Access and admission

 

  1. In general, in order to access a doctoral programme it will be necessary to hold an official Spanish Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, and a Master's degree, or equivalent, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in these two courses.

  2. Access is also open to those who are in one of the following situations:

    • Holding official Spanish university degrees or equivalent Spanish degrees, provided that they have passed at least 300 ECTS credits in these courses as a whole and accredit a level 3 of the Spanish Framework of Qualifications for Higher Education.
    • Holding a degree obtained in accordance with foreign education systems belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), without the need for homologation, which accredits a level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework, provided that this degree entitles access to doctoral studies in the country in which it was issued. This admission shall not imply, under any circumstances, the recognition of the previous qualification held by the interested party, nor its recognition for purposes other than access to doctoral studies.
    • Holding a degree obtained in accordance with foreign education systems outside the EHEA, without the need for its recognition, 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 entitles the holder to access doctoral studies in the country of issue of the degree. This admission shall not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree held by the interested party nor its recognition for purposes other than that of access to doctoral studies.
    • Holding another doctoral degree.
    • University graduates who, after obtaining a place in training in the corresponding entrance examination for specialised health training places, have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a programme for obtaining the official qualification in one of the specialities in Health Sciences.

      Second additional provision. Admission to the new doctoral studies established in this Royal Decree.

      1. Doctoral students who have begun their doctoral programme in accordance with previous university regulations may be admitted to the doctoral studies regulated in this Royal Decree, subject to prior admission by the corresponding university, in accordance with the provisions of this Royal Decree and the regulations of the university itself.
      2. Admission to the doctoral studies regulated in this Royal Decree shall be open to graduates, architects or engineers who hold the Diploma of Advanced Studies obtained in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 778/1998, of 30 April, or who have achieved the research proficiency regulated in Royal Decree 185/1985, of 23 January.

Once the Doctoral School has verified that the application meets the access requirements, the Academic Committee of each doctoral programme is responsible for deciding whether the applicant complies with the recommended access profile and the admission requirements. Each programme´s admission criteria are set out in the Find a programme section.

Generally speaking, in order to be admitted the following points will be taken into account:

  1. Academic record.
  2. Knowledge of a foreign language; see the list of official certificates accepted by the University of Alcalá in the following link:
  3. Other merits: scientific output (author of scientific or technical publications or documents, participation in conferences), Erasmus, SICYE-Seneca or similar stays, specialist courses taken outside official university studies and previous professional experience related to the subject matter of the doctoral programme.

Account may be had of up to two letters of reference written by university lecturers, researchers and, in exceptional circumstances, professionals who have had some relation with the candidate and taken part in his or her academic or professional training.

It is recommended to include a letter of motivation (PDF) which describes the personal and professional reasons for applying to the PhD program, the research line chosen and, if any previous contact has been made, the name of the possible Thesis Director. If deemed necessary, the Academic Committee may invite the applicant for a personal interview to discuss the contents of motivation letter.

The details of the endorsement will be included in the letter of motivation required for pre-enrolment in the doctoral programme.

The admission criteria and procedures for part-time students will be the same as those established for full-time students.

Training complements

Admission to doctoral programs may include the requirement of specific training complements. These specific training complements must be passed during the initial period of development of the thesis, within a maximum period of one academic year, and will be considered as doctoral level training for the purposes of public prices and the granting of scholarships and study aids.

After admission, the applicant will register for academic supervision at the Doctoral School, paying the corresponding public fees. In addition, at the appropriate time according to the calendar of the subjects marked in the training complements, he/she must register for the subjects defined in the training complements, in accordance with the fees set in the degrees where these subjects are taught.

Students will have one year from the date of their enrollment in the doctoral program to complete the training complements. This period may be exceeded in exceptional cases in which enrollment in the doctoral program has been completed in the middle of a term and, for organizational reasons, it is not possible to complete the complements until the end of that term of the following academic year. The complements taken will be recorded in the student's activity document (DAD) and the Academic Committee will control the completion of the complements through the annual evaluation of the development of activities. If the student does not pass the training complements within the established time, he/she will be withdrawn from the doctoral program.

 

 

Information to be adapted to the Royal Decree 576/2023, of 4 July, amending Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January, regulating official doctoral studies; Royal Decree 1002/2010, of 5 August, on the awarding of official university degrees; and Royal Decree 641/2021, of 27 July, regulating the direct awarding of grants to Spanish public universities for the modernisation and digitalisation of the Spanish university system within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

UAH username and password: It is important to remember that you must use the UAH email account for online procedures. This account will be assigned to you automatically. Likewise, from now on, all communications from the Doctoral School will be sent to the UAH account and not to your personal email address. If you do not know your username and/or password, click here.

Requesting your TUI smart card

You may request your TUI card using this link How do I request it?. If in doubt, call our office at 91 885 64 90 send an email to  .

“Comunic@”: If you wish to receive notifications and information published on the Doctoral School website, you can subscribe to the Universidad de Alcalá's communication channel “Comunic@” by clicking on the link. There, you’ll find full instructions. From the list that appears, choose the category “Doctoral School”.

Doctoral School webpage: On the webpage you will find all the information you need to know about the formalities and procedures related to the progress of your doctoral studies: training activities, the research plan, the doctoral thesis and other procedures.

DATRES PLATFORM: This platform, which can be accessed from the Doctoral School's web page, is used to manage the transversal training activities offered by the Doctoral School, as well as some specific and branch activities offered by the Academic Committees. You will also be able to see your doctoral record, the activities carried out and the certificates of these activities.

At present, the procedures to be carried out through this application are as follows:

  • Research plan: This must be submitted to the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program within 6 months of admission to doctoral studies. In the event that the report is negative, a maximum of 15 months will be given to submit the modified research plan.
  • Document of Activities: Activities carried out during the training will be recorded and will be reviewed by your Tutor/Supervisor and evaluated annually by the Academic Committee. From the current academic year, 2022-23, this document will be created and the activities carried out will be recorded.
  • Training activities: Transversal activities will be offered on the web page; likewise, the offer, registration and certificates will be processed through the DATRES platform. These activities will be registered in your file, will be reviewed by your Tutor/Supervisor and evaluated annually by the Academic Committee.
  • Annual assessment: There will be 1 annual evaluation each academic year in the month of February-March. New students will be evaluated in February-March of the following academic year. Details on administrative calendar.
  • Submission of thesis. For the submission of the thesis, at least 12 months must have elapsed since admission to the doctoral program and the candidate must have at least one positive assessment. In addition, the established  periods of continuance in the dpermaoctoral program must not have been exceeded.

Matriculation: Students must matriculate each academic year in Academic Tutelage by means of the online tool.

Duration of studies: The Doctoral Thesis must be submitted within 3 years after admission, if full-time, and within 5 years if part-time. For full information check the EDUAH website.