Admission FAQ

1. What requirements must I meet to apply for admission to a PhD programme?

Those established by current legislation and, in addition, those specific to the programme you wish to study. General requirements can be found at: www.ucm.es/doctoral-school/how-to-access

The specific requirements of each programme are available on the website of each programme: www.ucm.es/doctoral-school/programmes.

2. Is it possible to access doctoral studies without an official master's degree with a Spanish bachelor degree?

Yes. The agreement of the Governing Council dated March 4, 2014 establishes that the degrees of Bachelor, Senior Engineer and Senior Architect issued in Spain give access to doctoral studies.

3. Can I apply for admission to doctoral studies if I have not yet finished my official Spanish master's degree?

Yes. However, the admission resolution, if it is favorable, will be conditional on the completion of the master's degree before the beginning of the academic year for which you have requested admission and the presentation of the supporting documentation at the student secretariat of the faculty for the enrolment within the established deadline.

4. I have a graduate degree of 300 ECTS credits, can I access doctoral studies?

Yes, official Spanish graduate degrees of at least 300 ECTS credits are accepted.

5. I have a double bachelor degree, can I access doctoral studies?

No, at the end of a double bachelor degree you obtain two undergraduate degrees of the same academic level, according to the admission regulations it is necessary to be in possession of at least 60 ECTS credits of master's level.

6. I have a Spanish diplomatura, can I access doctoral studies?

No. To access doctoral studies, it will be necessary to have a Spanish university degree or from another EHEA member country that qualifies for access to a master's degree and to have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS in the set of official university studies of which, at least 60 ECTS must be at master's level.

7. If I accessed the official master's degree through a diploma, technical engineering or technical architecture (equivalent to 180 ECTS) and the master's degree has less than 120 ECTS, can I access a doctoral studies?

No. To access doctoral studies it is necessary to accredit 300 credits. If this number of credits is not reached, you would have to adapt to the degree or supplement the missing credits with another university master's degree of 60 ECTS.

8. In the case of previous studies carried out in accordance with educational systems that do not belong to the European Higher Education Area, what requirements are necessary to access doctoral studies in Spain?

If you have a credential of homologation or a declaration of equivalence to the degree and academic level granted by the Ministry of Universities, the procedures to apply for admission to PhD studies will be the same as those for applicants who have obtained their degree in Spain. If you do not have any official recognition or equivalence in Spain and your degree comes from a country outside the European Higher Education Area, you may access PhD studies by applying for a doctoral admission permit prior to registration (although you may apply for a position, you can only be admitted if you already have the authorisation granted). The procedures for this permit are initiated and presented at:

Vice-rectorate of Students. Validations Department
Avda. Complutense, s/n
Ciudad Universitaria. 28040 MADRID
Telephone: 91 394 1288
E-Mail: convalid@rect.ucm.es

If you were granted permission by the rector to study an official university Master's degree at this or another Spanish university and you are in possession of that degree (master), it will not be necessary to apply for the authorisation mentioned in the previous paragraph.

9. I have the first two years of specialized health training in Spain, can I access the doctorate?

Yes. University graduates who have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a program to obtain the official title of any of the specialties in Health Sciences can access a PhD programme. Therefore, those who have passed the first two years of MIR, EIR, FIR, BIR, QIR, PIR and RFIR can access.

10. I started my PhD in programmes regulated by Royal Decrees prior to R.D. 99/2011 and I did not submit my thesis, how can I resume my studies?

If you are in possession of DEA (R.D. 778/1998) or the suficiencia investigadora (R.D. 185/1985), you can access a PhD programme. If you are not in possession of the DEA or the certificate of suficiencia investigadora, you must take a university master's degree or access through a Spanish bachelor's degree if you hold that degree. You must apply for admission to the programme that interests you and submit all the corresponding documentation as if you were a new student..

11. What is the duration of the doctoral studies?

In the PhD programmes regulated by the R.D. 99/2011 3 years are established if you are enrolled full-time (plus an extension of one year and one more, also of one year, as an exception) and 5 years if you are enrolled part-time (plus an extension of two years and one more, of one year, as an exception).

For the purposes of calculating the continuity in the programme, temporary leave due to illness, pregnancy or any other cause provided by current regulations will not be taken into account.

12. How do I apply for part-time dedication?

You can choose to carry out the studies part-time at the time of applying for admission or once started by reasoned request to the Academic Comittee responsible of your PhD programme, with the approval of your tutor or director. More information: Continuity

13. Can I do a PhD programme remotely?

No. All PhD programmes at the university require attendance throughout the training period. However, consult the specific website of the PhD programme to find information in this regard or with the coordinator responsible for the programme, since the degree of attendance is established by each programme.

14. Are there scholarships for PhD studies?

The UCM offers different scholarships and grants. You can consult the scholarships offered by both the Ministry of Education and the UCM through the Research Service. For information on research grants, see this link.

15. I want to apply for a scholarship or grant. Should I do it before or after applying for admission?

We recommend that you apply for admission prior to applying for the scholarship or grant, since the institutions that grant them usually require some supporting document for admission to a PhD to be able to continue in the proces (check conditions with the organising entity).

16. What do I have to do to carry out doctoral studies at UCM?

Registration is done online. To apply for admission to a PhD programme, it is recommended to follow these steps:

• Check that you meet the general access requirements and the specific admission requirements.
• Get informed about the details of the PhD programme you want to do in the "Studies" section of the EDUCM website, where you will find the list of PhD programmes.
• Access the online registration platform for PhD programmes and follow the steps indicated in the platform, considering that it is essential that you upload the required electronic documents in PDF format.

Once admitted, you must proceed to formalize the enrolment.

17. What documents do I need to upload?

Before proceeding with the application for registration, you must have prepared scanned copies of the documents required in general and the specific ones required by the programmes. You will find all the information in this link.

You should bear in mind that some doctoral programs may require additional documentation, such as letters of recommendation from prestigious researchers, language certificates, etc.

18. Can I register for more than one programme?

Yes, up to a maximum of three programmes may be selected in order of preference, but in a single application.

19. I have uploaded a wrong document to the admission platform, how can I delete it?

Once a document has been uploaded to the platform, it can no longer be deleted. You can upload a document in which you indicate that circumstance as a notice to the coordinator responsible for the programme so that it is not taken into account and upload the correct documentation in the section “cargar documentos” > otra documentación que desea aportar.

20. Who grants admission to the PhD programme?

The registration request together with the required documentation that you upload in the platform will be evaluated by the Academic Committee of the PhD programme, that will apply the specific requirements and criteria for evaluating merit established for admission to the corresponding programme, and will approve the admission or not in the programme.

Admission to PhD programmes may include the requirement to complete specific training subjects. 

21. How can I find out the result of the admission?

Consult with the email account and password with which you made the registration, on the website of the admission platform, on the publication date established in the call for admission.

22. What should I do if I am admitted?

If by accessing the platform you have been admitted, you will see an activation code to create an @ucm email, which you will need to enrol.

If you already have an @ucm account you will not need to create a new account. If you used an email address other than that of the UCM when pre-registering, an activation code will appear that you should not use..

Once you are admitted you will have to follow these steps:

• Create your @ucm account. You must enter the following link and follow the steps indicated: mail activation. Once the account is created, it takes 24 hours to be active.
• Do the online enrolment. The date to do it will be the one indicated in the call for admission. For any questions about this step, you should contact the student secretariat of the faculty where the PhD programme will be taught.
• Submit the documentation to the student secretariat of the faculty, following the instructions on their website.

23. When I access the platform to check the admission I get a message that the list of admitted is not there, what can I do?

Verify that you are making the consultation on the date indicated in the deadlines. If you are within the deadline, check that you have accessed the platform with the same email and password with which you made the application for admission, since, if not, the platform does not recognize it. If you are sure that they are correct, the programme may not have uploaded the admission results to the platform yet, so you can contact the Academic Committee of the programme.

24. What are the training subjects that appear in the admission to the programme?

The academic committee of the program in which you have applied for admission may decide, in view of your previous education, that you must take a number of additional credits. These credits are called complementos de formación (training subjects).

These specific training subjects are, for the purpose of granting scholarships and study aid, considered as doctorate-level training, but for the purposes of public prices they are considered ECTS master's credits.

When you receive the admission email you will be able to see the training subjects that, if applicable, you must take during the first year of the PhD.

Check the specific requirements on the program website. Keep in mind that the assignment of these training subjects is individualized and corresponds to the academic committee of each programme.

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Enrolment FAQ

25. When, where and how do you enrol in the PhD programme?

Enrolment is annual (per academic year), as in any other degree, and must be renewed, as long as the condition as a PhD student persists.

Once admitted to the PhD programme, you must enrol as academic tutorship within the period established in the call. The deadline is the same for both new students and for the rest of the students.

Enrolment is done online, from the UCM website. You can see the details in this link.

26. Once I have enrolled in a PhD programme, can I change to a different one?

Yes, but you must communicate your withdrawal to the Academic Committee of the programme in which you are enrolled. Likewise, it will be necessary to apply for admission to the programme to which you want to change, so that the Academic Committee accepts you and a new Activities Document and a Research Plan are established. A new Written Commitment must also be signed.

27. What happens if I do not formalize the enrolment for a year?

Temporary leave from the programme may be requested for one year, extendable to another year, for justified reasons. Said request must be addressed and justified before the Academic Committee responsible for the programme, which will decide on the admissibility of accessing what is requested by the PhD student.

In case of not requesting temporary leave through the established channels and not formalizing the registration, the student status of the UCM will be lost, and it will be considered as withdrawal from the PhD programme.

Being enrolled allows you to have accreditation as a UCM student, which is necessary to be able to access University services, such as the library, laboratories, sports, etc., while regulating the relationship between the student and the university.

Lastly, the PhD student may request the Academic Committee, at any time, to definitively withdraw from the PhD programme, which will be recorded in their file and will imply the resignation of the Activities Document and the Research Plan..

28. I have been admitted to a PhD programme, but in the end I have not enrolled in it. Can I enrol in the next course without having to apply for admission to the PhD programme again?

No. The application for admission is made for a specific academic year. If a student is admitted but does not formalize their enrolment that academic year, they must reapply for admission if they want to enrol later.

29. How much does doctoral tuition cost?

Doctorate enrolment is subject to what is known as public prices, which are established annually by means of a decree approved by the Community of Madrid for all its public universities. You can check these prices at this link.