The student must successfully pass the state doctoral exam and defend the dissertation thesis.

The State Doctoral Exam (SDE) consists of two topics linked to the courses with a common base in Media and Journalism Theory and the Methodology of Media and Journalism Studies. In the SDE, the student's task is to demonstrate relevant field knowledge of theories and methodologies that are related to the topic of their dissertation work.

• The student will be given a thematic topic with each of the exams in advance by the head of the committee, for which s/he must prepare by reading literature relevant to each topic.
• The student will provide a list of the literature that s/he proposes for the given topic in advance (the list must contain at least 20 sources per topic); the head of the committee approves the proposed list in advance and supplements it, if so requested by the members of the SDE committee and the supervisors and consultants.
• In the exam itself, the student's task is to persuade the committee of having sufficient knowledge of the theories and methodologies in both of the given topics and of their ability to apply them beyond the subject of the dissertation thesis, as well as to place it in the wider context of the field discussion.

The doctoral dissertation thesis is defended in front of a committee, which has at least five members, of which two are external. The work is evaluated by two opponents, one of them being external. On the basis of the evaluations and defence of the student, the committee assesses the quality of the dissertation thesis.