Students who meet some of the criteria listed in Article 4 of the UDC PhD Policies and Regulations will be able to access to UDC PhD programmes.
Candidates matching one of the general entry requirements for PhD students will be assessed in accordance with the specific criteria and merits for each programme. Information relating to application procedures and requirements are included in the programme structure for each course.
The decision to offer a student a place on a UDC PhD programme is the result of an application-specific evaluation process, and does not affect the academic or professional status of the candidate’s existing qualifications.
See also UDC PhD Policies and Regulations, Article 5: Applications.
4 places offered in academic year 2025/2026
The entry profile establishes the knowledge, skills and abilities that the student who wishes to access this programme must possess and, as a consequence, the most suitable qualifications for access to the programme and that determine admission and, where appropriate, the need or not for complementary training by doctoral students. In general, and in accordance with RD 822/2021, which establishes the organisation of university education and the procedure for ensuring its quality, the Bachelor's and Master's degrees that will allow direct entry to this doctoral programme without complementary training will be those assigned to the field of knowledge of Physics and Astronomy. within the areas of knowledge of Science and Engineering, the following are considered to be quite related: Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Navigation Engineering. Mathematics and statistics, however, for any other area the CAPD will study the cases individually, being able to admit or not the students and establishing complementary training if necessary.
Program-Specific Access Requirements
-It is a mandatory requirement for admission to the doctoral programme that the candidate must submit a report consisting of a letter of reference from a professor of the programme that:
i) endorses the potential viability of the future thesis within the framework of a line of research of the programme to which it is linked, and that
ii) could act as a director if they meet the necessary requirements for it.
-There are no additional specific requirements and criteria for the selection and admission of students from official Master's degrees with topics within the fields of the Doctoral Programme and related to the Doctoral Programme (in the case of non-affinity, the passing of complementary training will be required in the terms detailed in the Admission Criteria section).
-As for the degree of knowledge of the English language, it is advisable to have accreditation of a B1 intermediate level of that language (level established within the European Framework of Reference for Language Knowledge) and accredited by the CAPD through any official certification (intermediate level: B1, TOEFL, Cambridge, Official School of Languages...).
In the event of not having this official certification, the CAPD will carry out the tests it deems appropriate: oral and/or written test and/or personal interview, to assess the student's knowledge of the English language, but it will always be recommended that they acquire this certification during the first two years of the program.
Applications and registration for PhD programmes will be made using the online application system on the UDC website, accompanied by all necessary supporting documents. Applications and registration for external students will be made here.
If you need more information, you can check this sources the Application general procedure.
These criteria will allow the selection of admitted candidates if there are more applications than places. The selection of students for admission to the programme will be made based on the following criteria:
• Academic record (60%) determined by the grades obtained in the bachelor's and master's degree (or DEA or research proficiency).
• Previous research experience and its results (10%): In this section, publications, communications to conferences and other scientific contributions and their suitability to the lines of research of the doctoral programme will be assessed. Candidates must submit supporting documentation.
• Professional experience (10%): In this section, professional experience related to the lines of research of the doctoral programme will be assessed. Candidates must submit supporting documentation (certification of working life, copy of contracts, scholarships, etc.)
• Other accredited aspects in the candidate's curriculum vitae (5%): In this section, research stays, courses taken and courses taught related to the lines of research of the programme will be assessed, as well as knowledge of a foreign language at level B1 or higher and knowledge of languages other than the mother tongue, etc. Candidates must submit supporting documentation.
• Personal interview (15%): In this section, motivation and aptitude, communication skills, etc. will be assessed.
The same criteria will be applied to admit all candidates regardless of whether their dedication is full-time or part-time.
In the case of those students who come from Master's degrees whose content is not related to the areas of the Doctoral Programme, admission may be conditional on the passing of specific training complements that will be detailed in section 3.4 of this report and that must be specified for each student by the CAPD.
These training complements will correspond, at most, to 12 ECTS and may be carried out simultaneously with enrolment in academic tutoring. In the case of taking them previously, the student will only enrol in these complements and the Supervision Commitment referred to in Article 31 of this Legislation will not be signed, nor will the Doctoral student's Activities Document be opened until it is passed.
The application for admission (or registration renewal) and enrollment in PhD studies will be carried out according to the terms approved by the Governing Council of the UDC.
See information on how to register for UDC PhD courses.