Theses and Defense

In accordance with doctoral studies regulations in force at the UDC, the doctoral thesis may not be deposited until at least 18 months have elapsed since the doctoral student’s admission to the program (30 months in the case of part-time enrolment). The doctoral theses must include, at least, an abstract in Galician, Spanish and English, as well as an introduction, objectives, methodology, results, conclusions and bibliography section.

The duration between the beginning of thesis deposit procedures and the public thesis defense will vary, depending on the meetings of the CAPD and the EIDUDC Permanent Committee, as well as the minimum timeframes applicable to certain steps in the process, among other factors.

All information on the procedure and deadlines applicable to thesis deposit and defense can be consulted on the EIDUDC website, available at https://www.udc.es/es/eid/teses/tramitaciondefensa/index.html and in the guide created for this purpose (https://www.udc.es/export/sites/udc/eid/_galeria_down/tesis/Tramites_e_procedemento_defensa_tese_castelan_2018.pdf_2063069294.pdf).

Doctoral thesis deposit and defense procedure and instructions

Once the thesis is complete, doctoral students must request authorization to defend it from the CAPD. To do so, they must submit the following documentation to the Oza UADI:

• Thesis submission request (https://www.udc.es/export/sites/udc/eid/_galeria_down/tesis/Solicitude_Autorizacion_Defensa_da_Tese2017.doc_2063069294.doc)
• Reports on the assessment of the thesis by the thesis supervisors/co-supervisors, which may be favourable or unfavourable. If the reports are unfavorable, they must be academically motivated and if they are not submitted, they will be understood to be favorable (download report template)
• A minimum of two reports from doctors who are experts in the field, external to the UDC, who may propose aspects for improvement. These external persons may be part of the panel that evaluates the thesis
• Updated Activities Document together with the training activities carried out, and positive annual report on the Research Plan issued by the CAPD, extracted from the student’s Virtual Secretary
• 1 digital copy of the thesis (PDF format)
• Up-to-date CV for the doctoral student
• Declaration that the digital copy of the thesis is an accurate copy of the print thesis (https://www.udc.es/export/sites/udc/eid/_galeria_down/tesis/Anexo_I._Declaracion_Copia_en_Formato_Electronico_castelan.doc_2063069294.doc)
• Declaration by the thesis author in order to deposit it at the UDC Institutional Repository (RUC) (https://www.udc.es/export/sites/udc/eid/_galeria_down/tesis/Declaracion_Deposito_RUC.doc_2063069294.doc)
• Proposed committee (https://www.udc.es/export/sites/udc/eid/_galeria_down/impresos/Proposta_Tribunal_Tese_RD_1393-2007_e_RD_99-2011_CAPD_2017.doc_2063069294.doc). In accordance with the provisions of articles 26 and 27 of the UDC Doctoral Studies Regulations, the committee must include:
  • 6 members: 3 principles and 3 alternates.
  • Under no circumstances is more than one member of the same institution or personnel assimilated to it permitted to form a part of the committee.
  • If no member of the tribunal belongs to UDC, CAPD must present a preliminary report and designate a UDC teaching staff as responsible for the custody of the minutes and their subsequent delivery to the Doctorate Office
  • Balanced presence between women and men
• Suitability reports for each committee member, since they must have accredited research experience (six-year term or equivalent) (Declaracion de requisitos RD576_2023)
• The express acceptance of each proposed member to form a part of the committee.
• In the case of a thesis with international mention:
  • Original document certifying the study period(s) abroad, which must have been previously authorized by the CAPD.
  • Thesis reports by two doctoral degree holders who are experts in the field belonging to a higher education institution or research institute located outside of Spain (https://www.udc.es/export/sites/udc/eid/_galeria_down/tesis/InformeExpertosDoutoramentoInternacional.doc_2063069294.doc)
  • Suitability reports for the two doctoral degree holders who are experts in the field at the foreign center guiding the thesis (https://www.udc.es/export/sites/udc/eid/_galeria_down/tesis/Informe_de_Idoneidade.galego.doc_2063069294.doc)
  • In the case of International Doctorate Mention, both the principal committee as well as the alternate committee must each have at least one expert that is a holder of a doctoral degree from a prestigious higher education institution or research institute located outside of Spain, different from the person or people responsible for the term abroad and the two experts guiding the PhD thesis.
• In the case of a thesis based on a compendium of research articles:
  • Report from (the) thesis director(s) approving thesis submission via this method (https://www.udc.es/export/sites/udc/eid/_galeria_down/tesis/Informe_tese_compendio_publicacions.doc_2063069294.doc)
  • Approval of co-authors in order for the doctoral student to submit the work as a part of the thesis (https://www.udc.es/export/sites/udc/eid/_galeria_down/impresos/Aceptacion_coautor_doutor2020castelan.doc_2063069294.doc) (https://www.udc.es/export/sites/udc/eid/_galeria_down/impresos/Aceptacion_renuncia_coautor_non_doutor_2020castelan.doc_2063069294.doc)

Once the thesis has been approved for submission for defense by the CAPD, the committee will immediately submit the relevant documentation to the International Doctoral School (EIDUDC). At this time, the following procedure will commence and the status of the thesis procedure will be available to check at https://www.udc.es/es/teses/?enTramite=true:

1. Deposit and public display period (10 working days). Once documentation has been received by the EIDUDC, the thesis will remain on deposit and on public display during a reading period of 10 working days counting from the time of its authorization.
2. Acceptance or rejection of the thesis for processing in view of its defense and appointment of the committee. Once the public display period is complete, the Permanent Committee, at its monthly meeting, will accept (if applicable) the thesis for processing and will appoint the corresponding committee, informing the parties involved.
3. Sending of committee members’ reports on the thesis (20 calendar days). Once appointments have been received, committee members must send their thesis evaluation reports to the EIDUDC within 20 calendar days of the receipt of the corresponding documentation.
4. Thesis defense approval (10 working days). Once the reports from committee members have been received, the thesis defense will be approved within the following 10 working days.
5. Thesis defense (3 months). Once the defense is approved, the public display and defense act will be permitted to be convened within the 3 months following the date on which committee members received the documentation. This act must be convened at least 10 days in advance.

Doctoral thesis defense