Art. 1: Subject-matter of the Directive

This Dean's Directive No. 3/2026 amends and supplements Dean's Directive No. 11/2023 of 1 October 2023.

Art. 2: Specific Amendments and Additions to Dean's Directive No. 11/2023, as amended by Dean's Directive No. 3/2026

1. Art. 3(2) is replaced by the following:

   „Students apply electronically in SIS for a topic announced in SIS. The thesis supervisor/supervisor confirms in SIS the assignment of the thesis to the relevant student, and that confirmation is approved by the guarantor of the relevant programme. From that moment, the assignment of the thesis to the student is binding. A period of at least 3 months must elapse between assignment of the thesis and its submission. A change of thesis topic thereafter is possible only on the basis of a written request by the student, which shall be considered by the relevant Vice-Dean for Studies."

2. Art. 5(2) is supplemented by letter (d), which reads as follows:

   „d) where generative artificial intelligence tools (hereinafter “AI”) have been used in the preparation of the thesis, students are required to attach at the beginning of the final thesis a declaration truthfully, transparently and specifically describing how, to what extent and for what purpose the AI tool or tools were used. The declaration on the use of AI may be attached to the thesis separately, and students may use for these purposes the model form of such a declaration; see Appendix 1."

3. In Art. 5(4)(c), the second sentence is deleted.

4. In Art. 5(4)(c), points (i) and (ii) are added as follows:

   ,,i. In the case of bachelor’s theses, the student is responsible for submitting one hard copy of the thesis to the chair of the examination board before the defence of the final thesis takes place. If the student fails to submit a printed copy of the thesis on the day of the defence, the student must obtain a printed copy at the Faculty library at their own expense and submit it to the examination board."

   ,,ii. In the case of master’s theses, the student is responsible for submitting at least one hard copy of the thesis to the relevant designated person (most commonly the secretary to the study programme in which the defence is held) no later than one week after uploading the thesis in electronic form to SIS."

5. Art. 6(1) is replaced by the following:

   ,,The deadline for submitting the electronic application for the defence is set by the academic calendar and is identical to the deadline for submission of the electronic version of the final thesis."

6. Art. 6(2) is replaced by the following; the second sentence is deleted:

   ,,The student generates and prints the application form for the defence through SIS. The completed and signed application shall be submitted by the student to the designated member of staff of the relevant study programme of the Faculty no later than on the day of the defence."

7. Art. 7(1) is replaced by the following:

   ,,A dissertation submitted in hard-copy form, provided that no application has been submitted for extension of the period for publication of the thesis (in accordance with Art. 7 of Rector’s Directive No. 16/2019), shall be available for inspection at the Faculty’s Doctoral Studies Office at least 5 working days before the defence."

8. In Art. 7(1), letters (a) and (b) are deleted.

9. Art. 7(2) is replaced by the following:

   ,,In doctoral programmes, a selected member of staff of the Faculty’s Doctoral Studies Office is entrusted with collecting, keeping and making theses available for these purposes."

10. Appendix 1 is added to the Directive: Declaration on the Use of Generative AI in a Final Thesis.

Art. 3: Final Provisions

1. This Directive enters into force on the date of signature.

2. This Directive becomes effective on 15 April 2026.

In Prague on 15 April 2026

doc. Věra Sokolová, M.A., Ph.D.

Dean

Art. 1: Introductory Provisions

Pursuant to Art. 12 of the Code of Study and Examination of Charles University (hereinafter “CSE CU”), Art. 9 of Rector’s Directive No. 72/2017, as amended by Rector’s Directive No. 16/2019 (hereinafter “RD 16/2019”), and Art. 2 of Rector’s Directive No. 13/2019, as amended by Rector’s Directive No. 22/2022 (hereinafter “RD 22/2022”), I hereby issue this Directive, which supplements and further specifies the procedures relating to the announcement, supervision, submission, registration and making available of electronic versions of theses at the Faculty of Humanities of Charles University

(hereinafter the “Faculty”).

Art. 2: Faculty Coordinator and Clarification of the Roles of Designated Persons

1. In accordance with RD 16/2019, the Dean appoints a faculty coordinator for the registration and publication of theses.

2. The role of the faculty coordinator is described in general terms in RD 16/2019. The faculty coordinator further:

   a.	regularly informs the Faculty management about the status of thesis registration;
   b.	collects suggestions and comments on the registration and publication of theses from Faculty units and from the Faculty management and, after evaluation at the Faculty, forwards them to the Institute of Computer Science of Charles University;
   c.	issues instructions to Faculty staff for carrying out the relevant tasks in the registration and publication of electronic versions of theses and monitors the processing of those tasks.

3. The faculty coordinator is the contact person for students in the event of difficulties with uploading an attachment to a thesis into the Study Information System (hereinafter “SIS”). For all other queries, students shall contact their thesis supervisor/supervisor or the study programme that announced the relevant thesis topic. The name of the faculty coordinator, including contact details, is published on the Faculty website.

4. Guarantors of study programmes (hereinafter “guarantors”) are responsible in particular for:

   a.	announcing thesis topics,
   b.	assigning thesis topics to students,
   c.	recording the date of submission of the hard-copy version of the thesis and checking compliance of the submitted thesis with the requirements under Art. 4,
   d.	checking the thesis record and its finalisation (i.e. confirming the completeness of the thesis record for publication) in SIS.

5. Guarantors may authorise one or more members of Faculty staff to perform these activities.

6. Designated administrative staff in the individual bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral study programmes are responsible in particular for:

   a.	the accuracy and completeness of the registration of applications for the defence;
   b.	the accuracy and completeness of the results of defences entered in study requirements in SIS and in the student’s file, including the record of the course of the defence.

   
   

Art. 3: Announcement of Topics, Assignment of the Thesis

1. The individual study programmes of the Faculty, or members of staff designated by the guarantors, announce thesis topics through SIS. A student may propose a thesis topic and may approach any teaching member of the Faculty with a request to supervise their thesis. If the thesis supervisor/supervisor and the student reach an agreement, the thesis supervisor/supervisor shall then enter a new topic in SIS, either personally or through a designated member of Faculty staff. If the thesis supervisor/supervisor is not a teaching member of the Faculty, the guarantor shall decide whether the topic is to be announced and shall then enter it in SIS, either personally or through a member of staff authorised by them.

2. Students apply electronically in SIS for a topic announced in SIS. The thesis supervisor/supervisor confirms in SIS the assignment of the thesis to the relevant student, and that confirmation is approved by the guarantor of the relevant programme. From that moment, the assignment of the thesis to the student is binding. A period of at least 3 months must elapse between assignment of the thesis and its submission. A change of thesis topic thereafter is possible only on the basis of a written request by the student, which shall be considered by the relevant Vice-Dean for Studies.

3. The rule set out in Art. 3(1) applies mutatis mutandis to dissertations. The topics of dissertations of first-year students in doctoral study programmes are approved annually by the Subject-Area Board. The Subject-Area Board also approves the supervisor. Any change either of the dissertation topic or of the supervisor is subject to approval by the Subject-Area Board.

4. Once the thesis has been bindingly assigned, the student may amend only certain data concerning the thesis in SIS. At the same time, the student is enabled through SIS to upload the electronic version of the thesis, its appendices and abstracts.

   
   

Art. 4: Supervision of the Thesis

1. Student theses are supervised by members of academic staff who possess the prescribed qualifications and the relevant competences in educational and creative activities and who are

   a.	members of academic staff of the Faculty or of other parts of Charles University (hereinafter the “University”) participating in the implementation of the study programme;
   b.	students in a doctoral study programme; however, they may supervise bachelor’s theses only.

2. The total number of bachelor’s theses, master’s theses and dissertations supervised by one person may not exceed 20. Within that total, the number of bachelor’s theses supervised may not exceed 20, the number of master’s theses supervised may not exceed 15, and the number of dissertations supervised in the position of supervisor may not exceed 10 (see Art. 2 of RD 22/2022). Theses supervised at another faculty or part of the University are also counted towards the number of theses supervised. Theses of students whose studies are interrupted are not counted.

3. The current number of theses supervised shall be proportionate to the extent of the academic staff member’s workload.

4. The education attained by both the thesis supervisor and the reviewer must be at least one level higher than the level of education (type) of the study programme within which they supervise or review the thesis. Members of staff who are graduates of a master’s programme of study shall as a rule supervise bachelor’s theses only. Members of staff who are graduates of a doctoral programme of study shall as a rule supervise bachelor’s and master’s theses only. Exceptions shall be decided by the Dean on the basis of a proposal by the guarantor of the relevant programme. A dissertation may be supervised by a full professor or associate professor; in justified cases, a graduate of a doctoral study programme or its equivalent may also act as supervisor if proposed by the Subject-Area Board and approved by the Faculty Research Board. A supervisor who is not a full professor or associate professor may supervise at the Faculty no more than two students. In justified cases, the Dean may, upon application by the chair of the relevant Subject-Area Board, grant an exception permitting this limit to be exceeded (see Art. 11(5) of the Rules for the Organisation of Study at the Faculty of Humanities of Charles University).

   
   

Art. 5: Requirements, Formal Arrangement and Submission of the Thesis

1. The thesis must meet the requirements for an academic text and must be of an appropriate linguistic standard. Unless it is a bachelor’s thesis, the thesis must contain an abstract in Czech or in the language in which the study programme in which the student is enrolled is conducted, and also an abstract in English. The abstracts must be uploaded to SIS together with the electronic version of the thesis. The thesis must also contain a summary of its conclusions and a list of the literature used or other sources cited (including, for example, websites). A thesis containing text or data taken from another source without proper reference may not be used for the award of a degree, and such conduct will be referred to the Faculty Disciplinary Commission.

2. The thesis must contain a signed binding declaration confirming that:

   a.	the student prepared the thesis independently,
   b.	all sources and literature used have been properly cited,
   c.	the thesis has not been used to obtain a different or the same degree,
   d.	where generative artificial intelligence tools (hereinafter “AI”) have been used in the preparation of the thesis, students are required to attach at the beginning of the final thesis a declaration truthfully, transparently and specifically describing how, to what extent and for what purpose the AI tool or tools were used. The declaration on the use of AI may be attached to the thesis separately, and students may use for these purposes the model form of such a declaration; see Appendix 1.

3. Templates of the title pages of theses and the text of the binding declaration are available for download on the Faculty website.

4. The student shall submit the thesis by the deadline set by the academic calendar according to the relevant planned date of the defence:

   a.	A thesis is deemed to have been submitted if it has been uploaded in electronic form to SIS no later than midnight on the relevant day corresponding to the planned date of the defence as set out in the academic calendar.
   b.	The student shall upload the electronic version of the thesis to SIS personally, unless prevented by the nature of the thesis (see RD 16/2019).
   c.	For the defence of a bachelor’s thesis or master’s thesis, the thesis must also be available in hard-copy form and must be identical to the electronic version. The defence cannot be held without the thesis having been submitted in hard-copy form. In the case of bachelor’s theses, the student is responsible for submitting one hard copy of the thesis to the chair of the examination board before the defence of the final thesis takes place. If the student fails to submit a printed copy of the thesis on the day of the defence, the student must obtain a printed copy at the Faculty library at their own expense and submit it to the examination board. In the case of master’s theses, the student is responsible for submitting at least one hard copy of the thesis to the relevant designated person (most commonly the secretary to the study programme in which the defence is held) no later than one week after uploading the thesis in electronic form to SIS.
   d.	The deadline for submission of a dissertation is at least 6 months before the planned defence. The student is responsible for submitting three hard copies of the thesis to the Faculty’s Doctoral Studies Office no later than one week after uploading the thesis in electronic form to SIS. The defence cannot be held without the thesis having been submitted in hard-copy form.

5. The student is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the submitted electronic version of the thesis and its appendices and for the consistency between the electronic and hard-copy versions of the thesis. A serious discrepancy in content between the electronic and hard-copy versions of the thesis may be grounds for initiating disciplinary proceedings.

6. Across study programmes of all types, only theses written in the language of instruction of the relevant study programme may be accepted for defence. Exceptions shall be granted by the relevant Vice-Dean for Studies of the Faculty on the basis of a duly submitted written request by the student. If deemed expedient, the Vice-Dean may delegate this decision-making to the relevant guarantor of the study programme. This rule does not apply in the case of inter-university study.

7. If, after submitting the electronic version of the thesis in SIS, the student finds that additional changes need to be made to the electronic version, they shall ask the relevant study programme of the Faculty to unlock the thesis record in SIS for editing. The thesis may be unlocked only until the deadline laid down in the academic calendar for submission of the thesis for defence.

   
   

Art. 6: Application for the Defence

1. The deadline for submitting the electronic application for the defence is set by the academic calendar and is identical to the deadline for submission of the electronic version of the final thesis.

2. The student generates and prints the application form for the defence through SIS. The completed and signed application shall be submitted by the student to the designated member of staff of the relevant study programme of the Faculty no later than on the day of the defence.

3. Confirmation of the student’s application for the defence of the thesis is conditional upon submission of the thesis in electronic form. The date of submission of the electronic version of the thesis is recorded automatically by SIS. The designated member of staff of the relevant study programme checks whether the submitted thesis meets the required formal requirements and records the result of this check in SIS. On the basis of this information recorded in SIS and on the basis of other circumstances relevant to the possibility of filing an application for the defence (in particular under Art. 9(8) and (9) of the CSE CU), the designated member of staff shall confirm or not confirm the student’s application for the defence.

   
   

Art. 7: Defence

1. A dissertation submitted in hard-copy form, provided that no application has been submitted for extension of the period for publication of the thesis (in accordance with Art. 7 of RD 16/2019), shall be available for inspection at the Faculty’s Doctoral Studies Office at least 5 working days before the defence.

2. In doctoral programmes, a selected member of staff of the Faculty’s Doctoral Studies Office is entrusted with collecting, keeping and making theses available for these purposes.

3. From a thesis made available in accordance with Art. 12(1) of the CSE CU, extracts, transcripts or copies may be made at one’s own expense, in electronic or hard-copy form.

4. The thesis supervisor/supervisor and the reviewers shall review the electronic version of the thesis in SIS. The relevant academic unit may ensure that a hard-copy version of the thesis is also available to the thesis supervisor/supervisor and the reviewers.

5. After submission of the thesis, the electronic version of the report by the thesis supervisor/supervisor and the reports by the reviewers shall be uploaded to the thesis record in SIS as follows:

   a.	at least 3 working days before the defence of a bachelor’s thesis or master’s thesis;
   b.	at least 7 days before the defence of a dissertation.

6. In justified cases and by agreement with the guarantor of the relevant study programme, the designated member of staff may upload to SIS, on behalf of the thesis supervisor/supervisor or the reviewer, the report of the thesis supervisor/supervisor or reviewer.

7. The thesis supervisor/supervisor and the reviewers shall submit to the designated member of staff of the relevant study programme the originals of the signed reports in hard-copy form. These shall subsequently be placed in the file of the relevant student.

8. After the defence, the designated member of staff shall upload to the thesis record in SIS a record of the course of the defence.

   
   

Art. 8: Review and Publication of the Thesis

1. After the defence of the thesis, the author may upload to the thesis record in SIS a file containing any errata to the thesis, no later than 15 days after the defence.

2. After the defence, the designated member of staff shall check in SIS the completeness of the thesis record, including the attached files, with regard to the requirements for publication of the electronic version of the thesis, and shall check that the Czech and English titles of the thesis correspond to the hard-copy version. After completing this check, the designated member of staff shall confirm the thesis record for publication by finalising it no later than 21 days after the defence.

3. After finalisation of the thesis record and expiry of the period under RD 16/2019, the electronic version of the thesis shall automatically be sent to the University repository for publication.

4. An application for extension of the period for publication of the thesis or a part thereof, for up to 3 years from the date of the defence of the thesis, may be submitted in accordance with RD 16/2019 through SIS no later than on the day of the defence.

5. A check of the similarity of the thesis text against the database created and maintained within the inter-university Theses.cz project shall be carried out automatically after submission of the electronic version of the thesis, within one working day of submission of the thesis. The result of the check shall be available in the thesis record in SIS to the student, the thesis supervisor/supervisor and the reviewers.

   
   

Art. 9: Final Provisions

1. This Directive enters into force on the date of signature.

2. This Directive becomes effective on 1 October 2023.

3. Dean’s Directive No. 14/2017 is repealed as of the date on which this Directive becomes effective.

In Prague on 25 September 2023

doc. Věra Sokolová, M.A., Ph.D.

Dean

I. The consolidated version is effective from 15 April 2026.