Access profile

Students who have completed a UPC research master's degree are eligible for admission to the programme. The following programmes are currently being offered at this level: the master's degree in Advanced Studies in Architecture-Barcelona (MBArch), offered by the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB; preference is given to applicants with a specialisation in Urbanism); the master's degree in Sustainable Intervention in the Built Environment (MISMeC), offered by the Vallès School of Architecture (ETSAV); and the master's degree in Landscape Architecture (MBLandArch), offered by the Barcelona School of Agricultural Engineering (ESAB). Applicants must have obtained a mark of “excellent” on their master’s thesis.

The content, specific knowledge and research practices associated with these master’s degrees are considered essential training for all students. Therefore, students who do not meet this prerequisite will not be admitted directly to the doctoral programme in Urbanism.

Applicants must present a thesis topic, which will be evaluated by the academic committee for the programme, and which will be supervised (or co-supervised) by a professor on the programme. 

In exceptional cases, applicants who have a proven record of excellence in their professional field or in research, or who present an excellent thesis topic, may be considered for admission. Admission decisions will be made by the academic committee in all cases. 

Output profile

Doctoral candidates who complete a doctoral degree will have acquired the following competencies, which are needed to carry out quality research (Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January, which regulates official doctoral studies):

a) A systematic understanding of the field of study and a mastery of the research skills and methods related to the field.
b) An ability to conceive, design or create, put into practice and adopt a substantial process of research or creation.
c) An ability to contribute to pushing back the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
d) A capacity for critical analysis and an ability to assess and summarise new and complex ideas.
e) An ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and with society in general as regards their fields of knowledge in the manner and languages that are typical of the international scientific community to which they belong.
f) An ability to foster scientific, technological, social, artistic and cultural progress in academic and professional contexts within a knowledge-based society.

The award of a doctoral degree must equip the graduate for work in a variety of settings, especially those requiring creativity and innovation. Doctoral graduates must have at least acquired the personal skills needed to:

a) Develop in contexts in which there is little specific information.
b) Find the key questions that must be answered to solve a complex problem.
c) Design, create, develop and undertake original, innovative projects in their field.
d) Work as part of a team and independently in an international or multidisciplinary context.
e) Integrate knowledge, deal with complexity and make judgements with limited information.
f) Offer criticism on and intellectually defend solutions.

Finally, with respect to competencies, doctoral students must:
a) have acquired advanced knowledge at the frontier of their discipline and demonstrated, in the context of internationally recognised scientific research, a deep, detailed and well-grounded understanding of theoretical and practical issues and scientific methodology in one or more research fields;
b) have made an original and significant contribution to scientific research in their field of expertise that has been recognised as such by the international scientific community;
c) have demonstrated that they are capable of designing a research project that serves as a framework for carrying out a critical analysis and assessment of imprecise situations, in which they are able to apply their contributions, expertise and working method to synthesise new and complex ideas that yield a deeper knowledge of the research context in which they work;
d) have developed sufficient autonomy to set up, manage and lead innovative research teams and projects and scientific collaborations (both national and international) within their subject area, in multidisciplinary contexts and, where appropriate, with a substantial element of knowledge transfer;
e) have demonstrated that they are able to carry out their research activity in a socially responsible manner and with scientific integrity;
f) have demonstrated, within their specific scientific context, that they are able to make cultural, social or technological advances and promote innovation in all areas within a knowledge-based society;
g) have demonstrated that they are able to participate in scientific discussions at the international level in their field of expertise and disseminate the results of their research activity to audiences of all kinds.

Number of places

10

Duration of studies and dedication regime

Duration
The maximum period of study for full-time doctoral studies is three years, counted from the date of admission to the programme to the date of submission of the doctoral thesis. The academic committee of the doctoral programme may authorise a doctoral candidate to pursue doctoral studies on a part-time basis. In this case, the maximum period of study is five years, counting from the date of admission to the programme to the date of submission of the doctoral thesis. For calculating these periods, the date of admission is considered to be the date of the first enrolment for tutorials, and the date of submission the moment in which the Doctoral School officially deposits the doctoral thesis.

For full-time doctoral candidates, the minimum period of study is two years, counted from the date of an applicant's admission to the programme until the date on which the doctoral thesis is deposited; for part-time doctoral candidates it is four years. When there are justified grounds for doing so, and the thesis supervisor and academic tutor have given their authorisation, doctoral candidates may request that the academic committee of their doctoral programme exempt them from the minimum period of study requirement.

The calculation of periods of study will not include periods of absence due to illness, pregnancy or any other reason provided for in the regulations in force. Students who find themselves in any of these circumstances must notify the academic committee of the doctoral programme, which, where appropriate, must inform the Doctoral School. Doctoral candidates may also temporarily withdraw from the programme for up to one year, and this period may be extended for an additional year. Doctoral candidates who wish to interrupt their studies must submit a justified request to the academic committee of the doctoral programme, which will decide whether or not to approve the request. Each programme will establish conditions for readmission to doctoral studies.

Extension
If full-time doctoral candidates have not applied to deposit their thesis by the end of the three-year period of study, the academic committee of the programme may authorise an extension of up to one year. In exceptional circumstances, a further one-year extension may be granted, subject to the conditions established by the corresponding doctoral programme. In the case of part-time doctoral candidates, an extension of two years may be authorised. In both cases, in exceptional circumstances a further one-year extension may be granted by the Doctoral School's Standing Committee, upon the submission of a reasoned application by the academic committee of the doctoral programme.

Dismissal from the doctoral programme
A doctoral candidate may be dismissed from a doctoral programme for the following reasons:

• The doctoral candidate submitting a justified application to withdraw from the programme.
• The maximum period of study and of extensions thereof ending.
• The doctoral candidate not having enrolled every academic year (unless he or she has been authorised to temporarily withdraw).
• The doctoral candidate failing two consecutive assessments.
• The doctoral candidate having disciplinary proceedings filed against him or her that rule that he or she must be dismissed from the UPC.

Dismissal from the programme implies that doctoral candidates cannot continue studying at the UPC and the closing of their academic record. This notwithstanding, they may apply to the academic committee of the programme for readmission and the committee must reevaluate them in accordance with the criteria established in the regulations.

Organization

• Parcerisa Bundo, Josep

• Gomez Escoda, Eulalia
• Oyon Bañales, Jose Luis
• Parcerisa Bundo, Josep
• Sabate Bel, Joaquim

• Department of Urbanism and Regional Planning (PROMOTORA)

Secretary’s Office for Doctoral Programmes in Architecture
Tel.: 934 011 875
Secretariadoctorat.utgab@upc.edu

Access profile

Students who have completed a UPC research master's degree are eligible for admission to the programme. The following programmes are currently being offered at this level: the master's degree in Advanced Studies in Architecture-Barcelona (MBArch), offered by the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB; preference is given to applicants with a specialisation in Urbanism); the master's degree in Sustainable Intervention in the Built Environment (MISMeC), offered by the Vallès School of Architecture (ETSAV); and the master's degree in Landscape Architecture (MBLandArch), offered by the Barcelona School of Agricultural Engineering (ESAB). Applicants must have obtained a mark of “excellent” on their master’s thesis.

The content, specific knowledge and research practices associated with these master’s degrees are considered essential training for all students. Therefore, students who do not meet this prerequisite will not be admitted directly to the doctoral programme in Urbanism.

Applicants must present a thesis topic, which will be evaluated by the academic committee for the programme, and which will be supervised (or co-supervised) by a professor on the programme. 

In exceptional cases, applicants who have a proven record of excellence in their professional field or in research, or who present an excellent thesis topic, may be considered for admission. Admission decisions will be made by the academic committee in all cases. 

Access requirements

Applicants must hold a Spanish bachelor’s degree or equivalent and a Spanish master’s degree or equivalent, provided they have completed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits on the two degrees (Royal Decree 43/2015, of 2 February)

In addition, the following may apply:

• Holders of an official degree awarded by a university in Spain or any other country in the European Higher Education Area, pursuant to the provisions of Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October, which establishes official university course regulations, who have completed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits on official university degrees, of which at least 60 must be at the master's degree level.
• Holders of an official Spanish bachelor’s degree comprising at least 300 credits, as provided for by EU regulations. Holder of degrees of this kind must complete bridging courses unless the curriculum of the bachelor’s degree in question included research training credits equivalent in value to those which would be earned on a master's degree.
• Holders of an official university qualification who, having passed the entrance examination for specialised medical training, have completed at least two years of a training course leading to an official degree in a health-sciences specialisation.
• Holders of a degree issued under a foreign education system. In these cases, homologation is not required, but the UPC must verify that the degree certifies a level of training equivalent to an official Spanish master's degree and qualifies the holder for admission to doctoral studies in the country where it was issued. Admission on this basis does not imply homologation of the foreign degree or its recognition for any purpose other than admission to doctoral studies.
• Holders of a Spanish doctoral qualification issued under previous university regulations.

Note 1: Doctoral studies entrance regulations for holders of an undergraduate degree awarded before the introduction of the EHEA (CG 47/02 2014)

Note 2: Governing Council Decision 64/2014, which approves the procedure and criteria for assessing the fulfilment of academic admission requirements for doctoral studies by holders of non-homologated foreign degrees (CG 25/03 2014)

Admission criteria and merits assessment

Applications for admission must be accompanied by a CV (with particular emphasis on academic grades and research experience); a 500-word covering letter; up to two letters of recommendation; and an explanation of the field of research the applicant plans to focus on in their doctoral thesis work (or a more defined proposal).

The academic committee will make admission decisions based on the following criteria (weighting in parenthesis):
• Academic record (20%)
• Assessment of the applicant’s knowledge and motivation based on a questionnaire (30%)
• Research experience and research proposal (50%)

Training complements

Students who have completed a UPC research master's degree are eligible for admission to the programme. The following programmes are currently being offered at this level: the master's degree in Advanced Studies in Architecture-Barcelona (MBArch), offered by the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB; preference is given to applicants with a specialisation in Urbanism); the master's degree in Sustainable Intervention in the Built Environment (MISMeC), offered by the Vallès School of Architecture (ETSAV); and the master's degree in Landscape Architecture (MBLandArch), offered by the Barcelona School of Agricultural Engineering (ESAB). 

Applicants who have completed one of these master’s degrees will not be required to take any bridging courses.

Enrolment period for new doctoral students

First enrolment will take place after admission decisions are issued if this occurs after the general enrolment period.

More information at the registration section for new doctoral students

Enrolment period

In the first half of October.

More information at the general registration section

Procedure for the preparation and defense of the research plan

Doctoral candidates must submit a research plan, which will be included in their doctoral student activity report, before the end of the first year. The plan may be improved over the course of the doctoral degree. It must be endorsed by the tutor and the supervisor, and it must include the method that is to be followed and the aims of the research.

At least one of these annual assessments will include a public presentation and defence of the research plan and work done before a committee composed of three doctoral degree holders, which will be conducted in the manner determined by each academic committee. The examination committee awards a Pass or Fail mark. A Pass mark is a prerequisite for continuing on the doctoral programme. Doctoral candidates awarded a Fail mark must submit a new research plan for assessment by the academic committee of the doctoral programme within six months.

The committee assesses the research plan every year, in addition to all of the other activities in the doctoral student activity report. Doctoral candidates who are awarded two consecutive Fail marks for the research plan will be obliged to definitely withdraw from the programme.

If they change the subject of their thesis, they must submit a new research plan.

Formation activities

Activity: Tutorial.
Hours: 280.
Type: compulsory.

Activity: Training in information skills.
Hours: 1.5.
Type: optional.

Activity: Research methodology.
Hours: 12.
Type: optional.

Activity: Innovation and creativity.
Hours: 8
Type: optional.

Activity: Language and communication skills.
Hours: 18.
Type: optional.

Activity: Assessment based on doctoral student activity report (DAD) and research plan.
Hours: 4.
Type: compulsory.

Procedure for assignment of tutor and thesis director

The academic committee of the doctoral programme assigns a thesis supervisor to each doctoral candidate when they are admitted or enrol for the first time, taking account of the thesis supervision commitment referred to in the admission decision.

The thesis supervisor will ensure that training activities carried out by the doctoral candidate are coherent and suitable, and that the topic of the candidate’s doctoral thesis will have an impact and make a novel contribution to knowledge in the relevant field. The thesis supervisor will also guide the doctoral candidate in planning the thesis and, if necessary, tailoring it to any other projects or activities undertaken. The thesis supervisor will generally be a UPC professor or researcher who holds a doctoral degree and has documented research experience. This includes PhD-holding staff at associated schools (as determined by the Governing Council) and UPC-affiliated research institutes (in accordance with corresponding collaboration and affiliation agreements). When thesis supervisors are UPC staff members, they also act as the doctoral candidate’s tutor.

PhD holders who do not meet these criteria (as a result of their contractual relationship or the nature of the institution to which they are attached) must be approved by the UPC Doctoral School's Standing Committee in order to participate in a doctoral programme as researchers with documented research experience.

The academic committee of the doctoral programme may approve the appointment of a PhD-holding expert who is not a UPC staff member as a candidate’s thesis supervisor. In such cases, the prior authorisation of the UPC Doctoral School's Standing Committee is required. A UPC staff member who holds a doctoral degree and has documented research experience must also be proposed to act as a co-supervisor, or as the doctoral candidate’s tutor if one has not been assigned.

A thesis supervisor may step down from this role if there are justified reasons (recognised as valid by the committee) for doing so. If this occurs, the academic committee of the doctoral programme will assign the doctoral candidate a new thesis supervisor.

Provided there are justified reasons for doing so, and after hearing any relevant input from the doctoral candidate, the academic committee of the doctoral programme may assign a new thesis supervisor at any time during the period of doctoral study.

If there are academic reasons for doing so (an interdisciplinary topic, joint or international programmes, etc.) and the academic committee of the programme gives its approval, an additional thesis supervisor may be assigned. Supervisors and co-supervisors have the same responsibilities and academic recognition.

The maximum number of supervisors of a doctoral thesis is two: a supervisor and a co-supervisor.

For theses carried out under a cotutelle agreement or as part of an Industrial Doctorate, if necessary and if the agreement foresees it this maximum number of supervisors may not apply. This notwithstanding, the maximum number of supervisors belonging to the UPC is two.

More information at the PhD theses section

Permanence

The academic committee of the programme may authorise an extension of up to one year for full-time doctoral candidates who have not applied to deposit their thesis by the end of the three-year period of study, in the terms outlined in the Academic Regulations for Doctoral Studies of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. In the case of part-time candidates, an extension of two years may be authorised. In both cases, in exceptional circumstances a further one-year extension may be granted by the Doctoral School's Standing Committee, upon the submission of a reasoned application by the academic committee of the doctoral programme.

A doctoral candidate may be dismissed from a doctoral programme for the following reasons:

• The doctoral candidate submitting a justified application to withdraw from the programme.
• The maximum period of study and of extensions thereof ending.
• The doctoral candidate not having enrolled every academic year (unless he or she has been authorised to temporarily withdraw).
• The doctoral candidate failing two consecutive assessments.
• The doctoral candidate having disciplinary proceedings filed against him or her that rule that he or she must be dismissed from the UPC.

Dismissal from the programme implies that doctoral candidates cannot continue studying at the UPC and the closing of their academic record. This notwithstanding, they may apply to the academic committee of the programme for readmission and the committee must reevaluate them in accordance with the criteria established in the regulations.

International Mention

The doctoral degree certificate may include International Doctorate mention. In this case, the doctoral candidate must meet the following requirements:

a) During the period of study leading to the award of the doctoral degree, the doctoral candidate must have spent at least three months at a respected higher education institution or research centre outside Spain to complete courses or do research work. 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.
b) Part of the thesis (at least the summary 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.
c) At least two PhD-holding experts belonging to a higher education institution or research centre outside Spain must have issued officially certified reports on the thesis.
d) 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 (point a) above).
e) 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.

List of authorized thesis for defense

Last update: 27/02/2021 06:03:59.

List of lodged theses

Last update: 27/02/2021 06:03:16.

List of defended theses by year

• SALVÀ MATAS, CATALINA: La memòria d'un paisatge gravat. Les pedreres de marès, empremta territorial del paisatge identitari de Mallorca
  
  Author: SALVÀ MATAS, CATALINA
  Thesis file: (contact the Doctoral School to confirm you have a valid doctoral degree and to get the link to the thesis)
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN URBANISM
  Department: Department of Urbanism and Regional Planning (UOT)
  Mode: Normal
  Reading date: 18/02/2021
  Thesis director: LLOP TORNE, CARLOS JUAN | GOULA, MARIA
  

  Committee:
       PRESIDENT: SABATE BEL, JOAQUIN
       SECRETARI: SPANOU, IOANNA
       VOCAL: SARDÀ FERRAN, JORDI
       VOCAL: ALOMAR GARAU, GABRIEL
       VOCAL NO PRESENCIAL: LABASTIDA JUAN, MARTA
  Thesis abstract: This research aims to be the manifesto of one of the most widespread landscapes on the island of Mallorca: the marès quarries, and proposes to understand these spaces as part of its landscape, as an essential part of its territory and as defining elements of its identity and memory. The marès quarries are a quarrytype that could be almost declared native of this island. Its name comes from the extracted material, marès, a rock present in much of its territory that has been used to make most of the buildings found there. The materialization of these quarries is evidenced by voids built by extracting the stone, places with spectacular spatial conditions. Talking about quarries is not only about the excavations produced but also about their environment, the landscape, and how they contribute to the formation of the identity, image and memory of the territory. This thesis is part of this theme.The defended hypothesis is that the marès quarries are shapers of the identity of Mallorca, especially as essential components of its landscape although, at present, these are predestined to their disappearance once the activity of the stone extraction finishes, because of the application of restoration plans that erase, filling the excavated space, the quarries of the landscape. The severing of the prejudices that are associated with the marès quarries, understood as pure extractive activities, will be essential to establish a renewed look towards them that, at the same time, will allow them to be considered as valuable landscapes. It is wanted to prove the existence of a territorial link between the marès quarries and the territory, proposing it as a new concept of insular extension and new reading form of this landscape. This link is foreshadowed as the territorial organization of the marès quarries, intuiting the existence of landscape patterns in their morphology. The final goal of the research is to find the values that distinguish them from other quarries, which will be understood by their identity, and that will establish the possible patterns for their conservation and future management.The research aims to set the knowledge around these quarries, collecting and compiling all those that exist today and those that have existed in the past. The elaboration of a Quarry Archive will be one of the transversal contributions of the research and will aim to become the reference document about them. Based on the hypothesis that landscape research is necessarily based on its representation, it is approached from its total complexity, understanding complexity as the accumulation, superposition and relationship of multiple data from different origins. The registration and documentation of the landscape necessarily involves the generation of images: cartographies of quarries never before drawn, thus being one of the main contributions of the thesis.The structure of the thesis tries to reproduce all the readings made towards the case study. For this reason a progressive reading of the thesis is proposed, reconstructing the process of generation of the change of the way of looking towards the marès quarries, understood first like places, like isolated spaces to which its memory and the readings are incorporated, to end up comprehending them as landscape, as a part of the identity of the territory of the island. The trinomial PLACES ¿ MEMORY ¿ LANDSCAPE is formed by the three concepts that define the title of the three chapters that constitute the theoretical body of research and that at the same time can be understood as three different perspectives of the mares quarries. These three chapters lead to the generation of the Quarry Archive, which integrates the Quarry Database and Cartography, essential documents for the historical, territorial and landscape understanding of the marès quarries.
  

Last update: 27/02/2021 06:02:46.

Research groups

• ACC-Architecture, City and Culture
• GILDA-Group for Teaching Innovation and Logistics in Architecture
• GRU-Urbanism Research Group
• LUB-Urbanism Laboratory

Teachers

• Castiñeira Palou, Isabel
• Corominas Ayala, Miguel
• Crosas Armengol, Carles
• Eizaguirre Garaitagoitia, Xabier
• Español Llorens, Joaquim
• Font Arellano, Antonio
• Franquesa Sanchez, Jordi
• Llop Torne, Carles
• Marti Casanovas, Miquel
• Martin Ramos, Angel
• Muxi Martinez, Zaida
• Oyon Bañales, Jose Luis
• Parcerisa Bundo, Josep
• Peremiquel Lluch, Francesc
• Pie Ninot, Ricard
• Roca Blanch, Estanislau
• Rubert de Ventos, Maria
• Sabate Bel, Joaquim
• Sagarra Trias, Ferran
• Serra Riera, Enric
• Sotoca Garcia, Adolf
• Vidal Pla, Miguel