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.
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places offered in academic year 2025/2026
Recommended profile of admission
The doctoral programme is open to Bachelor's Degrees, Engineers, Graduates or equivalent with a Master's degree or equivalent in accordance with the general access requirements for Doctoral studies indicated in the previous paragraph.
In accordance with RD 822/2021, which establishes the organisation of university education and the procedure for ensuring its quality, the previous profile of students must be framed in the branches of knowledge of Engineering and Architecture or Sciences and within the following areas established in Annex I of said Royal Decree:
– Architecture, construction, building and urban planning, and civil engineering.
– Biology and genetics.
– Biochemistry and biotechnology.
– Agricultural sciences and food technology.
– Biomedical sciences.
– Economic sciences, business administration and management, marketing, commerce, accounting and tourism.
– Environmental sciences and ecology.
– Earth Sciences.
– Physics and astronomy.
– Electrical engineering, electronic engineering and telecommunications engineering.
– Industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, automatic engineering, industrial organisation engineering and navigation engineering.
– Computer and systems engineering.
– Chemical engineering, materials engineering and engineering of the natural environment.
– Mathematics and statistics.
– Interdisciplinary.
In all cases, it will be analyzed whether their training profile includes topics related to differential equations (ordinary and partial), numerical discretization techniques, mathematical modeling, and numerical simulation of industrial processes, engineering or Applied Sciences.
Cases that do not fit the admission profile will be studied by the CAPD, which may or may not proceed to admission, and establish specific complementary training (see section 3.4).
As a guideline, some master's degree studies that will allow admission to this doctoral programme without complementary training will be the Master's Degree in Industrial Mathematics offered by the USC, UDC, UVigo, Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M), or the one that replaces it, or another equivalent.
Program-Specific Access Requirements
1.- At the time of applying for admission, the candidate must submit a preliminary thesis project endorsed by a doctor who meets the requirements to be a director in accordance with current regulations and with the doctoral regulations of the university in which he or she is going to enroll. To this end, applicants will be given facilities to contact the professors of the program.
2.- It is a mandatory requirement for admission to the doctoral programme to submit a report by the candidate consisting of a letter of reference from a lecturer 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 supervisor, if they meet the necessary requirements for it, or as a tutor of the thesis if the thesis supervisor proposed in the preliminary project presented is not a professor of the program and meets the requirements required to be a director.
Application general procedure
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.
Specific access requirements of the CAPD
The selection of students for admission to the programme will be made based on the following criteria:
1.- Academic record (25%) determined by the grades obtained in the bachelor's and master's degree (or DEA or research proficiency).
2.- Accredited knowledge specific to the program (15%). It will be valued that in their previous training (curricular or extracurricular) they have taken subjects with a high content in topics related to the lines of research of the program. As an example, with content in mathematical modelling, mathematical analysis, numerical methods, mathematical optimisation, scientific programming languages, implementation of algorithms, techniques for reducing/optimising calculation times. The determination of this grade will be made according to the programs of the subjects that can be evaluated that the candidate provides, the number of ECTS credits and the grade obtained.
3.- Assessment of the preliminary draft of the thesis (15%). The suitability to the lines of the doctoral programme and its potential originality and scientific innovation will be assessed.
4.- Previous research experience and its results (10%). In this section, publications, conference communications and other scientific contributions and their suitability to the lines of research of the doctoral programme will be assessed. Candidates must submit supporting documentation.
5.- Professional experience (10%): In this section, professional experience related to the lines of research of the doctoral programme will be valued. Candidates must submit supporting documentation (certification of working life, copy of contracts, scholarships, etc.).
6.- Other accredited aspects in the candidate's CV (10%). In this section, research stays, awards obtained, courses taken and courses taught will be assessed. All these merits must be related to the lines of research of the programme. Knowledge of English at level B2 or higher will also be valued. Candidates must submit documentation justifying each merit.
7.- Personal interview (15%): In this section, motivation and aptitude, communication skills, etc. will be assessed. Only those who have obtained at least 15% / 15 points in point 1, and 8% / 8 points in each of points 2 and 3 will be called to the personal interview.
To be admitted to the doctoral programme, a minimum percentage/score of 33% / 33 points must be achieved and the specific entry requirements of the programme must be met.
The same criteria will be applied to admit all candidates regardless of whether their dedication is full-time or part-time.
Admission conditional on the completion of specific complementary training.
In accordance with the provisions of the regulations for doctoral studies of the universities participating in the programme (Article 11 of the Regulations for Doctoral Studies of the USC, Article 5 of the Regulations for Doctoral Studies of the UDC and Article 17 of the Regulations for Doctoral Studies of the University of Vigo), in the event that the students lack the previous training required in the programme, admission may be conditional on passing the specific training complements for each student established by the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme (CAPD) and which may not exceed 15 ECTS credits.
The conditions for carrying out and passing the complementary training will be those indicated in the aforementioned articles of the Regulations for Doctoral Studies of the University in which the student is enrolled.
Deadlines
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.
Registration
See information on how to register for UDC PhD courses.