PhD in Tourism

Training activities

Training in Social Research Techniques
  • Number of hours: 25
  • Description:
    • Justification. The main objective of this module is for doctoral students to deepen their knowledge and skills necessary to carry out data analysis in their own field of research, by using the most appropriate technical and methodological tools. This knowledge is important to enrich research designs in the different lines of the doctoral program, in line with the growing trend of current research in Law, Social Sciences and Tourism.
    • Content. Course on advances in research (research design, statement of objectives, hypothesis design and operationalisation methods, structure of research for the development of a doctoral thesis) and, depending on the disciplinary profile of the thesis projects, practical workshops on different techniques (ethnographic techniques, field work, survey design, content analysis, multi-site ethnographies, discussion groups and focus groups, expert panel-Delphi, use of specific statistical programmes, geographic information systems, analysis of projected tourist image, etc.). The Academic Committee will annually assess the implementation of specific modules for application to the research areas according to the theme of the thesis projects.
    • Time planning. It will be annual (first four-month period) and will be recommended from the 1st year (2nd year for part-time students).
    • Learning outcomes. Learning outcomes. Students are expected to complete the learning of the capacities and skills to develop research designs, and to be able to use the usual tools in their field of study to carry out quantitative/qualitative analysis of the data from their own research.
    • Language(s) in which they will be taught: Spanish and English
    • Competencies: CB11, CB12, CB13, CB16 and CA01, CA02, CA03
  • Control procedures: The professors and technicians in charge of the course will issue a report on the active participation and use of the course by the students, which will be sent to the tutors and the Academic Committee. The thesis director, through the application of what has been covered in the course to the data obtained in the doctoral student's research, will be the one to evaluate the acquisition of the skills and the result of the corresponding learning. The student will receive written proof of his/her participation and use of the research courses and workshops, serving as a supporting document.
  • Foreign researchers or researchers from other national universities who visit our University in relation to the different research groups and projects linked to this Doctoral Programme in Law, Society and Tourism may contribute to this activity. For many years now, an international seminar called "New Trends in Social Sciences" has been held annually, which is of general use to most of the students in the programme.
  • The Doctoral Programme will encourage, as long as funding is available, students to carry out some of the training activities in other universities, national or foreign, and to participate in activities such as seminars and conferences that are closely linked to mobility.
  • Students who are part of one of the mobility and internationalisation initiatives that we are promoting (two ETN Marie Sklodowska-Curie initiatives to be evaluated in the near future) will collaborate in these initiatives and will be able to receive specific complementary training within these programmes.
  • This section should include, on the one hand, the grants financed by the Erasmus + programme, which provides for the exchange of doctoral students under the corresponding agreements with European universities.
  • It is also worth noting that for the Law research line there are up to 17 places for exchange of PhD students, with the following universities: Heidelberg (one place); Paris Descartes (one place); Athens (up to six places); Messina (four places); Foggia (one place); Padua (one place); Bologna (two places); Wroclaw (one place).
  • On the other hand, there is also an annual call for scholarships granted by the CajaCanarias Foundation to encourage the development and scientific and technical specialization of the beneficiaries, which is aimed at doctoral students. The rights of its beneficiaries expressly include the right to stay abroad.

Workshop on Information Search, Writing and Scientific Communication
  • Number of hours: 30 hours
  • Description: Seminars taught by researchers from ULL research groups and visiting national and international experts in various fields of the Arts and Humanities. The district has a long history of experience organizing specialized seminars in postgraduate programs.
  • Timeline: Full-time students: Attendance at 12 seminars over the first two years of the doctorate. Part-time students: Attendance at 12 seminars over the first three years of the doctorate. The selection of seminars will be supervised by the advisor.
  • Justification: Strengthening of basic competencies CB11 and CB14, and capabilities CA05 and CA06.
  • Learning outcomes: Knowledge of the lines of research developed in the workplace; establish benchmarks with leading national and international research groups; review the current status of the seminar topic; and foster critical thinking.
  • Language: Spanish, English
  • Character: Mandatory
  • Monitoring procedure: Attendance control by signature. Preparation of seminar summaries. Presentation and discussion of the most relevant aspects of the seminars attended in research group meetings, with supervision by the tutor. The seminar summaries and their subsequent presentation and discussion at group meetings must be recorded in the personalized activity log.
  • Mobility: No mobility actions are planned

Entrepreneurship and Employability Workshop
  • Number of hours: 20
  • Description:
    • Justification: This activity facilitates the transition to the labor market for students of the Doctoral Program, developed with the support of the Office for the Transfer of Research Results (OTRI) of the University of La Laguna, and the General Foundation of the University of La Laguna (FGULL)
    • Content. It contains optional practical workshops aimed at motivating and attracting entrepreneurs, creating companies and drawing up business plans, as well as activities for transferring research results to the applied field and protecting intellectual property. These workshops will be held as a forum in which professionals and experts from different sectors will inform students about the professional and entrepreneurial alternatives offered by the doctorate.
    • Time planning. It will be annual (first four-month period) and will be recommended from the 3rd year (4th year for part-time students).
    • Learning outcomes. The aim is for students to complete the learning of the skills required to develop an entrepreneurial project; to provide them with direct contact with companies and institutions; to identify emerging professions and sectors related to their field of research; and to become familiar with the professional profiles required by the current labour market.
    • Language(s) in which they will be taught: Spanish.
    • Competencies: CB14, CB15, CB16 and CA03, CA04, CA05, CA06.
  • Monitoring procedures: The course managers will issue a report on the active participation and use of the course by the students, which will be sent to the tutors and the Academic Committee, and will become part of the student's dossier. The student will receive written proof of his/her attendance, which will serve as a supporting document.
  • Mobility: Visiting professors and researchers from other universities who participate in research projects in the areas most closely related to entrepreneurship will be encouraged to develop activities with PhD students. If adequate funding is obtained, student mobility will be encouraged so that they can share experiences from other universities in this field.

Seminars and Conferences of the Program
  • Number of hours: 20
  • Description:
    • Justification. This is an activity organised by the PhD programme in Law, Society and Tourism in coordination with the Master's Degree in Planning and Management in Tourism, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Social and Communication Sciences, the University School of Business and the Institute of Political and Social Sciences of the University of La Laguna. Seminars and conferences by programme professors and guest professors will be organised periodically, both on current research in the areas of knowledge of the PhD programme, as well as on possible theoretical, methodological or case innovations that may open or suggest new lines of research.
    • Content. This activity involves two complementary activities. On the one hand, lectures given by invited professors and professionals to present lines of work, advances in research and professional experiences in the different areas of interest in the Doctoral Program. On the other hand, a bi-monthly research seminar will be held organized by the lines or research groups in which the doctoral students will present either the results of their own work or a recently published research article related to their research topic; this is then discussed by all the members of the group.
    • Time planning. It will be annual (first and second semester) and will be recommended from the first year onwards for both full-time and part-time students. Regardless of the admission profile, attendance will be requested from all students enrolled in the Doctoral Program. Full-time students are expected to attend at least 80% of the seminars and part-time students at least 50%, coinciding with their stay at the University of La Laguna.
    • Learning outcomes. Being able to ask questions, express opinions and compare analyses with the results of their own research or those of other researchers. If necessary, participating in forums related to the lectures they have attended. Being able to discuss and exchange experiences and results and express conclusions, orally and in writing, related to the research carried out by themselves or by other members of the group.
    • Language(s) in which classes will be taught: Spanish and English.
    • Competencies: CB11, CB15, CB16 and CA04, CA05, CA06
  • Monitoring procedure: The Academic Committee of the PhD program in Law, Society and Tourism will supervise the attendance and use of the events by the doctoral students, requesting, where appropriate, reflective thematic essays on the dissertation attended. These essays will become part of the dossier on the doctoral student's activities in the Doctoral Program. The student will receive written proof of his/her attendance at the conferences or seminars held in each course, serving as a supporting document. This document will be issued by the coordinator and/or the secretary of the program.
  • Mobility: These seminars will take advantage of the arrival of guest professors, lecturers, visiting professors, etc. to offer a multiplicity of perspectives to the PhD students on the theme of the program. In the case that funding is available, student exchanges to other universities, or their attendance at seminars relevant to their research, will be promoted.

Research stays at other centers
  • Number of hours: 500
  • Description
    • Justification. The Doctoral Programme will encourage research stays of at least 3 months at leading Universities/Research Centres so that PhD students can complete their research training and develop part of their Thesis Project at said centres, and subsequently obtain the International Mention of the Doctoral Title.
    • Content. Research stays in national or foreign, public or private, centres of excellence, if there are sources of funding. These will be optional for doctoral students who do not opt for the International Mention for the title of Doctor. These stays may be carried out in prestigious institutions with which collaboration agreements have been signed. Likewise, they may be carried out in other institutions with which the professors of the Programme maintain collaboration relations; in these cases, the signing of the corresponding agreements will be promoted.
    • Time planning. Starting in the second year for full-time students and in the third year for part-time students. Stays may be continuous or discontinuous depending on the training needs and the development of the doctoral theses, also taking into account the specific needs and obligations of part-time students.
    • Learning outcomes. The student is expected to make the most of the stay and to submit a report from the host centre. Both contrast and complementarity in research methodologies between the different centres participating in the exchanges will be sought, in order to offer the PhD student a multiplicity of methodological tools for the best development of the Doctoral Thesis.
    • Language(s) in which the course will be taught. Depending on the country where the course will take place.
    • Competencies: CB14, CB15, CB16 and CA03, CA04 and CA05
  • Control procedure: The Director and Tutor will advise the PhD student on the most appropriate centres for his/her theoretical and methodological training. The tutor and the academic committee will assess the quality of the stay in the follow-up activities based on 1) Relevance of the Centre; 2) Activity Report; 3) Report from the host centre.
  • Mobility: To fund their mobility at these prestigious institutions, doctoral students can apply for predoctoral mobility applications offered by various public bodies for the completion of doctoral theses (FPU, FPI, regional governments, etc.). Funding may also be provided through funds allocated for student mobility in research projects awarded to research groups, scholarships from banking institutions (Santander, La Caixa) for stays at foreign centers, or scholarships from the European Union or international organizations. The University of La Laguna, within its own research promotion program, offers grants for stays at other centers associated with the development of doctoral theses, which students in the program may apply for. Currently, work is underway with two European University Networks to apply for Marie Skłodowska-Curie ETN actions (to be submitted by April 9, 2014) focused on the training and exchange of doctoral students. If these initiatives bear fruit, the mobility facilities for students linked between universities and companies or centers associated with the program would be very advantageous.

Participation in Congresses and Conferences
  • Number of hours: 500
  • Description
    • Justification. The Doctoral Programme will encourage research stays of at least 3 months at leading Universities/Research Centres so that PhD students can complete their research training and develop part of their Thesis Project at said centres, and subsequently obtain the International Mention of the Doctoral Title.
    • Content. Research stays in national or foreign, public or private, centres of excellence, if there are sources of funding. These will be optional for doctoral students who do not opt for the International Mention for the title of Doctor. These stays may be carried out in prestigious institutions with which collaboration agreements have been signed. Likewise, they may be carried out in other institutions with which the professors of the Programme maintain collaboration relations; in these cases, the signing of the corresponding agreements will be promoted.
    • Time planning. Starting in the second year for full-time students and in the third year for part-time students. Stays may be continuous or discontinuous depending on the training needs and the development of the doctoral theses, also taking into account the specific needs and obligations of part-time students.
    • Learning outcomes. The student is expected to make the most of the stay and to submit a report from the host centre. Both contrast and complementarity in research methodologies between the different centres participating in the exchanges will be sought, in order to offer the PhD student a multiplicity of methodological tools for the best development of the Doctoral Thesis.
    • Language(s) in which the course will be taught. Depending on the country where the course will take place.
    • Competencies: CB14, CB15, CB16 and CA03, CA04 and CA05
  • Control procedure: The Director and Tutor will advise the PhD student on the most appropriate centres for his/her theoretical and methodological training. The tutor and the academic committee will assess the quality of the stay in the follow-up activities based on 1) Relevance of the Centre; 2) Activity Report; 3) Report from the host centre.
  • Mobility: To fund their mobility at these prestigious institutions, doctoral students can apply for predoctoral mobility applications offered by various public bodies for the completion of doctoral theses (FPU, FPI, regional governments, etc.). Funding may also be provided through funds allocated for student mobility in research projects awarded to research groups, scholarships from banking institutions (Santander, La Caixa) for stays at foreign centers, or scholarships from the European Union or international organizations. The University of La Laguna, within its own research promotion program, offers grants for stays at other centers associated with the development of doctoral theses, which students in the program may apply for. Currently, work is underway with two European University Networks to apply for Marie Skłodowska-Curie ETN actions (to be submitted by April 9, 2014) focused on the training and exchange of doctoral students. If these initiatives bear fruit, the mobility facilities for students linked between universities and companies or centers associated with the program would be very advantageous.