FAQ - Programa de doctorat

The requirements for the applicants who have completed their previous studies abroad, depend on the country where the degree was obtained.

Depending on the case, the following documents will be required:

• Translations of documentation.
• The list of marks converted according to a scale from 1 to 10.
• Legalisation or apostille of the degree and of the official academic certificate.
• Official accreditation («homologación») of foreign higher education qualifications or, in the absence of it, the payment of a fee corresponding to the equivalent study degree.

More information.

No, it is not a mandatory requirement. In line with a specific doctoral programme, professional experience may only a criteria to prioritise applications in respect to one another if there are many admission applications.

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For all purposes, in order to be admitted to a Doctorate Programme in its training period, it will be necessary to hold the official Spanish Undergraduate Degree (or equivalent) and University Master's Degree. Similarly, those who are in any of the following situations can also access:

1. For all purposes, in order to be admitted to an official Doctorate Programme, it will be necessary to hold the official Spanish Undergraduate Degree, or equivalent, and University Master's Degree.

2. Similarly, those who are in any of the following situations can also access:

a) To hold an official Spanish University Degree, or from other country member of the European Higher Education Area, which enables the access to a Master in accordance with the provisions of the article 16 in the Royal Decree 1393/2007, from 29 October, and have gained at least 300 credits ECTS in the official university studies, 60 of which may be Masters-level.
b) To hold an official Spanish Undergraduate Degree, the duration of which, according to the rules of Community law, must be at least of 300 credits ECTS. The mentioned graduates need to obligatory pursue the supplementary training mentioned in the article 7.2 of this regulation, unless the curriculum of the corresponding undergraduate degree includes research training credits, equivalent in training value to research credits from Master's studies.
c) University graduates who, after being admitted to the corresponding access test to specialised health training, have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a programme for obtaining an official degree of any of the specialities in Health Science.
d) To hold a degree according to foreign education systems, without needing to be homologated, after verification by the university that it is equivalent to the official Spanish University Master's Degree and that ir entitles the holder to access Doctorate studies in the country that issued the degree. This admission will not imply, under any circumstances, the homologation of the previous degree that the interested party holds nor its recognition for other effects different to the access to Doctorate studies.
e) To hold other Spanish Doctor's degree obtained according to previous university regulations.
f) To hold an official university degree equivalent to level 3 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (MECES, for its Spanish: Marco Español de Cualificaciones para la Educación Superior), in accordance with the procedure established in the Royal Decree 967/2014 from 21 November, that establishes the requirements and procedure for the homologation and the attestion of equivalence to degree and to an official university academic level and for the recognition of foreign higher education studies, and the procedure to determine the equivalence to the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education of official titles of architect, engineer, graduate, technical architect, technical engineer and diploma.

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Any of the following degrees:

A Bachelor’s and Master’s degree

A licentiate degree

A Master of Advanced Studies obtained in line with the Spanish Royal Decree 778/1998 as of 30 April or sufficient research work regulated in the Spanish Royal Decree 185/1985 as if 23 January.

Accreditation of a positive assessment of the courses in specialized healthcare training.

The PhD degree in the abovementioned regulations.

More information:

https://www.uv.es/uvweb/doctoral-studies-school/en/admission-enrolment/preregistration-/-admissions-/general-admission-criteria-1285951943615.html

The students who finish their prior studies to access a PhD programme this academic year, can pre-enrol even if they have not completed these studies at the moment of application.

They can be admitted and enrol in the programme. However, this enrolment procedure will be subject to checking whether all the admission requirement were met before 30 November. Failure to fulfil these conditions shall result in the cancelation of the official enrolment.

Each doctoral programme can set specific requirements for the admission. The specific requirements for the admission can be found in the description of the Doctoral programme online on the websites of the Student Service and of the Doctoral School in the corresponding section of Doctoral programmes offering.

The process of legalization or apostille is necessary for the degrees and certificates issued by the university outside the European Union or any signatory countries to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or to the bilateral agreement with the European Union. A student should legalise or apostille the degree or the certificate in the country where it was issued.

Meanwhile, validation of the university degree issued outside Spain is a resolution authorised by the Spanish Ministry of Education, which declares that the foreign degree has an equivalent academic level or an official university degree in Spain.

To pre-enrol in a PhD programme at the Universitat de València and start the admission process, a student should legalise or apostille the degree issued by the university outside the European Union or any signatory countries to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or to the bilateral agreement with the European Union. Concerning the foreign degree validation by the Spanish Ministry of Education, it is sufficient for a student to pay the fees corresponding to the equivalent degree in Spain during the pre-enrolment procedure.

Candidates who have been admitted to a master’s degree and do not enrol within the period established will lose their right to the place initially allocated to them, which will be offered to applicants on the waiting list or made available in the next pre-enrolment phase, as appropriate.

If you have been admitted in pre-enrolment Extraordinary Phase and you do not enrol within the deadline set, you can ask the Student Services if there are any places available.

Generally, for entering an official doctoral programme the applicants must hold one of the Spanish official qualifications such as an Undergraduate degree, or equivalent and a Master’s Degree qualification.

 Although, acces will be given to those under the following circumstances:
a) To be in possession of official Spanish university degrees or equivalent Spanish degrees provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in the whole of these teachings and accredit a level 3 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education. 
b) To be in possession of a degree obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), without the need for homologation, which accredits a level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework, provided that said degree entitles access to doctoral studies in the country where it was issued. This admission shall not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree held by the interested party, nor its recognition for purposes other than access to doctoral studies.                                                                   c) Be in possession of a degree obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems outside the EHEA, without the need for its homologation, after verification by the university that it accredits a level of training equivalent to that of the official Spanish university Master's degree and that it qualifies in the country of issue of the degree for access to doctoral studies. This admission will not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree held by the interested party nor its recognition for purposes other than access to doctoral studies. The study of the equivalence of degrees is subject to an administrative fee payable at the time of electronic pre-registration for the doctoral program (see the annual Decree of the Government of the Generalitat Valenciana which sets the fees for the provision of university academic services).
d) To be in possession of another doctoral degree.
e) Likewise, university graduates who, after obtaining a place in training in the corresponding entrance exam for specialized health training places, have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a program for obtaining the official degree in one of the specialties in Health Sciences, may also be admitted".                                                           
f)To hold an official university degree corresponding to the level 3 of the Spanish Higher Education Qualifications Framework, according to the procedure stablished in the Decree Law 967/2014, 21 November, on the requirements and procedure for the homologation and attestation of equivalence of qualifications at an official university academic level and for the recognition or foreign higher education studies, and the procedure to determine the correspondence to the levels within the Spanish Higher Education Qualifications Framework of the determine the correspondence to the levels within the Spanish Higher Education Qualifications Framework of the official qualifications of Architect, Engineer, Degree, Technical Architect, Technical Engineer and Advanced Diploma.

Those who hold a licenciatura (Spanish former Undergraduate Degree), Architects and Engineers who have a Diploma of Advanced Studies obtained according the Royal Decree 778/1998, 30 April or had reached the Research Proficiency regulated in the Royal Decree 185/1985, 23 January, also could be admitted in the doctoral studies regulated in the current Decree.

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Even though it is not a general requirement to have a thesis supervisor before the pre-enrolment procedure, some doctoral programmes do include this demand as their specific requirement. To find more information, please, check the specific requirements of each doctoral programme in the “Admission” section.

It depends on the specific requirements of each doctoral programme. The specific admission requirements can be found in the doctoral card of each programme in the “Admission” section.

Starting from 30 November, the Doctoral School will cancel the enrolment of all student who have not certified the completion of their previous studies which give them access to the doctoral programmes.

Each doctorate programme has an Academic Coordinating Committee that runs the programme. As part of the admission process, after the end of the set deadline for the presentation of pre-enrolment applications, these committees meet and assess the candidate’s applications. As a result, the Student Services and the Doctorate School publish on their web pages the list of the admitted, on the waiting list and excluded students.The admission results, both provisional and final, are also notified to each applicant through the electronic office. .

Pre-enrolment is a process that takes place before enrolment during which applications for a course are assessed and the places available are allocated. Therefore, the final step in the pre-enrolment process is to notify candidates if they have been admitted, conditionally admitted, included on the waiting list or excluded.

Enrolment is the process following pre-enrolment. Students admitted in the corresponding pre-enrolment phase can enrol within the period established (refer to enrolment calendar). Also students conditionally admitted that have proved the compliance with the academic requirements within the period established.

The calendar with the period for submission of pre-enrolment applications, the admission date and the enrolment period is published every year.

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Pre-registration is free of charge, except for students who have degrees from countries outside the European Higher Education Area and who do not have their degrees recognised by the Spanish state. In these cases, the pre-enrolment procedure requires a fee, corresponding to the equivalence study of the degree with which the student wishes to access the doctoral programme, which is paid through the same electronic application at the time of application, by bank card. (Consult the annual Decree of the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian Government), which sets the fees for the provision of university academic services.)

Please, find the complete doctoral programme offering following this link.

Everyone can apply up to a maximum of three doctoral programmes presented in the order of preference. Yet, no one can be admitted to more than one programme. The final admission into one or another programme will depend on the final scale of assessment of the student merits and the order of preference indicated during the pre-enrolment procedure.

Students can amend their submitted pre-enrolment application or attach new documents to it once it has been submitted, from the moment of submission up to the end of the deadline set for pre-enrolment.

To amend the submitted pre-enrolment application, the doctorate student must send an e-mail to preinscripcio.doctorat@uv.es with the definitely chosen doctoral programme and line of research, and the desired order of preference, before the end of the deadline set for pre-enrolment.

To attach new documents to the application once it has been submitted, the student must access “My personal site” in the Online Office of the Universitat de València (ENTREU). There they can check the applications that they have submitted, choose the Doctoral pre-enrolment application and the column “Actions” offers the option to “Attach”.

To modify the selected doctoral programmes or their order, you must send a ticket to the Student Support of the Doctoral School, with the list of doctoral programmes and the research line definitively chosen and the desired order of priority. The request must be made before the deadline for pre-enrolment applications.

The concept of online doctoral programmes does not exist at the Universitat de València. For specific attendance requirements, you should consult the Academic Committee of the doctoral program you wish to study. The contact details for each doctoral programme can be consulted in the "Summary" section of the file for each programme.

Generally, the communications between the coordination of each doctoral programme and the doctoral students is done in one of the official languages of the Universitat de València. This does not prevent, however, that on a more individual level with a foreign doctoral student, English can be used as the working language. In any case, you should consult the specific doctoral program in which you are interested, given that some programs have, among the specific admission requirements, the certification of knowledge of some language.

Although the general commitment to a doctoral program is full-time, part-time commitment can be applied for in duly justified circumstances (compatibility of the doctorate with a job, family responsibilities, etc.). The application for part-time employment is made at the time of pre-registration, with the corresponding supporting documentation.

You will receive a notification through the ENTREU online office informing you of your admission and providing you with the necessary data to carry out the enrolment.

You will have to register in the programme you have been admitted to. If you are subsequently called up for the waiting list in the other program and are admitted, the Doctoral School will contact you to let you know so that you can modify your registration.

A waiting list appeal is made whenever there are vacancies after enrollment, and only in the case that the Academic Committee asks for its activation.

No, you don’t. The call of candidates from the waiting list is not made face-to-face. The Student Services staff will make the admission offers following the order of the waiting list according to the number of places available after the enrolment period.

Students who are admitted to a doctoral programme are notified of the results of the waiting list.

Legalisation or apostille is a necessary procedure for academic titles and certificates issued by a country outside the European Union or not signatory to the agreement on the European Economic Area or the bilateral agreement with the European Union. The procedure for legalisation or apostille must be carried out by the student in the country that issued the official university degree.

On the other hand, the homologation of a university degree issued by a country outside the European Higher Education Area is the resolution issued by the Spanish ministry with responsibility for education. This resolution declares that the foreign degree is equivalent to a level of study in Spain or to an official university degree in Spain.

In order to pre-registrate in a doctoral programme at the Universitat de València and be admitted, degrees issued by a country outside the European Union or a country that has not signed the agreement on the European Economic Area or the bilateral agreement with the European Union must be legalised or apostilled. As for the homologation issued by the Spanish ministry with competence in education that is required for degrees that are not part of the European Higher Education Area, it is not necessary if instead, at the time of pre-enrolment, the fees corresponding to the degree equivalence study are paid.

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Supporting documents in Catalan, Spanish, English, French, Italian or Portuguese are accepted. A translation will be required for the documents issued in any other language. 

Starting from on the day following the date when the pre-enrolment results are published, you will be able to download your admission letter through “My personal site” in the Online Office (ENTREU). This electronic document includes a digital signature and a secure verification code (CSV) through which its validity can be verified by any official body.

In case a university degree is issued by the university outside the European Union or any signatory countries to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or to the bilateral agreement with the European Union, you should add to the electronic application legalized or apostilled and translated, if necessary, supporting documents. To process the electronic application, the university requires the documents to be added in an electronic format to the pre-enrolment application. In line with the Spanish Law 39/2015, no other certified copies should be presented.

In rare cases, when the authenticity of the presented electronic documents is doubtful, an applicant will be requested a verification of the submitted copies, so the original documents may be required. The documents will be verified by the Doctoral School of the Universitat de València, not by the registry offices.

More information:

 https://www.uv.es/uvweb/college/en/postgraduate-courses/doctoral-studies/admissions/general-admission-criteria-1285958261072.html#3

No. It would be sufficient to add this document in an electronic form to the pre-enrolment application. The degree of disability indicated in the certificate must be equal to or greater than 33%.

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Disability

No. It is not necessary to submit the documentation related to degrees issued by the Universitat de València. Only students who pre-enrol with the studies of the access degree pending completion must communicate that they have paid the degree deposit, before the end of the established period of correction, by sending a ticket (ticket Incidencias preinscripción) at the Doctoral School.

According to the Spanish Law 39/2015, there is no need to present the “certified copies” and, thus, file any document in paper form.

In rare cases, when the authenticity of the presented electronic documents is doubtful, an applicant will be requested a verification of the submitted copies, so the original documents may be required.

Generally, together with your online application, you must submit the following scans of documents:

1. The university degree certificate required to be eligible for admission to the PhD degree studies.
2. The academic transcript of records obtained at the university studies required to be eligible for admission to the master’s degree, which must include the average mark. Foreign students must calculate their average mark according to the procedure established by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport.
3. A copy of DNI (Spanish citizens), NIE (Spanish residents), or passport (foreign citizens). 

Depending on specific situations, a student may be asked to provide additional documents. Please, see the corresponding section on documentation on our website.

In addition, each PhD programme may request additional documents depending on specific requirements established in that degree.

More information:

go.uv.es/30OjEww

https://www.uv.es/uvweb/doctoral-studies-school/en/admission-enrolment/preregistration-/-admissions-/instructions/procedure-1285956646509.html

https://www.uv.es/uvweb/doctoral-studies-school/en/doctoral-programmes-offering/doctoral-programmes-1285954699016.html

A visa is not a requirement for admission to a doctorate programme, but it is for your stay in Spain if you are a non-EU citizen.

Also, check answer to: When can I apply for an admission letter?

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Some scholarship awarding bodies require a letter of pre-admission to a doctoral programme to apply for a scholarship. The interested person who has made his or her application for pre-registration may request a letter of pre-admission from the Doctoral School. The Doctoral School will issue the pre-admission letter after verifying that the pre-enrolment application has been made and that all the requirements for admission to the doctoral programme have been met.

In the case of university degrees obtained in countries outside the European Union or signatories of the agreement on the European Economic Area or the bilateral agreement with the European Union, at the time of the electronic application, the documentation must be legalised or apostilled and, if applicable, translated. The presentation of the documentation in electronic format with the pre-registration application will be a requirement for its processing.

In accordance with the provisions of the Spanish Law 39/2015, it is not necessary to submit certified copies. Exceptionally, where there are doubts as to the authenticity of the electronic documentation submitted, a reasoned request will be made to compare the copies provided by the interested party, for which purpose the original document may be required to be shown. The matching of the copies will be carried out at the Universitat de València's Doctoral School, never at the registration units.

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The doctoral programme includes a research component and a doctoral training component. As for the research part, it focuses on the completion of the doctoral thesis, which consists of an original research paper prepared by the doctoral student. This paper must be framed within one of the pre-established lines of research. The thesis requires a tutor and a director. It also may be co-directed by a maximum of three co-directors.

On the other hand, the doctoral programme also includes a training part for doctoral students. The training activities will be reflected in the Activities Document (DA). This is an individualised record of the different activities (conferences, publications, specific training activities of the doctoral programme...) carried out by the doctoral students, which will be regularly reviewed by the tutor and the thesis supervisor and evaluated by the Academic Committee of the Doctorate.

If after the estimated time limit to present the doctoral thesis (3 years full-time and 5 years part-time), this has not been presented, the academic committee of the doctoral programme may authorise a one-year extension that, exceptionally, may be extended for one more year. In the case of part-time studies, a two-years extension may be authorised. This may exceptionally be extended for one more year.

The thesis can be written and, if applicable, defended in the languages usual for scientific communication in the field of study. In any case, the doctoral student must include a comprehensive summary of the thesis in one of the languages that are official in the Universitat de València, stating the objectives, methodology, and conclusions of the thesis in a maximum of 8000 words.