PhD programme
- You can consult the regulations of each university:
The following information is general and applies to all three universities. Students should contact the person responsible at each university to obtain information on specific aspects of the PhD programme at each faculty.
In the admission process, the Academic Committee of the programme will assign the student a tutor, who will have to be a professor or a full-time researcher related to the programme. The tutor will be responsible for ensuring the interaction between students and the Academic Committee of the PhD programme.
In the admission process, the Academic Committee will assign each student a thesis supervisor who will have to be a doctor, Spanish or foreigner, with accredited research experience. The thesis supervisor will be responsible for the consistency and appropriateness of the training activities and the impact and novelty of the thesis in its field, as well as the guide in the planning and, if needed, its adequacy to other projects and activities of interest for the PhD students. If the assigned thesis supervisor is linked to the programme and meets the requirements, the tutor and the supervisor will be the same person. The Academic Committee of the PhD programme will be able to assign the student two supervisors, in co-management regime. This is justifiable by academic reasons, such as thematic interdisciplinary or national/international collaboration programmes. This assignment of more than one supervisor may be subsequently revoked, if the Academic Committee believes the co-management programme does not benefit the development of the thesis.
All PhD students must submit a research plan that will be subjected to academic monitoring and constant supervision until the defence of their doctoral thesis. Format, process or timing of these activities may differ at each university.
In these webs, you have the characteristics of the research plan:
Within the first enrolment year, students will have to present the research plan. This plan is a written project that will allow the supervisors to assess whether the candidates have an adequate plan for the doctoral thesis development. The research plan will be prepared with the help of the supervisor. This plan may be:
- An index and detailed map of the doctoral thesis.
- The presentation of a State-of-the-art essay on some area of research plus a plan for the PhD thesis.
- A part or a chapter of the doctoral thesis along with the plan for the remaining part of the project.
Any other format agreed with the supervisor that shows that:
- There is a clear research topic,
- The candidates possess enough relevant knowledge to start the project.
- The candidates have a work plan that will allow them to carry out their research successfully.
The research plan will have to be presented to a committee chosen for this purpose by the Academic Committee. This committee will be composed of a maximum of two members belonging to the speciality in which the PhD student’s research is conducted and a minimum of one more member belonging to other specialities. Although it is not a mandatory condition, it is recommended that at least one of the members does not belong to the university in which the PhD student is enrolled.
Tutors and supervisors will not form part of the committee, except in the case of co-managament; in those cases, one of the co-supervisors will be allowed to be a part of the committee. If the research plan is not approved by the committee, the PhD students have a second chance to modify and submit it during six months. If it is not approved, PhD students must permanently withdraw from the programme.
Scientific activity and progress in the preparation of the doctoral thesis is evaluated by a Monitoring Committee. This Committee must report to the Academic Committee annually. The Monitoring Committee will evaluate two reports, one presented by the student and the other by the supervisor, which will show the student’s progress.
Specifically, this Committee will evaluate:
- Progress in the thesis. Scientific activities.
- Any other relevant matter to the investigation.
- Overall assessment.
Apart from the common necessary responsibilities for the completion of PhD studies, PhD students must attend the main activities organised by the doctoral programme in which the research is conducted. In particular, students must at least attend to:
- The annual CCiL Conference which inaugurates the academic year.
- The annual CCiL workshop.
- General conferences offered by the PhD programme.
- General conferences of the student’s speciality offered by the programme.
- Speciality seminars.
The minimum number of publications (papers/book chapters) for a thesis presented as a compendium of published work is:
- Two publications, when both papers or book chapters are in publications with a high impact index (Quartile 1 or CARHUS Plus+ A).
- Three publications, when one of the articles is published in a high impact index journal (Quartile 1 or CARHUS Plus+ A) and the other two in Quartile 2 or CARHUS Plus+ B publications.
The impact index will be evaluated by each branch of the PhD programme.
When the thesis consists of two publications, the PhD candidate must appear as the first author in both papers or book chapters. When it consists of three publications, the PhD candidate must appear as the first author in at least two of them (one of which must be a Quartile 1 publication). In the case of book chapters, the Academic Committee of the PhD programme will decide on their inclusion in the compendium.