PhD Programs

 

The doctoral courses taught at the University of Zaragoza are aimed at the advanced training of students in research techniques. They incorporate courses, seminars or other activities oriented to research training and include the preparation and presentation of the corresponding doctoral thesis, consisting of an original research paper. The successful completion of these courses will entitle the student to obtain the title of Doctor by the University of Zaragoza.

Doctoral programs offered

• Doctoral Program in Analytical Science in Chemistry
• Doctoral Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Doctoral Program in Geology
• Doctoral Program in Inorganic Chemistry
• Doctoral Program in Mathematics ans Statistics
• Doctoral Program in Organic Chemistry
• Doctoral Program in Physical Chemistry
• Doctoral Program in Physics

Summary of the pocesses and procedures to follow in a PhD program

1. Access to doctoral studies

In general, in order to access an official doctoral program, it is necessary to have the official Spanish degree, or equivalent, and the University Master's degree, or equivalent, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in these two programs altogether. Those in possession of qualifications issued by a country outside the European Higher Education Area and not approved must apply for access during the month of June of the course prior to the planned start of the PhD program through the specific procedure explained here. Once the access application has been favorably resolved, the candidates must apply for admission to the Doctorate program they are interested in (see section below).

2. Admission to a specific doctoral program

Doctoral studies can only be taken if admission to a specific program has been obtained by meeting the criteria established by the program and made public on the program's website. The Doctoral School will establish in the academic calendar the deadline, or deadlines, for admission. Those interested should submit an application for admission to the Academic Committee of the program accompanied by a motivation letter declaring interest in one of the lines of research of the program and proposing a possible thesis director. The application must be submitted (online) through the Virtual Secretariat or at the administrative headquarters of the corresponding program. In the admission resolution, if favorable, the Academic Committee will appoint the tutor and the director/s of the thesis and will assign the lines of research in which the thesis is to be included. 

The admission resolution will also establish the type of dedication, full-time or part-time, of the doctoral student and, if appropriate, the complementary training that s/he must take. The Academic Committee may declare a candidate unsuitable on the basis of the information contained in his/her motivation letter. The admission granted will expire one month after it is granted if the applicant has not enrolled (see next point) in the doctoral program so that, if s/he wants to start the studies, s/he should apply again for admission.

3. Doctoral program enrolment, dedication and dismissal

Doctoral students must enroll in the program and pay the corresponding tuition fees on the dates indicated in the academic calendar. Registration will be compulsory every year of the program, including the year in which the thesis is submitted. Those who work on their thesis in the full-time modality will have three years, from the date of admission to the doctoral program, to complete their doctoral thesis. The Academic Committee of the program may authorize the extension of this period for one more year. Part-time doctoral students will be granted five years from their admission to the program until the submission of their doctoral thesis. In such a case, the Academic Committee may authorize an extension for two more years. Exceptionally, the abovementioned extensions may be extended for yet another year. In order to do so, the doctoral student must submit the corresponding application to the program's Academic Committee at least five months before the deadline for the submission of the thesis.

Doctoral students can request the Academic Committee the change in the dedication as well as temporary leave for justified reasons (see section on registration). The leave period will not be taken into account for the purposes of calculating the deadline for completion of the thesis. The activities that the doctoral student may carry out during the leave period will likewise not be taken into account as part of his/her training. Doctoral students may be permanently dismissed and have their files terminated if they do not register, if the time available for submitting the thesis is exceeded, or if they are given two negative evaluations of their research plan in a row (see next point).

4. Training process: supervision and monitoring

The functions of supervision of doctoral students are established in the Doctoral Student's Charter that will be signed upon enrollment. The Thesis Director will lead the doctoral student in his/her research tasks, ensure the coherence and suitability of the training activities and the impact and novelty of the thesis in his/her field. The monitoring of the training process will be done through the research plan and the document of activities of the doctoral student. The research plan shall be submitted before the end of the first year of enrollment and must include, at least, the methodology to be used and the objectives to be achieved, as well as the means and time planning to achieve them. This plan, which must be approved by the Director and by the tutor, will be updated until the end of the thesis through the annual monitoring reports which, always approved by the thesis director, must be presented within the deadlines established by the academic calendar.

The document of activities is the record of all the activities - stays, courses, attendance to congresses, and so on - that the doctoral student carries out since his/her registration until the presentation of the doctoral thesis. The students of the program will be able to carry out activities included in the transversal and cross-disciplinary training offer of the Doctoral School as well as the specific activities organized by their program and advertised through the program's website. The update of the document of activities, with the addition of those that are being carried out, is carried out through the application called Doctorate Management in which, besides, all the data related to the development of the doctorate will be registered. Annually, the program's Academic Committee will assess the research plan, and subsequent follow-up plans, along with the activity document. Positive evaluation will be a requirement to continue in the program. In case of negative evaluation, the doctoral student must be evaluated again within a maximum period of six months.

5. Submission and defense of the PhD Thesis

Once the thesis has been completed, the doctoral student will proceed to submit it and apply for formal admission. The favorable evaluation of the thesis by the corresponding board will entail the recognition of its author as a Doctor by the University of Zaragoza.

6. Public rates

The public prices of the PhD, the discounts and the information about the school insurance can be consulted in the following link.

Thesis procedure

Below are the steps to be followed in order to obtain the Doctorate Degree from the University of Zaragoza, with links to the main pages and documents that the doctoral student will have to use.

1. Thesis submission

Once the thesis has been completed, the doctoral student will proceed to submit it and request its admission. Both procedures must be done within the academic year in which the student is enrolled or, at the latest, before the beginning of the official registration period for the subsequent academic year. Those who prefer to postpone the submission until a date after the beginning of the registration period for the new course must have previously formalized their registration in that course.

2. Thesis deposit and application for admission

Once the thesis has been completed and the corresponding report has been drafted, the doctoral student will submit the following documents to the Doctoral Program through solicit@ - University of Zaragoza (https://ae.unizar.es) (Help handbook)

• Thesis Admission Form
• The document of the thesis in electronic format
• Report of the director(s) of the thesis.
• Statement regarding the open-access publication of the doctoral thesis in the institutional repository of the University of Zaragoza.
• In the case of doctoral theses subject to confidentiality, the application for a designation of ‘thesis with protected content’ will be attached.
• In case of opting for an international or industrial doctorate, the corresponding documentation must be attached
• In case of presentation by compendium of publications, the corresponding documentation will be attached
• Justification, where applicable, of having passed the training complements assigned at the time of admission to the doctoral program

3. Ruling of the academic comission on the admission to procedure

The Academic Committee will decide on the acceptance of the doctoral thesis within ten school days - approximately fifteen calendar days - following its submission, taking into consideration its contributions to knowledge in the field in which it has been developed, as well as the quality of its writing and presentation, and may call upon external experts. If the Academic Commission accepts the application to process the thesis, it will send it to the section of the Doctoral School along with the proposal of the board, and the other documentation as per the Title III of the Regulation of doctoral theses of the University of Zaragoza. The selection of the board that will evaluate the thesis must be in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of the aforementioned Rules for Doctoral Theses.  If the Academic Commission decides not to admit the thesis to the process, it will proceed as per the article 4 of the aforementioned regulations.  

4. Public presentation and authorization of the defense of the thesis

The public presentation is a period of ten school days for any doctor to submit to the Doctoral School the observations s/he deems appropriate regarding its content. This period begins when the thesis enters the administrative section of the Doctoral School and is publicly posted on the School's website. The thesis can be consulted at the Doctoral School of the University of Zaragoza, upon request. If during the public presentation no observations are received, the procedure will be continued by sending the thesis to the Permanent Commission of the Doctoral School's Management Committee, which will check that the proposed board meets the quality requirements and will authorize the defense. The Doctoral School will inform the doctoral student. The communication will give him/her indications about the price of the defense of the thesis in the corresponding academic year and about how to fill in the information about the thesis in the Data Base of Doctoral Theses (TESEO).    

5. Defense oh the thesis. Delivery of the documentation to the board and notice

Once the defense of the thesis has been authorized, the administrative section of the Doctoral School will send to the members of the board, by electronic means, the letter of appointment, the document of the thesis and the document of activities of the doctoral student. The doctoral student may send, if necessary, an erratum to the members of the board, always with the knowledge and authorization of the Academic Committee of the program. In addition, the Academic Committee of the program may establish a complementary procedure ensuring that a paper copy of the thesis is sent to the members of the panel. This copy must correspond exactly with the electronic document submitted.

The thesis reading date must be a school day within four months of the date of authorization and appointment of the board. It will be the responsibility of the Secretary of the Board to send to the Section of the Doctoral School (tesis@unizar.es) the summons for the defense of the thesis. The summons must be made at least ten school days before the act of defense.

Average processing time from deposit to thesis defense: 8 to 10 weeks

Maximum time: 4 months since board appointment