Doctoral Thesis

The writing of the Doctoral Thesis

The Doctoral Thesis is an original piece of research written by the doctoral student in any field of knowledge. The Thesis should qualify the doctoral student to work autonomously in the field of R&D and Innovation.

The Doctoral Thesis may be developed and defended in Spanish or any other official language of Spain, or in English.

On the title page of the Doctoral Thesis the following information must appear:

• UIMP and Collaborating Institution logos
• Doctoral Program
• Thesis title
• Author
• Center where the Thesis is defended
• Year of defense

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Instructions concerning the format, binding, drafting of, and language to be employed in Doctoral Theses

Procedure and required documentation

The Vice-Rector of Postgraduate and Research may authorize the elaboration of Doctoral Theses as a compendium of previously published articles by the candidate. 

The proposal, submitted by the applicant to the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program, must be endorsed by a professor of the Program, who will be a doctor with accredited research experience and who will act as Tutor or, where appropriate, as Supervisor of the Thesis. 

Documents required

• Application for Doctoral Thesis authorization by compendium of publications (Forms).
• Report of the Doctoral Thesis Supervisor(s) for the authorisation of Thesis by compendium of publications (Forms).
• Quality report of an article for the authorisation of Thesis by compendium of publications (Forms).
• Waiver by non-doctoral co-authors to submit the same work as part of another doctoral thesis or theses (Forms).

Once the Thesis has been completed, it must be submitted to the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program so that it can authorize its submission for deposit, in accordance with the general procedure for the authorization, deposit and defense of the Doctoral Thesis. In any case, the doctoral student must meet the requirements to qualify for the Doctor's Degree.

Structure of the Doctoral Thesis as a compendium of publications

The Doctoral Thesis presented by compendium of publications will consist of a set of published and/or accepted articles, justified by its thematic unit, according to the following structure: 

1. A general introduction that justifies the thematic unit of the Thesis and a review of the current state of the topic.
2. Objectives to be achieved, indicating in which publication or publications are addressed.
3. One or more chapters in which publications are integrated as an essential part of the Thesis body. Unpublished research results may also be included. These chapters should contain an introduction and partial conclusions. A publication may be part of one or more chapters, but under no circumstances may the contents be repeated throughout the doctoral thesis.
4. An integrated discussion of all the results obtained, differentiating between published and unpublished results.
5. Original and unpublished final conclusions.
6. Summaries in Spanish and English or, if not, in the usual language for scientific communication in its field of scientific, technical or artistic knowledge. 
7. Bibliographic, documentary and other references required by each field of knowledge (they may be submitted jointly or by chapter/work submitted). In addition, it must contain a report with the impact and quartile index of the Journal Citation Reports (SCI and/or SSCI), SCOPUS, or any selective database with reference impact index of the area in which the submitted publications are located.

Number and type of publications

The set of publications resulting from the subject matter of the Doctoral Thesis should consist of one of the following options:

1ª. A minimum of 3 articles (at least two already published and the third accepted) in journals with impact indexes in the first two quartiles of the list of journals in the field of the speciality of the Program in which the Doctoral Thesis is registered and referenced in the latest list published by the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) of the Science Citation Index (SCI), the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) -Web of Knowledge, in the Philosopher's Index, in the Répertoire Bibliographique de Louvain, inEconlit, Latindex, FRANCIS or similar.

Likewise, articles published in journals included in international databases of Engineering and Architecture such as TRIS Electronic Bibliography Data, International Development Abstracts, Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, DICE or other similar ones of recognised international prestige in the area of knowledge of the Thesis will be valued, always with the prior authorisation of the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program.

All articles must be published after the first enrolment for academic supervision (via payment of the fees concerned). Exceptionally, the Academic Committee may consider extending this maximum period of seniority, provided that this is justified.

2ª. A minimum of 4 articles (at least three already published and the fourth accepted) in journals with impact indexes in any of the quartiles of the list of journals in the field of the Program in which the Doctoral Thesis is registered and referenced in the latest list published by the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) of the Science Citation Index (SCI), the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) -Web of Knowledge, in the Philosopher's Index, in the Répertoire Bibliographique de Louvain, inEconlit, Latindex, FRANCIS, SCOPUS and the FECYT Quality Seal, or databases related to the National Commission for the Evaluation of Research Activity for the scientific fields corresponding to the areas of knowledge of the Doctoral Program and, where appropriate, to the specific lines of research of the same or similar, always with the prior authorisation of the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program.

All articles must be published after the first enrolment for academic supervision (via payment of the fees concerned). Exceptionally, the Academic Committee may consider extending this maximum period of seniority, provided that this is justified.

3ª. A monograph and at least one article of the characteristics set out in option 2 or, at least, three book chapters and one article of the characteristics set out in option 2, which are directly derived from the Doctoral Thesis. In book chapters, the doctoral student must be the first or second signatory, in the latter case, the first must be the thesis supervisor.

Both the monograph and the book chapters must be published in editorials listed in the SPI (Scholarly Publishers Indicators) database cited, for each year, by the National Commission for the Evaluation of Research Activity or other similar selective database, indicating the impact of said publisher (a copy/screen must be attached), which must be among those in the first two quartiles in the list of those corresponding to the scientific area. If there is no such catalogue, proven evidence should be provided on the position of the publisher and the quality of the publication. Other proven quality indicators should also be provided: reviews/critical reviews published on the book, number of received quotations, etc. The Academic Committee may require the doctoral student to submit a report or certificate accrediting these aspects. 

If a monograph is submitted, it must be published after the first enrolment for academic supervision; if three book chapters are submitted, at least two of them must be published and one accepted, with a certificate from the publisher, after the first enrolment of academic supervision.

Certification of accepted publications

All publications submitted for publication must be accepted, with the corresponding assignment of a DOI, or must be supported by a certificate from the journal or publisher stating this: 

For journal articles: 

• The title of the work submitted. 
• Author's name and affiliation; if there are several authors, the position of the author in the list of authors. 
• Name of the journal, number and date of publication, or DOI identifier.
• Journal's quality indexes.

For collective book chapters: 

• The title of the work and title of the contributed chapter.
• Author's name and affiliation. 
• Name of the publisher, number and date of publication.
• publisher's quality indexes.

Evaluation of the Doctoral Thesis as a compendium of publications

The defense of the Doctoral Thesis as a compendium of publications will in any case conform to the general procedure established for this purpose in the current Regulations for Doctoral Studies of the Menéndez Pelayo International University.

In the Examining Board of the Doctoral Thesis by compendium of publications, none of the members of the Examining Board may be co-author of any of the articles that are part of the Thesis. The papers that make up the Thesis may not be presented in more than one Thesis.

Documents required

At the time of requesting authorisation to defend the Doctoral thesis, the doctoral student must provide:

• Application for authorisation for the presentation and deposit of the Doctoral Thesis (Forms), accompanied by the specific documentation required for authorisation of Thesis by compendium of publications:
  • Application for Doctoral Thesis authorization by compendium of publications (Forms).
  • Report of the Doctoral Thesis Supervisor(s) for the authorisation of Thesis by compendium of publications (Forms).
  • Quality report of an article for the authorisation of Thesis by compendium of publications (Forms).
  • Waiver by non-doctoral co-authors to submit the same work as part of another doctoral thesis or theses (Forms).

Doctoral Theses subject to confidentiality clauses 

In the case of Doctoral Theses that due to their content are subject to confidentiality clauses, the Thesis will be deposited at the University but may not be consulted during the deposit period as described in the Defense and Evaluation section.

The defense of the Thesis will take place behind closed doors with the sole presence of the President, Secretary and members of the Examining Board, as well as the doctoral student and the Supervisor(s) and Tutor of the Thesis. The possibility of a public defense of the thesis shall be considered with the prior authorization of the sponsoring institution.

The procedures for the authorization, defense and publication of Doctoral Theses subject to data protection or technology or knowledge transfer processes shall be those established in the regulations for the Defense and Evaluation of Theses with the modifications described below:

1. Once the Doctoral Thesis has been completed, the doctoral student shall request the Academic Committee of the Program to consider it as a "Confidential Thesis".

Documents required

• Application for "Confidential Thesis", which will include the Supervisor's report on such application (Forms).
• The original or certified copy of the documents proving that the Thesis is subject to processes of protection or transfer of knowledge and technology.
• The copy of the Thesis in two versions: the reduced version, in which the contents affected by the duty of non-dissemination or by the duty and/or right of confidentiality will be eliminated, and the complete copy, which will be kept on file at the University under a commitment of confidentiality.
• Doctoral Thesis Confidentiality Commitment of the members of the Thesis Examining Board (Forms).

2. The Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme shall resolve that application within a maximum period of fifteen working days from the day following the application. The request will be accepted only if it is accredited that the secrecy is absolutely essential for the success of the protection or transfer process. The decision will be communicated to the doctoral student, the Thesis supervisor and the tutor. The reduced version will be the one to be submitted to the public exposure period. This version must coincide with the content of the presentation and public defense of the Thesis.

3. The members of the Academic Committee of the Program shall maintain absolute confidentiality regarding the content of the Thesis and will sign the corresponding confidentiality commitments for a period that will be defined according to the time required to deposit the patent or according to the time established in the documentation submitted by the doctoral student to guarantee confidentiality. These commitments will be kept by the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme and a copy may be given to the doctoral student, if so requested.

4. The submission of the Thesis must state that it is a Thesis subject to processes of protection or transfer of knowledge and technology.

5. The members of the Examining Board that will evaluate the Doctoral Thesis will be expressly warned that the Thesis is subject to the processes of protection or transfer described above. They will be obliged to maintain absolute secrecy and confidentiality regarding the content of the Thesis. To this end, before the full version of the Thesis is sent to the members of the Examining Board, all the member will sign the corresponding confidentiality commitments that guarantee its protection for the necessary time.

6. If the Examining Board wishes to ask questions to the doctoral student about the contents subject to confidentiality, it must do so in private session, prior to or after the public session.