The Doctoral Schools of the University of Granada would like to remind all those involved in doctoral programmes (students and teaching staff) that, in application of Royal Decree 576/2023 of 4 July, which modifies Royal Decree 99/2011 of 28 January, regulating official doctoral studies, the thesis submission procedure has been modified for all doctoral students beginning the submission process in the 2024-25 academic year, i.e. from 1 October 2024 onwards.
The thesis submission application must be accompanied by the documents required to begin the procedure (in the case of international mentions, the relevant application and supporting documents must also be included). In all cases, a proposal of up to four experts who are external to the University of Granada and the doctoral programme must also be submitted. These experts may later become members of the board of examiners. The International School for Postgraduate Studies (EIP) will obtain reports, including possible suggestions for improvements to the doctoral thesis, from two of these experts. The experts must meet the same eligibility requirements as members of boards of examiners. If a doctoral student aspires to obtain an international mention, both experts must belong to non-Spanish institutions.
Once the reports have been received, the relevant doctoral programme academic committee (CAD) may take the following actions:
- Authorise the continuation of the thesis submission procedure.
- Allow the doctoral student a period of one month to respond to the reports and, if necessary, make the relevant changes if it is considered a “minor revision”.
- Allow the doctoral student a period of three months to respond to the reports and, if necessary, make the relevant changes if it is considered a “major revision”.
- Reject the thesis submission.
If asked to carry out a revision, the doctoral student must upload the new thesis document (whether or not it has been modified) to the platform. Where appropriate, they may also need to upload their response to the external revisers. Once this procedure has been completed, the doctoral programme academic committee will authorise the continuation of the submission process and the public defence (viva voce) of the doctoral thesis, in line with current regulations.
It is important to bear in mind that this revision process will extend the timeframe between the start of the thesis submission procedure and the date of the public defence, in some cases substantially. This should be taken into account when planning the public defence, possible contracts, postdoctoral activities, etc.
Platform: All doctoral students who begin the thesis submission process on or before 30 September 2024 will do so using the current system, through the “Depósito de Tesis” platform, as has been the case to date. Once initiated, the procedure may not be changed.
Doctoral students who begin the thesis submission process after 00:00 on 1 October 2024 will do so through a new “Depósito de Tesis” platform, which will require only the minimum documents necessary to appoint external revisers and begin the revision period.
In addition to this information, at least one face-to-face training session will be held for doctoral thesis supervisors, as well as for doctoral students who plan to submit and defend their thesis from October 2024 onwards. The date of this training session will be announced in advance.
Applicable regulations: Royal Decree 576/2023, of 4 July, which modifies Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January, regulating official doctoral studies. Article 13.2. Paragraph two:
The thesis will be accompanied by at least two reports issued by doctors from outside the university who are experts in the subject, and may include suggestions for improvement. These experts may become members of the board of examiners that evaluates the thesis. Depending on the content of these reports, the academic committee will give the doctoral student a period of time to respond and, if necessary, make the relevant changes to the doctoral thesis before it is submitted. First transitional provision. Doctoral students in the process of completing their doctoral studies. Doctoral students who began their studies prior to the entry into force of this Royal Decree will be subject to the provisions governing doctoral studies that were in force at the time these studies began. However, the provisions set out in this Royal Decree concerning the boards of examiners, defence and evaluation of doctoral theses will apply to these students from the 2024-2025 academic year onwards.