Frequently Asked Questions – PhD Program
To be eligible for the PhD program, candidates must have completed a Master's degree with a thesis, with a final grade of 85 on the Israeli grading scale (or its equivalent), from a university or similar accredited institute of higher education, and a grade of at least 85 for the thesis.
Students holding a Master's degree without a thesis with an overall grade of 85 are still eligible to apply. If their application is successful they will be accepted to the program as "candidates" and given one year to complete a thesis before entering the PhD program.
PSES submits your grade transcripts from your undergraduate (first) and graduate (second) degrees to the university Registrar's Office for evaluation and translation to the Israeli grading scale.
The tuition fee from the start of the program up until the submission of a research proposal (generally up to 18 months) is approximately NIS 4000 per year, after which tuition is approximately NIS 6000 per year.
There are no admissions deadlines - you can apply for the program at any point during the year. The documents you need to provide are listed here.
Tel Aviv University encourages its students to finish their doctoral work within 5 years at the most.
Students must complete the following coursework:
- At least 4 courses (of at least 2 credit hours each) at the graduate level over the duration of the program;
- Site visits course;
- 3 semesters of the doctoral students forum;
- A scientific writing course in English;
- 25 meetings of the depatmental weekly seminar (a weekly lecture series for all PSES graduate students).
PSES makes every effort to grant scholarships to all of its PhD students, though we do not guarantee a scholarship.
Scholarship are usually about USD 540 per month, and include an exemption from paying tuition fees.
By the end of Stage 1 (the first year of the program), students from abroad will be required to demonstrate a certain (university-determined) standard in either Hebrew or English in order to continue on the program. It is important to note that most of the courses offered at PSES are held in Hebrew, and therefore it is strongly suggested that candidates learn Hebrew before they apply to the program.
Most of our graduates go on to post-doc positions abroad, and some are working in public office positions here in Israel.
Write to Yaffa Cohen Hadari Coordinator of the PhD Program at yaffac@tauex.tau.ac.il
