Useful Information

Applications for admission are subject to review by the Academic Committee of the Ph.D. programs, who evaluate the academic background and curriculum vitae of the candidates, as well as their interests and/or research experience. According to art. 6 of the PhD studies regulation (RD 99/2011), in order to access the Program it is required to have a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) and a Master's degree (or equivalent), provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in these two cycles as a whole, or the equivalent degree qualifies for level 3 of MECES (Marco Español de Cualificaciones para la Educación Superior, Spanish Framework for Higher Education Qualifications).

Likewise, access is available to candidates in possession of foreign degrees from countries integrated into the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) when the degree can be accredited as level 7 in the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), as long as the aforementioned degree allows access to PhD level studies in the country of expedition; and candidates with a degree which is equivalent to a Spanish Master's degree, obtained in foreign education systems outside the EHEA, as long as the aforementioned degree allows access to PhD level studies in the country of expedition.

Ph.D. programs may establish additional admission requirements in their specific terms of access.

• Admission. Information and Requirements
• Deadlines for  Application for admission:

- Applications for admission for the second semester of the 24/25 academic year with start date on the 30th of March 2025 can be submitted from September 1st 2024 through January 31st 2025 (Spanish peninsular time, CET)*

- Applications for admission for the first semester of the 24/25 academic year with start date on the 15th of November 2024 can be submitted from February 1st through August 31st 2024 (Spanish peninsular time, CET)*.

*Except where noted in the details of each Ph.D. Program.

Scholarship or Financial Aid Applicants

As a general rule, Ph.D. scholarship granting bodies require candidates to submit proof of eligibility for doctoral studies as part of their application process. Therefore, it is strongly suggested to apply for our Ph.D. programs in advance. Please check the specific requirements of each awarding organization.

Admission and enrollment on a Ph.D. program is required for all scholarship recipients prior to acceptance of the award and the signing of your contract as a training researcher (when applicable).

• Enrollment: Frequently Asked Questions  Check out this information before getting enrolled

• Enroll now  Access the enrollment platform and download our guides to help you through the process

• Enrollment validation Learn about the documentation requirements to submit as a new student

Check our ORIENTATION GUIDE FOR NEW Ph.D. STUDENTS AT UC3M

Enrollment period for new students

• Students starting in the first semester: July 17 through 31, and September 1 through 30 (23:59 h., Peninsular Spanish time) 
• Students starting in the second semester: March 1 through 30 (23:59 h., Peninsular Spanish time) 

Students starting in the second semester will benefit from a reduced tuition fee. A full fee will be applied in subsequent years. 

Enrollment period for continuing students

• All continuing students must renew their enrollment from September 1 through 30 (23:59 h., Peninsular Spanish time)

Industrial Ph.D.

Learn about the specific requirements for an  Industrial Ph.D.  (Doctorado Industrial)

Exemptions

If you are eligible for an exemption on your enrollment, you are required to submit to your PhD administrator the certifications of said exemptions, such as scholarships or financial aids, Large Family status, disability, victim of terrorism (including spouses or children), or orphans of civil and military servants who perished in the line of duty. These documents must be valid for the entire academic year for which the exemption is requested. 

The thesis must be validated by your tutor and advisor and meet the quality and format standards established by the Academic Committee of the program.

To ensure compliance with the principles established in the Code of Good Practice for Managing Plagiarism of Ph.D. Theses of the Doctoral School, all theses must be subjected to a plagiarism management procedure prior to the authorization of the defense.

As a general rule, you must have been enrolled on your Ph.D. program for at least 24 months before initianing thesis defense proceedings. The Academic Committee will establish the requirements for the public review of your thesis and propose the members of the thesis committee. The Doctoral School Board is to approve this proposal and authorize the defense. Theses are defended during a public session, in the language commonly used for scientific communication in the field, in which they are subjected to assessment by an expert committee.

The document DOCTORAL THESIS must follow the following format:

• Thesis in PDF format (based on the following template)

In order to preserve and disseminate the thesis in the institutional e-Archivo repository, it must be presented in PDF* format with the following characteristics: text recognition; embedded fonts; without security passwords.

For LaTeX documents, we recommend downloading the Guide for LaTeX documents from our Library Department.

Please, check the following guide:

• DOCTORAL THESIS STEP BY STEP  Library support guide for UC3M students working on their Doctoral Thesis.

Thesis defense: Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ Thesis Defense (Guide)

FAQ Thesis Defense (link)

Stages of the defense process

1. External Experts Reports
2. Plagiarism analysis
3. Thesis deposit
4. Defense session. Appointment of Committee members
5. Act of thesis defense

Further proceedings

• Application for Degree Certificate
• Legalization of degrees