Public defense

When the doctoral thesis has been completed and in a period of two month prior to the possible date of the thesis defence the doctoral studen shall submit via the electronic registration the documentation listed in detail below.

(In case of having any incidence with the electronic signature you can contact arxiu@uvic.cat)

You can check the timetable, which will help you to find out whrn you will be able to defend your thesis.(Calendar 2023-24, Calendar 2024-25).

Documents to deposit:

• Thesis deposit authorisation form.
• Report and curriculum vitae of two assessors who are not from UVic-UCC or involved in the doctoral programme, who are experts in the subject(s) addressed in the doctoral thesis. The thesis supervisor and/or tutor, if applicable, must have contacted the external assessors to request the reports.
• Doctoral Student Activity Report
• Authorisation given by the supervisor(s) to deposit the doctoral thesis, ratified by the thesis tutor, if applicable.
• If the thesis is written in a language other than Catalan, a summary must be submitted in Catalan that is at least five pages long.
• A digital copy of the doctoral thesis and of the student's curriculum in PDF format or similar.

• Proposal of experts who could form part of the doctoral panel ratified by the thesis supervisor, using the corresponding application form.                                                                                       

  The following must be attached to this proposal:

  • Curriculum vitae and the member's accreditations (To be completed by all doctor members belonging to Spanish higher education institutions).
  • Curriculum vitae and the member's acreditations (To be completed by all doctor members belonging tot non-Spanish higher education institutions).
• Copy of a paper associated with the doctoral thesis that has been published in an indexed journal or a copy of an official document indicating that a paper has been accepted by an indexed journal.
• For theses on art that include intervention, exhibitions, use of objects, etc., a proposal for the public presentation of the project must be attached, including the technical conditions and the design of the thesis defence.
• You must use the Virtual Camous to make a reservation for the Defence Room: Community/Infrastructures and General Services/Booking Rooms/Calendars/Book Request. Check the protocol at the following link: Booking request for the defence of doctoral theses.

If a doctoral thesis is submitted as a collection of published articles, the doctoral student must attach the following documents:

• A consent form signed by the rest of the non-doctoral degree holding co-authors of the paper presented in te doctoral thesis, using the standard form.
• A report by the supervisor on the impact factor or ranking of the journal in which the papers included in the doctoral thesis have been published. The report must explain why the collection of articles is coherent and thus has the character of a doctoral thesis.
• If any of the publications were written with a co-author, the thesis supervisor must provide a report that describes the doctoral student's participation in each article in detail.
• A list of the publications that form part of the collection of published articles.

• Doctoral students must provide a copy of the published papers, according to UVic-UCC’s regulations on authorship of scientific publications by teaching staff, and the full reference of the journal. In all cases, the impact factor, the quartile and the Knowledge area must be provided for each journal in which a paper has been published, or data must be included on the objective impact of the results.

   

Doctoral Students who wish to apply for an International Doctorate Mention on their doctoral degree certificate, it is necessary to review point 5 of Chapter II of the Academic Regulations for doctoral programmes at the UVic-UCC's, must submit the following documents:

• A certificate of the research period abroad issued by the head or director of the host institution, which certifies a stay of at least three months.
• An evaluation report from UVic professor.
• Reports by two experts in non-Spanish higher education institutions or research centres and by one doctoral degree holder at the UVic-UCC.  

In case of acceptance, the AGA will deposit the thesis in the library and the Doctoral Office will inform the whole community.

For more details about the composition, assessment and apointment of the Board of Examinets, please check the appointment of the "Nominating the doctoral panel".

If the CAPD gives the authorization to deposit your thesis, the head of the CAPD will notify you and the thesis shall be deposited in the University library.

The thesis shall be on deposit for ten working days, excluding Saturdays, the month of August, and the Christmas and Easter holidays.

The Doctoral School will notify the entire UVic-UCC community via the Doctoral School website that the deposit has been carried out. 

After the time of deposit, the Management Committee of the Doctoral School shall decide whether to authorize the public defence of the thesis. If the Board does not approve the thesis defence, the doctoral student, thesis suoervisor(s) and tutor, if applicable, shall be informed of the reasons in writing.

Court composition

The Doctoral School Management Board will then appoint a panel comprised of three members and three substitutes. Only one member of the panel can be from UVic-UCC or from an institute that collaborates with the Doctoral School or with the doctoral programme. If substitutes have to take their places on the panel, the same proportion of UVic-UCC and external members shall be mantained.

Requirements for board members

All panel members must hold a doctoral degree certificate and have recognized research experience. The research experience must be demostrated by publications in a similar field to the subject of the thesis. Panel members must also meet one of the following conditions: 

• Hold a research premium.
• Have received research accreditation.
• Be member of a team working on a competitively funded research project.
• In exceptional cases, other forms of recognition of research experience may be considered.
• If  a student has opted for the International Doctorate Mention must meet the requirements established here.

The Management Committee appoints the members of the court, a president and a secretary.

Can not form part of the court:

• The thesis supervisor, co-supervisor or tutor.
• Co-authors of published papers related to the thesis research.
• In the case of International Doctoral Mention, this expert cannot be the person responsible for the student's research visit at a host institution. 

The Doctoral Office shall send a copy of the agreements toa uthorise the thesis defence to the Board. Within a maximum of ten days, you muust provide each member of the Board with the following documents: 

• A copy of the resolution authorizing the defense of the thesis, in stating the date, time and place of reading.
• A copy of the doctoral thesis.
• The document activities of the doctoral.

Once the thesis defence has been authorised and the doctoral student has paid the enrolment fee, the Doctoral School shall announce the date, hour and place of the thesis defence. The annual enrolment fee for the thesis defence is 800€.

There must be a period of 15 to 60 days between the approval of the thesis by the Academic Commmittee for the doctoral programme and its defence.

Thesis Defense

The public defense must be held on a teaching day suring the academic year.

The thesis defense shall be held in a public session at the University of thesis registration. The defence will consist of a 35-50 minute presentation of the research that was undertaken, covering the methodology, the contents and the conclusions, with special emphasis on the originals contributions.

Grade

Once the defence has been completed, the doctoral panel will issue a report and award on overall mark on the following scale: 

• Fail
• Pass
• Good Pass
• Excellent

Cum laude Mention

Members of the doctoral panel may suggest that the thesis merits the cum laude distinction, if it has been unanimously awarded an overall mark of excellent. The distinction shall only be granted if panel members vote unanimously for this option by secret ballot.

On completion of the event, the secretary will issue a certificate of the doctoral thesis defence, which must be sined by all members of the doctoral panel.

Once the examination has been completed, the Doctoral Office will notify the candidate of the final grade of the thesis by e-mail.

If the doctoral thesis is satisfactory, UVic-UCC library shall archive both an electronic copy in an open repository and a printed copy. A copy of the thesis in electronic format shall also be sent to the Ministry of Education, along with all the additional information required for the identification and consultation of the thesis.

After successful completion of the thesis defence, the new doctoral degree holder can apply for issue of a doctoral degree certificate in accordance with cuurrent legislation. In line with regluations on the issuance of certificatees, the title of the qualification shall be: Doctor of the UVic-UCC, and the certificate shall include information on the corresponding doctoral programme and any doctoral mentions.

To be issued an official doctor degree certificate, the doctoral degree holder must pay fee that is set every year by the UVic-UCC.