Regarding the regulations regarding the presentation and reading of doctoral theses, in accordance with the observation made, we explicitly reiterate that the regulations are the same for all universities and that, in application of the provisions of RD 534/2013, the section under the evaluation heading is worded as follows:
Presentation regulations
The regulations for reading doctoral theses have been adapted to Royal Decrees 99/2011 and 534/2013
Format and authorization for the defense of the doctoral thesis
Authorization and Deposit of the doctoral thesis.
Content of the doctoral thesis
The doctoral thesis will consist of an original research work prepared by the doctoral candidate on a topic related to the scientific, technical or artistic field, specific to the Doctoral Program in which he or she is enrolled.
The work will contain, at least, an introduction or state of the art, the objectives set, the methodology developed, the results and the discussion of the same, as well as the most relevant conclusions and the bibliography used. It will not be necessary for such contents to appear in specific sections in the final document submitted.
Thesis report format
Copies of the doctoral thesis must include the following information:
Thesis by compendium of publications
1. To submit a thesis by compendium of publications, it will be necessary:
a. A minimum of three publications, with a thematic unit, indexed in the Journal Citations Reports, Arts and Humanities Citation Index or equivalent, of which the PhD candidate is the first or main author. At least one of them must have been published in a journal whose impact factor places it within the first half in descending order of impact factor among the journals in the area.
b. In order to prove the status of principal author, this must be acknowledged by the other authors of the publications presented as the core of the doctoral thesis, at the same time that they must renounce using these publications as the main core of other doctoral theses, without prejudice to the fact that said publications may be presented as complementary merits in the doctoral theses that the other authors of said publications may present.
2. Doctoral theses presented as a compendium of publications must conform to the format established in the previous section and contain the following sections:
a. An introduction presenting the objectives of the thesis, the published works and the justification of the thematic unit of the thesis.
b. A copy of the published works.
c. Final conclusions.
d. In the event that the provisions in sections a and c have been drafted in a language other than Spanish, a summary in Spanish must be included.
Authorization for thesis defense
Doctoral thesis defense
Doctoral thesis tribunal
Once the doctoral thesis has been registered, the Vice-Rectorate responsible for doctoral studies, at the proposal of the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme, will appoint and notify the members of the committee within a maximum period of 7 days from receipt of the proposal.
The following must be taken into account when composing the court:
Doctoral thesis defense ceremony
Assessment
Archive and Documentation
International mention in the title of Doctor
1. The reference "International Doctor" may be included on the front of the Doctor's degree when the following circumstances apply:
a. That, during the training period necessary to obtain the title of Doctor, the doctoral candidate has completed a minimum stay of three months outside Spain in a prestigious higher education institution or research centre, pursuing studies or carrying out research work. The stay and activities must be endorsed by the director and authorised by the Academic Committee, and will be included in the doctoral student's activity document.
b. Part of the doctoral thesis, at least the summary and conclusions, must have been written and presented in one of the languages commonly used for scientific communication in the field of knowledge, other than any of the official languages in Spain. This rule will not apply when the stays, reports and experts come from a Spanish-speaking country.
c. That the thesis has been reported by a minimum of two experts, doctors belonging to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research institute.
d. That at least one expert belonging to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research centre, with a doctorate degree, and other than the person responsible for the stay mentioned in section 1, has been part of the thesis evaluation committee.
2. The thesis defense must take place at the participating universities.
3. The application for the International Mention must be submitted simultaneously with the presentation of the doctoral thesis for its admission to processing (International Doctoral Mention Form).