The Doctoral School of Law and Political Sciences of the Pázmány Péter Catholic University provides an 8 semesters long postgraduate legal education programme. Doctoral studies are two-phased: the first four semesters are dedicated to training and research, whereas the second phase aims at research and dissertation writing. On accomplishing the fourth semester, students need to pass successfully a 'complex exam' as a final requisite of the first phase completed, and as a criterion for starting the second phase. Doctoral students are required to submit their doctoral dissertation not later than three years after passing the complex exam successfully.