PhD in Naval and Industrial Engineering

2025/2026

What you learn

The program is multidisciplinary and covers technical, organizational and managerial aspects. Mechanical processes, structural design, automation and process control, the manufacture and use of new materials and components, energy and chemical processes, energy generation, transport and use, naval architecture and propulsion represent some of the fields covered by the doctoral programme.

Research groups:

  • GEM Joint Engineering Group
  • GII Integrated Engineering Group
  • GRIDP Engineering and Project Management Group
  • LAE Structural Analysis Laboratory
  • LAIL Industrial Laser Applications Laboratory
  • LIM Mechanical Engineering Laboratory
  • Materials and renewable energy for engineering, environment and sustainability MARES 
  • Thermal and Rheological Properties of PROTERM Materials
  • SISTER Thermal Systems & Heat Transfer 

Lines of research:

  1. Chemical engineering, environmental and materials
  2. Industrial, mechanical and electrical engineering
  3. Naval and Oceanic Engineering

Generic skills

CB11 - Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of research skills and methods related to that field. ("field" is replaced by "scope" as of the application of R.D. 576/2023, of 4 July)

CB12 - Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial process of research or creation.

CB13 - Ability to contribute to the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge through original research.

CB14 - Ability to carry out critical analysis and evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.

CB15 - Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and with society in general about their fields of knowledge in the modes and languages commonly used in their international scientific community.

CB16 - Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress within a knowledge-based society.

CB17 - Ability to promote Open Science and Citizen Science, in accordance with Article 12 of Organic Law 2/2023, of 22 March, as a way of contributing to the consideration of scientific knowledge as a common good, through the evaluation of cross-cutting activities carried out by the doctoral student related to different dimensions of Open Science and Citizen Science, as well as the training acquired in both disciplines in micro-credential format or similar. (From the application of R.D. 576/2023, of 4 July)

Specific skills

CA01 - Function in contexts in which there is little specific information.

CA02 - Find the key questions that need to be answered to solve a complex problem.

CA03 - Design, create, develop and undertake novel and innovative projects in their field of knowledge.

CA04 - Work both in a team and autonomously in an international or multidisciplinary context.

CA05 - Integrate knowledge, deal with complexity and make judgments with limited information.

CA06 - The critique and intellectual defense of solutions.

CE1 - Knowledge of the new trends in the research object of the thesis.

CT3 - Acquire a culture of innovation.

CT2 - Know how to make a synthesis of the state of the art.

CT1 - Advanced Training in Research Techniques

CG4 - Ability to carry out research activity with social responsibility and scientific integrity

CG3 - Encourage group work.

CG2 - Fostering academic and research collaborations

CG1 - Promote communication with the productive environment

CE5 - Continuous search for innovative improvements in the naval and industrial sectors.

CE4 - Acquire skills for transferring knowledge and technologies to industry.

CE3 - Culture of continuous training or personal updating of knowledge.

CE2 - Knowledge of the specific techniques that apply to them.

Transversal skills

CB11 - Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of research skills and methods related to that field. ("field" is replaced by "scope" as of the application of R.D. 576/2023, of 4 July)

CB12 - Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial process of research or creation.

CB13 - Ability to contribute to the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge through original research.

CB14 - Ability to carry out critical analysis and evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.

CB15 - Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and with society in general about their fields of knowledge in the modes and languages commonly used in their international scientific community.

CB16 - Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress within a knowledge-based society.

CB17 - Ability to promote Open Science and Citizen Science, in accordance with Article 12 of Organic Law 2/2023, of 22 March, as a way of contributing to the consideration of scientific knowledge as a common good, through the evaluation of cross-cutting activities carried out by the doctoral student related to different dimensions of Open Science and Citizen Science, as well as the training acquired in both disciplines in micro-credential format or similar. (From the application of R.D. 576/2023, of 4 July)

Professional and academic career

The professional opportunities for graduates of the program focus on:

  • In the academic field as a teaching and research staff in Spanish and foreign universities.
  • In public or private research centres.
  • In engineering engineering and consulting companies, both national and international.
  • In shipyard companies or large companies that are dedicated to the advanced design and construction of ships and ocean systems.
  • In the automotive and aerospace industry.
  • In administration and management positions in both the public and private sectors.
  • In the creation of technology-based companies

Professional and academic career

The professional opportunities for graduates of the program focus on:

  • In the academic field as a teaching and research staff in Spanish and foreign universities.
  • In public or private research centres.
  • In engineering engineering and consulting companies, both national and international.
  • In shipyard companies or large companies that are dedicated to the advanced design and construction of ships and ocean systems.
  • In the automotive and aerospace industry.
  • In administration and management positions in both the public and private sectors.
  • In the creation of technology-based companies

Research lines

This are the main research lines for current study.

  • Chemical, environmental and material engineering
  • Industrial, mechanical and electrical engineering
  • Naval and ocean engineering

Planning for teaching

Additional subject teaching

Candidates who do not meet all the necessary prior learning conditions for the programme may be required to complete additional courses in the form of subjects and modules from UDC Master’s and undergraduate programmes. The number of credits from additional subject teaching will not exceed 15 ECTS credits, which students may choose to complete before or after enrolment in the PhD programme.

Students who do not opt to complete additional coursework prior to enrolment should register for their extra subjects or modules at the same time as the PhD. Failure to complete additional coursework within a period of three consecutive terms will result in the termination of the student’s registration.

See also UDC PhD Policies and Regulations, Article 5: Applications.

EIDUDC teaching and training activities

EIDUDC teaching and training activities

Programme-specific teaching and training activities

Seminar of 3 hours per quarter.

Supervision agreement

The PhD supervision agreement defines the academic relationship between the candidate and the University, the rights and responsibilities of each (including any intellectual and/or industrial property rights resulting from the candidate’s research), the procedures in place in relation to conflict resolution, and the duration of the agreement. It also specifies the duties of the PhD tutor and supervisor.

The supervision agreement must be signed by the candidate, tutor and designated university representative (or representatives) within a maximum period of one month as from the date of registration. The supervisor’s signature may be added subsequently, once a supervisor has been appointed.

When the document has been signed by all the relevant parties, the agreement is then added to the candidate’s record of activities.

See also UDC PhD Policies and Regulations, Article 13: Supervision agreement.

Research plan

The candidate must prepare a research plan within six months of registration, with information regarding methodology, objectives, resources and milestones. The research plan is submitted together with the report of the supervisor and/or tutor for approval by the Academic Committee for PhD Programmes (CAPD). Improvements to the plan may be introduced with the approval of the supervisor and/or tutor based on the annual review of the student’s research progress.

Research plans are subject to annual review by the CAPD, including the report(s) of the supervisor and/or tutor and the candidate’s record of activities. Students will be permitted to continue with their studies if the outcome of the review is satisfactory. If the outcome is negative, the student will be required to submit a new plan within a period of six months. If the committee is still not satisfied, the candidate will be removed from the programme.

See also UDC PhD Policies and Regulations, Article 15: Research plan.

Student mobility

UDC holds student mobility agreements with universities and other third-level institutions across four continents. Students are offered several opportunities each year to apply to study abroad in one of these centres (for a single term or for a whole year), with the guarantee that all credits obtained will be duly recognised in their academic record upon their return.

For each round of applications, the University publishes the list of exchange options available to students and, where relevant, the specific conditions associated with each. Students may also apply to the University for funding for international work experience placements and internships.

Work experience placements are accredited in the student's academic record and the European diploma supplement. Students are free to decide in which host company or academic institution within the EHEA they wish to carry out their placement. To assist them in their search, the University has created an online noticeboard with jobs postings and other news.

Work-study placements in A Coruña are arranged by the International Relations Office (ORI) of the UDC in collaboration with the international relations coordinators in the student’s home university. The general entry criteria, rights and obligations of students, and admission and acceptance procedures for the programme, are regulated by the UDC Mobility Policy.