General information about the doctoral programme
The UB's doctoral programme in Law and Political Science is regulated by the provisions laid down in Royal Decree 99/2011, the UB Regulations on doctoral studies and the specific provisions approved by the programme’s Academic Committee.
The general access requirements are those applicable to doctoral studies at the UB as set out in the corresponding regulations. In addition, the Academic Committee has established the following SPECIFIC ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
- Letter of recommendation. Applicants must provide a letter of recommendation signed by a lecturer linked to the programme (detailed in the list of lines of research). As stated in the regulations on doctoral studies, doctoral students must have a thesis supervisor and tutor: the tutor must be a member of the programme's teaching staff who has previously supervised at least one doctoral thesis; the supervisor and the tutor may be the same member of the teaching staff. The supervisor may also be another doctor with recognized research experience. If this doctor is not a member of UB's teaching staff, candidates will be required to submit a copy of his/her curriculum vitae. Whether the thesis tutor and supervisor are the same, candidates are responsible for obtaining the required letter of recommendation.
- Statement of interest. Applicants must submit a brief statement (no longer than one page) detailing the area and general objective of the intended research project, the specific skills and competences required, the necessary time and resources, and the professional and/or personal reasons that led the candidate to apply for the doctoral programme.
- Foreign language skills. Applications must provide evidence of skills in a language commonly used in the scientific community other than the official languages of Catalonia.
- Proof of research proficiency, in accordance with the programme requirements.
Successful applicants, except for those who are required to take a bridging course, are not set compulsory teaching activities as part of the programme, unless otherwise indicated by the thesis supervisor. Therefore, there is no obligation to complete the thesis in Barcelona. However, students are advised to schedule at least two long research stays at the Faculty, preferably at the beginning and at the end of the programme.
Towards the end of the first year of the doctoral studies, between May and June, students will be asked to participate in a research seminar on the line of research in which the thesis is registered, during which they will give a public defence of the research project. The Academic Committee is responsible for the approval of the research project. The corresponding form must be submitted to the Secretary's Office before 15 June.
Doctoral programmes have a minimum length of two academic years, although research projects of this kind are seldom completed in such short periods of time. The maximum length is three academic years (five for part-time candidates), plus an ordinary extension year and one more (two for part-time candidates) extraordinary extension year. Thus, usually, full-time candidates take between four and five to complete their thesis and part-time candidates spend between six and eight years. Candidates who combine their doctoral studies with other professional tasks usually enrol as part-time students. According to the programme regulations, under certain circumstances, candidates may apply to the Academic Committee for temporary leave of one year. Candidates who do not complete their project by the established deadline cannot be re-admitted to the same programme.
Candidates must enrol every academic year, in compliance with the general academic calendar and the provisions on academic fees approved by the Government of Catalonia. Doctoral grants are offered by the Government of Spain, the Government of Catalonia and the UB. Candidates may obtain more information on these grants from the UB's grant office.
The Academic Committee accepts new students only during a specific period in the academic year. Applicants wishing to enrol in a doctoral programme must submit all the required documents online. Link to consult the deadline for submitting applications.
Candidates may access current national legislation on doctoral studies (Royal Decree 99/2011), the Regulations on doctoral studies at the University of Barcelona and the specific programme regulations on the programme's website. After admission, students are strongly advised to read the regulations carefully and plan every stage of their research project accordingly. Students wishing to apply for the International Doctorate certification, for example, must obtain authorization by the Academic Committee before they complete research stays at other universities for periods of at least three months.
For queries about the administration procedures granting access or admission to the programme, candidates may contact the staff in the Secretary's Office in person, via email or, exceptionally, by telephone. For academic queries, candidates may also contact the teaching staff assigned to their research project and, if necessary, the programme coordinator.
En català: Informació bàsica sobre el programa de doctorat
En español: Información básica sobre el programa de doctorado