The advanced training of doctoral students in research methods and techniques. They may incorporate courses, seminars and other activities aimed at research training and will include the preparation and presentation of the corresponding doctoral thesis, consisting of a scientific paper with results of original research.

Universities, in their Official Postgraduate Programs including the Doctoral Programme, will establish the line of research, research training activities, the relationship between professors and researchers responsible for the supervision of students and supervising doctoral theses, as well as the maximum number of students and the selection criteria and admission thereof.

The doctoral programme includes a part of research and other of doctoral training. As for the research part, it is focused on the development of the doctoral thesis consisting of an original research paper prepared by the doctoral student, which should be framed in any of the research lines pre-established. The thesis requires a tutor and director and may be co-directed by a maximum of three co-directors.
On the other hand, the doctoral programme includes a part of doctoral training. This activities will be included in the Document of Activities (DA). This is an individualized control register of the different activities (conferences, publications, specific training activities Doctoral programme...) conducted by doctoral students, regularly reviewed by the tutor and the director of the thesis and assessed by the Doctoral Programme Academic Committee.

Once the enrolment is completed, a tutor will be immediately assigned, and 3 months later months a thesis director will be assigned and up to a maximum of three co-directors “when reasons of academic purposes concur”.
Before the end of the first academic year, doctoral students will elaborate a “research plan” that will include at least the methodology to be used and the objectives to be reached, as well as the means and the temporary planning.The enrolment will take place annually.

In the new university teachings regulations established in the RD 99/2011, 28 January, by which the official teachings of doctoral studies are regulated, the concept of doctoral programme is still used. This states that “for the degree of Doctor is necessary to pass a training period and a period of organised research. Doctoral Programme is a organised set of all training activities and research conducted to obtain the degree.

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The length of the doctoral studies will be of a maximum of three years, full-time, from the entry of the doctoral student to the programme until the presentation of the doctoral thesis. However, they may be made part-time if it is accepted by the academic committee responsible for the doctoral programme, for a maximum period of five years.

To access the Doctoral Programme it will be necessary to own a Spanish official qualification of Degree or an equivalent and a University Master’s Degree. Likewise, applicants under the following circumstances can also access:

• To hold a university qualification which give access to the Master’s Degree and they should have passed at least 300 ECTS credits, from which at least 60 have to be of Master’s studies level.
• To hold a Spanish official qualification of Graduate with at least 300 ECTS and take on complimentary training unless they include credits of research training equivalent to the Master’s degree.
• University degree holder of the field of study of Health Sciences.
• To hold a university foreign degree, after verification that it certifies a level of training equivalent to the Master’s Degree and which confers in the issuance country of the degree the access to doctoral studies. This admission does not imply, in any case, the accreditation of the previous degree or its recognition for other purposes different to the access to Doctoral Studies.
• To hold other Spanish Doctoral qualification obtained according to previous university regulations.

Approval or official recognition in Spain for a Master’s degree or equivalent, obtained within the formal educational system of a foreign country, and admission to the Doctoral Studies by the body responsible for the programme is required.

Exceptionally, through individual and express permission of the university, students may be admitted with equivalent foreign studies at Master’s degree without the prior approval of the qualification. This admission will not mean, under any circumstances, neither the official recognition nor prior foreign qualifications approval.

The degree of Doctor obtained after overcoming the doctoral training requirements, the development and approval of the Thesis by the Court, have full official validity in Spain.

By agreement, international joint doctorates leading to a single set of degree of doctor may be organised. The Ministry of Education will regulate the peculiarities resulting from the application in this case.

The co-supervision of theses can be established in the agreement for a joint Doctoral programme (affecting, in this case, all doctoral programmes or individually, by express agreement, for a particular student. In the latter case, the agreement will establish a dual or a single joint degree.

The mention  “International Doctor” may be included on the front page of certificate of Doctor, whenever these circumstances concur:

• The doctoral student must have completed a minimum stay of three months at an institution of higher education or a renowned research centre, studying or conducting research works.
• Part of the thesis (at least the summary and conclusions) must have been presented in any of the standard languages for scientific communication in their field of knowledge different from the official languages in Spain. This rule shall not apply where the stays, reports and experts come from a Spanish-speaking country.
• The thesis will be reported by at least  two expert doctors of non-Spanish education or research entities.
• At least one expert Doctor belonging to non-Spanish institution of higher education or research and different from the mentioned in the previous paragraph must have been part of the Thesis Assessment Court.

In this case, the defence of the doctoral thesis must always be carried out at the University in which the doctoral student is enrolled or, in the case of joint Doctoral Programmes, in any of the participating universities.

Mention industrial PhD

The thesis can be written and defended in the usual language for the scientific community in their field of knowledge. In any event, the doctoral student must include in the thesis a comprehensive summary in one of the languages that are official in the Universitat de València, which must state the objectives, methodology and conclusions of the thesis with a maximum of 8000 words.