Doctoral Program is aimed at training researchers capable of developing their potential in various directions, depending on the type of Doctoral Thesis they wish to carry out. They can be disciplinary or interdisciplinary investigations, which is the most common. But they can also be multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary.
important aspects are sought through training complements. The first complement is about learning the procedures to prepare a Doctoral Thesis type of research. With the second complement - aimed at participating in at least one Congress, a Symposium or a Conference that has a clear research component - priority is given to the search for research training in each enrollee, so that content is updated and a open mind, capable of connecting the research topic itself with transversal issues.
As indicated by Royal Decree 99/2011, obtaining a Doctorate degree must provide high professional training in diverse fields, especially those that require creativity and innovation.
General Competence 1 (CG1) - Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of the skills and research methods related to said field
General Competence 2 (CG2): CG2 - Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial research or creation process.
General Competence 3 (CG3): CG3 - Ability to contribute to expanding the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
General Competence 4 (CGN): CG4 - Ability to carry out critical analysis and evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.
General Competence 5 (CG3): CG5 - Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and with society in general about their areas of knowledge, in the modes and languages commonly used in their international scientific community.
General Competence 6 (CGN): CG6 - Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural advancement within a knowledge-based society.
Specific Competency 1
(SC1): Function in contexts in which there is little specific information.
Specific Competency 2
(SC2): CE2 - Find the key questions that must be answered to solve a complex problem.
Specific Competency 3
(SC3): Design, create, develop and undertake new and innovative projects in their field of knowledge.
Specific Competency 4
(SC4)- Work both as a team and autonomously in an international or multidisciplinary context.
Specific Competency 5
(SC5) - Integrate knowledge, confront complexity and make judgments with limited information.
Specific Competency 6 (SC6) - Criticism and intellectual defense of solutions
Each of the three major thematic areas of the Doctoral Program—Documentation, Communication and Humanities—has its own professional and academic opportunities along with the possibility of jobs where a combination of two of them is requested.
(I) Within the academic field, integration into research groups and projects, both national and international, is possible in the different areas of the specialty.
(II) You can also opt for the development of academic teaching and research activity in Higher Education centers.
(III) Specific tasks for Documentation are professionals from archives, libraries and documentation centers along with companies from various sectors of the cultural. industry.
(IV) Professional opportunities in Communication are found in the conventional and digital media of the press, radio, television, etc., along with transmedia platforms and other areas such as video games.
(V) In the field of Humanities, highly qualified professionals with great capacity to adapt to various jobs are offered, from the business sector of human resources to cultural, scientific and technological management, as well as scientific communication.
This are the main research lines for current study.
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 16: Applications.
| complements | credits |
|---|---|
| Research and Innovation in Musical Education | 3 |
| Methodology in Educational Research | 3 |
| Research and Innovation in the Didactics of Social Sciences | 3 |
| Research Methodology | 3 |
| - | 3 |
When the applicant for admission to the Doctoral Program lacks the previous training provided, his admission to the Program will be accompanied by the requirement of passing specific training complements. The complements assigned to the same candidate may not exceed 15 ECTS credits.
In this case, at the time of formalizing the registration for academic supervision in the Program, each admitted applicant must enroll in at least the first training complement of the Doctoral Program.
According to current regulations, the training supplements must be completed within a maximum period of three consecutive semesters. Failure to do so will result in students being dropped from the Program.
As stated in the Verifica Report, each candidate for the Doctoral Program must complete the training complements, of which there are two:
a) Take a subject within an official Master's Degree, giving preference to courses aimed at how to learn to do Doctoral Thesis-type research;
b) participate in at least one Congress, a Symposium or a Conference that has a clear research component.
This means that there are two aspects once enrolled in the Doctoral Program:
(i) Take a subject from an official Master's Degree, so that the training received is completed, to learn the procedures to prepare a research such as the Doctoral Thesis, and
(ii) attend a Congress, Symposium or Conference that is related to the thematic scope of the Program.
The idea is that both have a clear research component, since priority is given to research training.
The options for the first complementary training at the University of A Coruña in the 2023-2024 academic year are the following official Master's courses:
Research and Innovation in Musical Education 3 ECTS
Educational Research Methodology 3 ECTS
Research and Innovation in Didactics of the CCSS 3 ECTS
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 31: Supervision agreement.
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 30: Research plan.
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.