University of Oviedo Guide for PhD Students

University of Oviedo

2016/2017

Guide for PhD Students

[email protected]

Edition: Vicerrectorado de Internacionalización y PostgradoUniversidad de Oviedo

Layout: Jorge Redondo

University of Oviedo

2016/2017

Guide for PhD Students

PhD Studies 06

Choosing your PhD Programme 07

Requirements to access PhD studies 08

Admission to a PhD Programme 10

4.1 Application 10

4.2 Supervisor allocation 11

4.3 Additional training 11

Registration 12

5.1 First registration – Academic supervision 12

5.2 Registration renewal 12

Development 13

6.1 Allocation of PhD thesis Director 13

6.2 Research plan 14

6.3 Supervision Commitment Document 15

6.4 Training activities 15

6.5 Research Plan monitoring 16

Index

1

2

3

4

5

6

4

PhD Thesis 17

7.1 Presentation of PhD Thesis 18

7.2 Approval, delivery and presentation of PhD Thesis 19

7.3 Assessment of the PhD Thesis 20

7.4 PhD Thesis archive 20

Incidences 21

PhD Degree 21

PhD Programmes of the University of Oviedo 22

Arts and Humanities 22

Sciences 22

Health Sciences 23

Social and Legal Sciences 23

Engineering and Architecture 23

Scholarships 24

Pre-PhD 24

Mobility scholarships 25

Relevant information 26

7

8

9

10

11

12

5Guide for PhD Students University of Oviedo 2016-2017

1

PhD studies correspond to the third cycle of university studies and their main objective is to provide advanced training in research techniques. These studies comprise specific and complementary activities which allow PhD students to obtain the necessary skills and competences to earn a PhD Degree.

The University of Oviedo offers 25 PhD programmes verified under RD. 99/2011 for the academic year 2016-2017.

This guide is aimed at those students willing to start a PhD programme, or those who already have it, in accordance with the aforementioned Royal Decree. PhD students carrying out studies under previous legisla-tions will find information of interest in the section related to PhD Theses.

Guide for PhD Students University of Oviedo 2016-20176

PhD Studies

2Choosing you PhD Programme

PhD studies of the University of Oviedo are structured into PhD Pro-grammes. For the academic year 2016-2017, the University offers 25 PhD Programmes in the 5 branches of knowledge, eight of which are interuniversity Programmes.

Before choosing a PhD Programme, it is important to know the faculty in charge of the programme and the research lines it deals with, since the main subject of the thesis shall be linked to one of them. This information is available on the website of the International Graduate Center (www.cei.uniovi.es/postgrado).

Throughout the development of studies, people in charge of assisting PhD students in academic and administrative matters will be:

International Graduate Center (CIP): in charge of administrative management.

Coordinator of the PhD Programme: responsible for the academic management of the PhD Programme.

Supervisor of PhD student: lecturer of the PhD Programme in charge of providing the PhD student with guidance concerning administrative and academic matters.

Thesis director or directors: lecturer of the PhD Programme who ins-tructs and advises the PhD student in the elaboration of the PhD Thesis.

http://cei.uniovi.es/postgrado/doctorado

7

3Requirements to access PhD studies

Students willing to access PhD studies shall comply with any of the following requirements:

Holding an official Spanish university degree or a degree from another country in the European Higher Education Area, leading to access university Masters´ Degrees, thus having achieved a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in official university studies, of which at least 60 must be at Master´s level.

Holding an official Spanish qualification at graduate level, whose duration must be, in accordance with community law, at least 300 ECTS credits. In this case, students must take compulsory additional training, except when the syllabus of the degree course includes additional tra-ining credits in research equivalent to those awarded at Master´s level.

Holding an official Spanish university degree earned under legislations previous to Royal Decree 1393/2007, structured in first and second cycle, which demand achievement of at least 300 credits LRU. In this case, additional training is mandatory.

Having completed 60 credits in one or several Masters’ Degrees.

8 Guide for PhD Students University of Oviedo 2016-2017

Holding a Spanish PhD Degree, earned in accordance with previous university legislations.

Having achieved the Certificate of Research Proficiency (RD 185/1985).

Having achieved the Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) (RD 778/1998).

Having completed at least two years with a positive evaluation in an academic programme leading to obtain a degree in any specializa-tion related to the field of Health Sciences. With regard to number of credits, these training courses would be equivalent to a maximum of 60 credits.

Holding a degree awarded by foreign educational systems which are not members of the EHEA, without the need for official recog-nition, having previously confirmed with the university that this quali-fication accredits a level of training equivalent to the official Spanish Master´s Degree, and that it would serve as a means of access to a PhD programme in the country where the degree was issued. This admission does not under any circumstances imply official recognition of the previous qualification or recognition for any purpose other than access to PhD studies.

9

4Admission to a PhD Programme

4.1 Admission application

Candidates may apply for admission following the established deadline, and may visit the website of the International Graduate Center for further information.

The application for admission shall be processed online, and candidates shall submit the following documents:

:: Documentary proof of identity and nationality.

:: Copies of qualifications leading access to PhD studies, for students from other universities.

:: Academic certificate detailing the studies that grant access to PhD

studies, for students from other universities.

:: Curriculum vitae and supporting documents.

Once the Coordinator receives the required information, within the esta-blished deadline, the Academic Commission of the PhD Programme shall assess the application taking account:


:: Documentation provided with the application.

:: Number of places available in the research line chosen by the applicant.

4.2 Supervisor allocation

If the Academic Commission issues a positive resolution, the candidate will be allocated a supervisor.

This supervisor shall be responsible for establishing the training and research activities of the PhD student when starting the programme. Among other activities, the supervisor will be in charge of providing the PhD student with necessary information about the programme, as well as with guidance concerning administrative and academic matters.

4.3 Additional training

Depending on the applicant´s academic background, the Academic Com-mission of the PhD Programme may admit the applicant provided she/he carries out some additional training. This condition will be specified in the admission resolution. Additional training may be composed of subjects offered by the University of Oviedo as formal education.

11

5

5.1 Upon admission

The student shall register for academic supervision within the established deadline, submitting the following documentation, which will be completed online, to [email protected] in pdf format:

:: Receipt of payment of the corresponding public fees.

:: Supporting documents, when appropriate, for tuition waiver.

:: Students who have completed studies in other universities that belong to the EHEA shall turn in to the IGC the original academic documents required in the pre-registration process alongside with their copies.

:: Students who do not belong to the EHEA shall submit the documents duly legalized and translated, if necessary, to the IGC.

5.2 Registration renewal

Every academic year, the student shall renew registration in the Programme within the stipulated deadline, until submission of the PhD Thesis. More information about dates is available on the following link:

http://cei.uniovi.es/postgrado/doctorado


Registration

6

6.1 Allocation of PhD thesis Director

Within three months after being admitted and completing the registra-tion process for academic supervision for the first time, the Academic Commission of the PhD Programme shall allocate a director, chosen among the lecturers of the PhD Programme, to the new PhD stu-dent.

PhD students are advised to contact the Coordinator of the PhD Pro-gramme, the supervisor, or those lectures of the Programme who might be interested in their research lines.

13

Development of PhD studies

FirstRegistration

Follow-ip Follow-ip

PhD Thesis deposit

Registrationrenewal

Registrationrenewal

Assi

gnm

ent

of D

irect

orRes

earc

h

Plan

Up to3 months

Official period(July-September)

Official period(July-September)

Up to 6 months

66.2 Research plan

Within a maximum of six months after being admitted and completing the registration process, and once the academic supervision has been processed, the PhD student shall submit a Research Plan to the Aca-demic Commission, which shall comprise at least:

:: The title of the PhD Thesis:: The methodology:: The objectives to be achieved :: The work plan and planning to achieve them

The Research Plan may include additional activities which contribute to the research curriculum of the PhD student and that will be carried out while elaborating the thesis. These activities will mainly consist of attending conferences, specialized publications, etc., including the par-ticipation in initiatives promoted by the International Graduate Center of the University of Oviedo.

The Research Plan shall be endorsed by the director and tutor of the PhD student, and shall have the approval of the department to which the thesis director belongs, and where the research plan will be carried out. The Academic Commission will be in charge of deciding on its approval.


6.4 Training activities

As regards PhD students registered in PhD programmes regulated by RD 99/2011, they shall develop different kinds of training activities. These activities are available on the website of each programme, where you may see a detailed description of each activity, number of hours and main competences.

In order to proceed with registration, each student will have an Activity Report, available on the Virtual Campus, in which the PhD student will include on a regular basis the list of activities carried out within the PhD Programme until the presentation of the Thesis. The Activity Report will be permanently updated and every entry will be supervised and validated by the supervisor and director of the Thesis.

6.3 Supervision Commitment Document

Once the Research Plan has been approved, the PhD student, the direc-tor, the tutor and the competent Vice-Chancellor will sign a Supervision Commitment Document.

Through this document, all parties agree to establish, each of them in their own scope, the collaboration conditions that allow for the presenta-tion of the PhD Thesis project, its subsequent elaboration and its final defence, in accordance with the procedures and deadlines established by the applicable law.

15

16

6.5 Research Plan monitoring

The research plan will be subject to a yearly monitoring process carried out by a Follow-Up Commission, in a public session in which the work conducted in the corresponding course will be presented.

In the event that the evaluation is negative, or the student does not attend the ordinary call of the Follow-up Commission, the PhD student will have to undergo another evaluation within six months. When dealing with a negative evaluation, the PhD student will have the right to submit claims to the PhD Commission within 10 days after receiving the resolution. Two consecutive negative evaluations will mean the dismissal of the PhD student from the programme.


7

The PhD Thesis shall consist of an original research work, and it consti-tutes the main focus of the Research Plan.

The PhD Thesis may be submitted as a compilation of publications. It shall include all the works carried out and published by the PhD stu-dent – at least three articles or chapters already published, or accepted to be published, after the PhD student´s first registration– following the same research line.

Whatever the choice, the PhD Thesis may be elaborated under joint supervision with foreign universities. In order to do this, the thesis will be under the direction of two researchers from two different uni-versities, and the PhD student shall stay at least 9 months at the other university. The thesis will be defended at one of the two universities, and the PhD degree will be issued by both institutions with reference to the joint supervision. All aspects of this joint supervision shall be included in a specific agreement.

In addition, students may access the International Mention, as a dis-tinction on the PhD Degree. In order to do so, the student shall spend at least 3 months outside Spain at a higher education institution or a prestigious research center, studying or carrying out research.

Once the research period is over, and subject to approval of the Director of the Thesis and the Academic Commission of the PhD Programme, the candidate may start with the necessary arrangements to submit the PhD Thesis.

17

PhD Thesis

18

7.1 Presentation of the PhD Thesis

Once the PhD Thesis has been concluded, the student will request permission to submit the Thesis to the body responsible for the PhD Programme, providing the following documentation:

:: Application form requesting permission to submit the Thesis.

:: Two copies of the thesis, a hard copy and an electronic copy.

:: A summary of the Thesis in electronic format, of no more than 4.000 characters, in Spanish and English.

:: Authorization of the director and supervisor to read the Thesis.

:: Curriculum vitae of the PhD student or the Activity Report of the student for those registered in a programme regulated by RD 99/2011.

:: Authorization for the archive and dissemination of the Thesis in the institutional repository.

Thesi

s pre

senta

tion

Deposit authorization

PhDCommission

Deposi

t

Reso

luti

on

Defence authorization Defence of thePhD Thesis

PhDDegree

Up to 3 months7 daysUp to 1 month 15 naturaldays

One meetingmonthly


If it is a Thesis under joint supervision, it aims to the International Mention or it is submitted as a collection of publications, the student shall provide additional documentation available at the following link:

http://cei.uniovi.es/postgrado/doctorado/tesisdoctoral/descripcion

7.2 Approval, deposit and defence of the PhD Thesis

Within one month, the body responsible for the PhD Programme, will approve or refuse the submission of the Thesis.

Once approval has been announced, the Thesis shall remain at the deposit for 15 days at least.

Once concluded the period in deposit, it is subject to the final approval of the PhD Commission, which meets once a month. The expected dates for the meeting of the Commission for the academic year 2016/2017, are available on the website of the International Graduate Center.

After final approval, the PhD Thesis defence will take place within a period of three months from the day of approval resolution. The defence will take place in an open session during the academic year.

19

20

7.3 Assessment of the PhD Thesis

Once concluded the Thesis defence and discussion, the Commission will proceed with the assessment.

The examining board will issue an assessment report and the global sco-re, in accordance with the following scale: fail, pass, very good and excellent. However, the “Cum Laude” mention, and the consideration of the PhD Award, may be indicated by each member of the Commission, unanimously and in a closed envelope, in the same session, although the resolution will be submitted to the candidate subsequently within 15 days following the examination.

The members of the Commission will be provided with the student´s curri-culum vitae or the Activity Report, depending on the regulation applicable to the studies developed, containing all the activities carried out during the elaboration of the thesis. This documentation will be a tool for qualitative assessment of the PhD Thesis.

7.4 PhD Thesis archive

Once the PhD Thesis has been approved, the University will upload it in the archive, in electronic format, and will submit a copy of the thesis, alongside with the necessary additional information, to the Ministry of Edu-cation, Culture and Sports.

Only under exceptional circumstances established by the Academic Com-mission of the Programme, such as the participation of companies in the programme, confidentiality agreements with companies or the possibility of creating patents concerning the content of the thesis, among others, and subject to approval of the PhD Commission, the University may establish the necessary procedures to carry out deposit and archive of the thesis, making sure relevant elements of PhD theses are not disclosed.


9

8Change of supervisor or director: Students may issue a request to the Academic Commission of the PhD Programme, to have their assigned supervisor or director changed, provided there are significant reasons. The Commission will make a decision once all the parties involved have been heard.

Change of PhD Programme: Students may, at any given from the registration for supervision, request to change their PhD programme. In order to do so, the request must be submitted to the PhD Commission, and they will make a decision once the academic commissions of the programmes involved have been heard.

Temporary leave: Students may request a temporary leave from a PhD Programme for one year, renewable for another year. The said request shall be submitted to the Academic Commission of the corresponding PhD Programme, with a detailed description of the reasons for the re-quest. In case the request is accepted, students will not have to register in the programme during their leave.

21

Incidences

The PhD Degree shall be requested at the International Graduate Center of the University of Oviedo.

PhD Title

10PhD Programmes at the University of Oviedo

Arts and Humanities

PhD Programme in Gender and Diversity

PhD Programme in Art History and Musicology

PhD Programme in Humanistic Research

Sciences

PhD programme in Chemical, Biochemical and Structural Analysis, and Computational Modelling

PhD Programme in Biogeosciences

PhD Programme in Molecular and Cellular Biology

PhD Programme in Physics of Condensed Matter, Nanoscience and Biophysics

PhD Programme in Mathematics and Statistics

PhD Programme in Materials

PhD Programme in Synthesis and Chemical Reactivity


Health Sciences

PhD Programme in Biomedicine and Molecular Oncology

PhD Programme in Health Sciences

Social and Legal Sciences

PhD Programme in Law

PhD Programme in Economics and Business

PhD Programme in Economics: Economic Analysis Tools

PhD Programme in Education and Psychology

PhD Programme in Equity and Innovation in Education

Engineering and Architecture

PhD Programme in Energy and Process Control

PhD Programme in Computer Science

PhD Programme in Production, Mining and Environmental, and Project Engineering

PhD Programme in Electric and Electronic Engineering

PhD Programme in Nautical, Marine and Maritime Radioelectronics Engineering

PhD Programme in Chemical, Environmental and Food Engineering

PhD Programme in Theoretical Chemistry and Computational Modelling

PhD Programme in Information Technologies in Mobile Networks

23

24

11

Pre-PhD

NATIONAL CALL

FPU Grants: Programme for the Training of University Faculty (FPU), leading to the training in teaching and research within the framework of the Statutes of research staff.

FPI Grants: Aimed at the training of research staff in R+D centers for those graduates willing to elaborate a PhD Thesis related to a specific R+D Project, financed by the R+D National Plan, or a R+D project which is developed in a Severo Ochoa center of Excellence Unit. In addition, this sub-programme also provides funding for short stays at other R+D centers, as well as for the payment of registration fees of PhD Programmes.

http://www.mineco.gob.es/stfls/mineco/investigacion.html

REGIONAL CALL

“Severo Ochoa” Programme of Pre-Doctoral aid, aimed at the training in teaching and research in the Principality of Asturias, financing the elaboration of PhD Theses in the Principality of Asturias.

http://www.ficyt.es/

Scholarships


25

Mobility scholarships

Grants and aid aimed at promoting exchange between research groups and facilitating the award of International Mention.

Calls are managed by the University of Oviedo on an annual basis and they take place throughout the academic year. The main links are:

http://www.educacion.gob.es/horizontales/servicios/becas-ayudas-subvenciones/para-estudiar/doctorado.html

http://cei.uniovi.es/cei/transferenciadeconoc/becasyayudasforma

On an annual basis, the Vice-Chancellor for Internationalization and Gra-duate programmes will offer calls for mobility in the framework of the Erasmus Plus call.

http://www.uniovi.es/internacional/estudiantes/programas

26

International Graduate Center (C/ Los Pozos, s/n. - 33003 Oviedo) http://cei.uniovi.es/postgrado

Regulations for PhD studies http://cei.uniovi.es/postgrado/doctorado/normativadoctorado

Procedures and forms for PhD studies http://cei.uniovi.es/postgrado/doctorado/acceso

Schedule for meetings of the PhD Commission http://cei.uniovi.es/postgrado/doctorado/comision

Schedule for admission, registration and successive renewal http://cei.uniovi.es/postgrado/doctorado

Guide for International Students http://www.uniovi.es/internacional/info/visitantes/guiaoficialhttp://www.uniovi.es/internacional/info/visitantes/guianooficial

Student Accommodation Information Center (CIVE) http://www.uniovi.es/estudiantes/vida/cive

12

phD

STUDENTS

Relevant information


Arts and HumanitiesSciencesHealth SciencesSocial and Legal SciencesEngineering and Architecture

Vicerrectorado de Internacionalización y Postgrado

[email protected]

Guide for PhD Students University of Oviedo

2016-2017

Documents

University of Oviedo Guide for PhD Students