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Masters Guide 1919X480

PhD Admissions

​​​​​Registration for PhD Programs at Ben-Gurion University
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​​The Kreitman School of Advanced Graduate Studies serves as the administrative framework for graduate and post-graduate students at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

In addition to providing a range of services to these students, the school directs its efforts toward attracting outstanding candidates for advanced studies and increasing the overall proportion of graduate students in the total student body.

The Kreitman School's emphasis is on academic excellence. A new program, the Kreitman Foundation Fellowships, has been inaugurated to attract Ben-Gurion University's graduate and post-graduate students of exceptional excellence to pursue their studies.

In addition, Kreitman School is in the process of organizing a fellowship program in interdisciplinary studies designed to attract scholars of international stature and exceptional academic achievement to come to the University as Kreitman Fellows for limited or extended periods.

Admissions

At Ben-Gurion University of the Negev one can study and do research toward a PhD degree in the Faculties of Engineering Sciences, Natural Sciences, Health Sciences, Humanities & Social Sciences, Management, and in the Jacob Blaustein Institutes of Desert Research or interdisciplinary study programs.

There are 3 different doctoral tracks:

  • The “Regular track” is for outstanding graduate students of BGU or other comparable academic institutions with high grades from their Master’s studies and Theses. Each department is entitled to determine its minimal requirements for the acceptance of doctoral candidates (based on the course grade average and Thesis score). The study and research period is 4 years.
  • The “Combined track” is for outstanding BGU graduate students at advanced stages in their Master’s research (having completed a maximum of 4 semesters towards the Master's degree), whose Master’s research, by content, originality, and contribution to the field, might be extended to fulfill the requirements of a PhD Thesis. The student is entitled to a Master's degree after passing the candidacy exam. The study and research period is 4 years.
  •  The “Direct track” is for outstanding Bachelor’s students of BGU or other comparable academic institutions, with confirmed academic excellence in their Bachelor’s studies, ranked by the Research Studies Committee as among the top 10% in their field. This track enables direct doctoral studies without prior registration for Master’s studies. Acceptance into this track must be contiguous with completing the Bachelor’s studies. The study and research period is 5 years.

Online Registration for Foreign Students Only

The following items must be attached to the registration forms:

  1. Official confirmation of the successful completion of a Bachelor’s degree, either notarized or certified by the accrediting institution or by the BGU Office for Research Students. New, incoming students (not previously at BGU) must also submit a detailed, official grade sheet.
  2. Official confirmation of the successful completion of a Master’s degree. New, incoming students (not previously at BGU) must also submit a detailed, official grade sheet (including the Thesis score) and the grading scale/grading method of the institution.
  3. Students from abroad (from non-English-speaking countries) must also submit notarized or certified (see 1 above) translations of their documents and complete grade sheets in either English or Hebrew.
  4. An up-to-date curriculum vita (in either Hebrew or English).
  5. Letters of reference: Three recommendations:
    • After you finish your registration, you will get an e-mail with a link.
    • Please send this link to the scholars who will be your referees:
    • ​Regular and Combined PhD Tracks:
      • Your master's advisor(s) - If there is more than one advisor, send the link to all master's supervisors.
      • 2 references from scholars at academics who hold PhD diplomas. Applicants for the Department of Life Sciences must include the proposed advisor as one of the referees; these are to be sent by the referees directly to the Kreitman School Office.
  6. Only candidates for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences are required to submit a tentative, pre-admission Thesis Research Proposal, signed by the referees, to the Kreitman School Office.
  7. Only candidates for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences "Combined Track" are required to submit a summary of their research along with a form approving their transfer to the "Combined Track," signed by the Head of the Graduate Students' Committee of their department.
  8. Online registration fees :
    • Israeli citizens: 419NIS for new incoming students at BGU; 210​​​ NIS for continuing.
    • $100 for foreign nationals
    • ​(all fees are subject to change).
  9. Copy of your passport (will be uploaded in the system. 1MB, JPG)
  1. A candidate interested in work as a teaching assistant in his/her department or who would like a scholarship should turn to his/her department’s office. Note: Being accepted as a teaching assistant does not guarantee admission into the doctoral studies program.
  2. Scholarships

Doctoral candidates may only be accepted for research studies by recommendation of the department in which that research will be done and with the approval of the Faculty Graduate Studies Committee and the Research Students’ Committee.

  1. The candidate must have earned a Master's degree in a program requiring the submission of a Master’s Thesis from B.G.U. or another comparable academic institution and must have high grades from the Master’s studies and Thesis. Candidates who have not yet fulfilled their Master’s degree requirements may be accepted conditionally, contingent upon their proper completion of additional studies; this is a temporary status that may be conferred for only one semester.
    • Holders of a Master's degree without a Thesis may not register for the PhD degree. It is possible to complete the required Thesis at our University by registering for "Thesis completion" (as part of the registration for the Master's degree). One may register for the PhD program after completing the Thesis. In some departments, it is possible to register for the "Combined Track" after one year of research (inquire at the Kreitman School).
  2. The candidate must choose a potential Thesis Advisor from among the senior lecturers or professors before registration online. Detailed information on the various academicians is generally available online via the BGU homepage by checking their personal homepages linked to the departmental websites.
  3. Graduate students from universities abroad (even those with campuses in Israel) must pass specific tests before becoming doctoral candidates: the GRE General Test and Subject Test. Potential candidates for the Faculty of Management must also take the GMAT. The results of these tests must reach the Kreitman School together with the registration forms. After the results of these tests are received, the applications are referred to the various Admissions Committees. More information on these tests (GRE & GMAT) may be found on the Internet at: http://www.gre.org and http://www.fulbright.org.il  or via:

    GRE Search Serving, P.O.B. 6010, Princeton, NJ 08541-6010 USA at tel.: 1-609-4065149

    The phone number for the USA-Israel Education Fund is 03-5172131

    Exemption from the GRE exam:
    The Kreitman Dean may decide that a particular candidate is exempt from the above exam. To apply for an exemption, the candidate must submit a certified grade sheet detailing all the courses completed and the Thesis score, a copy of the Thesis and an updated curriculum vita (CV), and a letter requesting exemption from the GRE. 
    “Doctoral research” (Code 3):

    Intended for internal doctoral candidates who have a scholarship. In this case, a candidate is admitted for a “trial period” of up to 12 months. At the conclusion of this period, the student is required to submit a Thesis Research Proposal and pass a candidacy test. Having passed this test successfully, the candidate’s status is changed to a “regular doctoral student” (Code 3). 

    “Supplementary doctoral studies” (Code 13):
    Intended for a) candidates who have not yet fulfilled their Master’s degree requirements due to inadequate course grades or a low Thesis score, but they may be admitted if they have convinced the Research Students’ Committee that they can reach the required level by means of supplementary studies; b) candidates who intend to study a different research field from that of their Masters' studies. The Research Students’ Committee will decide whether to accept the candidate for Ph.D. studies after assessing the students’ achievements in their supplementary studies. 

Registration forms may be submitted to the Kreitman School Office throughout the academic year. Doctoral studies may be started two times each year—at the start of the Winter or Spring semesters. A candidate requesting admission to the Winter semester (Semester A) should register no later than the preceding 1st of July; for the Spring semester (Semester B), no later than the preceding 1st of January. Registration forms received after these dates will be considered, but there are no guarantees that the candidate will be accepted for the requested semester.

Online Registration for Foreign Students Only

In order to apply to The Kreitman-School follow these instructions:

  • First and foremost, read the Academic Regulations 
  • Before applying, you must find a faculty member from Ben-Gurion University who will agree to advise you in your PhD studies.
  • Here you can find a list of PhD advisors according to their field of research
  • All applicants from Universities outside of Israel or from colleges (in or outside of Israel) must take two GRE tests: the Basic GRE test and one advanced subject GRE test. Candidates for the Faculty of Management, instead of the GRE test, must take a GMAT test (with a minimum grade of 650). The test results must arrive at the Kreitman School along with the registration forms.
  • ​​​​Prof. Orna Braun-Lewensohn​, Dean
    kreitmdn@bgu.ac.il 08-6477217

  •  Prof. Anat Ben-Zvi, Vice Dean
    anatbz@bgu.ac.il

  • Michal Rokni, Kreitman School Administrator
    mrokni@bgu.ac.il  08-6472277

  • Ronit Parpara, Students Administrator
    Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
    ronitp@bgu.ac.il​​  08-6472276

  • Vered Shachar, Students Administrator 
    Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management                                  
    veredsha@bgu.ac.il 08-6428441

  • Noga Gez, Students Administrator
    Faculty of Engineering Sciences,The Jacob Blaustein Institutes of Desert Research
    nogayah@bgu.ac.il​  08-6479587

  • Etty Vax, Students Administrator
    Faculty of Health Sciences
    ettyvax@bgu.ac.il 08-6477071

  • Tova Brenner, Students Administrator
    Faculty of Natural Sciences, Interdisciplinary Studies 
    tbrenner@bgu.ac.il 08-6477614

  • Sharon Segal-​Slivkovitz, Scholarship and Award Coordinator
    sharonss@bgu.ac.il 08-6428838

  • Limor Azoulay-Gowans, Scholarship and Award Coordinator, Postdoc registration
    limoraz@bgu.ac.il 08-6428193

  • Dana Amara​ - Head of office

danaama@bgu.ac.il​​ 08-6472710

The documents required for registration should be uploaded onto:

Document upload system - BGU ​login information

​At the end of the registration, you can see the status of the documents, in the BGU login information.​

More information is available at the Kreitman School Office, located on the Marcus Family Campus, Community Action Building (18), Room 208;

tel. 08-6461209

fax. 08-6472889

Candidate Recommendation form >>