International PhD Mention

 

What is the International PhD Mention?

The UCM offers PhD students the possibility to receive the International PhD Mention, which gives added value to the title. This may be included on the front of the PhD title, provided that all requirements are met.

What requirements do I have to meet to apply for the mention?

1. A stay of minimum three months outside Spain in a prestigious higher education institution or research centre, studying or carrying out research work, during the period of the PhD program. This stay may be carried out in a maximum of two periods. The stay and the activities must be endorsed by the tutor and the director and authorised by the Academic Committee, and will be included in the PhD candidate's activities document.
2. Part of the PhD thesis, at least the abstract and conclusions, must be written and defended in one of the usual languages for scientific communication in its field of knowledge, different from any of the official languages in Spain. This rule does not apply when the stays, reports and experts come from a Spanish-speaking country.
3. The PhD thesis must be assessed by a minimum of two expert PhDs belonging to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research institute.
4. At least one expert from a non-Spanish higher education institution or research centre, holding a PhD degree, other than the person responsible for the stay mentioned in paragraph a), must be member of the panel evaluating the thesis.

How is it processed?

The PhD candidate, at the time of submitting the thesis, must include the documentation that accredits compliance with the sections corresponding to the requirements indicated above, in addition to:

1. The two reports of the experts referred to in point c) of the previous paragraph, accompanied by a brief curriculum vitae of the researchers issuing them. These experts may be on the panel and may also be the evaluators of the thesis.
2. Certification of the stay outside Spain, with indication of the initial and final dates, issued by the person responsible of the investigation mentioned in point a) of the previous section. This person responsible cannot be in the panel.

Who decides?

The Academic Committee, in view of the documents provided, will decide if the PhD candidate is eligible for the International Mention. If the resolution is positive, the Academic Committee will send the certificate of the stay and the reports of the experts to the Doctorate Committee, together with the proposal of the panel and the documentation indicated in the regulations.

Following the act of defence of the thesis, the Secretary of the panel shall certify compliance with subparagraphs (b) and (d) of the requirements.

Who grants the Mention?

The President of the Doctorate Committee, once he or she has received the documents of the thesis, will issue a certificate of the International Mention, which will be sent to the PhD candidate.

Industrial PhD Mention

 

What is the Industrial PhD Mention?

The UCM offers PhD students the possibility of receiving the Mention of Industrial PhD, which aims to enhance the interaction between business and academia, and thus promote the transfer of knowledge from research to its practical application. This mention may be included on the front of the doctoral degree, as long as all the requirements are met.

What are the requirements to apply for the mention?

1. The PhD student must participate in an industrial research or experimental development project, directly related to their PhD thesis. This may be carried out in the following two ways:
   
   1. With a public body or other institution with contracting capacity (from now on, Collaborating Entity) that cannot be a university.
   2. In collaboration between the Collaborating Entity and the UCM. In this case, an agreement must be signed between both entities.
2. The PhD student must have an employment or commercial contract with the Collaborating Entity. This contract, if it does not exist previously, must be formalized at the latest before the end of the first year of permanence of the PhD student in the PhD programme and remain in force, at least, until the date of deposit of the PhD thesis in the academic committee of the PhD programme.

What's the procedure?

Application

The PhD student must submit the following documents to the Academic Committee of the programme before the end of the second year of permanence:

• The application form for the mention.
• Copy of the contract.
• Technical report explaining the industrial or experimental research project and reflecting the Entity's interest in the development of the project. It will necessarily be validated by the Head of the Collaborating Entity and must be approved by the UCM PhD thesis director/s.
• Confidentiality agreement, according to the model established by the regulations.

Procedure

The Academic Committee will endorse the documentation and verify the direct relationship between the project and the PhD thesis, will issue a favorable report if applicable, and will send it together with the documentation to the Doctorate Committee in order to get its consent and send it to the Steering Committee of the Doctoral School (EDUCM) for its final approval.

Once the mention has been authorised, the EDUCM will proceed to incorporate the documentation into the student's file.

In the case of collaboration between the Collaborating Entity and the UCM, the PhD student must follow the same procedure established previously and only in this case, an agreement must be signed (if it doesn’t already exist), between both entities. The coordinator of the Academic Committee will request EDUCM for the agreement model.

If an agreement between the UCM and the Collaborating Entity has already been signed, a copy will be sent together with the rest of the documentation at the time of applying for the mention.

How is the defence of the PhD thesis handled?

At the time of submitting the thesis to the Academic Committee, the PhD student whom application has been admitted under the established terms, must provide, in addition to the documents that are generally required, a report signed by the director(s) and the head of the Collaborating Entity indicating that the thesis has been developed in accordance with the stipulations and that the results of the PhD thesis research have been satisfactory and the objectives pursued have been met.