The Chemistry and Chemical Engineering doctoral program follows the Official Doctoral Teaching Regulations of the ULL, which in Chapter III, Articles 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 refer to the presentation and reading of doctoral theses, which complies with the provisions of Royal Decree 99/2011.

The thesis may be developed and, where appropriate, defended in the languages commonly used for scientific communication, ensuring that the judging panel is competent to do so in the language of presentation.

Proposal and appointment of the thesis evaluation committee

When submitting the doctoral thesis, the program's academic committee will submit to the Doctoral School a proposal of five experts in the subject matter of the thesis, along with their CVs, which will state the merits that qualify them to serve on the panel in charge of judging it.

The following shall be taken into account when designating the court:

a. It must be composed of three full members: a president, a secretary, and a member, as well as two alternates. Of the full members, one must belong to the University of La Laguna, and the other two must be external and, in all cases, have a civil service or contractual relationship with other universities or research organizations. The alternates will include one from the University of La Laguna and another from institutions outside the University. The first will substitute for the possible absence of a full member of the tribunal from the ULL, and the second, for the absence of any of the other full members.

b. All members must hold a doctorate and have proven research experience, although at the very least, ULL members (full and alternate) must meet the same qualifications as those required to be a thesis supervisor at this university.

c. No more than one external member may belong to the same university, or public or private center.

d. Under no circumstances may the thesis supervisors or the tutors of the researcher in training be members of the committee.

e. The president of the tribunal will be the member with the highest academic category and seniority in said category.

f. Exceptionally, the regular committee may be composed of more than two external members, provided that funding is available to cover the travel and accommodation expenses of the additional external member. The Doctoral School will verify that the proposed committee complies with the provisions of the aforementioned Regulations and will inform the thesis supervisor and the academic coordinator of the doctoral program, as well as the regular and alternate members of the committee, of its composition.

Once the committee has been appointed, the president will convene the public defense of the thesis, informing the Doctoral School of the date, time, and place where it will take place. In any case, this may not take place before seven calendar days after the end of the thesis submission period.

In the event of a justified resignation of one of the members of the panel, the Doctoral School will replace him/her with the corresponding substitute. In the event of the resignation of the president, this role will be taken on by the panel member with the highest academic category and seniority in said category.

Processing of the defense of the doctoral thesis

After completing the thesis and receiving approval from the supervisor(s), the doctoral candidate will submit it to the program's academic committee for processing by the Doctoral School of the University of La Laguna, accompanied by the corresponding summary in the form and format established by the Ministry for inclusion in the relevant databases.

The academic committee of the doctoral program will send two copies of the doctoral thesis to the ULL Doctoral School, which must include:

a. The corresponding authorization from the thesis director(s).

b. The report of the tutor assigned by the doctoral program, if different from the director.

c. The report stating the agreement of the academic committee of the program to the public defense of the thesis and which must necessarily state that the requirements for proceeding with its defense have been met.

d. The application form for the "International Doctor" distinction, together with the corresponding documentation (listed in the Official Doctoral Studies Regulations of the University of La Laguna) if you are eligible for it.

The Doctoral School will certify, by means of a registry and seal, that the doctoral thesis meets the requirements established in the regulations for its deposit within 15 school days, under the terms established in the academic calendar for each academic year, at the General Secretariat of the ULL. One copy will remain on deposit at that Secretariat, while the second copy will remain on deposit at the Doctoral School.

During the deposit period, which will be designated as a public information period, any doctor may submit any allegations and observations they deem appropriate to the Doctoral School, stating their agreement or disagreement with the public defense of the document, as well as suggestions for improvements to address any deficiencies, all with the aim of ensuring its quality. The Doctoral School will ensure publicity for this public information period.

Once the public information period has ended, the Doctoral School will be responsible for authorizing, if applicable, the defense of the doctoral thesis.

If during the public information period there is disagreement with the defense or proposals for improvement, the Doctoral School will notify the doctoral candidate and the thesis supervisor, as well as the academic committee of the corresponding doctoral program, who will have 10 working days to present the appropriate objections to the Doctoral School. Based on the documentation submitted, the Postgraduate Studies Committee will decide whether or not to proceed with the thesis defense within a period of no more than one month, obtaining, if deemed appropriate, a report from specialists. The Postgraduate Studies Committee of the University of La Laguna must provide the reasons for the rejection.

The defense must take place within a maximum of three months of authorization. If the defense has not been completed by this deadline, the procedure must be restarted.

The Doctoral School must give the defense the appropriate publicity, authorizing for this purpose the use of any means of communication.
electronic.

Once the doctoral thesis has been approved, the ULL will archive it in an open electronic format in an institutional repository and will send, in electronic format, a copy of the thesis, as well as all necessary supplementary information, to the relevant Ministry for appropriate purposes.

In exceptional circumstances, such as the existence of confidentiality agreements with companies or the possibility of patents being issued that affect the content of the thesis, the ULL will implement a procedure to ensure that these aspects are not disclosed.

Doctoral thesis defense

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 regulatory hierarchical status of the aforementioned Royal Decree, the grading system applied at the University of La Laguna for doctoral theses has been the one established in Royal Decree 534/2013 since its entry into force. Regarding the mechanism for granting the Cum Laude distinction, it was established by the Rector's Resolution of December 19, pending the effective modification of the aforementioned sections of the Regulations on Official Doctoral Studies by the Governing Council.

The changes to adapt the aforementioned sections of article 27 of the Regulations for Official Doctoral Studies at the University of La Laguna, to adapt them to the provisions of Royal Decree 534/2013 regarding the grading of Doctoral Theses and the granting of the "Cum Laude" Mention to them, have been approved by the Governing Council of the University of La Laguna in its session held on January 30, 2014. The Rectoral Resolution ordering the publication of this modification is pending publication in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, but it can be announced that the new text of the aforementioned sections of the aforementioned article 27 are worded as follows:
tenor:

27.6.- The tribunal will issue a report and the overall grade awarded to the thesis according to the following scale: Failed, Passed, Notable and Outstanding.
This rating will be recorded in a standardized report that will be delivered to the Secretary of the Court.

27.7.- Following the public defense of the thesis and once it has been graded, if the grade "outstanding" was awarded to it, in a separate, closed-door defense held on the same day as the defense of the thesis in question, each member of the committee will issue, by secret ballot, their opinion on whether the thesis presented merits the Cum Laude mention. The committee may only award the Cum Laude mention if a unanimous secret vote is cast in favor. The result of this vote will be recorded in standardized minutes signed by all members of the committee and will not be made public on the day of the vote.

27.8.- Both transcripts will be sent to the Doctoral School along with the report issued by the Committee. The Committee will announce, on the day following their receipt, whether the corresponding thesis has been awarded the "Cum Laude" distinction, if the minutes recording the results of the secret ballot record unanimously state the Committee members' opinion to that effect. This mention will be incorporated into the doctoral student's file.