Measure of the Dean D138

On Studies in Bachelor's and Master's Degree Programmes at the Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia

Version 1.0 issued on the 31^st August 2026

Ref.No.: JU/2026/022816

Studies at the Faculty of Science are generally governed by Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education Institutions and on Amendments and Supplements to Other Acts (the "Act"), as well as by the internal regulations and standards of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice and the Faculty of Science of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (hereinafter the "Faculty of Science USB").

In accordance with the Study and Examination Regulations for Bachelor's and Master's Degree Programmes at the University of South Bohemia (hereinafter the "SER"), this Directive specifies their implementation under the conditions of the Faculty of Science USB.

Article 1
Courses

1. The course description in IS/STAG (hereinafter the "syllabus") shall obligatorily specify in particular:
   1. the extent of mandatory attendance in practical classes and seminars, if it is lower than 100%;
   2. the course content;
   3. the examination method, if the examination is part of the course, including its components and the minimum requirements for successful completion;
   4. the method of obtaining credit, if credit is part of the course, including the minimum requirements for successful completion;
   5. the workload associated with individual activities.
2. Attendance at lectures is optional. Attendance at practicals and seminars is compulsory to the extent specified in the course syllabus. If mandatory attendance is not specified in the syllabus, attendance at practicals and seminars is considered to be 100% compulsory.

Article 2
Course Registration and Study Progress Reiew

1. General rules for course registration and study, awarding credits, and taking examinations are governed by the Study and Examination Regulations for Bachelor's and Master's Degree Programmes at USB.
2. Course registration may be modified during the period of registration adjustment and during the first three weeks of the teaching period of each semester, subject to course capacity limits. Students bear full responsibility for changes made after the beginning of the semester. Outside this period, registration changes may be approved by the Dean only for block-taught courses that have not yet commenced, for serious reasons, especially health-related reasons, and for courses that consist solely of an examination or credit without teaching. Requests for registration changes outside the registration and adjustment periods and the first three weeks of the semester teaching period must be submitted through IS/STAG.
3. No minimum number of students is required for opening a course. Mandatory courses shall be offered regardless of enrolment numbers. A course classified as compulsory elective in at least one study plan must be opened irrespective of student numbers if at least one student enrolled during regular registration needs it to complete their studies within the standard duration. The Head of Department responsible for the course decides on opening compulsory elective courses and consults the programme guarantor in the event of a possible cancellation. The opening of elective courses is decided by the Head of the department responsible for teaching the course.
4. If a student completes more compulsory elective courses from a group than required by the relevant study plan, the excess courses shall automatically be counted as elective courses.
5. Students in cross-border programmes shall submit a transcript from the partner university information system by:

1. 31 August of the current year for studies at JKU Linz;
2. 15 September of the current year for studies at UKF Nitra;
3. 30 September of the current year for studies at THD Deggendorf.

6. If an examination is held before a committee, a written record shall be prepared and delivered to the Study Office for archiving no later than the third working day after the examination. Responsibility for delivery lies with the chair of the committee appointed by the Dean. The chair may delegate this task to another suitable person.

Article 3
Recognition of Study Obligations

1. Only courses completed with credit and courses completed by examination with a grade of "very good" or better may be recognized.
2. Courses associated with the assignment of a qualification thesis shall not be recognized. Courses associated with the preparation of a qualification thesis may be recognized.

Article 4
Higher Education Theses

1. A higher education qualification thesis is a thesis that forms part of the state examination according to the accreditation of the study programme.
2. Students select their thesis topic in IS/STAG. Academic staff may also publish a thesis topic in IS/STAG by agreement with a specific student.
3. Students shall register the thesis topic by:
   1. the end of the third semester in the Bachelor's programme Biological Chemistry;
   2. the end of the fourth semester in other Bachelor's programmes;
   3. the end of the third semester in the Master's programme Artificial Intelligence and Data Science;
   4. the end of the first semester in other Master's programmes.
4. In addition to the student, the following persons may be associated with the qualification thesis:

1. Supervisor (mandatory): may only be an academic or research staff member of the Faculty employed by the Faculty or a doctoral student at the Faculty of Science USB. The Faculty thesis guarantor also acts as supervisor if simultaneously appointed as mentor under point b. In such cases, the student is not counted towards the supervisor's limit under Article 27(6) SER.
2. Mentor (optional): may be a person not employed by USB who otherwise meets the qualification requirements for thesis supervisors.
3. Consultant from within or outside the university (optional).
4. Supervising academic (mandatory only where a Master's thesis is supervised by a doctoral student): an academic or research employee of USB holding a CSc., Ph.D., DrSc., DSc., Associate Professor (docent), or Professor title.

5. Qualification theses shall be written in the language of the study programme. For programmes taught in Czech, with the approval of the thesis supervisor and the Head of Department, the thesis may also be written in English or Slovak.
6. Formal requirements, including mandatory components and basic formatting, are stipulated by the relevant Vice-Dean for Studies Directive published in the Documents section of the Faculty website.
7. Programme-specific requirements, such as thesis length, citation style, or mandatory sections, shall be determined by a departmental directive issued by the department where the thesis will be defended.
8. Permissible use of artificial intelligence tools shall be governed by the Rector's Directive on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Student Work at the University of South Bohemia.
9. In preparing a qualification thesis, students shall adhere to the principles of research ethics and, where appropriate, the USB Code of Ethics.
10. Qualification theses shall be submitted within the deadlines established by the Academic Year Schedule.
11. Data or works used to produce the results of a qualification thesis must be made accessible through one of the following means:

1. inclusion directly in the thesis or its annex published immediately upon submission;
2. inclusion in the thesis or its annex with delayed publication for a period not exceeding that permitted by the Act;
3. deposit in public collections or data repositories, with explicit identification of the repository and the unique identifier of the dataset or item.

12. Qualification theses must not contain information requiring confidentiality for longer than five years.
13. A qualification thesis may take the form of:

1. manuscript addressing the assigned topic; or
2. scientific publication in which the student has made a substantial contribution.

14. If the thesis is in the form of a scientific publication, the following additional components are required:

1. declaration specifying the student's contribution to data collection and manuscript preparation, expressed both as percentages and in words, signed by the corresponding author;
2. comprehensive literature review prepared exclusively by the student.

15. If a student is a citizen of a country subject to sanctions prohibiting technical assistance under a special legal regulation, the full text of the thesis must be published immediately after submission for defence.
16. Students shall report on the progress of their thesis at least twice during their studies:

1. Biology students at a seminar of the supervisor's home department;
2. students in other professional programmes at a seminar of the programme guarantor's home department, unless otherwise specified by the programme guarantor;
3. students in teacher-training programmes at a seminar designated by the relevant Vice-Dean for Teacher Education Directive.

Article 5
State Examination and its Components

1. The defence of a qualification thesis is organized by the academic unit under which the thesis is registered in IS/STAG, unless otherwise determined by the programme guarantor.
2. The knowledge part of the Bachelor's state examination is organized by the Vice-Dean for Studies in cooperation with departments and programme guarantors. The knowledge part of Master's state examinations is organized by the department of the programme guarantor or another Faculty unit if appropriate and approved by the programme guarantor.
3. State examination subject areas are defined by programme accreditations and recorded as state examination courses in the relevant study plans available in IS/STAG.
4. All personal aids and devices are prohibited during the examination unless otherwise provided by a departmental directive or a directive issued by the Vice-Dean for Studies. This does not affect the student's right to use approved assistive devices. The need to use electronic assistive devices must be confirmed by the Centre for Students with Special Needs or another relevant USB unit.
5. Questions for individual Bachelor's state examination areas shall be published on the Faculty website in the Study section. Changes applicable to the current academic year shall be published by 31 October. Responsibility for publication lies with the programme guarantor. Programme guarantors sharing examination areas shall coordinate their activities.
6. Students register for the state final examination or its component conducted at the Faculty of Science through IS/STAG by submitting the application type "Application for State Final Examination" within the deadline established by the Academic Year Schedule. Registration may be withdrawn and students may withdraw from the defence or knowledge examination without losing an attempt up to two weeks before the first examination date specified in the Academic Year Schedule.
7. Unless otherwise stipulated by a Rector's Directive, the record of the state examination shall be authorized by the committee chair within seven working days after the examination by adding the text "Authorized by:", followed by the chair's name and the abbreviation "signed", unless the chair served as the recording secretary.

Article 6
Transitional Provisions

1. Directives specifying requirements for Bachelor's and Master's theses shall be issued by Heads of Departments no later than 30 September 2026 and published on departmental websites and submitted to the Study Office for publication on the Faculty website.

Article 7
Final Provisions

1. Dean's Directives D48, D84, D89 and D108 are hereby repealed.
2. This Directive enters into force on 1 September 2026.

In České Budějovice 1 of September 2026

prof. RNDr. František Vácha, Ph.D.
Dean of the Faculty of Science, USB