The study programme was confirmed and accepted by the FERI Senate on 8. 9. 2008, by the UM Senate on 21. 10. 2008, and by the Expert Council for High School Education of the Republic of Slovenia on 12. 3. 2009.

Conditions for advancement to the second study year: A student advances to the second study year if he/she collects at least 48 ECTS credits by completing the obligations of the first study year, and he/she must pass the exam in the subject Scientific Methods. Conditions for advancement to the third study year: A student advances to the third study year by completing all the obligations of the first study year, and if he/she collects at least 48 ECTS credits by completing the obligations of the second study year. The conditions for promotion under extraordinary conditions and the conditions for repetition are defined by the Statute of the University of Maribor.

The 3rd cycle programme of Media Communication does not have the foreseen conditions for the completion of individual parts of the program.

The program also enables and encourages students to do postdoctoral studies, as they receive during their studies in-depth knowledge in the field of their scientific research work.

Graduates of the third-degree doctoral study programme Media Communications have, on the basis of acquired knowledge and competencies, wide opportunities for employment in various work organisations, institutes, public institutes, and higher education organisations. In addition to their basic qualifications for research jobs in the field of Media Communications have a broad enough theoretical knowledge to be able to be employed in various fields of economy and the public sector that are in any way related with the media and communications. Acquired competencies also enable them to take on management functions in medium and large companies or societies.

Information on study programmes offered by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are available on the following website https://feri.um.si/en/study/programmes/.

There are no other obligations.

The method of examination and assessment of knowledge at the University of Maribor is regulated by the Rules on Examination and Assessment of Knowledge at the University of Maribor, No. A4/2009-41 AG, which is published with amendments and additions on the following web address: https://www.um.si/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Pravilnik-o-preverjanju-in-ocenjevanju-znanja-na-Univerzi-v-Mariboru-stev.-A4-2009-41-AG-uradno-precisceno-besedilo-UPB1.pdf. The rules and curricula of the subjects list the forms of examination and assessment of students for each study unit. At the third degree, the nature of the subjects is such that we direct students to scientific and research work. The emphasis is on individual research work with a mentor, preparation of seminars and individual research papers, writing scientific and professional articles, participation on international conferences, and participation in various projects. Given that most subjects are taught mentoring, the mentor and the student can assess progress directly at all times.

In few words we can say that the ultimate goal of our programme is to educate excellent young and, respectively, the new researchers in the field of Media Communications. The fundamental goals are: • enable students to fully understand theoretical and methodological concepts from their chosen field of study, • enable students to independently develop new ideas and solve the most demanding problems with the right amount of self-criticism , confidence and improvement of scientific work, or search for new solutions, • contribute to student’s development and efficiency towards the research work and use the experience gained during research to work with other experts from same field as well as other fields, both nationally and internationally, • contribute towards student’s development in leading the most demanding projects and schemes, • enable students to vigorously search, study and apply already gained knowledge through research work, • enable students to eloquently present their own, as well as the ideas of other researches. • to give a student, according to rules and regulations, enough time for personal work because that is at the core of our PhD study programme. • to achieve, knowing that students will complete their studies with a PhD thesis, which will contain their own original contribution to the field of science. In the meanwhile it cannot be expected that it will be a candidate’s life-work, but at the same time the PhD thesis cannot be a mere collection of the scientific data, for example, reiterations of already known ideas and research attempts without a considerable contribution to the critical analysis.

Even tough the main goal of the PhD programme is to enable and prepare students for the most demanding research work, it is also with their degree that they will gain a set of skills or a kind of proficiency in their field, which are not the only necessary requirements in search for employment in their research field. With the PhD study programme, the students will obtain a competence, which is needed in a place where new, complicated challenges occur on a regular basis. These challenges cannot be solved with already known methods and simplified solutions, but only with thought out innovative approach. In order to do so, we include some of the approaches in the following lines: • to develop innovative solutions by combining a variety of original strategies, or readjusting already known methods and approaches, • to solve complicated problems with newly designed tools or methods, • to prepare logical plans for realization of new ideas, • to quickly find, extract and integrate information from both complete and incomplete sources, • to confront the unknown, and uncertain, as well as anticipate possible changes and difficulties, • to accept possible failure and act accordingly, • to work independently, precisely and with perseverence, • to see things differently, with flexibility and interdisciplinary approach, • to cooperate with others, • to manage time, as well as material, workgroup and financial sources, • always have curiosity, follow recent trends and quickly adapt to new skills and knowledge, • to successfully communicate for various purposes and with the use of different media.

During the doctoral study, the students become excellent connoisseurs of a selected very narrow field of media communications, which allows them sovereignty in the evaluation of past and the formation of new knowledge, methods, and approaches. Specifically, they acquire the following subject-specific competencies: • Using the theory of political economy, network society, privacy, the public sphere, and control in the contemporary debate on digital media; • Setting up a contemporary debate on media development and the historical context; • Analysing contemporary visual content in terms of cultural and political potentials, especially in terms of virtuality, gender, and politics; • Planning visual projects, evaluating current visual production, assessing social significance, identifying aesthetic / political potentials of contemporary visual content; • Analysing the results, selecting and proposing improvements for the controlled areas in the development and monitoring of the effectiveness of electronic content and electronic services; • Developing their own informed creative position concerning contemporary visual communication debates and providing a substantiated critique of the visual space; • Identifying and evaluating convergent environments and mastering the tools of content development based on convergent environments; • Understanding the importance of a dialogue in the development of communications, mastering the mechanisms of control of free dialogue in society and the media, and conducting empirical research on dialogue; • Mastering the theoretical and practical knowledge and laws of communication, which are necessary for understanding the structures and functions of media communication and public relations; • Recognising the dimensions of other cultures and adapting your behaviour and communication to them; • The ability to perform research and development in the field of implementation of the management of intercultural space; • Identifying the research problem and planning its solution; • Planning and performing the research, analysing, evaluating and documenting the results of the research, reporting on the findings and achievements of the research; • Designing a research project, critically evaluating the collected material, assessing the social significance, and identifying the potentials of the considered media technologies; • The ability to research and use new technologies in the field of electronic media and the introduction of modern technology to address user needs in electronic media; • Analysing the possibilities of introducing information services into media solutions and planning innovative information solutions for identified media needs.

To enroll into the 3rd cycle programme of Media Communication the applicant must have completed one of the following successfully: a) A Master’s (2nd-cycle) programme; b) University study programme, accepted before June 11, 2004; c) Bachelor’s vocational programme adopted prior to 11 June, 2004 and a specialisation programme. Prior to enrolment, these candidates must fulfil obligations corresponding to a maximum of 35 ECTS under the Master’s (2nd-cycle) programme Media Communication. The Faculty’s Academic Affairs Committee determines which study obligations must be fulfilled by taking into account the candidate’s field of expertise (type of programme completed); d) A programme educating students for professions regulated by EU Directives or another Master’ (2nd-cycle) programme corresponding to 300 ECTS credits. A completed undergraduate programme or a Master’s (2nd-cycle Bologna) programme in the field of Media Communications, Computer Science or Informatics is considered adequate prior knowledge.

If there is greater demand than there are places available, candidates shall be ranked according to: • Overall score (20%); • Grade in the elective exam in the field of Media Communications(80%). With regard to the elective exam, candidates may replace up to 50% of the grade with the grade awarded for scientific research and professional work. Evaluation criteria: • Original or transparent scientific articles in journals with impact factor (JCR) or in journals indexed in SCI, SSCI or A & HCI databases, • Contributions in international conference proceedings, • other publications.

Transitions between the study programmes are possible in accordance with the Higher Education Act, the Criteria for transitions between study programmes, and other regulations. In accordance with the transfer criteria, candidates who completed the following may be admitted to the second year of Doctoral (3rd-cycle) Programme Media Communications: • A Master’s programme (MSc) (adopted prior to 11 June, 2004) – these candidates are awarded 60 ECTS credits; • An undergraduate programme (adopted prior to 11 June, 2004) and a specialisation programme – these candidates are awarded 60 ECTS credits. Transitions are possible between study programs: • which, at the end of studies, ensure the acquisition of comparable competence or learning outcomes; • of which at least half of the obligations under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) from the first study program that refer to the compulsory subjects of the second study program can be recognized according to the criteria for recognition of skills acquired before enrolling in the program. For each candidate, the Commission for Science and Research of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the University of Maribor will determine subjects that are recognized in the ECTS credits mentioned above.

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science recognises the acquired knowledge, qualifications or abilities on the basis of the Rules on the Recognition of Knowledge and Skills in the Study Programmes of the University of Maribor, which regulates the procedures for identifying, verifying and recognising knowledge and the criteria for recognising knowledge acquired through formal and non-formal learning before enrolment and during the studies at the University of Maribor. The rules can be found via the following web link: https://feri.um.si/site/assets/files/1278/pravilnik_o_priznavanju_znanj_in_spretnosti_v_sp_um.pdf. The faculty recognises the knowledge and skills of the candidates, gained before enrolment, if, in terms of scope, their content and complexity fully or partially correspond to the general or subject-specific competencies determined by the study programme in which the candidates wish to enrol or are enrolled. The basis for the recognition of knowledge and skills are the certificates or other documents: - publicly valid documents (certificates, diplomas), - certificates of completed work of the study programme or completed obligations in the study programme, - certificates of education and training providers on successful completion of education/training, certificates and other documents, - products, services, projects, publications and other author's works of candidates, - evidence of registered patents, - relevant references on practical training and work experience, - knowledge acquired through self-education and informal learning and other evidence/knowledge assessed by the Commission for Scientific Research UM FERI.

A student who completes all the obligations prescribed by the study programme and thus collects at least 180 ECTS credits completes their studies.