PhD in Medicine

Why do this PhD?

The PhD in Medicine has a long history at the UAB. The programme consists of 15 research lines in different areas of knowledge in the fields of medicine and bioscience. Research is carried out in 4 university hospitals and 10 first rate research centres. The programme has 150 tutors, with an average of 238 publications/professor, 7,790 citations/professor and an average H factor of almost 37.

The PhD in Medicine has more than 700 doctoral students registered, and about 100 theses are defended each year. There are 110 new places offered each academic year, and they can be full- or part-time. Our programme attracts students from many different nationalities. The success rate is 97%, and more than 80% of theses are qualified as cum laude.

Currently, 60% of doctoral students are women and the programme promotes the incorporation of women into the world of science and research.

The UAB and the programme offer training activities for PhD students that may be of interest for their research.

The PhD in Medicine awards grants each academic year to doctoral students to cover expenses related to the presentation of the results of their thesis research at national and international congresses, and for other expenses derived from the research that has been carried out.

The PhD programme in Medicine is accredited towards excellence by the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU).

Professional opportunities

The principal career option provided by this PhD programme is that of joining the academic or professional world (care provision or research) in the field of medicine.

Coordinator

Jaume Alijotas Reig

Composition of the academic tribunal for the PhD programme

• Jaume Alijotas Reig: coordinator of the PhD programme in Medicine.
• Maria Assumpta Caixàs Pedragós: secretary of the academic committee of the PhD programme.
• Maria Isabel Bielsa Marsol: member of the academic committee of the PhD programme.
• Jordi Giralt López de Sagredo: member of the academic committee of the PhD programme.

Administration

Administrative Support Unit for Medicine and Surgery

Vall d'Hebron Teaching Unit

Teaching Pavilion Building

Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 119-129 - 08035 Barcelona

Office phone: 93 428 5621 / 93 489 4096

• PhD admissions: 679 23 10 72
• PhD deposits: 689 38 67 19
• Annual PhD reviews and suspensions of studies: 699 36 42 54

Email: doctorat.medicina@uab.cat

Phone assistance hours: Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m

Thesis supervisor/s and academic tutor/s

Thesis supervision and thesis tutoring

Thesis supervision

PhD thesis supervisor

At the time of making the admission proposal, the academic tribunal of the PhD programme assigns the PhD candidate a thesis supervisor, and this figure will be responsible for the coherence and appropriateness of the activities, impact and innovation in the subject field of the thesis and will guide the planning and adequacy of the research to other projects and activities.

The designation of a thesis supervisor may fall on any Spanish or Foreign PhD with accredited research experience independently of the university, centre or institution in which they work. At the same time, each PhD programme may establish additional criteria as necessary for the PhD thesis supervisor.

The supervisor's responsibilities are the following:

• Try to ensure that the project is original, innovative and viable, under the terms of the rules, and also that it is coherent with the group or line of the research to which it is linked.

• Agree to the plan for the supervision of research work and plan regular meetings. The supervisor informs what documents are required for each meeting (written reports, messages, minutes, handwritten papers etc) to be able to accredit the frequency of the meetings.

• Advise the PhD candidate on the research in general and the preparation of the thesis in particular.

• Indicate to the PhD candidate the most appropriate activities for their research when the PhD programme has been identified and sign the activities document.

• Facilitate the candidate's participation in the specific and transferrable training activities for the PhD programme in accordance with that established in the commitment document.

• Sign the commitment and activities document for the PhD candidate.

• Assist the PhD candidate in the definition of the PhD research project and the research that will eventually culminate in the PhD thesis.

• Revise and sign the research plan for the thesis.

• Undertake to regularly supervise in accordance with the commitment document, the research plan for the PhD candidate, and help them to focus the project while it is being carried out.

• Try to ensure that the PhD student takes the initiative and achieves increasing autonomy throughout the project.

• Assist the PhD candidate to find solutions for different aspects related to their research and establish the specific details and the means required and, where necessary, the experimental design.

• Let the PhD candidate know about all the means available to them at the University that are important for their research and help them to access them.

• Write the forms required for the annual review.

• Read, correct and comment on the draft thesis before it is deposited, on the conditions that the candidate has provided a copy a reasonable time beforehand.

• Ensure that the candidate understands the administrative and academic requirements for the assessment and defence of the thesis as well as the corresponding deadlines throughout the process.

• Communicate health and safety rules to the PhD candidate where necessary.

• Communicate any rule or ethical aspect that may be related to their research.

The designation of the thesis supervisor may be modified at any time during the PhD programme: whenever there are justified reasons the supervisor may reject supervision of the thesis (in which case the academic tribunal for the programme will suggest a replacement); on petition of the PhD candidate where there are justifications for doing so the academic tribunal of the PhD programme may change the designation of the PhD supervisor.

Thesis supervisors outside the PhD programme

Thesis supervisors who are not lecturers at the UAB or who have not been appointed as a thesis director must accredit their own PhD qualification and research experience, i.e. specific details of publications, research projects they have worked on and any other information relevant to the lines of research proposed on the PhD programme. Once the above supervisor has been approved, the academic tribunal for the PhD programme may authorise their incorporation into the programme as a possible thesis supervisor (or assign them to a single doctoral thesis).

Each PhD programme must establish which other lecturers, whatever their category as long as they are not included in the programme, are able to supervise the thesis.

Joint supervision of the PhD thesis

The PhD thesis may be supervised by other PhD holders where there are academic arguments for doing so (such as interdiscplinarity of the subject or national or international programmes) with the prior authorisation of the academic tribunal of the PhD programme. This authorisation may be withdrawn at a later date if, in the opinion of the academic tribunal, the joint supervision is not beneficial to the progress of the thesis.

A PhD thesis may be jointly supervised by up to three PhD holders.

Maximum number of theses per supervisor

Each supervisor may supervise a maximum of five PhD theses simultaneously. The supervision of the PhD thesis concludes at the time the thesis is presented and defended or if the PhD candidate withdraws. In terms of recognition of the teaching and research dedication in situations of joint supervision these should be divided equally.

Recognition of thesis supervision

One essential way to encourage thesis supervision is by ensuring that this task is recognised and valued: something that the UAB regulations achieve. The approval of the Academic Workload Model for UAB Teaching Staff by the Governing Council on 13 December 2017, significantly improved the system used to calculate and take account of supervision tasks. Article 10.3 stipulates that the supervisor of a doctoral thesis is to have 100 hours recognised per thesis supervised. If supervision is carried out by more than one person, this recognition is shared equally between them.
 

Thesis tutoring

At the time of application the academic tribunal of the programme will assign the candidate an academic tutor. The academic tutor must be a doctor with accredited research experience, linked to the programme in which has been admitted the doctoral student..

The academic tutor has the following responsibilities:

• Ensure coherence in the tasks of the PhD candidate and supervisor and the research group.

• Provide communication between the PhD student and the academic tribunal of the PhD programme.

• Ensure the appropriateness of the PhD training and research activity to the programme and the norms of the School for Doctoral Studies.

• Sign the commitment and activities document for the PhD candidate.

• Check and sign the PhD research plan.

• Write the reports required for the annual review.

The academic tribunal of the programme can establish, where possible, that the academic tutor can also be the thesis supervisor.

The designation of the academic tutor may be changed at any time during the PhD course: on the part of the PhD candidate, where there are justified reasons; on the part of the thesis supervisor, where there are justified reasons. In these cases the academic tribunal of the PhD programme has to propose a new tutor.

Lines of research and specific information of the doctoral programme on management and tutoring

The PhD in Medicine programme encompasses various research teams which include the most important aspects of the care and research plan and are like the lines of research in which doctoral students can carry out their research. The objectives and context of each of these lines are summarised below:

1. Cardiology and cardiovascular risk

This encompasses basic, clinical and epidemiological research that generates new knowledge on the mechanisms of heart and vascular diseases, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic tools and strategies. It also includes ways of applying available drugs and techniques in the prevention and treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease.

2. Dermatology

This line of research studies and analyses the molecular bases, pathogenic pathways and regulatory pathways of dermatological diseases in order to improve early detection and possible interventions. It is also interested in identifying biomarkers to personalise both treatment and therapy. All areas related to dermatology and genetics associated with dermatology are also of interest.

3. Digestive and hepato-biliary system

This line of research focuses on everything related to physiology, physiopathology and digestive pathology. It includes both epidemiological and clinical aspects as well as biochemical and molecular aspects. Alterations in motility, absorption, ulcer pathology, inflammation and everything related to the intestinal microbiota are areas of great interest. At the same time, all hepatobiliary diseases, from their causes and mechanisms to biomarkers and treatment, are also studied in this line.

4. Endocrinology

This includes everything related to the pathogenesis, physiopathology, clinical markers and treatment of all morbidity processes that are specifically linked to the endocrine system, as well as those with diabetes mellitus as a central factor, the understanding of the mechanisms that associate these alterations with cardiovascular risk and morbidity and mortality. Epidemiology and prevention are also a fundamental part of this area of knowledge.

5. Multidisciplinary clinical research

The multidisciplinary research line includes those projects that do not fit adequately into any of the other lines of the PhD Programme, or because of their multidisciplinary nature, that include areas common to more than one line of research. For example, research on infectious diseases in critically ill patients may include lines of infectious diseases or pneumology. In general, they tend to include researchers from different areas who share knowledge.

6. Infectious diseases

This line of research is dedicated to improving the strategies used in clinical practice in this field. Once again, it includes knowledge ranging from molecular and cellular causes and mechanisms to epidemiology, clinical and therapeutic management. It also includes part of the study of mechanisms of microbial resistance, taxonomy and the study of both classic and newer diseases, for example, infection in the critically ill , immunocompromised, or transplant patient, AIDS and COVID-19 and other coronaviruses. This line also studies other emerging and imported entities such as Zika virus infection and dengue fever.

7. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

This line of research deals with diseases affecting the neck, spinal cord, nerves and the musculoskeletal system from the angle of rehabilitation. It will include biological, medical and physical aspects that will offer a better understanding and approach to different types of serious illnesses and traumas. It also includes research aimed at the study and treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain processes of any origin.

8. Nephrology

From biology, mechanisms of injury, activity markers, and diagnostics to all the physiopathological aspects of chronic renal failure and renal transplantation are topics of interest in this line of research. Of special interest is the inflammatory pathology affecting the vasculature and glomeruli. Drug-induced nephropathies and hypertension are other major topics of study in this line of research.

9. Neurology

This is one of the broadest lines of research, including all aspects: epidemiology, molecular bases, aetiopathogenesis, biomarkers, clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of an infinite number of large "mixed bag of illnesses", among them: headaches, neurovascular pathology, epilepsy, neurodegenerative/mitochondrial, neuromuscular, polyneuropathies, onconeurology and gene therapy.

10. Oncology and haematological diseases

The oncology and haematology line of research includes and focuses on all aspects of malignancy, from the molecular bases, genetics, epigenetics, cell signalling, cancer epidemiology, from the molecular bases, genetics, epigenetics, cellular signalling, epidemiology of cancer, biomarkers of both malignancy and activity/recurrence, to all the therapies, both conventional - chemotherapy and radiotherapy - and new therapies, such as: immunotherapy treatment, epigenetic modulation, and stem cell transplants in their various types, among others.

11. Respiratory pathology

This includes all aspects, both basic and clinical, of respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, infections, transplants, pulmonary hypertension and respiratory system disorders (RSD).

12. Imaging Techniques

Research in radiation therapy, radiodiagnostics and nuclear medicine. It includes technological development and quality control to improve radiotherapy treatment. Concomitant chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments for different tumours. In nuclear medicine this would include research using medical imaging, the former for diagnostic studies, and the latter in theragnostic, which involves the diagnosis and stratification of different tumours.

13. Immunology, allergy and systemic diseases

This line of research includes the study of molecular and cellular mechanisms, as well as all clinical and therapeutic aspects of alloimmune and autoimmune diseases and autoinflammatory disorders. All studies aimed at finding biomarkers to aid diagnosis and predict clinical activity are welcome. Also, everything related to hypersensitivity mechanisms, especially type I, are relevant topics in this line. Basic immunology, clinical immunology, inflammation, drugs and allergy are closely intertwined. Immunosuppressive treatments, immunomodulators, gene therapy, tolerogenic vaccines and CAR T cell type targeted immunotherapy is emerging sub-areas of interest.

14. Minority diseases

This line of research attempts to bring together knowledge of this group of diseases with a low prevalence (<5/10,000 inhabitants). There are almost 7,000 different "rare" diseases, generally poorly diagnosed or with a long diagnostic delay. These include progeria, Fragile X syndrome, Moebius disease, ALS, Fanconi syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome and Marfan syndrome. Others to be considered are metabolopathies or myopathies. The study of pathogenic mechanisms, molecular bases, diagnostic markers and treatments, generally experimental, are appropriate topics. There is also interest in studying neonatal or family screening techniques and the search for, synthesis, and testing of new drugs – the so-called ‘orphan drugs’.

15. Family and community medicine

This brings together research on diseases and reasons for consultation prevalent in primary health care, from disease prevention to chronic pathologies, predominantly from the perspective of its applicability to improving the practice of family medicine. In other words, the aim is that the research included in this line will lead to a transfer of knowledge to the whole of routine clinical practice for better care of people's socio-health problems from a biopsychosocial perspective at the primary level of care.

Specific information about the doctoral program

- Proposal for the supervision and tutoring of a doctoral thesis

When pre-registering online, doctoral candidate must propose the supervisor(s) and academic tutor. The Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program in Medicine (CAPDM) will evaluate the doctoral candidate's proposal and, if deemed appropriate, will accept the supervision and mentorship. The academic committee may, where possible, establish that the tutor also be the thesis supervisor.

The Doctoral Program in Medicine recommends that doctoral theses have one supervisor, or at most two, justifying the need for this second supervisor. A third thesis supervisor is not contemplated unless there are exceptional reasons that permit it.

The academic tutor must be a doctor with accredited research experience, and who is part of the human resources of the Doctoral Program in Medicine, that is, who appears as a tutor in the list that you can consult at this link.

- Requirements to be a doctoral thesis director in the Doctoral Program in Medicine

A candidate who meets any of these requirements may be a doctoral thesis director:

a) All members of the Medical Doctoral Program's human resources team (tutors). You can find them in the Thesis supervisor/s and academic tutor/s section on this same tab. These candidates do not need to attach any documentation.

b) If you are not a member of the human resources of the Doctoral Program in Medicine, you will need to prove your research experience, that is, specific information about your publications and research projects in which you have collaborated, providing:

- or proof of having a six-year research period (in the last 6 years)

- or the Directors' Publications Sheet, to prove that you have the equivalent of a six-year term:

• To have 6 publications in 6 years, in which he/she is among the first 6 signatories, last author or corresponding author.
• Publications accepted by the journal would also count, as long as you send us the acceptance letter (for example: an email).  
• Articles must be published in journals indexed in the Journal Citation Report (JCR). At least one of the publications must be published in a JCR-indexed journal in quartile 1, and the rest must be in quartiles 1, 2, or 3.
• Publication types: must be original articles. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews may be accepted, provided they have been published in the originals section of a journal indexed in the JCR in quartile 1 or 2.
• Junior co-supervisor: This would be anyone who has had their thesis reviewed less than six years ago. They must submit at least three publications that meet the above requirements, including a Q1.

 

In any case, you must present your doctorate degree if you are not:

1. Professor, tenured university professor or ‘aggregate’ university professor.

2. PhD from the UAB.

It is important that the candidate to supervise a doctoral thesis be actively employed at the time of the application, and that his or her active age coincides with the duration of the thesis project.

Emeritus and honorary professors may supervise doctoral theses if this activity is included in the program of activities they submit annually and for the entire duration of the thesis. For new doctoral theses, a second supervisor will be required.

- Requirements to be a doctoral thesis tutor in the Doctoral Program in Medicine:

You may request to be included in the list of tutors for the Doctorate Program in Medicine:

• If you have a current state six-year term and you present its approval resolution.

• If you submit the Publications and Projects Form .The candidate must provide 5 publications, from the last 6 years, that meet the requirements described in the form that must be submitted.

If the candidate does not have any contractual ties with the UAB, they may only be part of the human resources of the doctoral program if they work at a centre in the UAB Sphere. In In addition, they must also provide authorization from the institution for which they work: Authorization form for an institution external to the UAB (model).

The candidate must present the doctorate degree if it is not:

1. Professor, tenured university professor or ‘aggregate’ university professor.

2. PhD from the UAB.

This documentation must be sent by email to the address doctorat.medicina@uab.cat.

Once it has been verified that the candidate meets the requirements, they will be proposed for the next modification of the doctoral program's human resources, which will be sent to the UAB's Office of Teaching Quality (OQD) for processing by the Agency for University Quality (AQU).

Emeritus and honorary professors may supervise doctoral theses if this activity is included in the program of activities they submit annually and for the entire duration of the thesis. It is recommended that they not begin new theses under a supervisory regime.

You can consult the updated list of tutors in this link, with their contact information.

- Maximum number of doctoral theses per director

A supervisor can have a maximum supervisory load of 5 points. One point will be counted for each thesis supervised alone. In the case of co-supervision, only the corresponding fraction will count toward calculating the total supervisory load (0.50 points if co-supervised with another supervisor and 0.33 points if co-supervised with two other supervisors).

Before choosing a thesis supervisor, you must check that the candidate with whom you have agreed to supervise your thesis does not exceed this maximum supervision load. If you have any doubts, you can ask the supervisor to review his/her directed theses at sia.uab.cat. You will find detailed explanations of how to do this in the document Instructions for supervisors to view lists of supervised and/or tutored theses (tutorial).

- Thesis supervision: maximum number of doctoral theses to be supervised

According to the agreement of the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program (CAPD), a single tutor may tutor a maximum of 10 theses simultaneously. Therefore, before selecting a tutor, you must verify that the maximum number of theses supervised is not exceeded. You can ask the candidate to consult their supervised theses at sia.uab.cat. You will find detailed explanations of how to do this in the document Instructions for supervisors to view lists of supervised and/or tutored theses (tutorial).

- Retirement of a director or tutor

If any of the supervisors or tutors of the doctoral thesis retires (i.e., they no longer carry out any activity under an employment contract or are registered as self-employed), they must resign from their supervision and/or tutorship. It will be the doctoral candidate's responsibility to manage the change. You can find out how to manage this change in the Information related to the thesis section of the Review and thesis tab of this file.

Retired supervisors or tutors may be listed on the thesis copy as supervisor and/or tutor until the date of retirement, but they will not be involved in validating the thesis submission. Exceptionally, they may retain their status as supervisor or tutor if the thesis is submitted within a period of no more than three months from the date of retirement.

Admission application

Admission

The UAB PhD programs are onsite.

Candidates who wish to access a PhD programme must apply to the academic committee for admissions using the online application form and follow the procedure established by the coordinators or administrative managers responsible for the PhD programme for the proposal of a tutor and thesis supervisor.

Before starting the application, please check in the section “Requirements and Criteria”, the access requirements, as well as the timetable for the application. In the section “Guidelines and direction” you will find information about academic tutors and thesis directors.

We recommend that you check this video before starting the application (video in Spanish; click on the CC button to display the English subtitles):

 

Summary fo the steps to follow in your application

1. To acces the application form, you will need a university identificacion number (NIU) and a password. To obtain these:
   • If you are not a UAB student, enter identification details to register.
   • If you are currently a UAB student or have studied at the UAB before, you have a university ID number (NIU) and you remember your password, go straight to your application.
   • If you are already or have been a UAB student, but you cannot remember your NIU and/or your password, re-enter your identification details to recover them.
2. Enter your personal and academic data in the different sections of the application form. Your name and surname(s) must be the same as those shown on your ID card, passport, NIE.
3. Attach all the documents required by this program. The documents are attached in .pdf, .jpg or .doc format (maximum 4 MB). Failure to include the requested documents in each of the specific sections of the application may lead to the denial of your application.

4. In the application you must indicate- the type of stay: full time or part time.- In the screen Proposed doctoral student you must choose the tutor and the person/s who accept the direction of your thesis. If it is a program requirement, you must also include, filled out and signed, a document stating the approval of your thesis supervisor / academic tutor (if the director is external to the UAB, you will first have to check , when you do the pre-registration, if you already appear as an internal director -you have to search for the director by last name and if you find him/her with a code, you have to select him/her since already registered-). In case you do not find it and the director is external to the UAB, it is necessary that you send him/her the external director document, fill it in and sign it. This document must also be attached to the application. It is recommended to do this procedure in time before applying for admission. Check the documentation section of your program that you will find in the 'Admission' tab to see if the program has a specific document model.

    - you must also indicate the line of research- If you need an early admission due to the request or award of a grant, it is necessary to indicate it in the observations field and indicate the name of the grant. The coordination of the program, depending on the situation, will resolve your early admission, if necessary.

5. Connect to sia.uab.cat, make the application and attach all the required documentation.

6.  Save the application on the last screen of the process. If you want, you can download the proof of the application for admission. You will receive the resolution of the application via the e-mail address you indicated in the application. 

7. You can check the status of your application by going to your application.

CONSULT SOME INDICATIONS THAT MAY BE USEFUL for you to pre-register online

CHECK THE DOCUMENTATION SECTION BELOW IN CASE YOUR PHD PROGRAMME REQUIRES YOU TO DO ANY OTHER MANAGEMENT BEFORE STARTING THE PRE-REGISTRATION AND YOU WILL ALREADY BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE PRE-REGISTRATION APPLICATION

Once your application has been saved, you will enter the selection process. You will receive the result of the resolution in a personalized way in the email that you indicated in the application for admission, according to the schedule of the doctoral program. Check the spam tray to verify that it has not been treated as junk mail.

This PhD programme has, for the 2025-2026 academic year, the following pre-registration period: 

• From May, 5 - 23
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: June, 20

• From September, 15 to October, 3
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: December, 19

45 places are reserved for the first pre-registration period.

Documentation necessary for admission

Applicants must be able to accredit before the coordinators or academic managers of the PhD programme that their previous studies are sufficient for access to a PhD programme in accordance with prevailing legislation and must provide this obligatory documents relatet to previous studies (degree and academic certificates). In the section ‘General access requirements’ you can also consult all the access routes to the doctoral program that the current regulations allow.

The required documents may be presented in Catalan, Spanish or English. Any documents issued in French, Italian or Portuguese can be presented as translations carried out by the UAB Language Service - Idiomes UAB Campus. Applicants must organise their own translations and pay for them. For documents issued in any other language, they must be presented as translation into Catalan, Spanish or English by a sworn translator, working for any diplomatic or consular service of Spain abroad or the Spanish consular or diplomatic representation of the applicant’s national country.

To legalise the documentation accrediting studies carried out abroad, follow the procedure set out in the 'Legalisation' section on this website. Non-legalised documents may be presented for admission to the PhD programme even though legalisation will be required for the registration stage.

Compulsory Documents for admission

Documents	Format
Previus studies	Consult what documentation and how to attach it.
Authorization  to consult Spanish university degrees to Ministry	Authorization  Attach this document in order to avoid submitting the documentation of your previous Spanish studies for enrollment.
Picture of the face with a white background	Picture (.jpg) maximum 15Kb
DNI/NIE/PASSPORT	Scanned DNI/NIE card. If you are a foreign student, an authentic copy of the PASSAPORT, if you do not have a TIE/NIE card.
Specific program documents	See the following table of documents
Application form for part-time PhD studies (document in Spanish)	Part-time request
If you have a functional diversity equal to or greater than 33%, in order to apply to the permanence regime in the program	Attach the certificate this condition.

If you attach the documentation in other formats than the electronic one (without CVS or QR), you will have to submit the documentation before you can self-enroll for the 2025/26 course.

 

Mandatory Documents

Documents	How to attach in the computer application
Application for approval of the Research Plan	Research Plan(2)
Letter of admission specifying  in which line of research of the doctoral programme you wish to be admitted.	Letter of admission
Commitment document. In the commitment document, you must indicate the dedication regime on page 3 (full-time or part-time) and accept the document by means of your signatures (doctoral student, thesis supervisor(s) and academic tutor)	Commitment Document(2)
Annex to the commitment document. You will need to inform about the meetings you will hold with your supervisors during the academic year, the compulsory training activities, explaining the activity and the place where they will be carried out, and the access regime you have for the preparation of the thesis	Annex commitment document(2)
Annex to the Code of Good Practice	Annex to the Code of Good Practice(2)
Additional documentation (if applicable)	How to attach it to the computer application
If the proposed director is not: Member of the doctoral programme (consult the information at lines and address), Professor, Associate Professor or Associate Professor (you can consult the UAB directory), or PhD from the UAB You will need to attach a copy of the director's doctoral degree.	Copy of the doctoral degree certificate external to the Programme and to the UAB(2)
If the proposed supervisor is not a member of the doctoral programme in Medicine (see the information at lines and address) but has a six-year living period in Spain, you will only need to attach a supporting document. If the external director does not have a living six-year period in Spain, he or she will need to attach a publication file. If the supervisor does not have a contractual relationship with the UAB and is not listed in the HR annex of the doctoral programme in Medicine (check it by clicking here), you must submit the External Director Registration Form to the UAB.	Proof of state living six-year period or Publications and/or project file(2) UAB external director registration file(2)

⁽¹⁾ Check this link to send this mandatory documentation to the Doctoral School along with the rest of the documentation indicated.⁽²⁾ Check this link to send this mandatory documentation to the PhD Programme. Section: Steps to follow after Admission.

In addition to the documentation that each programme indicates, two documents (Other documents1 and Other documents2) that serve as a wildcard are attached for each programme so that the interested person can attach other documents that he or she considers appropriate or that the PhD programme indicates.

Admissions before the established period and pre-admissions

The Doctoral School, following the indications of the coordination of the PhD programme, can issue before the start of the term of admission of an academic course, or before the end of the term of resolution, letters of admission so that you can request a scholarship or to do the visa procedures in your country. It is only necessary that you enter your application in the computer application and that you indicate it in the Observations field, where you must indicate that you need a letter of admission and the scholarship to which you are opting. If the computer application is closed, you can contact the coordination of the programme.

If you need a preadmission, the coordination of the programme can issue it if it considers it appropriate. You must contact the coordination of the programme to inform you of the procedure.

On the International Support Service website you can see more information about future foreign students related to residencies in Catalonia, legal procedures and the UAB campus.

Monitoring your application

You can monitor your application using the same page as you made it. Below are the explanations of the different stages:

• Application made by student: your pre-registration has been saved.
• Incomplete application: there are documents missing from the application.
• Validated by the administrative office: the application and attached documents have been checked.
• Admitted: the coordinator has considered the pre-registration and proposed an offer or admission.
• Offer of admission: the Doctoral School has considered the proposals for admission made by the coordinator and has made a definitive offer. The PhD student will also receive an e-mail informing them of this decision. The PhD student must wait to register.
• Waiting list: the coordinator has considered the pre-registration and has agreed on admission but there are no places on the PhD course.
• Application rejected: the coordinator or the Doctoral School have considered the application but do not agree to admission as not all the requirements have been fulfilled.

If you need it, here you will find a complementary information document on PhD studies.

Requirements and selection criteria

General access requirements

In general, to gain access to an official PhD programme the candidate must hold a Spanish degree or equivalent and a Master's degree.

Access may be granted where the following cases apply:

• Hold an official Spanish university degrees or equivalent Spanish degrees provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in all of these courses and accredit level 3 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education.

• Hold a title obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), without the need for its homologation, which accredits a level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework provided that said title authorizes access to studies of PhD in the issuing country. This admission will not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree held by the interested party or its recognition for purposes other than access to PhD studies.

• Hold 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 authorizes in the country of issuance of the title for access to PhD studies. This admission will not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree held by the interested party or its recognition for purposes other than access to doctoral studies.

• Holder of of another title of Doctor.

• Likewise, university graduates who, after obtaining a place in training in the corresponding entrance test to specialized health training places, have passed with a positive evaluation of at least two years of training in a program to obtain the Official title of one of the specialties in Health Sciences.

Admission to the PhD programme is decided by the Rector and depends on having passed the bridging courses, where they exist.

Specific access requirements

The doctoral programme in Medicine values candidates who have completed the medical speciality or are in the last courses of specialist training in areas related to the lines of research it offers.

The candidate must submit an admission letter of a maximum of five pages, specifying their previous training, in which line of research of the doctoral programme they wish to be admitted and a summary of the objectives to be developed. The candidate must include in this letter a proposal for supervision and tutoring, which will be approved by the academic committee, if they meet the requirements.

Selection criteria

The criteria used to assess applicants' merits in the selection process are as follows.

• Doctoral thesis pre-project: summary of the research project, which must be linked to one of the lines of research of the PhD programme (70%).
• Affinity of previous studies with the different lines of research or the PhD programme in Medicine (30%).

Registration and fees

Registration

Each academic year the PhD candidate must register for the annual review as part of the administrative process to form a contract between the PhD student and the university.

First year Registration

Registration in the first year should be done once the decision is made and no longer than one month after the date of admission. Check the information about procedure, calendar, documents and prices on this page.

Prior to registration, please check the additional information and indications on the registration procedure.

Here is a video to show you how to self-register:

(Video in Spanish with English subtitles)

When the doctoral student has been admitted, he/she must submit the following documents, duly completed and signed, to the administrative management of the doctorate, within a maximum period of 3 months:

1. Admission Letter

2. Research plan

3. Commitment document

4. Annex to the commitment document

5. Annex to the Code of Good Practice

6. External director registration form, if applicable

7. Application to study the doctoral programme part-time, if applicable

For more information, please contact the doctoral programme in doctorat.medicina@uab.cat. The rest of the compulsory documentation must be submitted to the Doctoral School, you will find more information in Documentation in the following section.

Calendar and Registration documents

Calendar and registration documents

Calendar

When the PhD applicant is accepted onto a PhD programme they must formalise the PhD review registration document in a period of not more than one month after being accepted. The following courses must be registered for within the established registration period:

Registration calendar

• First year registration
• Registration for subsequent years

Registration documents

PhD applicants should bring the following obligatory documentation when registering at the School for Doctoral Studies. Check the documentation on this link.

The documents may be presented in Catalan, Spanish or English. For documentation in French, Italian or Portuguese, you can send it to the Language Service at the UAB. The applicant is responsible for the getting the documents translated and paying for the service. For other languages you need to provide a translation in to Catalan by a sworn translator, any diplomatic or consular service of Spain abroad or the Spanish consular or diplomatic representation of the applicant’s national country.

To legalise the documentation that accredits the courses taken abroad, please check the 'Legalisation' section (in Spanish). Nevertheless, at the time of pre-admission or admission the doctoral student may submit the non-legalised documentation although it must be legalised by the time the students registers.

After the registration

When PhD students have registered they need to use the UAB Intranet self-enrolment system or follow the instructions of the programme coordinator or administrator to produce the statement of commitment, the activities document and the research plan. This section describes the nature of these documents and the way in which they should be prepared.

There is also other information that should be taken into account when carrying out doctoral research, such as the annual review, part or full time study and cases of withdrawal from the programme.

• Statement of commitment

  The statement of commitment is a written agreement that establishes the relationship between the PhD candidate, the supervisor, the academic tutor and the UAB, and the rights and responsibilities of each.

  Within a maximum period of three months from the date of admission to the PhD programme, and when the coordinator has assigned the PhD student a supervisor, the conditions are negotiated between the student, the supervisor and the academic tutor, agreeing the conditions of collaboration between the student and the thesis supervisor, their obligations, the corresponding dedication of the student, supervisor and tutor, and systems of resolving conflicts etc. , through a statement of commitment which must be signed by the PhD student, the thesis supervisor and the academic tutor and programme coordinator.

  As far as the signing and custody of the document is concerned the indications established by the programme coordinator or administrator should be followed but, in any case, when the document is signed, the PhD student must digitize it into Sigma, in the "Research Plan" tab. In the tutorial for the UAB self-enrolment system you will find instructions on how to attach it.

  Where the statement of commitment cannot be completed as a result the circumstances of the PhD student, the registration will be cancelled and there is no right to a refund of the fee.

• Activities document

  During the preparation of the doctoral thesis the student must carry out a series of activities that will help their academic development, and which have been previously identified by the academic committee of the PhD programme. There are two kinds of activity: Compulsory and optional.

  The activities document is the individual register for controlling the PhD activities.

  Within three months from the date of admission to the PhD programme, the PhD students must agree with the programme coordinator the activities they will undertake during the preparation of the thesis. The compulsory activities are already included in the activities document; however, the optional activities must be registered for according to the procedure indicated by the programme coordinator or administrator.

  The type and number of activities may be modified later using the same procedure, but they must be approved by the thesis supervisor and the academic tutor and also have the approval of the PhD programme coordinator, and recorded in the activities document.

  To justify that the activities have been successfully completed the PhD student must hand over a certificate to the supervisor and, where necessary, follow the indication of the coordinator or administrative staff to include the certificates in the activities document.

  Since in order to deposit the PhD thesis, the academic tribunal requires the PhD candidate, among other things, to have done all the activities included in the activities document, it is a good idea for the PhD student to ensure that they are duly recorded and marked as having been completed in the activities document.

  The tutorial for the UAB self-enrolment system explains how to introduce activities in the activities document. It can be accessed through the UAB Intranet self-enrolment scheme.

   

  If you did not find in these pages the information you need, you can contact the Doctoral School at ed.matricula@uab.cat.

• Research plan and doctoral training plan

  The PhD academic coordinator establishes the content of the research plan for the PhD programme, including at least the methodology and objectives to be achieved by the PhD candidate and the means and timescale planning for the research.

  Once it has been written it must be attached to the PhD transcript through the UAB Intranet system for approval by the thesis supervisor and the academic tutor. In the tutorial for the UAB self-enrolment system you will find instructions on how to attach it.

  Finally it must be presented jointly with the research plan approval and doctoral training plan request form (you will find the document model at the bottom of this page), filled in and signed, to the academic tribunal of the programme which will undertake to evaluate and, where appropriate, approve it.

  The research plan may be improved, have details added or be corrected during the PhD programme. Where this is the case the same procedure must be followed but using the research plan and doctoral training plan modification request form (you will find the document model at the bottom of this page).

• Annual monitoring

  Every academic year, the academic tribunal of the programme organises a review in which s panel of three PhD lecturers evaluates the progress of the PhD candidate in their research plan, the activities document and a report by the supervisor of the PhD thesis and the academic tutor.

  Information about the annual review for this PhD programme is available in the "Review" section of this programme website.

  The tutorial for the UAB self-enrolment system explains how to access the system and manage your PhD transcript.

• Other aspects to be taken into account: 

  Full or part time

  The PhD programme is a minimum of two years full time and a maximum of three years full time counted from the date of admission to the programme to the deposit of the thesis in the School for Doctoral Studies.

  However, the academic tribunal for the PhD programme may authorise the student to undertake the PhD on a part-time basis, which means a maximum duration of five years from the date of admission to the deposit of the PhD thesis.

  During the first two years of the PhD, counted from the date of admission, the PhD student may request a modification of the dedication to the programme from the academic tribunal, as long as this can be justified. If authorisation is granted, the academic committee will inform the School for Doctoral Studies of this change.

  However, in exceptional and documented cases the Doctoral Committee may approve a change outside that time period.

  Whether the PhD candidate participates in the programme on a full time or part time basis is approved and recorded when registering, in the statement of commitment and in the research plan, and any variation thereof must be made in accordance with the procedure established in the research plan.

  
  Code of good practice

  The UAB is committed to the objective of achieving excellence in teaching, research and knowledge transfer, and supports the development and use of learning methodologies adapted to each stage.

  The School for Doctoral Studies, as an integral part of the UAB, subscribes to that commitment and sets it out in the code of good practice, which is understood as a code of values and principles that inspire its activities and adhered to by all those taking part in them. It should therefore be understood that the School for Doctoral Studies has an internal set of rules including the rights and responsibilities of the supervisors, academic tutors and PhD candidates.

  Download here the signature form of the code of good practice.
   

  Non-continuation and withdrawals

  Regardless of whether the PhD programme is followed on a full or part-time basis, the calculation of research activity does not include sick leave, maternity leave or any other cause contemplated in the current rules for doctoral studies. Where PhD students find themselves in any of these situations they must communicate this to the academic tribunal of the PhD programme, which will inform the School for Doctoral Studies so that the total time spent on the programme may be calculated.

  Additionally, the PhD student may request temporary leave for a maximum period of one year, extendable to two years. The request must be justified and sent to the academic tribunal of the PhD programme which will decide whether or not to grant the leave. Each PhD programme has its own conditions regarding the reincorporation of the student to the programme.

  
  Tutorial for the UAB self-enrolment system

  The tutorial for the UAB self-enrolment system explains how to access the system and manage your PhD transcript

Training activities

Transversal training activities

The PhD programmes include research training that is both transversal and specific to the area of each programme and consists of both compulsory and optional activities.

All the activities that the PhD student must complete are recorded in an activities document, but in any case there are compulsory activities that must be completed in the first academic years. It may also include transferrable activities offered by the same university.

Other professional who are not PhD holders may participate in these activities as long as they hold a relevant qualification in the corresponding area.

Erasmus
You can also do other mobility, under the Erasmus programme, both studies and internships. Check the information in the corresponding links.

To include these activities in your academic record, please check this video (click on the subtitle icon at the bottom right corner).

Mandatory and optional specific activities

The doctoral programme requires that compulsory training activities be carried out during the first two years. And remember that once the activities have been registered, one of your supervisors or your tutor must validate them (you will find more information in this link Doctoral student activities: validation of supervisors and/or tutors

With regard to this doctoral programme, the programmed training activities are as follows:

Compulsory:

• Participation in internal research group or department seminars: Attend and participate in activities considered of interest for research training (scientific methodology, epidemiology, database management, etc.). The supervisor of the doctoral thesis guides the doctoral student on the training activities that are convenient for him/her. This activity should help the doctoral student to improve the knowledge necessary to carry out the doctoral thesis project. Attendance at a minimum of 80% of the training activities recommended by the director. The director presents a report accrediting this attendance and the coordinator will certify it.

• Hospital sessions: Attend and actively participate in the training sessions that are held periodically in the services of the different hospitals. The doctoral student will present his/her research work in one of the sessions. The supervisor of the doctoral thesis guides the doctoral student on the sessions that are convenient for him/her. This activity should enable the translation of the knowledge derived from these sessions and the doctoral thesis to clinical practice. Attendance at a minimum of 80% of the training activities recommended by the director, and presentation in one of the activities. The director will present a report accrediting this attendance and the coordinator will certify it.

Optional subjects:

• Preparation of a research article, sent to an impact scientific journal: Most doctoral students in the doctoral program publish the results of their research in journals with a high level of impact in the field of health. The pedagogy on the convenience of publishing is extensive and that is why most doctoral students can increase their doctoral curriculum with this optional activity. The student must present an article directly related to the doctoral thesis and must be co-author. The article must have been written with the student already enrolled in the doctoral program, and must be sent in a journal indexed in the Journal Citation Report with an impact factor during the period of time that it has been in the doctoral program and must be a co-author. For this activity, it is not necessary for the student's affiliation to the UAB to appear in the article.

• Attendance at seminars or conferences given by experts in the field of knowledge: Attendance at seminars or conferences given by experts in the field of knowledge. The doctoral student who attends seminars or conferences that the supervisor has recommended due to the interest in the development of the research may acknowledge the completion of the activity. The doctoral student must submit the certificate of attendance and a report from the thesis supervisor.

• Participation in methodological specialisation courses: Doctoral students who attend methodological specialisation courses that the supervisor has recommended due to their interest in carrying out the research may recognise the completion of the activity. The doctoral student must submit the certificate of attendance and a report from the thesis supervisor.

CERTIFICATION OF TRAINING ACTIVITIES

To incorporate these activities into your academic record, you can consult this video (you can activate/deactivate the subtitles from the icon in the lower right corner).

The doctoral programme requires that compulsory training activities be carried out during the first two years. Remember that the activities must be recorded in your file, and for the compulsory ones, the accreditation is done with the document Certificate of completion of compulsory training activities without qualification, duly completed, signed and uploaded to the register of activities. Once the activities have been registered, one of your supervisors or your tutor must validate them (you will find more information in this link Doctoral student activities: validation of supervisors and/or tutors).

Typologies and Research Ethics

The aim of this set of good research practices is to get an idea of the regulatory framework for activities linked to research and which follow the directives set out in the Statutes of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, based on principles of freedom, democracy, justice, equality and solidarity. This commitment therefore involves orientating the teaching, research and other university activities towards a culture of peace, respect for human rights, social progress, respect for the environment and sustainable development, and the explicit renouncement of research for military ends.

• Good Research Practices: this is a set of points for action, recommendation and commitments when carrying out research.

• Good PhD Practices: is a set of recommendations and commitments that should serve a guide for PhD candidates in their dual role of students and trainee researchers.

• Institutional Biosafety Committee: technical committee made up of experts in evaluating the safety of facilities and activities conducted with biological agents, in identifying any type of potential risk and in ensuring that all regulations relevant to biosafety are met.

• Ethics Committee on Animal and Human Experimentation (CEEAH), establishes mechanisms and procedures to ensure experimentation is complies with prevailing legislation.

• Good Open Acces Practices, good practices of Catalan universities to meet the Open Acces's mandates about publications, as specified on the 'Ley de la ciencia española' and the European Union's Horizon Europe.

•  is a European initiative providing access to a complete range of information and support services to researchers wishing to pursue their research careers in Europe or remain connected to research activities in Europe. 

Internationalization

Foreign residencies

PhD students can progress further in their area of research through stays abroad, which may, when appropriate, come within the framework of bilateral joint-supervision agreements with a foreign university (thesis under joint international supervision) and within the International Doctoral Research Component. Stays abroad can also be made under Erasmus agreements.

Stays with Erasmus

You can make stays abroad (mainly in Europe) with both Erasmus Studies and Erasmus Internships. In the following links you will find the call and the calendars to request them:

• Erasmus Studies
• Erasmus Internships

PhD thesis under joint international supervision

On the proposal of the academic tribunal for a PhD programme, the UAB may  make agreements with foreign universities or centres of higher education that are authorised to award PhD qualifications for the purpose of preparing the PhD thesis.

In that case the PhD student will carry out research under the control and responsibility of a thesis supervisor in each of the institutions in the agreement, and these in turn will each award the PhD qualification on the basis of a single thesis.

Joint supervision agreements may only be signed during the first year of the research work, counted from the day the student is accepted on the PhD programme.

The period for working on the thesis will be split between the two centres and the minimum stay at the UAB must ne a total of nine months, which may be divided into shorter periods.

See the detailed application procedure for joint international supervision (in Spanish).

International Doctoral Research Component

The PhD qualification may also include the International Doctoral Research Component, as long as the following conditions are fulfilled:

• During the training period necessary to obtain the qualification of PhD, the candidate must have been outside Spain for a minimum of three months in a or more higher education institutions or research centers of prestige, and have carried out research or study there. The period and the activities must be assessed by the supervisor and approved by the academic tribunal, and must be included in the students' PhD activities report. The period may be divided as long and the total is not less than three months (90 days) and one of the stays has a minimum of 1 month..

• Part of the PhD thesis, at least the abstract and conclusions, must be written in one of the usual languages for scientific communication in that field of knowledge, different from any of the official languages in Spain. This regulation does not apply when the periods abroad, the reports and the experts involve a Spanish-speaking country.

• That at least two PhD holding experts from a non-Spanish higher education institution or research centre have submitted their reports on the PhD thesis.

• That at least one of the experts belongs to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research centre, holds a PhD, and is different from the person responsible for the period abroad, formed part of the PhD examination panel.

• The defence of the PhD thesis must take place at the Spanish university where the candidate is registered or, in the case of joint doctoral programmes, in any of the participating universities or under the terms stated in the collaboration agreements.

See the detailed application procedure for the International Doctoral Research Component (in Spanish).

Evaluation and annual review

Annual PhD review

Once the PhD student is accepted on the programme, they must register every academic year (including the year when the thesis is deposited) in order to confirm their status. The subject registered for is called review, and it is an evaluation of the training received during the year and progress on the writing of the PhD thesis.

Each academic year the academic committee arranges a review, in which three PhD holding lecturers assess the progress made by the candidate in their research plan and activities document and the report by the thesis supervisor and academic tutor. In the report, the director and the academic tutor state, at least, that the candidate has fulfilled the number of meetings arranged between themselves and the thesis supervisor and has carried out the activities planned for that academic year.

In exceptional cases (research stays or work camps), and with a previous report from the thesis supervisor and from the academic tutor, the Academic Committee of the PhD programme may authorise substitute the oral and face-to-face presentation of the annual review by another format.

In accordance with current PhD regulations, the positive evaluation during the review is an essential requirement for continuing on the programme and registering for the following year. Failure to present an annual review with no justification will lead to the PhD candidates definitive withdrawal from the programme. If the annual review is negative the candidate may re-register for the same review within the registration calendar, make a new research plan and present for a new review in a maximum period of six months. However, if the new review is negative the candidate must withdraw from the PhD programme.

How is the follow-up done in the Doctoral Programme in Medicine

To carry out this monitoring, the Doctorate in Medicine has an online platform (https://gestiodoctoratmedicina.uab.cat/), where doctoral students, directors and tutors can access by entering their UAB account (NIU@uab.cat and password).

The doctoral student will describe and assess the thesis work that has been carried out during the course, explaining the status of the project, the objectives achieved and the degree of progress of the thesis, and will report on the meetings they have held with their supervisors and the status of the presentation of the compulsory training activities.

Finally, doctoral students will also answer whether there have been changes in ethical aspects during doctoral research during the course and whether the development of a doctoral research data management plan has been assessed.

The thesis supervisor and tutor will be able to make their assessments regarding whether all the tasks have been carried out throughout the last academic year, whether the objectives and activities planned according to the student's annual work plan have been achieved and whether they are satisfied with the degree of progress of the work carried out by the doctoral student. Finally, they give an overall assessment of the monitoring report.

Once all the information has been filled in, the doctoral student must click on the "Send follow-up" button and an automatic message will be sent to the supervisor(s) and tutor so that they can access the online platform through the link https://gestiodoctoratmedicina.uab.cat/, entering their UAB account (NIU@uab.cat and password). They will have to review the information entered by the doctoral student, fill in their report and give their consent. The director(s) and tutor will be able to access the monitoring report at any time through the url https://gestiodoctoratmedicina.uab.cat/.

In the event that the supervisor(s) or tutor does not give their consent, the doctoral student will receive an email of disagreement with an explanation of the reasons so that he/she can modify the incorrect information, record it and send it again. Finally, a new automatic message will be generated again to the director and tutor so that they can review again and give their assessment of favorable or unfavorable.

Only in the event that there is an unfavourable assessment by all the directors and tutor, the monitoring committee will summon the doctoral student to make an oral presentation.

 

Follow-up start date for the 2024/2025 academic year: June 2025

The deadline for managing the follow-up report for each academic year, including the validation of the director(s) and the tutor, will be the one published on this page.

Deadline for the 2024/2025 academic year: 7 September 2025

 

Thesis deposit

Online Deposit

In this section you will find the indications and the specific documentation of the programme, if applicable, that you must incorporate in your online deposit application. Check in advance what is the procedure to make the deposit online.

Once your application has been recorded and validated by the coordination of the PhD programme, you will be able to monitorise the deposited theses and the theses for which the examining board has been approved, as well as the agenda where the theses defenses are published.

The first thing you need to do to start the deposit process is to send the following documentation to doctorat.medicina@uab.cat:

• the final thesis in PDF format
• The proposal for a court
• the proposal of external evaluators
• the suitability report of all the members of the panel and the proposed external evaluators (Inoneïta Report)
• and the documentation necessary to accredit the members of the panel you propose, if applicable (check the criteria regarding the proposal for a panel in the Specific information section of this tab).

Once we receive it, we will carry out an initial formal review and indicate the necessary corrections. Then, we will send your deposit documentation to the program coordinator so that they can also review it and give their approval. We will then send you the revised documents (which are the ones you will have to upload to the online deposit application) and we will expressly indicate that you can now proceed to record it. With this procedure, we avoid returning incorrect deposits that would delay the process.

The version of the thesis that must be included in the Turnitin program must be the 'TESI_REVISADA' file that we will send you and which is the same that you will have to upload in the online deposit application.

If you want to deposit your doctoral thesis in this doctoral programme, remember that you must send the documentation to be reviewed at least 2 months before the deadline for the completion of the thesis that appears in your file, or the date you have contemplated to have the thesis deposit completed.

Attention! If you want to deposit before the end of this academic year 2024-2025 and not have to pay the fees for the next academic year, you must record your deposit request before June 30, 2025, this implies that you send us the documentation to review no later than May 15, 2025 (those who do not advance the documentation to be reviewed before that date,  they will have to make a new enrolment for the 2025-2026 academic year and start the deposit process from 01/10/2025).

Remember, before starting the online deposit, review the specific criteria of the doctoral program in Medicine.

When making your online deposit, you must attach these documents to your application, in the "Attach documentation" section:

 

All doctoral students

• External expert 1: Suitability document
• External expert 2: Suitability document
• 01- Proposal for a panel (no need to sign)
• 44 - Turnitin Report (attachment deposit tab)
• 45- Affidavit of the Turnitin Report

International PhD Mention: Mandatory documentation if requested

• 09 - International PhD Mention: 1 report by the external expert
• 10 - International Doctor Mention: 2 external expert report

Compendium of publications: Mandatory documentation if requested

• 08 - Compendium: Resolution of acceptance by the CAPD

Writing a thesis in a language other than Catalan, Spanish and English: Mandatory documentation if requested

• 11 - Resolution if the thesis is written in a language other than Catalan, Spanish or English

The documentation established by the doctoral programme in Medicine to its specific considerations.

 

Information related to the thesis

Information related to the thesis

In this section you can find indications and / or regulatory aspects of your PhD programme, if applicable.
There are PhD programmes that have regulated the presentation of the thesis as a compendium of publications, how the constitution of the examining board should be, etc.

• Modification of the registration data of the doctoral thesis.
• Modification of the dedication regime.
• Low.
• Deadline for the end of the thesis and extraordinary extension.
• Doctoral thesis as a compendium of publications.
• Internal regulations of the doctoral programme for the preparation of the thesis.
• Internal regulations of the doctoral programme with respect to the proposal of a panel.
• Internal regulations of the doctoral programme regarding the proposal of external reviewers.
• Travel of the members of the doctoral thesis committee.

___________________________________________________________________________

Modification of the registration data of the doctoral thesis

Below you will find information on how to make modifications to some aspects of your doctoral thesis.

If the documents we request in each case have been signed by everyone with electronic signatures with a valid official certificate, you will only need to send the documentation by e-mail to doctorat.medicina@uab.cat

If someone does not have an electronic signature, everyone will have to sign manually and, in addition to advancing the scanned documentation by e-mail to doctorat.medicina@uab.cat, it will be necessary to deliver the documents with original handwritten signatures (printed digitized signatures are not valid) to the Integrated Administrative Support Unit of Medicine and Surgery (10am-1pm), without an appointment. You can also submit the documents to the academic secretary's office of the Vall d'Hebron Teaching Unit (Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). If you are in another teaching unit, it can also be sent by internal mail from the corresponding academic secretary's office. Finally, you can also send documents by courier to:

Integrated Administrative Support Unit for Medicine and Surgery

WS/216. Teaching Pavilion.

Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 119-129

Vall d'Hebron Teaching Unit

08035 Barcelona

 

Change of thesis title

You can change the title of your doctoral thesis at any time as long as there are justified reasons and that you do not modify the essence of your initial project (in this case you will have to process a change of project).

It will be the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme that will assess the change of degree and resolve your request.

To request a change of title of your doctoral thesis, you must use the document Application for change of degree.

The application must be signed by the interested party, the directors and the tutor.

 

Change of project

In the event that you wish to modify, improve, detail or correct your doctoral thesis project, you must provide us with the following documentation:

• Modifications in the research plan and training plan
• New proposal for the work plan

It will be the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme that will assess your new project and resolve your request.

 

Change of thesis direction

You can change the supervision of a doctoral thesis as long as there are justified reasons and you request it within six months of the deadline for the completion of the thesis that is established in your academic record (you can consult it here). You must bear in mind that this maximum end date may vary depending on the cancellations and/or extensions pending application, which you must notify us of so that we can accept this change for processing.

The appointment of the thesis supervisor may fall on any Spanish or foreign PhD with accredited research experience, and regardless of the university, centre or institution where he/she provides his/her services. You can consult all the requirements that supervisors must meet in the section Thesis supervision.

In the event of a change in the direction of the thesis, the following documents must be provided:

• Application for change of director and/or tutor, signed by the directors and current tutor, those who leave and those who join, if applicable.
• Publication file, of the director who joins, if applicable.
• New commitment document, signed by the doctoral student and by the management and tutoring that you propose to have with this change.
• New Annex to the Code of Good Practices, signed by the donctorand/a and the new director that you propose to have with this change.

In the event that you incorporate an external supervisor with this change, you must also attach this file of the external supervisor to the UAB, the publication file of the new supervisor and his/her doctoral degree (except if he/she has obtained it at the UAB).

ATTENTION! Changes in the direction of the thesis will not be processed during the period of follow-up of the course.

 

Change of thesis tutor

Your thesis must have a single tutor. The tutor can be changed at any time as long as there are justified reasons. The tutor must be appointed by one of the members of the human resources programme of the doctoral programme in Medicine, which you can consult in the Lines and Management section. You can consult all the requirements that tutors must meet in the section Thesis tutoring.

In the event of a change in the thesis tutoring, the following documents must be provided:

• Application for change of director and/or tutor signed by the directors and current tutor, those who leave and those who join, if applicable.
• New commitment document signed by the doctoral student and by the management and tutoring that you propose to manage with this change.

 

Modification of the dedication regime

If you are still within the first two years from the date of admission to the Doctoral Programme in Medicine, you will find information on this procedure through the  following link, in the tab "Changes of permanence regime / Time of dedication". The documentation must be sent by email to doctorat.medicina@uab.cat. In the event that the signatures are not electronic, in addition to advancing the scanned documents by e-mail, you must send the original documents to the UISAD of Medicine and Surgery (in person without an appointment, by internal mail from any teaching unit or through courier). Documents cannot be hybrid: they must have all electronic signatures, or all handwritten signatures. The Administrative Management of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine will send you the resolution and a copy to the Doctoral School so that it can update your online file, if approved.

If you have already completed two years from the date of admission to the Doctoral Programme in Medicine, the application for a change of continuance regime must be processed in an extraordinary manner. To do this, you will need to make an application to the Permanent Board of the Doctoral School. You will find all the information in the section 'Applications to the Permanent Board' of the Doctoral School's website. Once you have generated the application ('Step 1: Preparation of the application and signature of the document') by the Permanent Board, you will need to send it to us at the email address doctora.medicina@uab.cat. In the event that the signatures are not electronic, in addition to advancing the scanned documents by e-mail, you must send the original documents to the UISAD of Medicine and Surgery (in person without an appointment, by internal mail from any teaching unit or through courier). Documents cannot be hybrid: they must have all electronic signatures, or all handwritten signatures. The Administrative Management of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine will send you the application signed by the coordinator so that you can present it to the Permanent Board of the Doctoral School through 'Step 2: Submission of the application to the Permanent Board', in the 'Applications to the Permanent Board' section of the Doctoral School website.

In any of the two situations set out in the previous paragraphs, in addition to the documentation specific to each case, you will also need to send us the following documents:

• Modifications to the research plan and training plan, where you indicate that the modification of the research plan is due to the request for a change of permanence regime.
• New proposal for the work plan, detailing the new research planning if the change of permanence regime is approved.

ATTENTION! You cannot request changes of regime during the extension period because, even if approved by the Permanent Board, the deadline for completing the thesis would no longer change. The reason is that the system calculates the maximum end date taking into account the percentage of time that the student has been in each permanence regime, but during ordinary time.

 

Low

You will find information about this procedure through the following link. The documentation must be sent by email to doctorat.medicina@uab.cat. In the event that the signatures are not electronic, in addition to advancing the scanned documents by e-mail, you must send the documents with original signatures to the UISAD of Medicine and Surgery (in person without an appointment, by internal mail from any teaching unit or through messaging). Documents cannot be hybrid: they must have all electronic signatures, or all handwritten signatures.

The Administrative Management of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine will send you the resolution and a copy to the Doctoral School so that it can update your online file, if approved.

In the case of cancellations of one year or more, in addition to the documentation requested at this link, you will also need to send us the following documents:

• Modifications to the research plan and training plan, where you indicate that the modification of the research plan is due to the request for termination.
• New proposal of the work plan, where you detail the new planning of the research once you return from leave.

Criteria for granting voluntary resignations during the extraordinary extension

In relation to the voluntary withdrawals that can be requested during the doctorate, in order to grant voluntary withdrawals during the extension of doctoral studies, the following requirements must be met to be granted by the academic committee of the doctoral programme:

- The report to be made by the thesis supervisor must state the status of the thesis, if it is advanced, what exact situation it is in.

- They must always be justified.

· work reasons, a new job that implies a lack of time in the dedication to the research of the thesis and generates difficulties in combining working life with the preparation of the thesis. A change of job in the last 6 months prior to the deadline for the end of the thesis must be documented.

. care of children and the elderly, which must be justified by documentation.

. illness of the director, which must be justified with the corresponding medical leave.

Deadline for the end of the thesis and extraordinary extension

In this link, in the option of 'Research Plan and activities of doctoral students', you can consult the registered data of your doctoral thesis and see the minimum and maximum deposit date, which counts from the date of enrolment (or 1 October if you have enrolled before the start of the course). The information appears in the header of the page.

You should bear in mind that the maximum deposit date may vary if you request cancellations, changes of permanence regime or extraordinary extension.

Doctoral students whose thesis deadline is after 30 September of the current academic year will process their requests for an extraordinary extension from the monitoring platform. On the platform, you can request that you be granted the second extension and you will have to fill in the Report on the current status of the thesis and a detailed statement of the reasons why the request is justified', for the assessment of the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine. The directors and tutor will give the go-ahead to the request and the report with the validation of the follow-up.

 Doctoral students who have a maximum thesis completion date prior to 30 September of the current academic year must request their extension in the same academic year before the end of their deadline. To request an extension, you must send the 'Extension request' to the Administrative Management of the doctoral programme (at the email address doctorat.medicina@uab.cat). It will also be necessary to send the Report of the management and/or tutoring for the granting of the exceptional extension'. In the event that the signatures are not electronic, in addition to advancing the scanned documents by e-mail, you must send the original documents to the UISAD of Medicine and Surgery (in person without an appointment, by internal mail from any teaching unit or through courier). Documents cannot be hybrid: they must have all electronic signatures, or all handwritten signatures.

Application deadline: two months before the deadline for the end of the thesis.

IMPORTANT: If you have changed the permanence regime, from 'Full-time' to 'Part-time' or vice versa, your deadline for depositing the thesis changes with respect to the date of admission, since a new date is calculated from this change. For these situations, check the deadline for the end of the thesis to find out for which academic year you have to request the extraordinary extension.

Once you have the extraordinary extension, this maximum date will not be extendable. If your online deposit application is not recorded and validated by the thesis supervision and tutoring and by the coordination of the programme before this date, you will not be able to continue in the doctoral programme. To continue your doctoral studies, you will need to apply for admission to another doctoral programme at the UAB (if your research can be included in any of the research lines of this programme), or to another university.

In order to guarantee that you deposit your doctoral thesis before the deadline, you must start the process at least four months before this date. If you have to request the submission of the thesis by compendium of publications, you must do so at least five months before the deadline for submission.

 

Doctoral thesis as a compendium of publications

You will find all the information on how to request the presentation of your thesis as a compendium of publications at this link.

Internal regulations of the doctoral programme for the preparation of the thesis

Thesis copies deposited at the Doctoral School must meet the minimum conditions set out in the regulations of RD99/2011 and which you will find in the document "Formal criteria" of the Doctoral School. They must also meet the requirements approved by the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine (CAPDM):

• Considerations for the preparation of the doctoral thesis 
• Thesis infographic: cover, structure and sections 

 

Internal regulations of the doctoral programme regarding the proposal of the panel

In addition to the regulations established by the Doctoral School for the composition of thesis committees, the following requirements will also apply to this doctoral programme:

- It is mandatory that there is a full member and an alternate member of the UAB Department of Medicine. The rest of the members of the panel must be external to the UAB.

- It is recommended that UAB representatives are full professors, tenured or associate professors of the UAB Department of Medicine. We remind you that all members of the human resources of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine (you can consult them at Tutors of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine in the section Directors and tutors), all the directors of our doctoral programme and retired doctors with links to the UAB must be counted as members of the UAB.

- In exceptional situations, a UAB representative from another department will be admitted, provided that he/she is assigned to an area of knowledge related to the area of knowledge directly related to the topic of the thesis.

- It is advisable that the UAB representative act as president of the panel. Exceptionally, it may be any other doctor of recognized prestige in the area of knowledge of the doctoral thesis. If the UAB member does not act as president, he or she must be appointed as secretary (in no case will he or she be appointed as a member).

- The same conditions will apply to the alternate member of the UAB as to the full member of the UAB.

- A copy of the doctoral degree (PhD) of all those members of the panel who are not:

• Members of the human resources of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine (you can consult the members in Tutors of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine in the section Directors/es and tutor/es).
• Full professors, tenured or associate professors of the University.
• PhD from the UAB.

- It will be necessary to attach a living six-year period of research or the document "Annex 1 – publications file" for all members of the panel.

- Members who do not have a living six-year research period and provide the publication file, must have 6 original articles accepted or published in the last 6 years, appearing among the first six signatories, last or as a corresponding author, and that are published in journals indexed in the Journal Citation Report with an impact factor. At least one of the articles must be published in a journal located in the first quartile and the rest can be located in quartile 1, 2 or 3. Systematic reviews or meta-analysis articles may also be accepted, as long as they are published in the originals section of a journal indexed in the Journal Citation Report located in quartile 1 or 2.

 

Internal regulations of the doctoral programme regarding the proposal of external reviewers

- The two candidates proposed as evaluators must be external to the UAB.

- One of the external evaluators may be one of the external substitutes proposed by the panel. The other external evaluator must be external to the panel.

- A copy of the doctoral degree (PhD) of all those members of the panel who are not:

• Members of the human resources of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine (you can consult the members in Tutors of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine in the section Directors and tutors.
• Full professors, tenured or associate professors of the University.
• PhD from the UAB.

- It will be necessary to attach a living six-year period of research or the document "Annex 1 – publications file"

- Members who do not have a living six-year period of research and provide the publication file, must have 6 original articles accepted or published in the last 6 years, appearing among the first six signatory, last or as a corresponding author, and that are published in journals indexed in the Journal Citation Report with an impact factor. At least one of the articles must be published in a journal located in the first quartile and the rest may be located in quartile 1, 2 or 3.Systematic reviews or meta-analysis articles may also be accepted, provided that they are published in the originals section of a journal indexed in the Journal Citation Report located in quartile 1 or 2.

 

Travel of the members of the doctoral thesis panel

If a member of the doctoral thesis panel comes from an institution outside the province of Barcelona, he/she is entitled to be paid the travel expenses. These expenses must comply with criteria of proportionality and containment of public spending, and comply with the UAB's travel regulations, which establish the following requirements:

Displacement

Priority will be given to public transport and fares corresponding to the economy class (unless there is an offer in a higher class that is lower than the economy class price). This service must be requested from one of the travel agencies that the UAB has an agreement with.

When there are no regular and collective means of transport or these are inadequate, the use of private vehicles will be authorised, paying the mileage according to the rates in force, and may not exceed the total price of public transport for the same route.

Accommodation

In exceptional cases, in which it is not possible to make the trip on the same day by public transport, a hotel reservation can be processed, with an amount in accordance with the regulations in force at the UAB, and it must necessarily be contracted through one of the travel agencies agreed by the UAB.

Information on how to process these expenses is sent to all the members of the committee, with a copy to the doctoral student, once the panel has been approved by the Doctoral School.

For any clarification, you can contact us at the following address: uisad.medicina.cirurgia@uab.cat

 

 

Internal Quality Assurance System of the centers

Internal Quality Assurance System of the centers

The process-based management system used by the UAB faculties and schools stems from a commitment to offering degrees with their own policy on quality and measures in place to evaluate and improve performance continuously, according to the European quality standards. These elements together make up this university's Internal Quality Assurance System (SGIQ).

This system involves all the following:

• Establishing and monitoring the faculty's policy and objectives regarding teaching standards, in accordance with the university’s strategic lines
• Establishing and renewing the offer of PhD programmes.
• Processes directly linked to teaching activity: tutoring, assessment, mobility, etc.
• Processes to gauge the level of satisfaction of the different groups.
• Processes linked to the people and resources needed: lecturers, administrative and service staff (PAS), infrastructure and services, course scheduling, academic organisation, etc.
• Processes linked to the life cycles of degrees: verification (evaluation before implementation), regular monitoring, modification (continuous improvement) and accreditation (evaluation of performance and renewal of the authorisation to continue offering the programme), which seek to organise, renew and improve the offer of PhD programmes.

Verification

Evaluation process previous to the implementation of the degree: presentation of a proposal for a new PhD programme for AQU-Catalunya (Agency for the Quality of the University System of Catalonia) to issue the binding evaluation for the Council of Universities (Ministry of Universities), which is the responsible agent for verification.

• Report on the PhD programme
• Resolution on verification by the Spanish Universities Council
• Registry of Universities, Centres and Degrees (RUCT)

 

Monitoring

Periodic monitoring process of the development and results of the PhD programme: self-evaluation carried out, every 3 years, by themselves.

• Monitoring report on the programme

 

Accreditation

Degree implementation renewal process: presentation, every 6 years from the implementation of the programme, of a self-report so that AQU-Catalunya issues the binding evaluation for the Council of Universities, which is the body responsible for accreditation.

• Accreditation self-report
• Accreditation report
• Resolution of accreditation of the Council of Universities
• Register of Universities, centers and degrees (RUCT)

 

 

AQU VSMA Framework

 

Internal Quality Assurance System of the faculty

Set of processes to manage and monitor the different aspects of degrees, with the strategic objective of ensuring continuous improvement

• Internal Quality Assurance System
• Tutoring Action Plan (PAT)
• Standing Committee

 

Opina UAB

A channel for suggestions, complaints and praise regarding the functioning of the UAB

 

PhD data

• Satisfaction surveys of Doctors
• Satisfaction surveys of thesis supervisors
• Check here the results of the doctor's job placement survey
• The PhD figures

Recognition and awards

Special Prize Awards

The Special Prize Awards are awarded for each PhD programme among all the theses defended in an academic year, at the rate of one prize for every five theses or fraction thereof, without the need for the doctor to request it. The winners are entitled to a refund of the fee they paid for the application for the degree certificate and to an accrediting certificate..

The procedure is as follows:

1. A pannel appointed by the Academic Commission of each PhD programme makes the proposal of candidates for the Special Prize Award, following the criteria previously established by the same commission. You can do it up to three courses after the defenses.
2. The PhD Commission awards the prizes according to the proposals made by the PhD programmes.
3. The Doctoral School contacts the winners to refund the fee.
4. The certificates of the Special Prizes awarded in the previous PhD Commission are delivered in the PhD special prize award ceremony.

Check the prizes that have already awarded by the PhD Comission, ordered by defense course.

In this link you will find the doctors who have won the Extraordinary Prize in this doctoral programme.

The Extraordinary Doctoral Prizes are awarded for each doctoral programme among all the theses defended in an academic year, at the rate of one prize for every five theses or fraction, without the need for the doctor to request it. The winners are entitled to a refund of the fee they paid for the application for the degree and to a certificate accrediting it.

Specific criteria approved by the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme in Medicine for the awarding of extraordinary prizes

- Specific criteria

The conditions for awarding the extraordinary prizes will be as follows:

1. Have obtained an Excellent Laude qualification.
2. Have submitted a thesis by compendium of publications or have published works derived from the doctoral thesis. In this second case, it will be necessary to:
   1. That the doctoral student has a minimum of two research articles published as originals. Articles must be related to the research topic of your thesis project. If the article is accepted but not yet published, it will also be valid as long as a formal letter from the publisher is provided informing that the work is definitively accepted.
   2. The doctoral student must be the first or second signatory or corresponding author of the articles.
   3. That the name of the UAB Department of Medicine and the name of the Autonomous University of Barcelona appear in the original articles in one of the following options:
      • through the affiliation of the supervisor or doctoral student, or
      • in the acknowledgments (or in a footnote).
   4. All articles must be published in journals in the first or second quartile of the specialty ("subject category" ISI Web of knowledge). If a journal is included in two specialities, the positioning within the speciality most favourable to the doctoral student may be used. The quartile will be the one established by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) of the year of publication of the article or, if it has not yet been published, of the last year available. You can consult the publications and their impact factors in the Journal Citation Reports.
   5. That the work derived from the thesis has been published no later than one year after the date of reading.

Doctoral students who meet these conditions will receive a message from the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme, asking them to provide the following information to participate in the selection process:

1. Your ORCID number.
2. PDF copy of the derived article or formal writing from the publisher informing that the work is definitively accepted.
3. In the event that the work has resulted in a patent, provide a registered document from the Spanish or international patent and trademark office.
4. In the event that the work has resulted in new lines of research and/or research projects, provide the data of the new line or project.

- Selection criteria

The criteria that will be assessed are:

1. If the thesis is co-supervised.
2. If the thesis is with International Mention.
3. Transcendence of applicability and translationality of results through derivation in patents.
4. Quartile according to specialty. Articles that are in the first quartile will be considered first candidates, and then those that are in the second.
5. Impact factor within the specialty. Articles with the highest FI within their specialty will be chosen.
6. Transcendence of applicability and translationality of results through derivation in new lines of research and/or research projects.
7. Basic or clinical significance of the conclusions.
8. Overall qualitative assessment of the panel.