In addition to classrooms subject to availability in both Psychology and FCAFE, the latter faculty has a series of teaching and research laboratories, some of which house the activities of the research lines of this Doctoral Programme, such as the Adapted Physical Activity Laboratories (TetraSport Laboratory) and the Physical Activity and Health Laboratory. In Psychology, in the same way, students with prior authorisation whose protocol is at www.uv.es/psicologia tab “Spaces and Resources” will have access to the research laboratories with ERDF equipment (see http://www.uv.es/uvweb/psicologia/ca/facultat/coneix-nos/espais-recursos/directori-espais-1285850129498.html).
Students will have access to the main databases related to the field of the Doctoral Programme in the library.
For example, in the case of SPORTIDISCUS, whose link is:
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/search/advanced?sid=f99a11b7-e670-4da4-9c36-7ecf521441bd%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=7
As it is a new programme, there is no information available on the percentage of students who will apply for or access grants such as travel grants or stays, but like any student of the UVEG there are public calls announced on the website of the Ministry, different departments of the Valencian Government (by field, in addition to education, there are many links with social welfare and health) and the university itself (see link to http://www.uv.es/=serinves/c/anun/index.shtml). At the same time, the Unit for the Integration of People with Disabilities (UPD) of the Universitat also provides information on grants awarded by foundations (e.g. ONCE, Prevent, Adecco... which have previously sponsored scholarships in the context of students and lecturers of the programme), trusts and associations. Professors will also be able to contribute information which will be disseminated on the website.
The Doctoral Programme will have the material resources available at the Faculty of Psychology of the Universitat de València. Some of the most important aspects are highlighted below:
The Libraries and Documentation Service room, with 350 reading places, and several group work rooms. It has more than 20,000 volumes, 619 subscriptions to specialised journals and periodicals, as well as consultation to 395 online journals and access to the main specialised databases. It also has a laptop loan service for students, and an electronic reading room with 20 computers connected to the local network for carrying out bibliographic searches and other complementary services (reprography, specialised guidance, inter-library loan, digitalisation of documents, etc.).
Teaching Laboratories Unit, staffed by a senior laboratory technician and two technicians. The unit is made up of the Docimoteca (Repository and reading room), 12 teaching laboratories (Experimental Psychology Laboratory, Human Behaviour Laboratory, Behavioural Observation Laboratory, Speech Therapy and Language Laboratory, Autogenous Techniques Laboratory, Group Psychology Laboratory, Docimoteca A Laboratory, Docimoteca B Laboratory, 4 computer laboratories for teaching use), and a computer room for open use by students with 18 workstations. In total, the number of fixed computers available for teaching use by students is 80. In addition, the centre has two portable equipment systems to convert any space into a computer classroom (36 computers). The entire centre has Wi-Fi Internet connection.
The laboratories are fully equipped for practical classes in the subjects of the curriculum: the infrastructure includes virtual reality equipment; 15 binocular microscopes and 200 slides for microscopic observation; 250 specimens of anatomical models of different organs, synapses and neurons; 5 relaxation chairs; 3 biofeedback equipment; various physiological recorders (pulsimeters, blood pressure meters, glucose meters, alcohol meters, spirometers and oximeters), and various complex equipment such as an EyeLink II system, 2 computerised StudentLab units, an Observer/Phenotyper unit, a Medicid 5 psychophysiology system, a Psychoacoustic/Speech system, and an AudioTest 330 diagnostic audiometer. There is also a full supply of equipment for the observation of animal behaviour (stabularia, avoidance boxes, mazes, aggression boxes, Hole Board, etc.).
The Docimoteca has a large inventory of materials for different types of psychological assessment. It currently has 1144 titles, including questionnaires, tests, assessment tests, manuals and other instruments, with several copies of each of them. It has a video library of 603 volumes (videos, CDs and DVDs) and 119 computerised assessment and intervention instruments. All this material can be consulted directly in the reference room of the Docimoteca and can also be transported by the staff in charge of the Docimoteca for its use in the classes located in the different teaching laboratories of the centre dedicated to research laboratories, distributed in 8 different types of spaces, in which the centre's teaching and research staff conduct their research work (experimentation booths, intervention and therapy rooms, group interaction classrooms with recording systems, group psychology laboratories, animal psychology laboratories, computerised questionnaire rooms, observation and recording rooms, and two multi-purpose rooms).
The facilities of the Psychology and Speech Therapy Applications Centre (in progress), of 450 square metres, have 15 individual reading rooms with unidirectional glass, four rooms for group interaction, a training room, archive and administration and management area. This centre will enable applied research activities to be carried out that require interaction with users who, while they are participating in ongoing research, receive specialised psychological advice and counselling. The centre will include services applied to the different areas of specialisation in Psychology. Other spaces and services of the centre are the Assembly Hall (150 seats), the Graduation Hall (75 seats), and the Meeting Room (55 seats), for holding presentations, talks, conferences, etc., as well as a Reprographic Service.
At the same time, the Universitat has a large number of complementary spaces and services of a sporting, cultural and leisure nature (sports facilities, exhibition halls, music halls, historical archives, different libraries and computer rooms, etc.). It also has a large number of services aimed at providing information, advice and dynamisation to students such as: Information and Promotion Service (SEDI), Student Guidance and Promotion Centre (CADE), Professional Placement and Careers Advice Monitoring Centre (OPAL), Delegation for the Integration of People with Disabilities, University Extension Service, University-Business Foundation (ADEIT), different Chairs and boards, etc., which organise and develop different educational, cultural and extracurricular activities which contribute to the comprehensive training of students.
Its programme-related functions are summarised:
Postgraduate Studies Service: This service is the central administrative support structure of the Universitat de València for master's and doctoral studies. This service includes the Doctoral Unit, which employs 7 people in charge of the administrative management of PhD students.
Lifelong Learning and Educational Innovation Service (SFPIE): In charge of organising and teaching transversal training activities (activities 1 and 2 of the Doctoral Programme).
Quality Unit: It will be in charge of coordinating and managing the processes of evaluation and improvement of the quality of the Universitat de València, including doctoral studies.
Professional Placement and Careers Advice Monitoring Centre (OPAL): Its mission is to help all students and graduates of the Universitat de València to enter the labour market and to improve their professional possibilities. Among other functions, they will be in charge of coordinating the monitoring of PhD graduates.
Information and Promotion Service for Students (SEDI): The aim of this service is to provide advice, information, promotion and training services to students of the Universitat de València and future university students, as well as to other groups linked to the world of education, dividing its tasks into three main areas:
a) Dissemination and Publications Area: it prepares and disseminates information of university interest in different formats such as the Undergraduate Studies Guide, the Postgraduate Studies Guide and the University Access Guide. It publishes the journal FUTURA and manages programmes and actions to disseminate the Universitat's range of studies, such as the Conèixer programme.
b) Information and Guidance Area: it offers personalised service in the offices of the three campuses; coordinates the Personal and Legal Guidance consultancies (academic conflicts, housing, etc.). And advises on university access and higher studies. It also coordinates the Mentors programme. ‘Entreiguals’ Student Mentorship.
c) Participation, Promotion and Training Area: it manages aid and support programmes for students; it promotes participation, associations and volunteering; it is socio-culturally dynamic, organises the Universitat's Welcome Week and manages training programmes such as La Nau dels Estudiants i les Estudiantes and the summer schools La Nau dels xiquets i les xiquetes and La Nau Jove.
Provision for obtaining external resources to support PhD students in their training.
The funding required for the proper functioning of the programme includes, from the point of view of PhD students, grants, mobility fellowships and funding for attendance at international conferences and meetings.
The sources of funding are mainly of three types and the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme is committed to using all existing channels to finance the programme:
1. Calls aimed at the PhD students themselves. In this type of call, those responsible for obtaining resources are mainly
the PhD students. There are numerous calls of this type:
• National calls for mobility.
• Calls for mobility of the UVEG.
• National calls for doctoral fellowships.
• Regional calls for doctoral fellowships.
• Calls for doctoral fellowships of the UVEG.
• UVEG grants to attend international conferences.
2. Calls aimed at research groups. In this type of call, those responsible for obtaining resources are the research
groups that support the programme.
There are numerous calls of this type:
• Calls for projects of the European Framework Programme.
• Calls for projects of the National Plan.
• Regional calls for research projects.
• Projects with companies.
With regard to the provisions for obtaining external resources, the information on the projects obtained by the research groups participating in the Doctoral Programme makes it possible to ensure that the Programme is able to guarantee the necessary support for the training of its PhD students.
As for the number of PhD students who obtain funding, we can say that all those who have entered with some kind of fellowship have received funding, as they have been integrated into a research group that has covered all the research costs, since all the groups in the programme have enough projects to finance their research. In the case of other PhD students, the Universitat de València has specific financial aid, travel grants, which are intended to facilitate the mobility of students to participate in activities such as conferences, courses, summer courses, congresses, meetings or other activities related to their area of study, as well as for student mobility in the fulfilment of their role as student representatives. They are held annually with two different deadlines in order to cover all possible activities throughout the academic year. In the current call (2013), according to the resolution of the grants, these will be financed by chapter IV of the Universitat's budget for an amount of 100,500 euros. On the other hand, and given that some of the potential students of this Doctoral Programme are at risk of social exclusion, especially in developing countries, the study and research oriented towards early care, the promotion of healthy ageing, autonomy and social and health care for dependent people is a project that can be financed in order to obtain research resources. The Universitat itself allocates 30,000 euros per year for student travel grants for cooperation and solidarity activities to facilitate the participation of students in cooperation, solidarity and educational development activities in projects carried out in disadvantaged countries.
