Depending on the mode of study chosen, doctoral students must complete their studies within the following time frames:

• Full-time study: 3 years.
• Part-time study: 5 years*.

(*) Please refer to the section PART-TIME DOCTORAL STUDIES*.

Your period of study extends from the moment you are officially admitted to the doctoral programme until you begin the procedure for the submission and defence of your doctoral thesis.

The duration of your studies is calculated excluding any periods of sick leave, pregnancy, maternity and paternity leave, as well as any other events specified in the corresponding regulations. For any of these periods to be acknowledged, you must submit a request through the “SOLICITUDES” (Requests) option of the Academic Monitoring Portal for Doctoral Students, accompanied by supporting documentation.

A student is considered officially admitted once they have formally enroled in a doctoral programme and the corresponding administrative decision has not established the need for any complementary training.

If a student is conditionally admitted, the time elapsed between admission and the recognition of any established complementary training will not be counted.

As a general rule, all doctoral students initially register as full-time students. To change your mode of study from full-time to part-time, you will need to submit an application with supporting documentation every academic year after registration. Changes in study mode must be requested through the “SOLICITUDES” (Requests) section of the Academic Monitoring Portal for Doctoral Students. Your request must only be accompanied by the corresponding documentation justifying the change.

• Minimum duration of doctoral studies

You may submit your doctoral thesis after two years have elapsed since your admission into your doctoral programme. However, you may request an exemption from this requirement if you have already defended your doctoral thesis proposal and completed all established activities. To apply for this exemption, you must submit a reasoned request to your doctoral school with the approval of your thesis supervisor, tutor and programme coordinator. This application will be presented via the “SOLICITUDES” (Requests) section of the Academic Monitoring Portal (request type: EXE).

IMPORTANT: You can only apply for a change to part-time study once you have completed any established complementary training. For more information, see the next section.

The doctoral programme academic committee may admit requests for part-time studies, but only in exceptional and well-founded circumstances, and provided that this is stipulated in the validation report of the doctoral programme. If you study part-time, your doctoral studies may last a maximum of five years, starting with your admission to the programme until you apply for the submission of your doctoral thesis. Once these five years have elapsed, and upon your request as a doctoral student, the doctoral programme academic committee may authorise a regular extension for two more years and, exceptionally, for another additional year (special extension) under the conditions established in the corresponding doctoral programme. The second extension must be approved by the management committee of the doctoral school.

• Proof of employment

In order to prove that you are currently employed, you need to present an official document. If you work in Spain, you must prove your employment relationship by presenting your working life report (informe de vida laboral), which you can obtain here.

• I would like to change my mode of study. When should I submit my request?

Your proof of employment must demonstrate that you have been working for an extended period of time during the corresponding academic year.

This document must be submitted from May of the corresponding academic year. In this way, you will be able to demonstrate that you have already been working for an extended period of time during that academic year.

Changes in your mode of study are only permitted during the first three years of your doctoral programme. For the rest of the academic years, changing your mode of study is neither necessary nor would it impact your maximum study period.

If you have studied full-time for one or two academic years and part-time for one or more other academic years, your maximum period of doctoral study on a full-time basis will be increased by the corresponding proportional part.

• CONVERSION OF BASIC YEARS (WITHOUT AN EXTENSION):
  • 1 month full-time is equivalent to 1.7 months part-time.
  • 1 month part-time is equivalent to 0.6 months full-time.

You will only be able to apply for part-time study during the first three academic years. As a result, students in the fourth year do not need to apply for part-time study.

* How do you apply for a change in your mode of study?

- You can apply for a change in your mode of study through the Academic Monitoring Portal for Doctoral Students (“Solicitudes” [Requests] tab).

1. Type of request: CMAT.

• Special case: Conditional admission to a doctoral programme subject to the completion of complementary training courses

If you are working and are required to complete some official master's degree or bachelor's degree courses as complementary training, you do not have to apply for a change to part-time study. However, if you are unable to complete all the complementary training courses or the research work required for admission because you are employed, you can apply for a second year in order to complete them.

By providing proof of your employment relationship, you can apply for registration in September of the current academic year in order to complete the remaining complementary training next year. You can apply for this via the “Solicitudes” (Requests) tab (TYPE OF REQUEST: “OTRA” [Other]). From September onwards, remember that you will also need to submit your MONITORING REPORT for the corresponding academic year through the Academic Monitoring Portal. As each complementary training course may have specifics, please send an email to doctoradoinformacion@ugr.es if you have any further questions.

• I applied for a change to part-time study in my fourth year (or subsequent years) and my request has been denied. Why?

As mentioned previously, part-time study is only available for the first three academic years. Changing your study mode to part-time in the fourth year would not have any effect on the maximum period of study allowed, and reflecting this study mode would cause technical issues. Therefore, your mode of study will only appear as part-time, if applicable, during the first three academic years; after that, your mode of study will always appear as full-time.

From the beginning of your doctoral studies, you will have the following obligations:

1. If you have been required to complete any complementary training courses upon admission, you must provide proof of their completion during the first academic year.

2. You must submit/defend your doctoral thesis proposal within one year of registering or completing your complementary training.

3. You must submit your monitoring report in September. If this report receives a positive assessment, you will be allowed to renew your registration for the following academic year (more information).

4. You must provide proof of payment of your registration fees.

5. You must submit your doctoral thesis before the end of your allowed study period.

• In most cases, cancellation of your registration is the result of not complying with any of the above obligations.

• If your registration is cancelled, we will block your student record and cancel your affiliation to doctoral studies.

• Cancellations of student records will be mainly notified through the UGR's “HERMES” Notification System.

• How can I find out if I have a notification?

1. For information purposes, the electronic notification service will send you an email providing you with a link and informing you that you have a notification. Click on the link to access your inbox. This email is for information purposes only. To prevent any possible communication issues, you should regularly access your mailbox.

2. You can check your inbox by clicking “HERMES. Mis Notificaciones” (HERMES. My notifications) at the top right of the UGR e-Administration Platform ►sede.ugr.es. You must access it at least once every 10 calendar days. This is the period of time a notification is available in your inbox to be read. After that, the notification will expire and you will not be able to view the text.

• Appeal

* Informative website

• The duration of your studies is calculated excluding any periods of sick and pregnancy leave, as well as any other events specified in the corresponding regulations. Proof of temporary leave must be provided by means of a document specifying its duration. Please refer to the information on requests and applications described above.
• As a doctoral student, you may apply for a justified temporary leave to the academic committee of your doctoral programme. Such a leave may have a maximum duration of one year, extendable for a further year. (See website: Information on applications).
• If your authorised temporary leave coincides with the duration of a full academic year (1 October to 30 September of the following year), you do not need to complete your registration or submit the monitoring report for that year. However, the monitoring report for the previous year must be submitted and positively assessed in order for your leave application to be considered.

For more information, check out the requests and forms webpage.

You must submit your application for temporary leave for the next academic year after submitting the MONITORING REPORT for the current year. For example, if we are in the academic year 2021/2022 and you wish to apply for a temporary leave for the academic year 2022/2023, you must first submit your monitoring report for the year 2021/2022. If your temporary leave is approved, it will not appear on your student record until your monitoring report receives a positive assessment from your doctoral programme.

You can check the end date of your doctoral study period on the Academic Monitoring Portal for Doctoral Students, in the “Datos Generales” (General Information) tab.

If you do not apply for the submission of your doctoral thesis by the established deadline, the academic committee of your doctoral programme may authorise an extension of your study period:

• Full-time students: 1 more year
• Part-time students: 2 more years
• If you have switched between full-time and part-time study: the proportional period of time.

Exceptionally, and under the conditions established by the doctoral programme, all the above periods may be extended for one additional year regardless of your mode of study.

This special extension must be approved by the management committee of your doctoral school, following a report from the doctoral programme academic committee. When considering this special extension, the direction committee will only take into account exceptional reasons of an academic nature.

• Can I apply for a second special extension?

NO. It is not possible to apply for a second extension (regular or special). If you exhaust all leave (two years) and both extensions allowed without submitting your doctoral thesis, your affiliation to the doctoral programme will be terminated.

If you are expected to submit your doctoral thesis the following academic year but do not intend to do so, you must apply for an extension of your study period from June to September. Please submit your request through the Academic Monitoring Portal. In any case, your extension request must be submitted at least three months before the end of your study period.

Your justification report must explain the objective reasons that support your need for the extension. Likewise, this report must be approved by the tutor and the supervisor of your doctoral thesis. The feasibility of granting the extension must be justified in the report drafted by both parties.

Based on your monitoring report and the reports of your tutor and supervisor, it is the responsibility of the doctoral programme academic committee and the doctoral school to decide whether to approve or deny an extension.

If the request is denied, the academic committee will issue a reasoned report that will be submitted to the parties involved. In this case, your doctoral thesis must be submitted before the end of your allowed study period. If you do not submit your thesis by this deadline, you will be permanently withdrawn from your doctoral programme.

You must select one of the following options in the Academic Monitoring Portal for Doctoral Students:

• Solicitud de prórroga ordinaria para ampliar la permanencia en los estudios de doctorado (Regular extension of doctoral study period)
• Solicitud de prórroga extraordinaria para ampliar la permanencia en los estudios de doctorado (Special extension of doctoral study period)

You can find the standard forms in the following section:

• Applications and forms

You can request to permanently withdraw from your doctoral studies at any time. Your request can submitted through the “SOLICITUDES” (Requests) tab of the Academic Monitoring Portal, the UGR e-Administration Platform or any official register of any public administration. If you use one of the latter options, your request for total withdrawal will also be reflected in your Academic Monitoring Portal.