Doctoral School

International Doctorate mention

The doctoral degree certificate may include the International Doctorate mention on the front. To be awarded the mention you must: 

  1. During the period of training leading to the award of the doctoral degree, the doctoral candidate must have completed one or more placements outside Spain, with a total duration of at least three months, at one or more higher education institutions or recognised research centres, with the aim of complementing and deepening their research training. If the doctoral candidate has completed multiple placements, at least one must have a minimum duration of one month. The stays and activities carried out must be endorsed by the thesis supervisor and authorised by the academic committee of the programme. The candidate must provide a certifying document issued by the person responsible for the research group of the body or bodies where the stay or activity was completed. This information will be added to the doctoral student’s activity report.
  2. Part of the thesis (at least the abstract and conclusions) must be written and presented in one of the languages commonly used for science communication in the relevant field of knowledge, which must not be an official language of Spain. This rule does not apply to stays and reports in Spanish or to experts from Spanish-speaking countries.
  3. At least two of the experts who wrote the thesis reports referred to in Section 10.1 must be attached to a non-Spanish university or research institute. These persons must not be the researchers who received the doctoral candidate and acted as tutors or exercised supervisory functions at the host institution.
  4. The thesis examination committee must have included at least one PhD-holding expert from a higher education or research institution outside Spain who was not responsible for the candidate’s stay abroad described in point (i) above.
  5. The thesis defence must have taken place on UPC premises or, in the case of joint programmes, at the location specified in the collaboration agreement.

How do I apply for the International Doctorate mention?

When you deposit your thesis, you must submit the following documents if you have not already done so: 

  1. Application for the International Doctorate mention

  2. Endorsement and authorisation of the International Doctorate mention 

  3. Certificate of the stay issued by the person responsible in the research group at the body where the stay took place

  4. Report by two PhD holders belonging to a higher education institution or research centre outside Spain

Further information

Academic Regulations for Doctoral Studies