Regulations for the presentation and reading of the Doctoral Thesis

The regulations for the preparation, presentation and processing of the thesis defense, including the proposal and appointment of the committee, and the modalities of International Mention, compendium of publications and joint supervision of this program are included in the REODULL (Chapter III, art 24-30), and in accordance with the Doctoral Regulations of the University of La Laguna (BOC of January 25, 2013):

Regarding the qualification of the Doctoral Thesis, the Resolution of February 25, 2014, which provides for the publication of the modification of the Regulations of Official Doctoral Studies of the University of La Laguna for its adaptation to Royal Decree 534/2013, of July 13 (BOC of March 5, 2014), will apply:

The Doctoral Thesis

According to these regulations, the thesis will consist of an original research project that qualifies the author to work independently in the field of R&D&I. It may be developed and defended in the usual languages of scientific communication.

Presentation of the Doctoral Thesis

Upon completion, the doctoral candidate will submit the thesis to the program's Academic Committee in the established format.

This will be sent to the Doctoral School accompanied by:

1. authorization from the director for its presentation and defense,
2. favorable report from the tutor,
3. conformity of the Academic Commission stating that it meets the requirements established by the program, and
4. request for the mention “International Doctorate”, if applicable.

The Doctoral School will certify, through registration and a seal, that the thesis meets the requirements established in the REODULL for submission. The thesis will remain on public display for 15 school days. During this period, any doctor may submit any objections, suggestions, or proposals for improvement they deem appropriate to the Doctoral School, stating their agreement or disagreement with the public defense.

The Doctoral School will ensure the disclosure of this public information period. In exceptional circumstances, determined by the program's Academic Committee, such as the participation of companies in the program, the existence of confidentiality agreements with other entities, or the possibility of patents being generated based on the thesis data, the university will implement a procedure to protect this data from disclosure.

Defense of the Doctoral Thesis

After the presentation period, the Doctoral School will authorize, if appropriate, the defense of the thesis. If any objections are raised during the public presentation period, the Doctoral School will forward them to the doctoral candidate, the thesis supervisor, and the program's Academic Committee, who must respond within 10 school days. In light of the objections and responses, the Doctoral School will decide whether or not the defense is appropriate. If it deems it appropriate, the Doctoral School may resort to expert reports. If the defense is denied, the Doctoral School will issue a reasoned report.

Doctoral Thesis Tribunal

The thesis will be evaluated by a panel proposed by the Academic Committee of the program to the Doctoral School. The panel will be composed of five PhD experts in the subject matter of the thesis. The qualifications of the members of the evaluation panel will be supported by their curriculum vitae, which will highlight their specific merits in the field or related areas.

The committee will be composed of three full members (president, secretary, and member) and two alternates. Two of the full members must be external to the ULL with civil service or contractual relationships with other universities or research organizations. The doctoral candidate's supervisors and advisor may not be members of the committee.

The defense must be held within three months of its authorization. If the defense is not held within this period, the process must be restarted. The Doctoral School will provide appropriate publicity for the defense. The defense will be public and will take place during the academic calendar.

The doctoral candidate's defense will consist of a presentation of the justification for the work, the methodology used, the content, and the conclusions, with special mention of original contributions. The defense may be presented in Spanish or any of the official languages of the European Union, ensuring that the committee can adequately evaluate it.

The members of the committee may express their opinions and ask any questions they deem appropriate, to which the doctoral candidate must respond.

Doctors present at the event may also ask questions to the doctoral candidate at the time and in the manner established by the president of the committee.

The examining board will have access to the doctoral student's activity report. This document will not result in a quantitative score, but will serve as a qualitative assessment tool complementary to the thesis itself.

The committee will issue a report and the overall grade awarded to the thesis according to the following scale: Fail, Pass, B, and Outstanding, as established by Royal Decree 534/2013, which modifies the grading system established by Royal Decree 99/2011. The publication of Royal Decree 534/2013, of July 13, modifies the provisions of Royal Decree 99/2011 regarding the grading system and the mechanisms for granting the Cum Laude distinction for doctoral theses. Only three sections 6, 7, and 8 of Article 27 of the current Regulations on Official Doctoral Studies at the University of La Laguna do not comply with the provisions of Royal Decree 534/2013. Given the higher hierarchical rank in regulatory matters of the aforementioned Royal Decree, the grading system applied at the University of La Laguna for doctoral theses is the one indicated in Royal Decree 534/2013 since its entry into force, and as previously indicated.

Regarding the mechanism for granting the Cum Laude mention, it has been established by the Rectoral Resolution of December 19, while the modification of the indicated sections of the Regulations for Official Doctoral Studies is carried out by the Governing Council, in its session of January 2014. The aforementioned Rectoral Resolution can be consulted through the following link: link

International Doctorate

The doctoral degree may include the mention "International Doctorate" on its front when the following circumstances occur:

1. that during the doctoral training period, the doctoral student has completed a stay of at least three months in a prestigious non-Spanish research center or higher education institution, pursuing studies or carrying out research work endorsed by the thesis director and authorized by the Academic Committee of the program,
2. That part of the doctoral thesis, at least the summary and conclusions, has been written and presented in one of the usual languages of scientific communication, other than any of the official languages of Spain. This requirement will not apply when the stays, reports, and experts come from a Spanish-speaking country,
3. that the thesis has been reported by at least two expert doctors belonging to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research center, and
4. that at least one expert belonging to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research center, with a doctoral degree, and other than the person responsible for the stay mentioned in circumstance a), has been part of the thesis evaluation committee.

Thesis by compendium of publications

Doctoral students who, prior to submitting their thesis and with the authorization of their supervisor, have published or accepted for publication after their enrollment in the doctoral program, at least three articles on a topic consistent with their research line and plan in scientific journals listed in the Journal Citations Report, may opt to submit their thesis in the compendium of publications format. Submission of a thesis in this format must include a copy of the papers, including the personal details of all authors, the full reference of the journal in which the papers have been published, or, where applicable, the letter of acceptance.

The presentation of the thesis at the Doctoral School will include:

1. Authorization from the thesis director for submission in this modality.
2. Document certifying the impact index of the publications comprising the thesis.
3. If any of the submitted works were carried out in collaboration with researchers other than the thesis supervisors, a document must be submitted in which the supervisor declares that the author of the thesis carried out the main part of the work included in the articles, and another document in which the other authors state their agreement that the corresponding articles be used for the presentation of the thesis under this modality. Articles that are part of a thesis under this modality may not be included as part of another. Co-authors of the submitted works may not be proposed as members of the panel that will judge the thesis.

Joint protection actions

To facilitate scientific cooperation with research teams from other institutions and facilitate the mobility of doctoral students, joint supervision activities with a university in another country may be developed within the framework of doctoral studies.

The joint guardianship procedure must meet the following requirements:

1. Admission to the doctorate program, and the submission and defense of the doctoral thesis, will follow the regulations governing doctoral studies at the corresponding university.
2. The candidates will carry out their work under the responsibility of a director at each of the interested universities.
3. The joint supervision will be carried out within the framework of a specific agreement between the two interested universities, which will determine which of them will issue the doctoral degree, with the other recognizing it.
4. Thesis preparation time will be divided between the two universities. The stay at either university will never be less than nine months, and it may be completed in one sitting or over several periods.
5. The publication, exploitation, and protection of the results of the research conducted will be ensured by both institutions in accordance with the specific procedures of each country.
6. The thesis will be subject to a single defense at either university.
7. The committee before which the thesis must be defended will be designated by mutual agreement between both institutions in accordance with the regulations of the university where it is defended.
8. The thesis will be written in the official language of one of the two universities, or failing that, in English, supplemented by a summary, including the conclusions, written in the other language.