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OFFER OF UNIVERSITY DOCTORATE DEGREES FOR THE YEAR 2025-2026

PhD thesis

The doctoral thesis will consist of an original research work prepared by the candidate in any field of knowledge. The thesis must enable the doctoral candidate to work independently in the field of R&D&I.

The thesis may be developed and, where appropriate, defended, in the languages commonly used for scientific communication in the field of knowledge.

Art. 13 of RD 99/2011, of January 28, regulating official doctoral studies and art. 23 of the Regulations on Official Doctoral Studies at the ULL (Approved at the Governing Council meeting on March 22, 2024).

 

The committee that evaluates the doctoral thesis will be composed in accordance with the requirements set by the university. All members of the panel must hold a PhD and have proven research experience. In any case, the panel will be made up of a majority of members from outside the university and from the institutions collaborating in the School or programme. The following shall be taken into account when designating the court:
  1. It must be made up of three regular members (president, secretary and member) and two substitutes.Of the holders, one must, as a general rule, belong to the University of La Laguna and the other two must be people outside the University of La Laguna and the doctoral program.Employees of the University of La Laguna's collaborating entities will be considered external personnel, provided that they have no contractual relationship with the university, nor are they part of the doctoral program.
  2. All members of the committee must hold a doctorate degree and have proven research experience, meeting the same requirements as those for being a thesis director.
  3. The principle of balanced composition between women and men must be guaranteed, as indicated by Organic Law 3/2007, of March 22, for the effective equality of women and men.
  4. In no case may the persons who have directed the thesis or who have tutored the doctoral student be members of the tribunal, except in those theses in joint supervision with foreign universities where this is established in the corresponding agreement.They may not be co-authors of previous works, nor relatives of the doctoral student up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity.
  5. The presidency of the tribunal will be held by the member with the highest academic category and seniority in said category.
  6. The composition of the committee must take into account the particularities established in the case of opting for the international mention, as indicated in articles 29 and 30 of the ULL Doctoral Regulations.
Note: Doctors from outside the ULL who are going to be part of the thesis committee must request credentials to access the Electronic Office by clicking here.

The title of Doctor may include the mention “International Doctorate” on the front, provided that the following circumstances apply:

  1. That, during the training period necessary to obtain the doctorate degree, the doctoral candidate has completed one or more stays (always of at least one month) whose combined duration is at least 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 thesis supervisor and authorized by the academic committee, and will be incorporated into the doctoral student's activities document.

  2. 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 or co-official languages of Spain. This rule will not apply when the stays, reports and experts come from a Spanish-speaking country.
  3. That the thesis has been reported on by a minimum of two expert doctors belonging to a non-Spanish Higher Education institution or research institute.
  4. That at least one of the experts belonging to a non-Spanish Higher Education institution or research centre, with the title of Doctor, and different from the person responsible for the stay mentioned in paragraph a), has been part of the thesis evaluation committee.

Requirements 1 and 3 must be completed before submitting the thesis. These procedures are carried out through the electronic office: Prior procedures to request the international mention in the title of Doctor

Those doctoral students who, prior to submitting their thesis and with the express authorization of their supervisor, have published or accepted for publication (with DOI) a minimum of three articles with a thematic unit that are within the framework of their research plan after their enrollment in the doctoral program may opt to present their thesis in the form of a compilation of publications.

  1. Articles must be published or accepted in the list of journals of the Journal Citations Reports or be indexed
  2. in prestigious databases such as Scopus, Latindex or similar. Only articles published in journals of this category that belong to one of the areas of knowledge of the line of research of the doctoral program in which the thesis is included will be accepted.
  3. In the areas of Arts and Humanities and Social and Legal Sciences, contributions will be allowed to be books or book chapters, with a seal of quality in academic edition or that are included in Scholarly Publishers Indicators in Humanities and Social Sciences.
  4. Following the evaluation recommendations in the last call of the CNEAI, the academic committee may not accept as valid for the fulfillment of this requirement a contribution (articles, books, book chapters, etc.) of low quality, meaning those that have been published in national journals, publishers and conferences or in journals with predatory or similar practices.
  5. The three publications must be linked to the PhD student's research plan and, therefore, the PhD student must be the first author.

The presentation of a thesis under this modality must adhere to the following indications:

  1.  It must include a general introduction in which the works are presented and the thematic unit is justified, as well as a global summary of the objectives of the research, the methodology applied, the results obtained, the discussion of these results and the final conclusions.
  2.  Between the introduction and the summary mentioned above, or as annexes, there must be a complete copy of the works, which must necessarily include the personal data of all the authors, as well as the complete reference of the journal in which the works have been published or, where appropriate, the acceptance letter.
  3.  Articles used for this category must necessarily indicate the doctoral candidate's affiliation with the University of La Laguna.
  4. At the time the thesis is submitted, the following must be submitted: authorization from the thesis director for its submission in this modality. Document proving the impact index of the publications that make up the thesis.
    If any of the work presented has been carried out in collaboration with researchers other than the thesis directors, a document must be submitted in which the director expressly declares that the essential part of the work included in the articles has been carried out by the author of the thesis.
  5. Likewise, it must be stated that the other identified authors of the publication express their consent to the use of the corresponding articles for the presentation of the thesis under this modality and the written waiver of the non-doctoral authors to present these contributions as part of another doctoral thesis.
  6. Articles that form part of a thesis of this type may not be included as part of any other thesis.

The “Industrial Doctorate” mention will be awarded provided the following requirements are met: 

  1. The thesis must involve a research project of industrial, commercial, social or cultural interest with a company or entity from the private or public sector (it cannot be with a university). As a general rule, the possibility of working with public research organizations or university hospitals is also excluded, unless the content of the thesis is eminently applied.
  2. That the relationship between the doctoral thesis and the work carried out by the doctoral candidate has been formalized in a scientific-technical report, previously approved by the University of La Laguna. 
  3. That an agreement has been signed between the collaborating entity and the University of La Laguna for the academic development of the doctoral thesis, which establishes, at a minimum, the obligations of the parties and the industrial property rights that may be generated.
  4. That the doctoral student has been employed by the collaborating entity for at least one year during the development of the thesis, being necessary that a substantial part of the research has been developed during that time.

The duties of ULL doctoral students include consulting with the EDEP on any issue that may have an impact on intellectual or industrial property rights, without prejudice to the specific obligations in this regard that may arise in cases such as the industrial mention.

When it is estimated that the thesis work contains results that may be protected through any of the industrial property rights, the doctoral student must communicate this situation to the Knowledge Transfer Office (OTC) of the University of La Laguna before starting the deposit procedure.

The OTC will determine whether the work is eligible for protection via industrial property and, in the event that the novelty requirement is at risk with its presentation, its defense and reading will be proposed by applying the procedures established by the ULL for the presentation of works for protection of results. This decision will be communicated to the EDEP at the time of the start of the deposit.

Theseus

Bases for Doctoral Thesis

ULL Digital Library: Theses read since January 1987 can be consulted. TESEO page at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports: contains the theses defended in all the universities of the Spanish state.

By resolution of the rector of the ULL, dated December 19, 2013, on the granting of the cum laude mention In doctoral theses, the EDEP will make public the list of defended theses that deserve this mention.

The requirements for international co-supervision at the University of La Laguna are established in the Regulations for the completion of doctoral theses under an international co-supervision regime (approved at the session of the Governing Council on March 22, 2024). 

Within the framework of doctoral studies, a joint supervision procedure for doctoral theses can be developed between the ULL and foreign universities, with the aim of creating and developing scientific cooperation between research teams from both institutions.

A thesis under international co-supervision is understood to be the completion of a doctoral thesis in any field of knowledge, directed by research staff from two or more universities or higher education institutions, one Spanish and the others foreign. The thesis may be submitted for defence at one of the universities or higher education institutions, and upon successful completion, the title of doctor may be awarded by all universities or institutions.

  1. In order to carry out a thesis under joint supervision, it is essential that an agreement be signed beforehand between the ULL and foreign universities. 
  2. The PhD candidate must divide the time of the thesis between the different entities and spend at least 6 months in each one of them. He/she may do one stay or several of them (with a minimum of one month for each one). 
  3. The doctoral candidate must follow the pre-registration and enrolment procedure established in general for all doctoral candidates at the ULL. He or she must also register for all academic courses. 
  4. The agreement will establish what is relevant regarding the payment of registration fees. 
  5. The defense and the composition of the court shall be governed by the regulations and the provisions of the agreement. 

After completing the thesis, and with the approval of his/her supervisors, the doctoral student will submit it electronically to the EDEP so that it can be processed in accordance with the requirements of Articles 24 and 26 of the ULL Doctoral Regulations. 

In order to process the application, the doctoral student must be enrolled in the corresponding academic year. 

In any case, and prior to the presentation and defense of the doctoral thesis, the doctoral candidate must justify the acceptance or publication of at least one scientific contribution derived from the thesis with the following details:

  1. The PhD candidate must appear as first or second author; corresponding author; or last author, in those areas where this position is relevant. 
  2. In duly justified cases, such as in those areas where the review processes in certain quality journals are very long, a work that is in the process of "resubmission and review" may be admitted. The academic committee will be responsible for assessing this justification. 
  3. Following the evaluation recommendations in the last call of the CNEAI, the academic committee may not accept as valid for the fulfillment of this requirement a contribution (articles, books, book chapters, etc.) of low quality, such as, for example, those that have been published in national journals, publishers and conferences or in journals with predatory or similar practices.

Likewise, the doctoral candidate must demonstrate that he or she has acquired the necessary skills and, to do so, he or she must justify that he or she has presented and defended part of his or her research work in public on at least two occasions. 

One of these presentations can be made at a seminar of the department, or at one organized by the doctoral program or the EDEP. However, at least one of these presentations must be made at a conference, seminar or congress of national or international prestige. 

The submission procedure consists of two procedures at the headquarters: one for the management of the mandatory reports from external evaluators and another for the proposal of the tribunal and the processing of the public presentation.

Below you will find an informative guide with all the details. 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Astrophysicist Francisco Sanchez, SN. Calabaza Building – AN.2D P.O. Box 456 38200 San Cristobal de La Laguna
Phone: (+34) 922 31 72 67 / 922 31 72 69
Mail:  doctorate@ull.es
On-line: Web page /Appointment / Procedure for complaints, suggestions and compliments

University of La Laguna

Government Pavilion, C/ Padre Herrera s/n

PO Box 456

38200, San Cristobal de La Laguna

Santa Cruz de Tenerife - Spain

Tel. Switchboard: (+34) 922 31 90 00

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