Doctoral thesis

The thesis must be written in one of the official languages of Catalonia or in English. Exceptionally, the Academic Doctoral Commission may authorise it being written in another language if there are academic reasons to justify this.

In general, the doctoral thesis will be divided into the following sections:

• I. Introduction: The doctoral candidate must describe the importance of the research topic and the environment in which it is framed. If the thesis is a compendium of publications, they must state the consistency between the different articles and their complementarity.
• II. Hypothesis and objectives: The hypothesis and objectives of the research project should be explained.
• III. Methodology: Description of the methodology used in the research project.
• IV. Research results In the case of a thesis by compendium, the articles that constitute the body of the doctoral thesis will be presented here. The articles that were finally accepted by the journals prior to layout in Word format will be used.
• V. Discussion: To undertake a global discussion and indicate the overall results of the project.
• VI. Conclusions: List of conclusions obtained from the thesis.
• VII. References
• VIII. Annexes

The thesis should be reviewed by two experts on the topic who are external to the UIC, before being accepted for the oral thesis defence.

The Doctoral Thesis can be presented in traditional format or in a compendium of publications.

To complete a compendium of publications thesis, the following requirements must be met:

a) General:

1. The doctoral candidate must be the first author of the publications presented and must indicate their affiliations with UIC Barcelona in the articles.
2. These works must have been published or accepted for publication later than the date the thesis project was registered.
3. The publications that make up the doctoral thesis must not have been used in any previous doctoral thesis.
4. The articles that make up the thesis may not be included as part of another. Any co-authors not holding a doctorate must sign a waiver to use them in other theses. These documents must be attached at the time of depositing the thesis.
5. The papers presented, in addition to having scientific value by themselves, must together form a scientific unit. The candidate must be able to establish a common thread to present a unitary scientific thesis with a value greater than the sum of the different papers presented independently of each other.

b) Specific to each doctoral programme:

The Academic Doctorate Committee shall establish the scales (number of publications and ranking of journals), which it considers appropriate for the admission of doctoral theses in compendium form.

The Thesis Deposit

The Thesis Deposit is the period that begins with the application for deposit submitted by the doctoral candidate and ends with the decision of the Academic Doctoral Committee (CAD) on the approval of the defence of the thesis and the appointment of the Tribunal.

a) Monitoring of the originality of the doctoral thesis

Prior to the beginning of the deposit phase, the originality of the thesis will be monitored according to the control mechanisms approved for this purpose by the School Management Committee. If the thesis does not pass the originality test it cannot be accepted for deposit.

Once all the documentation has been received (application of the doctoral candidate and the proposal of the director's reviewers) the thesis will enter the deposit phase

b) Assessment of the Thesis by External Reviewers

The Academic Doctorate Committee shall appoint the two external reviewers

Requirements for external reviewers: 

• Demonstrate accredited research experience, with at least six years of research or equivalent. 
• Be doctors belonging to a higher education institution or national research institute. 
• In the case of a thesis opting for international mention, external reviewers must be doctors belonging to a higher education institution or research institute outside Spain. 
• Sign a confidentiality agreement before receiving the thesis to evaluate, as established in the Internal Regulations of the Doctoral School, if the thesis contains sensitive material to patent or other exceptional circumstances.

Anonymous evaluation:  

External reviewers assess the thesis anonymously and determine if it is suitable for defense or not. If not, they shall indicate the recommendations or modifications to be made to the thesis.

Management: The Doctoral School's secretariat is responsible for contacting and managing reviewers.

Committee resolution: After reviewing the reports, the Committee will decide and communicate to the doctoral candidate and supervisor/s: 

a) that the thesis can be defended, and the jury for the thesis defense will be officially appointed.

b) that the thesis should be reviewed and modified according to the recommendations made in the reviewers' reports. In the latter case, the doctoral candidate, after incorporating the above recommendations, must re-submit their thesis to be re-evaluated.

Reading and defence of your thesis

The doctoral thesis must be evaluated in the act of presentation and defence where the doctoral candidate must present and defend their research project before the members of the jury and other attendees.

a) Format of the event

This event will be conducted in public and face-to-face. Exceptionally, for justified reasons, the doctoral candidate and the thesis supervisor may request that the Academic Doctorate Committee authorises the defence of the thesis in virtual or semi-virtual format (by video conference).

b) Constitution of the thesis tribunal

Composition: 

The tribunal consists of three titular members (president, secretary, and vocal) and two substitutes. If necessary, it can be expanded to five titular members and two substitutes.

Requirements:

• Hold a Doctoral degree.
• Specialize in the subject of the thesis.
• Accredited research experience (minimum of six years or equivalent).
• Have an affiliation with the university or research center, including emeritus or honorary professors.
• Retired experts with retirement dates less than three years prior may be part of the tribunal.
• Maximum one member from UIC Barcelona in tribunals of three titular members; maximum two members in tribunals of five titular members. Gender balance must be ensured.
• Members who have been part of the Specific Doctoral Committee (CED) may be proposed.
• External thesis reviewers may be proposed but will act only as substitutes.
• The presidency is designated taking into account academic position, category, and seniority in the teaching staff.

Required documentation:

• The tribunal proposal must include the curriculum vitae of members external to UIC Barcelona.
• A brief justification of the proposal.
• It may include the assignment of president, secretary, and vocal, if applicable.

c) Period of publication

In this evaluation process and before the defence, the university must guarantee the dissemination of the completed doctoral thesis so that other doctors can submit observations on the content. In this sense, the thesis will remain in public deposit for consultation for 15 working days before the date of the defence and reading of the thesis.

d) Qualification of the thesis

After the defence and discussion of the thesis, the jury must issue a written assessment report and the overall qualification granted to the thesis of either Fail, Pass, Good or Excellent.

If the thesis has obtained the overall rating of Excellent, the jury may propose that the thesis obtain a Cum Laude distinction if a secret vote in favour is issued unanimously. The vote must take place individually in a closed envelope. The count will be carried out by the Director of the Doctoral School who will issue the final mark and from the Doctoral School this will be communicated to the doctoral candidate, the thesis supervisor, and the members of the jury.

e) Management of the event and corresponding documentation

The Doctoral School is responsible for managing the procedures and the thesis defence and reading, in accordance with the protocol established by the School Management Committee and also for providing the necessary documents to process the application for the title of doctor. 

Doctorat Internacional en el títol de doctor o doctora  International Doctorate in your Doctoral degree

Per obtenir la “Menció Internacional” en el teu títol de doctor o doctora de UIC- Barcelona, és necessari complir amb les següents condicions:

1. International stays:
   • Undertake one or more stays outside of Spain, in higher education institutions or research centers, with a minimum total duration of three months.
   • If multiple stays are undertaken, at least one must be of one month’s duration.
   • The stays must be endorsed by the thesis director and authorized by the Academic Committee of the Doctorate (CAD).
   • The activities carried out must be validated by the host entity and incorporated into the doctoral student's activity document (DAD).
2. Thesis writing and defense:
   • Write and defend part of the thesis, at least the summary and conclusions, in a common scientific communication language within the field of study, different from the official languages in Spain.
   • This rule does not apply if the stays and experts come from a Spanish-speaking country.
3. External evaluation:
   • At least two of the thesis reviewers must belong to non-Spanish higher education institutions or research centers and must not have participated in the tutoring or direction at the host institution.
4. Evaluating committee:
   • At least one member of the evaluating committee must belong to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research center, different from the one responsible for the international stay.

Industrial Doctorate in the Doctoral degree

The conditions for obtaining the Industrial mention, according to Royal Decree BOE-A-2023-16573, are:

1. Applied research project:
   • The thesis must develop a research project of industrial, commercial, social, or cultural interest for an entity, public or private company, or public administration. Universities, public research organizations (national or regional), and university hospitals are excluded, with exceptions if the thesis content is predominantly applied.
   • The direct relationship between the doctoral thesis and the work developed by the doctoral candidate in the entity or company must be formalized in a scientific-technical report that must be approved by the Academic Committee of the Doctorate (CAD).
2. Collaboration agreement:
   • Ha d'existir un conveni entre l'entitat, empresa o administració pública i la UIC Barcelona per al desenvolupament acadèmic de la tesi doctoral, establint com a mínim les obligacions de les parts i els drets de propietat industrial que es puguin generar.
3. Employment by the collaborating entity:
   • There must be an agreement between the entity, company, or public administration and UIC Barcelona for the academic development of the doctoral thesis, establishing at least the obligations of the parties and the industrial property rights that may be generated.
4. Thesis supervision and direction:
   • The doctoral candidate will have a thesis tutor designated by UIC Barcelona and a responsible person designated by the entity, company, or public administration, who may be, if applicable, the thesis director as established in the Royal Decree.
   • Under no circumstances may the person responsible designated by the company be part of the thesis evaluation committee.