Requirements for access and admission to the Doctorate

The general requirements for access to doctoral studies are set out in Article 11 of Regulation UCA/CG06/2012 (amended on May 4, 2016, BOUCA No. 208, https://escueladoctoral.uca.es/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Reglamento-UCA-CG06-2012-Ordenacion-estudios-Doctorado-UCA.pdf), of June 27, 2012, which regulates the organization of doctoral studies at the University of Cadiz, according to which

In general, for access to an official Ph.D. Program, it will be necessary to own the Spanish degrees of Bachelor, or equivalent, and University Master. Besides, those who are in any of the following cases may access:

Those in possession of an official Spanish university degree, or from another country belonging to the European Higher Education Area, which qualifies for access to a Master’s following the provisions of Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October, and who have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in all official university studies, of which at least 60 must be a master’s level.

Those who are graduates, architects, or engineers and have the Advanced Studies Diploma obtained by the provisions of Royal Decree 778/1998, of 30 April, or having achieved the research sufficiency provided for in Royal Decree 185/1985, of 23 January.

Those in possession of an official Spanish Graduate Degree, the duration of which, following EU law, is at least 300 ECTS credits. These graduates must take specific training complements referred to in article 12 of this regulation, unless the study plan of the corresponding degree includes training credits in research, equivalent in training value to the research credits coming from master’s studies.

University graduates who, after obtaining a place in training in the corresponding entrance exam to specialized health training places, have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a program for obtaining the official title of one of the specialties in Health Sciences.

Those in possession of a degree obtained under different educational systems, without the need for its homologation, after verification by the university that it accredits a level of training equivalent to that of the official Spanish degree of University Master’s and that it entitles the holder to access doctoral studies in the country issuing the degree. This admission will not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree that the interested party holds or its recognition for other purposes than access to doctoral studies.

Those in possession of another Spanish doctoral degree obtained following previous university regulations.

Specific admission requirements

Per the provisions of Article 12 of Regulation UCA/CG06/2012, the academic committees of the doctoral programs may establish additional requirements and criteria for the selection and admission of students in the case of different admission profiles. These criteria must be included in the corresponding verification reports of the programs.

Characteristics of the PH.D. Programs

The duration of doctoral studies will be a maximum of three years, full time, from the admission of the doctoral student to the program until the presentation of the Ph.D. thesis. Part-time doctoral studies may be undertaken for duly justified reasons and with the prior authorization of the academic committee responsible for the program. The possibility of extension and temporary withdrawal of the doctoral student is also contemplated (article 14 of Regulation UCA/CG06/2012, of 27 June).

The doctoral program consists of an organized set of training and research activities, each of which involves a minimum number of working hours. It will be necessary to complete a minimum total of 600 hours by the provisions of the program’s verification report.

During the application for admission, the applicant must indicate the line of research of his/her preference from among those offered in the doctoral program. The academic committee of the program is responsible for assigning the lines and appointing the tutors and directors of the doctoral students. Following the provisions of Article 15 of Regulation UCA/CG06/2012, the tutor is responsible for the training adequacy and research activity of the Ph.D. student to the principles of the programs and, where appropriate, the doctoral schools. The tutor also must ensure the doctoral student interaction with the academic committee of the program and supervise his/her training. The monitoring of the specific activities that the doctoral student will carry out, in agreement with the tutor, will be done through an individualized record that will be specified in the so-called Document of activities of the doctoral student.

Instruction UCA/I03VP/2016 article 4 Point 2, which defines the procedures for the management of the dedication and permanence regime in the Ph.D. studies at the University of Cadiz, at the time of admission or within three months after registration, each doctoral student will be assigned a thesis advisor by the academic committee of the program. For academic reasons, the academic committee may authorize the co-direction of the thesis. Preferably, the thesis supervisor will carry out the functions assigned to the tutor. The appointment of a tutor other than the thesis supervisor will proceed when the latter is not assigned to the Ph.D. program in which the doctoral student is enrolled.

Before the end of the first year from enrolment, the doctoral student shall draw up a Research Plan that shall include, at least, a summary of the research he or she intends to carry out, a description of the background, the methodology to be used, the objectives to be achieved and a brief commentary on the available literature. The Plan will describe the means available for its implementation and include a proposal for time planning. Annually, the academic committee of the program will evaluate the Research Plan and the Document of Activities of each doctoral student along with the reports that, to this effect, the tutor and the thesis director should issue.

The doctorate will culminate in defense of a Ph.D. thesis, which will consist of an original research paper prepared by the doctoral student and related to the scientific, technical or artistic field of the doctoral program undertaken, and which must enable the doctoral student to work independently and professionally in the field of R+D+i.