The Extraordinary Doctorate Award is the recognition granted annually by the University of Valencia to distinguish the authors of doctoral theses that, due to their quality, impact, and projection within their respective field of knowledge, are considered outstanding.
The characteristics and the procedure for granting these awards at the University of Valencia are regulated by the Extraordinary Doctorate Awards Regulations, approved by Agreement 350/2025, dated 16 December, of the Governing Council. The annex to these regulations establishes the area of affiliation for each doctoral program for the purposes of extraordinary awards.
Furthermore, the scoring system detailing the merits used to grant the extraordinary doctorate awards was approved by Agreement 351/2024, dated 17 December, of the Governing Council of the University of Valencia.
Finally, each academic year the Directorate of the Doctoral School announces the procedure for granting these awards, specifying both the number of prizes to be awarded and the academic year in which candidates must have defended their thesis to be eligible.
Main changes in the doctorate awards call following the entry into force of the new Extraordinary Doctorate Awards Regulations:
- Doctors may only participate in the call corresponding to the academic year in which they defended their thesis. This award recognizes the best theses of a specific academic year.
- Only merits accredited by applicants will be considered, provided they were achieved between the date of admission to the doctoral program and the twelve months following the defense of the doctoral thesis.
- The annual call is published 12 months after the end of an academic year. (For example, for theses defended in the 24/25 academic year, i.e., between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025, the call will be published between October and November 2026).
Legislative regulations
