General information of the Doctorate

They are research staff in training at the Doctoral School, who must develop their research plan under the supervision of the thesis supervisor appointed by the Academic Doctoral Committee.

As a PhD student you will:

1. Enroll each academic year on the programme. Non-arrangement of enrolment is understood as s renunciation of doctoral studies.
2. Sign a commitment in writing that establishes the responsibilities and supervisory functions of the supervisor and, where appropriate, the tutor, in the form established by the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya.
3. Participate in the training activities and research seminars programmed as part of doctoral studies and in the activities agreed with your supervisor and record them in the Doctoral Activities (DAD) document
4. Develop a Research Plan with the necessary dedication.
5. Present the supervisor with the work undertaken in the format and frequency agreed in advance.
6. Comply with the ethical standards established by the University.
7. Avoid plagiarism and respect intellectual property principles. Indicate your association and affiliation with the UIC in the publications and results of your thesis.
8. Use the assets, equipment, facilities etc. of both the University and the collaborating entities with due care and respect.

The thesis supervisor is the agent with the highest level of responsibility for the development of the research plan and for guiding and planning the training activities of the PhD student. They must ensure both impact and novelty in the field of the subject matter of the doctoral thesis.

The thesis supervisor may be proposed by the Academic Doctoral Committee (CAD) or by the doctoral candidate. If persons other than UIC PDI staff members are proposed as thesis supervisors, and do not co-supervise the thesis with a lecturer from the programme, the CAD will appoint a UIC tutor.

General requirements: 

• Affiliation with a university.
• Active six-year term or equivalent.
• Exceptions:
  • The Doctoral Academic Committee (CAD) may appoint an external professional who demonstrates equivalent research as a supervisor.
  • Possibility of appointing an emeritus or honorary professor.
  • Continuation of the retired director until the completion of the thesis.

Specific procedures:

• The doctoral program's CAD will establish the procedure for recognizing equivalent research for researchers who cannot apply for active research periods.
• In the case of co-supervision, at least one of the co-supervisors must have active research or equivalent (with a minimum of 5 publications in JCR 2Q1+3Q2 or 3Q1+1Q2+1Q3 or 4Q1).
• In the appointment of external supervisors to UIC Barcelona, it will be necessary for the CAD to designate a UIC Barcelona TUTOR in the following cases:
  • In the case of single supervision, a UIC Barcelona tutor will be appointed.
  • In the case of co-supervision by two external supervisors, a UIC Barcelona tutor will be appointed.
  • In the case of co-supervision with a UIC Barcelona professor, no appointment will be necessary.
• To ensure the proper development of supervisory tasks and excellence in doctoral research, the number of theses a supervisor can simultaneously oversee is limited to 4 points. Single supervision counts as 1 point, and co-supervision counts as 0.5 points.

Doctoral theses may be directed by 2 or 3 doctors, where there are academic reasons to do so, such as thematic interdisciplinarity or programmes developed in national or international collaboration, with the authorisation of the CAD.

In the exercise of your task as a thesis supervisor you will:

1. Sign a commitment in writing that establishes the responsibilities and supervisory functions of the supervisor and, where appropriate, the tutor, in the form established by the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya.
2. Participate in the training activities for thesis directors offered by the Doctorate School to fulfil with responsibility the supervisory functions of their doctoral candidates.
3. Indicate to the doctoral student the most appropriate training activities for his or her research when the Doctoral Programme considers this necessary.
4. Communicate to the doctoral candidate any ethical standards or aspects that may be related to his or her research.
5. Oversee the research plan and participation in training activities of the doctoral candidate.  Agree on the monitoring plan for research work and plan regular meetings.
6. Send the supervisor's report on the development of the work carried out by the PhD student to the CAD annually.
7. Read, correct, and comment on the of thesis manuscript, in its successive reworking, before the date agreed for depositing it.
8. Propose to the Academic Committee potential members for the specific committee for each doctoral candidate.
9. Propose to the corresponding Academic Committee the external reviewers to evaluate the deposited. theses
10. Propose to the Doctoral School the members who may form part of the jury for the thesis defence.

Doctoral studies can either be carried out part-time or full-time.

• Full-time study: maximum 4 years
• Part-time study: maximum 7 years

A one-year extension of the duration of studies may be granted in duly justified cases upon application to the Doctoral Academic Committee.

1. Students will be removed from the programme under the following circumstances:
   • Voluntarily renouncing the right to continue on the programme, which should be communicated in writing to the Doctoral Academic Committee.
   • At the decision of the Doctoral Academic Committee.
   • Failure to pay the annual registration fee within the established period.
   • Completing the Doctoral Programme after defending the doctoral thesis.
2. Doctoral students may request temporary leave from the course for a maximum period of one year, which can be extended for a further year. The request must be justified before the academic committee responsible for the programme, who will decide whether or not to grant the leave requested by the doctoral student.
3. For duly justified reasons, the doctoral student may request the extension that is legally established in the study duration.
   This request should be sent to the Doctoral Academic Committee with proper justification, three months in advance of the final date for the end of the course duration.