Cookies Policy

The website of the University of Cádiz uses its own and third-party cookies to carry out analysis of use and measurement of traffic, as well as to allow the correct functioning in social networks, and in this way to improve your browsing experience.

If you want to configure cookies, press the button Customize Cookies. You can also access the cookie settings at any time from the corresponding link in the footer.

For more information about cookies you can consult the Cookies policy from the website of the University of Cádiz.

Cookies customization

The website of the University of Cádiz uses its own and third-party cookies to carry out analysis of use and measurement of traffic, as well as to allow the correct functioning in social networks, and in this way to improve your browsing experience.

For more information about cookies you can consult the Cookies policy from the website of the University of Cádiz. You can also access the cookie settings at any time from the corresponding link in the footer.

You can configure the website cookies according to their purpose:

  • Statistical analysis

    Third-party cookies (Google Analytics) are used on this site that allow the number of users to be quantified anonymously (personal data will never be obtained to identify the user) and thus be able to analyze the use made by users of our service, in order to improve the browsing experience and offer our content optimally.

  • Social networks

    Third-party cookies are used on this website that allow the proper functioning of some social networks (mainly YouTube and Twitter) without using any personal data of the user.

UniversidaddeCádiz
Escuela de Doctorado de la Universidad de Cádiz

Normativa para la presentación y lectura de Tesis

 

Enlace: Instrucción UCA/I04VP /2015, de 30 de abril de 2015, del Vicerrector de Planificación de la Universidad de Cádiz, por la que se desarrolla el procedimiento para el depósito y la defensa de la tesis doctoral en la Universidad de Cádiz […]


The procedure for the presentation and defense of the Ph.D. thesis of the Doctoral Program is regulated in Chapter IV (On the Ph.D. thesis), Chapter V (On the authorization of the processing, public presentation, and defense of the Ph.D. thesis), Chapter VI (On the Ph.D. thesis court) Chapter VII (On the act of defense of the Ph.D. thesis) of the Title (Development of doctoral studies), Regulation UCA/CG06/2012 of 27 June 2012, which regulates the organization of doctoral studies at the University of Cadiz. It provides the following:

 

Chapter IV: About the Ph.D. thesis

  • Article 22. The Ph.D. thesis
  1. The Ph.D. thesis shall consist of an original research paper prepared by the candidate related to the scientific, technical, or artistic field of the doctoral program undertaken. The thesis must qualify the doctoral student for autonomous and professional work in the field of R+D+i.
  2. The thesis may be developed and, if necessary, defended in the usual languages for scientific communication in their field of knowledge.
  3. The thesis report will be presented together with the Research Plan, the Doctoral Student’s Activity Document, a summary in Spanish, and the Report of the Director and, if applicable, the Thesis Tutor.
  • Article 23. Thesis as a compendium of publications
  1. The Ph.D. thesis may consist of the set of works published by the doctoral student on the research plan of the Ph.D. thesis, in those programs that, by the nature and evolution of their scientific discipline, allow it.
  2. The works must have been accepted for publication after the first registration for academic supervision and must consist of
a) A minimum of three articles published or accepted in journals included in the first three quartiles of the list of journals in the field of the specialty and referenced in the last list published by the Journal Citation Reports (SCI and/or SSCI).
b) For the cases of disciplines in which the previous criterion of evaluation of the publications is not relevant, the three publications will be evaluated taking as reference the bases and the criteria related by the National Evaluation Committee of the Research Activity for these scientific fields, having to be the articles published in journals included in the first two quartiles of the last published relation.
c) A book or at least three book chapters related to the object of the thesis, which have been published in prestigious publishing houses that have systems for selecting originals, and the academic committee may require a report that includes these aspects.

3.In the case of publications with several authors signing, the doctoral student should make express mention of their contribution to the work carried out, justifying the relevance of their contributions to the rest of the signatories. In these cases, the remaining authors must also agree to the presentation of their work as a thesis by the doctoral candidate, expressly and formally renouncing the possibility of presenting it as part of another Ph.D. thesis at any other university.

4. . In the articles and chapters of the book, the doctoral candidate should preferably be the first author and may occupy the second place among the authors, if the person who is directing the thesis occupies the first place. The Vice-Rector with competence in the area of doctoral studies may issue a report assessing the relevance and possible equivalence of an order of authors other than the one expressed, according to the specialties of the discipline.

5. If the contribution is a book, the doctoral student should be in the first place of the authorship.

6.In this modality, the thesis should include at least the following sections:

a)Summary;

b) Introduction and justification of the thematic unit of the thesis;

c) Hypothesis and objectives;

d) Critical analysis of the background;

e) Joint discussion of the results obtained in the different works;

f) Conclusions reached, indicating from which publication or publications they derive;

g) perspectives, bibliography, and annex with the articles published or accepted for publication, in which case proof of acceptance by the journal or publisher must be provided.

7. The thesis report will also be accompanied by the Research Plan, the Ph.D. student’s Activity Document, a summary in Spanish and the report from the director or, where appropriate, the thesis tutor, a report with the impact factor and the quartile from the Journal Citation Reports (SCI and/or SSCI) or the reference databases of the area in which the publications presented are located.

 

Chapter V: On the authorization of the processing, public presentation and defense of the Ph.D. thesis

  • Article 24. Application and authorization of the processing of the presentation of the thesis

1. Once the research plan has been completed, the interested party will send the Ph.D. thesis together with the required documentation to the academic committee of the doctoral program, requesting agreement to proceed with its subsequent processing.

2. The Academic Committee will guarantee that the Ph.D. thesis meets the quality control requirements of the doctoral program. To this end, the doctoral program may establish minimum requirements for the quality and impact of a thesis so that its defense can be authorized and/or the need to obtain a favorable report from national or international experts outside the doctoral program.

3. Within a maximum period of thirty working days after the application, the academic committee must make a formal assessment of the Ph.D. thesis, recommending any changes it considers appropriate or authorizing, if necessary, its processing.

4. In addition to compliance with the requirements established in the quality control of the doctoral program, authorization for processing will generally be subject to the thesis meeting one of the following quality criteria

a) Scientific production derived from the thesis. Results published in at least one international journal with an impact index included in the Journal Citation Reports shall be considered as evidence of the quality of the thesis. In those areas in which this criterion is not applicable, the equivalence allowed by the criteria established by the National Evaluation Committee of the Research Activity for those scientific fields will be taken into account. In the publications, the doctoral student should be in the first place of the authorship of the publication, or in the second place if the first one corresponds to the one who directs the thesis.

b) Internationalization of the thesis. In addition to complying with the legal requirements for it to be presented and defended as a thesis with an International Mention, the thesis should include scientific contributions, not necessarily included in the previous section, in which the doctoral candidate should appear in the first place of authorship of the publication, or in the second place if the first corresponds to the person directing the thesis.

  • Article 25. Deposit and public presentation of the Ph.D. thesis

1.If the processing of the thesis is authorized by the academic committee of the doctoral program, the doctoral student must deliver two copies of the same to the General Secretariat of the University of Cadiz, which will remain in deposit for a period of fifteen school days, one in the General Secretariat itself, in another in the unit or school responsible for the doctoral program, where they can be examined by any doctor who requests it. If a doctor deems it appropriate, he or she may address in writing to the Doctorate Committee of the University of Cadiz the considerations that he or she deems appropriate to make.

When the nature of the work of the Ph.D. thesis does not allow its reproduction, the requirement for the delivery of copies will be fulfilled with the deposit of the original at the General Secretariat of the University of Cadiz.

2. The Centers responsible for the Ph.D. thesis will communicate the deposit of the Ph.D. thesis to all doctors through the Departments, and through the web page of the University, will disseminate the thesis that is in deposit at each time.

  • Article 26. Authorization for the defense of the thesis by the Doctoral Committee of the University of Cadiz

1. After the deadline for submission, any comments submitted shall be sent to the coordinator of the doctoral program, the thesis supervisor and the doctoral candidate, who shall issue a report in response within 20 working days.

2. The Doctoral Committee of the University of Cadiz, in view of the writings, received and if necessary, after consultation with the academic committee of the doctoral program and the specialists it deems appropriate, will decide within a maximum of 30 days whether the Ph.D. thesis is admitted to be processed for defense or if, on the contrary, in a reasoned manner, it should be withdrawn.

3. Until the time of the act of defense and public presentation of the thesis, the Ph.D. Committee of the University of Cadiz may suspend the authorization for the defense of the thesis if serious circumstances occur that justify this measure, which must be communicated to the person who is president of the tribunal.

  • Article 27. Registration of the defense of the Ph.D. thesis

Once the authorization for the defense of the Ph.D. thesis has been obtained, the interested person will formalize the registration for the defense of the thesis.

Chapter VI: About the Ph.D. thesis tribunal

  • Article 28. Designation
Authorized the defense of the Ph.D. thesis by the Doctoral Committee of the University of Cadiz, the academic committee will propose, for appointment by the Doctoral Committee of the University of Cadiz, the members of the tribunal that will evaluate the Ph.D. thesis, upon the proposal of the director of the thesis and, if necessary, endorsed by the Tutor. This proposal will be accompanied by the acceptance to form part of the tribunal, and the declaration of fulfilling some of the requirements demanded the accreditation of the research activity.
The academic committee will ask the president of the thesis tribunal to determine the day, time, and place in which the presentation and defense act will take place.
  • Article 29. Composition of the Ph.D. thesis tribunal

1.The selection board shall consist of three members and two alternates, who must meet the following requirements:

a) All members of the selection board must hold a doctorate degree and have proven research experience in the field covered by the thesis or in another field relevant to the thesis. It will be considered as accredited research experience to meet any of the requirements for directing a Ph.D. thesis, except in the case of company doctors, who may participate in the thesis panels if their professional activity is related to R+D+I.

b) Only one member of the tribunal may belong to the University of Cadiz. The other two members may not be attached to the doctoral school or the doctoral program in which the doctoral student is enrolled, nor have a contractual or statutory relationship with the institutions or companies that have established specific collaboration agreements with the doctoral school and/or the corresponding doctoral program.

2. The chair of the selection board shall be held by the member with the highest professional standing and seniority, with the duties of the selection board’s secretariat performed by the person with the lowest professional standing and seniority. The member of the panel assigned to the University of Cadiz may be responsible for the administrative processing of the process of presentation and defense of the thesis, with the express authorization of the secretary with the approval of the president of the panel.

3. In no case may the director of the thesis be part of the tribunal, nor in the case of a thesis presented by a compendium of publications, the co-authors of the same or those who incur in any of the causes of abstention established in public regulations.

 

Chapter VII: On the act of defense of the Ph.D. thesis

  • Article 31. Convocation of the act of defense of the thesis. Constitution of the tribunal

1.Once the presentation and defense of the thesis have been authorized, it will be called by the person presiding over the tribunal, who will inform the members of the tribunal, the doctoral student, the director of the thesis and the academic committee of the doctoral program at least 72 hours before it is held, indicating the day, place and time of the reading of the thesis.

2. The reading of the thesis must take place within three months of the authorization of the presentation and defense act.

3. The Center, with competence in doctoral matters, through the web page of the University, will disseminate the thesis reading acts at all times.

4. If one of the members of the panel does not appear on the day set for the presentation of the thesis, one of the substitutes appointed by the panel will be incorporated. To continue with the exposition, it will be necessary that the three members of the tribunal are present and that the requirement for the members of the tribunal from outside the University of Cadiz, doctoral school, and/or doctoral program is fulfilled. In case it is decided to suspend the act, another day will be set for the defense in agreement with the rest of the members of the tribunal and the doctoral candidate, and the change must be communicated to the Center for Postgraduate and Continuing Education of the University of Cadiz and the coordinator of the doctoral program.

5. The Doctorate Committee of the University of Cadiz will not recognize as valid the acts of reading and defense judged by courts that do not conform in their final composition to the provisions of the legislation in force, or those that do not comply with some of the articles of the legislation.

  • Article 32. Act of presentation and defense of the Ph.D. thesis.

1. The act of presentation and defense of the thesis will take place in a public session during the academic period of the academic calendar, in the facilities of the University of Cadiz. In case you wish to carry out the defense outside the academic period or outside the University facilities or by video conference, you must obtain the authorization of the President of the Doctoral Committee.

2. The event will consist of an oral presentation by the doctoral candidate of the research work prepared before the members of the panel, referring mainly to the work made, the methodology, the content, and the conclusions, with special mention of their original contributions.

3. The members of the panel shall express their opinion on the thesis presented and may ask any questions they consider appropriate, to which the doctoral candidate may reply. Likewise, the doctors present at the public ceremony may ask questions at the time and in the manner indicated by the president of the panel.

4. In the case that the content of the thesis is subject to confidentiality agreements with companies, the Doctorate Committee of the University of Cadiz, after a report of the academic committee of the doctoral program, may authorize the partial presentation of the thesis in the period of public exhibition, as well as the act of exhibition and defense, is carried out, totally or partially, in a restricted way to the tribunal.

  • Article 33. Assessment of the Ph.D. thesis.

1. The Ph.D. thesis will be evaluated in the act of exposition and defense according to the following criteria:

a) The tribunal will have, in sufficient time, the document of activities of the doctoral student, with the training activities carried out. This document shall not give rise to a quantitative score but shall constitute a qualitative evaluation tool that shall complement the evaluation of the Ph.D. thesis.

b) The selection board shall issue a single report and the overall mark of the thesis in terms of “pass” or “fail.” The thesis evaluation report, which shall be reasoned, shall include the results of an examination and discussion of the thesis:

i.Justification of the innovative nature of the subject of study.

ii. . Adequacy of the methodology used or proposed alternatives

iii. Degree of clarity in the presentation of the results obtained and their analysis.

iv. Observation of the correct choice and citation of the literature

v. Critical analysis of the conclusions of the study.

c) The persons on the panel will cast a secret vote on whether or not the thesis should be given the mention “cum laude,” which will be obtained if the positive vote is cast unanimously. By means of an instruction, the vice-rector with competence for the doctorate will establish the procedure to comply with the legal guarantees required for the casting and counting of the votes. In any case, the indicated vote must be made in a separate session from the act of defense of the Ph.D. thesis, through a procedure that guarantees the secrecy of the vote and its custody until the opening of the envelopes, in a public act that will be held in the premises of the Postgraduate Office of the University of Cadiz.

2. The delivery of the minutes corresponding to the exhibition and defense of the thesis in the Postgraduate Office of the University of Cadiz will be carried out within a maximum period of five working days after the day of the exhibition and defense of the thesis.

  • Article 34. Archiving and electronic publication of the thesis

1.The University of Cadiz, through the Library Service, will take care of the archiving of the thesis in an open electronic format in its institutional repository. Likewise, from the Center for Postgraduate Studies and Continuing Education, a copy of the thesis in electronic format and complementary information will be sent to the Ministry of Education.

2.In the circumstances determined by the academic committee of the program, among others, the participation of companies in the program or school, the existence of confidentiality agreements with companies or the possibility of generating patents that fall on the content of the thesis, appropriate mechanisms will be arbitrated so that this confidentiality is preserved.