph 5 of Article 12).  The Examination Board, which includes the three members of the Advisory Committee who are teaching staff or honorary professors, examines the candidate orally and evaluates his/her thesis.  The student’s Supervisor acts as Chairman of the Examination Board.
• The time limits within which the doctorate candidate must submit his/her thesis for evaluation by the 7-member Examination Board are no sooner than two years after obtaining the D.P.S. and no later than five years after the subject of the doctorate has been designated.  The Examination Board decides on the originality of the thesis, its completeness, whether it contributes to science and to what extent it consists of systematic research on a specific subject within a scientific area. Moreover, the writer of the thesis is required to refer to his/her sources of information and the specific bibliography used, so that the authenticity of the work may be determined and the personal scientific contribution of the author be assessed in depth.