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.
20 places offered in academic year 2024/2025
The entry profile establishes the previous training requirements of the students to be admitted to the program. In general, anyone in any of the following situations may be admitted to the programme:
· branch of knowledge: Engineering and architecture
· Field(s) of knowledge: Computer and systems engineering
· Competences, skills and prior knowledge: None in addition to the access qualification
· Access qualifications: Students of the doctoral programme must have, as a priority, knowledge acquired in engineering or master's degrees in the field of computer engineering, data science, artificial intelligence and/or information and communication technologies. Access to the doctoral programme is also possible for those students who have not studied in the areas indicated, but who have complemented their training, with a master's degree related in some way to those of computer engineering and/or information and communication technologies at the discretion of the CAPD.
· Recommended language skills for carrying out these studies: Spanish/Galician and/or English
· not having completed a master's degree, having equivalent training in research credits or having completed at least 60 ECTS of research training directly related to the programme.
· have earned the DEA degree in programs similar to this doctoral program.
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 training complements.
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.
PROGRAM-SPECIFIC ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS.
Letter of reference from the teaching staff of the programme. It is a recommended and valuable requirement for admission to the programme to submit 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) can act as a supervisor if the necessary requirements are met.
Knowledge of languages. Students must have language skills in Galician, Spanish and/or English as a native speaker or with a qualification equivalent to level B1 in one of the 3 languages.
Foreign students from countries outside the Galician and/or Spanish linguistic fields must prove a minimum knowledge of Galician and/or Spanish equivalent to level B1. In the event that they can only communicate through the foreign language that is commonly used for scientific communication in the field of the thesis, the program must ensure their supervision and supervision of the thesis in that language.
The levels of linguistic knowledge will be accredited by one of the official certifications on the list of accreditations recognised by the UDC Language Centre for the different levels of the Common European Framework: https://www.acles.es/uploads/archivos/Tablas_ACLES/Tablas_de_certificados_reconocidos_por_ACLES_2023_02_03.pdf
Program admission criteria.
The selection of students for admission to the programme will be made based on the following criteria:
· Academic record (60%), determined by master's degree, DEA or research proficiency qualifications. In the event that the file belongs to degrees related to computer engineering and related degrees, it will be divided by up to 2 and, in unrelated degrees, it will be divided by up to 4.
· Letter of reference from the faculty of the program (20%) including a draft thesis project
· Previous research experience and its results (10%). Publications, contributions to conferences, etc., and their suitability to the lines of research of the programme will be assessed.
· Professional experience (10%). Professional experience (contracts, scholarships, etc.) related to the lines of research of the programme will be valued.
In order to be assessed, merits must be documented and consistent with the lines of research of the programme. The same admission criteria will be applied to all students, both full-time and part-time.
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.