During its 22nd regular session on 25 February 2010, the Council of the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education – NAKVIS officially accredited the single discipline postgraduate study programme "Philosophy" (3rd Bologna cycle - PhD), implemented by the Faculty of Arts of the University of Maribor, Slomškov trg 15, SI-2000 Maribor, in accordance with Article 51h and chapter 2 of Article 23 of the Higher Education Act of the Republic of Slovenia (ZVis) (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 119/06 – official consolidated text, 59/07 – Scholarship Act of the Republic of Slovenia (ZŠtip), 15/08 -Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia: U-I-370/06-20 and 64/08), and with reference to Article 2 of the valid Rules of Procedure of the Accreditation Senate (Pravila o delu Senata za akreditacijo) and article 2 of the Criteria for the Accreditation and External Evaluation of Higher Education Institutions and Study Programmes (Merila za akreditacijo in zunanjo evalvacijo visokošolskih zavodov in študijskih programov – Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 101/04). During its 40th regular session on 29 January 2019, the Senate of the University of Maribor confirmed the change in the duration of studies from three to four years.

To advance from the first to the second year, the student must complete the compulsory subjects and the obligations of the year in the amount of at least 54 ECTS. Exceptionally, a candidate who, for justified reasons, failsed to complete the set-out study obligations in accordance with the Statute of the University of Maribor may enroll in the second year, whereby advancing from the first to the second year is in no case possible without completing the study unit IRD I. To advance from the second to the third year, the student must complete all the obligations of the first year and the obligations of the second year in the amount of at least 54 ECTS. Exceptionally, a candidate who, for justified reasons, failsed to complete the set out study obligations in accordance with the Statute of the University of Maribor may also enroll in the third year, and though in no case is it possible to advance from the second to the third year without completing the study unit IRD III. To advance from the third to the fourth year, the student must complete all obligations of the second year and obligations from the third year in the amount of at least 57 ECTS. They must have a doctoral dissertation confirmed by the mentor and the Department of Philosophy. The student can repeat the year once during the study. Repeating the year is possible in cases defined by the Statute of the University of Maribor. The student can also advance faster if they meet the conditions for such advancement, which are stated in the Statute of the University of Maribor. The student can study in several study programs under the conditions specified in more detail in the Statute of the University of Maribor.

The 3rd level degree study programme PHILOSOPHY does not contain individual parts.

Postdoctoral studies.

Employment in research organisations, organisations in upbringing or education, public institutions, industry, in the field of professional counselling.

The examining and grading system is regulated with the Statute of the University of Maribor: http://www.um.si/univerza/dokumentni-center/akti/Akti%20univerze%20v%20Mariboru/Uradno-10.pdf and the Rules on Examination and Grading at the University of Maribor, no. A4/2009-41 AG: http://www.um.si/univerza/dokumentni-center/akti/Strani/studij-na-um.aspx. Accordingly, the methods and forms of examining and grading knowledge in the curricula are defined for each individual study unit of an individual study programme. Methods of continuous examining and grading of knowledge are encouraged, which enables students to continuously monitor their own progress and assess the acquired knowledge and skills. Depending on the individual study units and the order of their implementation, the individual obligations of students are mutually coordinated in such a way that some study units require more continuous work, others a greater deal amount of independent research work (preparation of a quality seminar paper);, some units are completed with written or oral exams. All curricula are publicly published in the catalogue of Bologna subjects: https://aips.um.si/PredmetiBP5/main.asp. In addition, students have access to AIPS UM (Academic Information Subsystem of the University of Maribor), which provides insight into the activities of individual students (exam records, detailed insight into the number of exam attempts and all completed and uncompleted obligations).

As the number and sources of information increase, the purpose of teaching shifts from the accumulation of information, which often soon becomes obsolete, to training for its meaningful organization and critical evaluation. The aim of the doctoral study program PHILOSOPHY is to educate top experts in the field of philosophy, with a broad humanistic knowledge, which provides a basis for understanding the most difficult philosophical issues, problems, content, or theoretical and methodological concepts. This aims to train professionals to independently develop new knowledge and solve the most demanding problems by testing and improving known and discovering new solutions in the philosophical and broader field of humanities. Such qualified experts will be able to develop critical reflection and be suitable for solving the most demanding philosophical questions, publishing them in the form of scientific articles and monographs, and leading scientific research projects. In addition, the processes of knowledge production and application, in which specific knowledge of philosophy, abilities, and skills are not only desirable but also indispensable, and are becoming increasingly diverse. Traditional fields are joined by new ones: philosophies of individual scientific disciplines, professional ethics and applied epistemology, models of artificial intelligence, etc. The study of Philosophy has been renewed and is also relevant in this respect, as it will provide students with a good basis for interdisciplinary cooperation. The basic objective of the doctoral study program PHILOSOPHY is to train scientists in the field of philosophy as a humus of the humanistic thought, who will be able to develop and apply new knowledge in this field - education of independent and critical thinkers who will very well and deeply master their field and with their general, transferable abilities and skills they will meet the requirements of a modern, learning society. These are the highest professionally and scientifically qualified personnel in the structure of philosophers, who can also work with scientists from other humanities, social sciences or even natural sciences. In view of the above, the basic objectives of the doctoral study program Philosophy are, in particular, the following: - to deepen knowledge or upgrade philosophical content acquired at lower (previous) levels of education, - to educate a student of philosophy for independent, professionally critical and responsible work in a profession that requires top knowledge in the field of philosophy and humanities in general. - to provide the student of philosophy with the necessary knowledge of philosophical methods and skills and to encourage the mobility of students of philosophy, - to enable students of philosophy to successfully form a professional profile by choosing philosophical content from a set of module courses, - to involve a student of philosophy in in-depth scientific research work in the field of philosophy and humanities using scientific research methods, - to consolidate and upgrade the sense of correct perception and interpretation of philosophical theories and of justice and professional ethics, - to provide the student of philosophy with the most in-depth knowledge in the basic and narrower fields of philosophy, - to introduce a philosophy student to work in the domestic and international environment. Assessing whether students achieve the mentioned objectives is done through the study programme-specific methods of assessing and grading knowledge: written and oral exams, preparation of seminar papers, writing philosophical essays, making presentations and evaluating active participation in individual learning units.

Through the doctoral study program Philosophy and within the framework of general competencies, students will acquire and master in particular the following: - ability to have an in-depth understanding of theoretical and methodological concepts, - ability to master appropriate methods of scientific research work, - ability to identify, analyze, synthesize and anticipate philosophical solutions in preparing scientific work, - ability to use research methods in the preparation of scientific and research work, - autonomy in scientific research and the ability to make critical judgments in decision-making, - openness to dealing with foreign views and the ability to change one's own, - readiness and ability to cope with the problems of everyday life: reflection, problematization, search for assumptions and implications, etc., - development of communication skills, in particular continuous communication in an international environment, - ability to work in project groups, cooperation, - ability of ethical reflection and deep commitment to professional ethics, - ability to work and create in an international environment, - ability to mentor younger colleagues in institutes, universities, etc., - efficiency in the use of available sources: their own creative and intellectual ability, available intellectual capital (colleagues), other tangible and intangible sources (money, equipment, space and time),

Graduates of the doctoral study Philosophy will be top experts with the appropriate theoretical and practical knowledge to perform the most demanding professional tasks in the field of philosophy and humanities in general. In the doctoral study program Philosophy within the subject-specific competencies, students will acquire or learn in particular: - knowledge and understanding of theories and arguments of important thinkers from their works, and awareness of certain interpretive controversies, - ability to use historical doctrines to participate in contemporary debates, - ability to analysze comparative philosophical sources, - identifying, analyszing, and solving the most demanding philosophical problems with through testing and improving known solutions or finding completely new ones on one's own, - understanding and applying methods of critical analysis and development of theories and their application in developing new knowledge and solving concrete, not necessarily just philosophical, problems, - ability to carefully read and interpret texts from different traditions with sensitivity to context, - ability to judge successful specific philosophical argumentation, - ability to properly understand and use the most sophisticated philosophical terminology, - ability to abstract, analysze and construct philosophical argumentation, - ability to articulate everyday life problems as philosophical problems and solve them, appropriately, - in-depth understanding of the theoretical and methodological concepts being established in the context of philosophical research, - developing critical (self)reflection as a basis for the emergence of new philosophical knowledge, - production of philosophical scientific work using the appropriate methodology of scientific research work (scientific articles, monographs), - publishing in domestic and foreign philosophical scientific and professional publications, - transmission of philosophical knowledge in the form of lectures, public polemics, etc.

Candidates who completed the following may apply for the 3rd-cycle (doctoral) study programme in Philosophy: - A 2nd-cycle (master’s) study programme. - An undergraduate academic study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004. - A specialisation following an undergraduate professional study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004. Prior to enrolment, candidates shall pass the following courses corresponding to 60 ECTS credits: Analysis of Classical Philosophical Texts (8 ECTS), Knowledge, Mind and Being (8 ECTS), Theoretical or Practical Philosophy (8 ECTS), Values and Virtues (8 ECTS), Methodology of Philosophical Research (10 ECTS), and three elective courses (3 x 6 ECTS). - A study programme educating students for professions regulated by EU directives or another unified (long-cycle) master’s study programme corresponding to 300 ECTS credits. Candidates who completed an equivalent study programme abroad and have their qualifications recognized in the Republic of Slovenia also meet the admission requirements.

The selection of candidates will be based on: - the average study grade (10%), - diploma or master's thesis grades (10%), and - elective exam (80%). Elective exam obligations can be replaced by specialist and research work in the amount of 50% of the exam obligations. The main criteria for research work are publications such as: - research monograph, - independent research article in a monograph, - original or reviewed scientific articles in journals with an impact factor (JCR) or in journals indexed in SCI, SSCI or A&HCI databases, and in journals listed by the criteria of the Faculty of Arts for awarding titles. The main criteria for specialist work are publications such as: - specialist monograph, - independent specialist article in a monograph, - published specialist contributions at conferences, - specialist articles and/or peer review of these articles, - editing a monograph or journal, - other forms of documented specialist activity.

Transfers between programmes are possible in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 of the Criteria for Transfers between Study Programmes (UL RS 14/19). Applicants who meet conditions for enrolment in the proposed programme and the conditions for transfer between programmes will be told what year they may enrol in and what missing course units they must complete if they wish to conclude their studies under the new programme. Transfers are possible between programmes: – which guarantee the acquisition of comparable competences on completion and between which at least half the course units under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) from the first study programme relating to compulsory units of the second study programme may be recognised under the criteria for recognising knowledge and skills acquired prior to enrolment in the programme.

Pursuant to the Rules on the recognition of knowledge and skills gained prior to the enrollment in the study programme (UM News, No. XXVI-3-2008) - http://www.uni-mb.si/dokument.aspx?id=12762), during the process of education at the university programme, students can may have their knowledge and skills acquired before enrollment in various forms of formal education recognized, which the student proves with certificates and other documents that show the content and scope of the student'stheir work. These are evaluated according to the ECTS system, which allows the student to replace comparable obligations according to the planned 3rd level degree doctoral study programme Philosophy. In the process of education in the doctoral program, students are also recognized for fulfilling obligations on the basis of submitted documents from the field of non-formal education or completed professional work (project, study, publications and other authors’'s works), as well as knowledge acquired in the framework of lifelong learning according to the appropriate verified programme. The candidate submits an application to the Commission for Academic Affairs of the Faculty for recognition of knowledge and skills. The Commission seeks the opinion of the Department of Philosophy and then issues a decision in line with the proposal of the Department of Philosophy.

The student successfully completes their studies when they complete all the obligations prescribed by the study programme and thus collect a total of at least 240 ECTS.