Regulation of the Doctoral School of Mathematics and Computer Science (starting with 2022)

Authorized in the Council of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, September 20^th, 2022

1. Preamble

Art. 1

The present Regulation is based on the following documents, supplementing them with regulations specific to Mathematics and Computer Science domains.

Law of National Education 1/2011; Law no. 288/2004 regarding the organization of University studies; with the amendments from the Law no. 49/2013, H.G. no. 681/2011 regarding the Code of Doctoral Studies; OMENCȘ 4621/2020 from June 23^rd 2020 regarding the authorization of the Organization and Functioning of the National Council for Attestation of University Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates; OM no. 5110/17.10.2018 regarding the approval of minimal national standards for granting the PhD degree; Order no. 3131/30.01.2018 for including the Ethics and academic integrity discipline in the curricula of all academic programmes.
The regulations of the Babeș-Bolyai University pertaining to the organization and functioning of the University doctoral studies, named hereafter UBB Doctoral Regulation, adopted by the Senate of the Babeş-Bolyai University through decision 483/13.01.2020 (https://senat.ubbcluj.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Anexa-la-HS-nr.-46-Regulament-UBB-de-organizare-si-desfasurare-studii-de-doctorat.pdf), modified through HS no. 46/19.04 (https://senat.ubbcluj.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HS-nr.-46-privind-aprobare-modificare-la-Regulamentul-UBB-de-organizare-%C8%99i-desf%C4%83%C8%99urare-a-studiilor-de-doctorat.pdf) and APPENDIX 3 to the Regulations of the Babeș-Bolyai University pertaining to the organization and functioning of the University doctoral studies regarding the Procedure for online PhD thesis defence (https://senat.ubbcluj.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Anexa-la-HS-nr.-46-Anexa-3-la-Regulamentul-UBB-de-organizare-%C8%99i-desf%C4%83%C8%99urare-a-studiilor-de-doctorat.pdf).

2. Doctoral studies in the fields of Mathematics and Computer Science

Art. 2

Doctoral studies in the fields of Mathematics and Computer Science are regulated by the provisions of Art. 2-13 from the UBB Doctoral Regulation.

3. Doctoral School in Mathematics and Computer Science

Art. 3

The Doctoral School in Mathematics and Computer Science is organized and operates under the provisions of Art. 2-13 from the UBB Doctoral Regulation.

Art. 4

The mission of SDMI is to create valuable researchers in the scientific fields of Mathematics and Computer Science, to enable doctoral students to conduct high quality research in the fields of Mathematics and Computer Science, as well as to improve the scientific quality of doctoral students' guidance and the scientific quality of doctoral theses.
The main objective of the doctoral programs in Mathematics and Computer Science within SDMI is to produce a valuable scientific activity, visible internationally: scientific publications, methods and algorithms. SDMI creates a competitive research environment for doctoral students in the fields of Mathematics and Computer Science, which will ensure the development of research and innovation skills specific to the two fields. Also, it promotes excellence in fundamental and applied research in Mathematics and Computer Science and stimulates the dissemination of the research results at national and international levels, both within the academic and non-academic community.

Art. 5

The Doctoral School Council is composed of five members: the Doctoral School Director, two doctoral supervisors from the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science (such that of the three doctoral supervisors there is at least a representative from both the Mathematics and Computer Science domains), a doctoral student and a researcher from outside the Doctoral School.
The Council of The Doctoral School in Mathematics and Computer Science is responsible for the content of the study programme offered by the doctoral school.

4. Doctoral supervisors

Art. 6

Doctoral supervision within the Doctoral School of Mathematics and Computer Science is regulated by the provisions of Art. 14-16 from the UBB Doctoral Regulation.

Art. 7

In order to submit the habilitation thesis, the candidates must meet the minimum standards established by CNATDCU approved by the Ministerial Order (according to Art. 300 paragraph 3, respectively Art. 219 paragraph (1) letter a) of the National Education Law 1/2011 with subsequent amendments and completions).
The guidelines for writing the habilitation theses are stipulated in Appendix II of the current regulation.
In order to exercise the quality of doctoral supervisor in UBB, obtained following the habilitation and to become a member of the Doctoral School in Mathematics and Computer Science, the candidate must:
1. meet the minimum standards established by CNATDCU for granting the title of university professor / CS I, approved by the Ministerial Order (according to Art. 300 paragraph (3) respectively 219 paragraph (1) letter a) of the National Education Law 1/2011 with subsequent amendments and completions);
2. defend the habilitation thesis and obtain the habilitation certificate though ministerial order;
3. meet at least the minimal professor standards established by the UBB Senate and the Doctoral School in Mathematics and Computer Science criteria;
The decision of the Doctoral School Council regarding the acceptance of the candidate as a doctoral supervisor within the Doctoral School of Mathematics and Computer Science will be based on the qualitative analysis of the scientific activity, visibility and international prestige of the applicant, as well as the development needs of the Doctoral School in terms of specific fields and subfields. The SDMI Board appoints a committee of 2 SDMI members, which draws up an evaluation report on the candidate's submission. The members of the committee must be experts certified in the applicant's declared field of research or in related fields. The evaluation will contain at least the following:
1. the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the candidate's scientific activity;
2. the analysis of the visibility and international prestige of the applicant;
3. the consideration for the needs of the Doctoral School in terms of development in specific fields or subfields;
4. the contribution of the applicant to increasing the prestige of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science by evaluating scientific collaborations;
5. verification of the fulfillment of the minimal standards provided by the UBB Senate for the position of university professor;
6. Based on the above points, the report concludes with the recommendation to accept / reject the application.
Based on the evaluation report, the Doctoral School Council decides by secret ballot to accept or reject the application.

5. Admission to doctoral studies

Art 8.

Doctoral supervision within the Doctoral School of Mathematics and Computer Science is regulated by the provisions of Art. 14-16 from the UBB Doctoral Regulation.
The admission to doctoral studies in Babeș-Bolyai University is regulated by the provisions of Art. 36-38 from the UBB Doctoral Regulation.
The admission to doctoral studies is stated in the UBB doctoral admission methodology which is updated every academic year.

Art. 9

The doctoral admission consists of two examinations:
1. a written exam based on topics based on topics announced on the page of the doctoral school with at least two months before the date of the admission;
2. an interview in which the scientific interests of the candidate, as well as the research topic proposed for the doctoral thesis are analyzed.
The admission grade and the specific admission criteria are updated every academic year and announced on the doctoral school’s website.

6. Traning programme based on advanced university studies and the Individual scientific research programme

Art 10.

The training programme based on advanced university studies in the Doctoral School of Mathematics and Computer Science is regulated by the provisions of Art. 39-42 from the UBB Doctoral Regulation.
The individual scientific research programme for the doctoral students from the Doctoral School of Mathematics and Computer Science is regulated by the provisions of Art. 44-47 from the UBB Doctoral Regulation.

7. Elaboration and public defense of the doctoral thesis

Art 11.

The elaboration and public defense of the doctoral thesis is regulated by the provisions of Art. 48-60 from the UBB Doctoral Regulation.

Art 12.

The guidelines for writing the doctoral theses are stipulated in Appendix I of the current regulation.
To be accepted for a public defense, the Thesis must consist of mostly original results. Previous results from the literature are included to place the original results into context and to visualize how new results can be generalized. The author of a Doctoral Thesis will cite the sources used, will highlight their own contributions together with the way they are placed in the context of existing literature in the domain.
It is recommended that highly abstract Theses include examples and non-trivial applications that can be used to test the consistency and utility of the presented theory.
In order to be considered for its public defense, the bibliography section of a Doctoral Thesis in Mathematics must include (a) at least two published or accepted for publication papers of the doctoral student within WoS/Scopus/MathsciNet/ZMath journals, of which at least one must be an WoS journal with impact factor published outside the country, or (b) at least three published or accepted for publication papers of the doctoral student within WoS/Scopus/MathsciNet/ZMath journals, of which at least one within a journal published outside the country. For the Computer Science domain, the doctoral student will have to fulfil the requirements corresponding to the satisfactory level within the Informatics committee of the National Council for Attestation of University Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates (CNATDCU). The second minimal requirement for the doctoral students in Mathematics and Computer Science is that during the University doctoral studies, they participated to at least 2 scientific manifestations (conferences, workshops, summer schools etc.) having international participation with, in at least one occasion, having an oral or poster presentation.

8. Doctoral students

Art 13.

The rights and obligations of the doctoral students in Babeș-Bolyai University are regulated by the provisions of Art. 61-66 from the UBB Doctoral Regulation.

Art 14.

The doctoral student will be active for the entire duration of their doctoral studies in one of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science's research teams that is recommended by the coordinator of their doctoral studies.
The doctoral students of a doctoral coordinator who is a member in one of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science’s research teams are by default members of the same research team. Doctoral students may use the available research infrastructure of the research centers or teams, at the proposal of their doctoral coordinator and with the approval of the center/research team’s director.
The doctoral students from the Doctoral School in Mathematocs and Computer Science have the obligation to get involved in the activities of the departments and of the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics. In addition, they have to respond to the requests received from the board of the doctoral school, of the departments and of the faculty.
The full-time doctoral students and with scholarship have the obligation to carry out 6 physical hours of didactic activities per semester, within the first and second cycles of university studies at "Babeș-Bolyai" University. Full-time doctoral students without scholarship or part-time Doctoral students may conduct teaching activities, within the first and second cycles of university studies at "Babeș-Bolyai" University, within 4-6 teaching hours per week, according to the doctoral studies contract. Teaching activities that exceed this level will be remunerated in accordance with the legislation in force, under the Labor Code, respecting the rights and obligations of the employee and paying his/her contributions, according to law, to state social insurance, unemployment insurance, to social health insurance and for accidents at work and occupational diseases.

9. Principles of scientific, professional and university ethics

Art 15.

The principles of scientific, professional and university etichs are regulated by the provisions of Art. 35, 38, 48, 56, and 59 from the UBB Doctoral Regulation.

Art 16.

While writing the doctoral thesis, the ethical norms in research-development activities must be fulfilled. The following are prohibited: (1) reporting fictitious results; (2) the falsification of results; (3) the plagiarism.

10. Final provisions

Art 17.

The present Regulation was elaborated by the council of the doctoral school by consulting all teanured doctoral supervisors from the Doctoral School in Mathematics and Computer Science.
The present regulation has two Appendices: Appendix I – Guidelines for writing the doctoral theses and Appendix II – Guidelines for writing the habilitation theses.
The present regulation will enter into force on the date of its approval by CSUD _____________.

Cluj-Napoca, October 22, 2021

Prof. univ. dr. Gabriela Czibula

APPENDIX I

Guidelines for writing the PhD theses

Reviewed and approved at the
Council meeting of the Doctoral School of Mathematics and Computer Science
on 25.01.2023

The Ph.D. theses in the fields of Mathematics and Computer Science must be the result of the Ph.D. student's own scientific research activities and contain original theoretical and applied results in the field of the scientific knowledge corresponding to the topic of his/her thesis.

A. The structure of the Ph.D. thesis

The following structure of the Ph.D. thesis is recommended:

Contents.
The List of figures contained in the thesis, if applicable.
The List of tables contained in the thesis, if applicable.
The List of original publications of the thesis author. For the Computer Science field, for each publication, the category of the publication (A *, A, B, C, D) and the score associated with it will be mentioned. For the Mathematics field, for each publication, the type of publication (BDI, Scopus, WoS) will be mentioned, while also indicating, in the case of the WoS-indexed ones, the most recent impact factor of the scientific journal.
The Introduction contains a brief presentation of the chosen research domain, the argumentation of the necessity and relevance of the research, as well as the motivation for choosing the topic of the thesis. The structure of the thesis and the content of its chapters will be described. In the end, the original contributions of the thesis will be summarized, including concrete indications of the sections of the thesis containing those contributions as well as (if applicable) bibliographical references to the publications containing the mentioned original results.
The content of the thesis. The thesis will contain chapters that will introduce the background concepts used in the thesis, the results of previous research related to the chosen topic, the original contributions of the thesis, and discussions on how they relate to already existing related research results.
Conclusions. This part of the thesis will contain a brief and structured presentation of the results obtained in the thesis as well as an indication of the future research directions related to the topic addressed in the thesis.
Bibliography. The Bibliography section will include correct and complete references to all the scientific works (papers, books, etc.) mentioned in the thesis. For example:
- In the case of books: (authors, the title of the book, the publishing house, the place of publication of the book, the year of publication of the book):
  - DeVore, R.A., Lorentz, G.G.: Constructive Approximation, Springer, Berlin, 1993.
- In the case of papers: (authors, the title of the paper, the name of the journal, the number of the journal, the year of publication, and the pages of the paper):
  - Berens, H., Lorentz, G.G.: Inverse theorems for Bernstein polynomials, Indiana Univ. Math. J., 21 (1972), 693-708.
- In the case of Internet Sources: (the first name and last name of the author, the title of the course, and the Internet address):
  - Wong P: Fixed Point Theory and Applications, http://abacus.bates.edu/ pwong/research/mini-course.pdf

B. Ethical requirements

While drafting the Ph.D. thesis, the ethical norms in research-development activities must be fulfilled. The following are prohibited: (1) reporting fictitious results; (2) the falsification of results; (3) plagiarism.

In terms of plagiarism, the list below identifies some specific forms of plagiarism [1]:

Reporting results (experiments, articles, etc.) obtained by others as one's own.
Copying texts or ideas from other works without citing them.
Omitting the inclusion of a quotation in quotation marks.
Giving incorrect information about the source of a citation.
Changing words but copying the structure of a text from a source without citing it.
Copying a lot of text or ideas from a source, regardless of whether it is cited or not.

[1] https://pitt.libguides.com/academicintegrity/plagiarism

C. Citation standards

When drafting the thesis, the following citation standards will be used.

Correct citation

Whenever texts (websites, books, articles, etc.) are used or ideas are expressed from another source, the source must be cited. In this case, the citation is added at the end of the text and not at the end of the section where the text appears.
Even if you paraphrase text from a source but refer to an idea or concept from that source, it must be cited.
Citing a source requires providing complete information about that source (see Section A) so that it can be identified by others.

Quotations

A quotation is a passage from a particular source that appears exactly (or almost exactly) as in the source.
If quotations are used, they must be enclosed in quotation marks and the source citation (from which the text was taken) must be included at the end of the quotation, not at the end of the section in which it appears.
As an exception to the above rule, according to the standards of the Mathematics field, definitions, theorems, and axioms may be included without quotation marks, even if they are taken exactly as they appear in an external source. In this case, too, the source citation should be included.
Misuse of quotations from other sources, even if they are correctly cited in the text, is not appropriate for a scientific paper. In this regard, it is recommended that the use of quotations be avoided or kept to a minimum and only used when deemed absolutely necessary.

Correct paraphrasing

In a paraphrase, the text written by another author is rephrased in one's own way.
Texts or ideas taken from other material must be paraphrased. Changing a few words in a text taken from another source is not sufficient to avoid plagiarism.
Paraphrased material should not be enclosed in quotation marks but should be accompanied by a citation of the source from which it was paraphrased. The citation should appear at the end of the paraphrased material, not at the end of the section in which the paraphrase was included.

D. Guidelines on word processing:

The pages will be numbered.
The chapters will start on new pages.
The thesis is recommended to have at least 100 pages.
It is recommended to use a font of 11-12 points (possibly excepting formulas).

APPENDIX II

Guidelines for writing the habilitation theses

Reviewed and approved at the Council meeting of the Doctoral School of Mathematics and Computer Science on 25.01.2023

The habilitation thesis is based on the published/patented scientific results, or the professional achievements made public prior to the submission of the habilitation file and subsequent to the obtaining of the PhD degree, referring to the respective publications, patents or achievements without their full reproduction being mandatory. It must present the main (theoretical and applied) results with their integration in the landscape of the current knowledge in the field. The thesis will explicitly indicate the evolution and development of the academic, scientific, and professional career, as well as its main future development directions, in the global context of the significant and current scientific achievements in the field of specialization of the thesis author. The candidate's abilities to work in teams and to coordinate new research in his/her scientific field will also be highlighted.

A. The structure of the habilitation theses

The following structure of the habilitation theses is recommended:

A summary (abstract) presenting the synthesis of the habilitation thesis.
Introduction in which to be presented the most important scientific achievements of the candidate, the visibility of his/her scientific activity as well as the relevant scientific publications on which the thesis is based.
The scientific achievements of the candidate, that follow disciplinary or interdisciplinary thematic directions. The achievements are documented through references to publications, patents or other achievements made public, each reference offering the possibility of verification. Moreover, the personal achievements are presented in the context of the current state of the scientific research in the thematic field of specialization, at international level, while highlighting, in an argumentative and documented way, the relevance and originality of the personal contributions.
The evolution and development plan for the candidate’s professional, scientific, and academic career, including research/teaching/practical application directions and probable ways of action for their implementation.
Conclusions. This part of the thesis will contain a brief and structured presentation of the results obtained in the thesis as well as the indication of the future research directions related to the topic addressed in the thesis.
The Bibliography section will include correct and complete references for all the scientific works (papers, books, etc.) mentioned in the habilitation thesis.

B. Ethical requirements

While drafting the habilitation thesis, the ethical norms in research-development activities must be fulfilled. The following are prohibited: (1) reporting fictitious results; (2) the falsification of results; (3) plagiarism.

In terms of plagiarism, the list below identifies some specific forms of plagiarism [2]:

Reporting results (experiments, articles, etc.) obtained by others as one's own.
Copying texts or ideas from other works without citing them.
Omitting the inclusion of a quotation in quotation marks.
Giving incorrect information about the source of a citation.
Changing words but copying the structure of a text from a source without citing it.
Copying a lot of text or ideas from a source, regardless of whether it is cited or not.

[2] https://pitt.libguides.com/academicintegrity/plagiarism

C. Citation standards

When drafting the thesis, the following citation standards will be used.

Correct citation

Whenever texts (websites, books, articles, etc.) are used or ideas are expressed from another source, the source must be cited. In this case, the citation is added at the end of the text and not at the end of the section where the text appears.
Even if you paraphrase text from a source but refer to an idea or concept from that source, it must be cited.
Citing a source requires providing complete information about that source so that it can be identified by others.

Quotations

A quotation is a passage from a particular source that appears exactly (or almost exactly) as in the source.
If quotations are used, they must be enclosed in quotation marks and the source citation (from which the text was taken) must be included at the end of the quotation, not at the end of the section in which it appears.
As an exception to the above rule, according to the standards of the Mathematics field, definitions, theorems, and axioms may be included without quotation marks, even if they are taken exactly as they appear in an external source. In this case, too, the source citation should be included.
Misuse of quotations from other sources, even if they are correctly cited in the text, is not appropriate for a scientific paper. In this regard, it is recommended that the use of quotations be avoided or kept to a minimum and only used when deemed absolutely necessary.

Correct paraphrasing

In a paraphrase, the text written by another author is rephrased in one's own way.
Texts or ideas taken from other material must be paraphrased. Changing a few words in a text taken from another source is not sufficient to avoid plagiarism.
Paraphrased material should not be enclosed in quotation marks but should be accompanied by a citation of the source from which it was paraphrased. The citation should appear at the end of the paraphrased material, not at the end of the section in which the paraphrase was included.