Annual PhD reviews, research data, extensions, suspensions and changes of status

Once admitted to the doctoral program, you must formalize a registration each academic year (including the deposit of the doctoral thesis), in order to be certified as a doctoral student. The subject called registration annual review, which evaluates the training achieved during the course and the progress of the preparation of the doctoral thesis.

It is for this reason that the academic committee of the doctoral program publishes each academic year a call for follow-up, in which a committee made up of three doctors evaluates your progress of the research plan, the development of the document of activities and a report of the director of thesis and the academic tutor. In this report, the director and the academic tutor of the thesis inform, at least, if you have followed the agreed pattern regarding the number of meetings established between yourself and the thesis supervisor and if you have carried out the planned training activities for the academic year.

In exceptional cases (research stays or fieldwork), the Doctoral Commission, with a prior report from the academic committee of the doctoral program, may authorize replacing the oral and face-to-face presentation of the annual follow-up with another format.

Failure to submit to an annual follow-up without justification leads to the definitive drop in the doctorate program, since the positive evaluation of the follow-up is an essential requirement so that you can continue in the doctorate program and enroll the following course. If the evaluation of the annual follow-up is negative, you can re-enroll yourself from the same follow-up not exceeded within the enrollment calendar, make a new research plan, if the academic committee of the program requires it, and submit to an evaluation of this follow-up in the term of six months from the date of evaluation of the follow-up not exceeded. The date of the evaluation should consult the coordination of your doctoral program.

If you pass the follow-up in this call, you must register for the corresponding follow-up in the same academic year.

However, if the new evaluation is negative, causing definitive drop in the doctoral program.

For the preparation of the thesis should take into account:

• If it is requested that the thesis be presented and defended in a language other than Catalan, Spanish or English. The application must be made and the reports of the director / s and the tutor must be provided, if there are any, and authorization of the commission of the doctorate study. This request must be authorized by the corresponding commission of the UAB whenever it meets the requirements.
• If it is requested that the thesis be presented by compendium of publications. The request must be made and the articles and / or publications must be submitted, together with the mandatory reports of the director (s) and the tutor, if any, and the authorization of the Doctoral Study Commission. This request must be authorized by the corresponding commission of the UAB whenever it meets the requirements.
• If it is requested that the thesis be presented in co-supervision. The application must be made and the signed agreement and annex must be submitted, together with the mandatory reports of the director (s) and the tutor, if any, and the authorization of the Doctoral Study Commission. This request must be authorized by the corresponding commission of the UAB whenever it meets the requirements.
• If it is requested that the thesis be presented for the International Doctor Mention. The application must be made and provide the corresponding external reports, certificate of the stay abroad, together with the mandatory reports of the director / s, and the tutor if any, and the authorization of the Doctoral Study Commission. This request must be authorized by the corresponding commission of the UAB provided that it meets all the requirements and once the defense of the thesis has been completed.

The UAB offers you online information about intellectual property and open access to the theses and for any other work.

The website Intellectual Property and Open Access contains a collection of frequently asked questions that provide information on intellectual property and open access, of an advisory nature and that can not be considered, in any case, legal advice by the Autonomous University of Barcelona. You can access by doing a search in the box or browsing the thematic folders.

In this section you will find information about what a Data Management Plan (PGD) is. The objective is for you to reflect, together with your thesis director, on the need to design this plan, in order to better organize data collection, apply a methodology and anticipate compliance with the FAIR principles. This information must be explained in the follow-up evaluation sessions of each academic year.

To prepare your data management plan for the doctoral thesis, we recommend that you consult the Guide to prepare a data management plan for doctoral students (document in Catalan). In CORA.eiNa DMP you will find a specific template to prepare the PGD assisted by the application, with specific sections and examples. To better understand the benefits of preparing a PGD in organizing your thesis research data, you can also view this UPF video aimed at doctoral students.

This link to the Intellectual Property and Open Access website explains what it is and how a data management plan can be made.

The UAB Libraries, together with the Doctoral School, also offer specific courses for doctoral students on research data. You will find them in this link to the transversal activities with the name: Research data: publish it openly and make the data management plan. The courses are offered in three languages: Catalan, Spanish and English.

For more information on the management (preparation of the PGD and publication) of the data, contact your reference library through Pregunt@.

The development of the thesis can make full dedication, which means 2 calendar years (3 reviews enrolled) or part-time, which means 5 calendar years (6 reviews enrolled).

If you run out the deadline, you can request an extension to further develop the PhD thesis.

In this section you will find information on how to request an extension to your deadlines for work on the thesis.

• If you have opted for full-time status
  Three years to complete the PhD. If you do not have the thesis deposit validated by the thesis supervisor (ED status) by the end of this period, you can petition your PhD programme’s Academic Committee (CAPD) for an extension of one further year. If you have still not deposited it after this extra year you can request an exceptional extension of one more year. Please note that this exceptional extension means that you must deposit the thesis no more than five years after the date of admission on to the PhD programme.
  What is the procedure to follow? After the year 3 progress review, which is equivalent to enrolment for progress review 69503, you should request the first extension to enrol for progress review 69504. This extension will be in force until 30 September of that academic year. If you have still not have the thesis deposit validated by the thesis supervisor (ED status) by that date, you should request the last extension available, the exceptional extension, which will be in force ONLY until the date when the five-year period following your admission elapses, by which date you should have deposited the thesis. For example: if you were admitted on 15 October 2013, you should have deposited the thesis by 14 October 2018 at the latest.

• If you have opted for part-time status
  Five years to complete the PhD. If you do not have the thesis deposit validated by the thesis supervisor (ED status) by the end of this period, you can petition your CAPD for an extension of two further years. If you have still not the deposit validated by the thesis supervisor (ED status) after these extra two years you can request an exceptional extension of one more year. Please note that this exceptional extension means that you must have the thesis deposit validated by the thesis supervisor (ED status) no more than eight years after the date of admission on to the PhD programme.
  What is the procedure to follow? After the year 5 progress review, which is equivalent to enrolment for progress review 69505, you should request the first extension to enrol for progress review 69506. This extension will be in force until 30 September of that academic year. If you have not validated by the thesis supervisor the thesis deposit on that date, you can enrol for progress review 69507 and the extension will be in force until 30 September of that academic year. If you have still not have validate the thesis deposit by the thesis supervisor on that date, you should request the last extension available, the exceptional extension, which will be in force ONLY until the date when the eight-year period following your admission elapses, deadline where you should have the thesis deposit validated by the thesis supervisor. For example, if you were admitted on 15 October 2013, you should have deposited the thesis by 14 October 2021 at the latest.

Click on this link and go to Pla de Recerca i document d'Activitats to see the registered information on your doctoral thesis and the deadline date for completing it, based on the admission date. This date is related to the academic year of enrolment and you should keep in mind that the enrolment remains valid until 30 September, in the case of the first extension. This is not the case with the exceptional extension, in which the deadline is the date when the years since admission have elapsed.

If you are in the period corresponding to the exceptional extension, remember that this period in non-extendable and that if you have not the thesis deposit validated by the thesis supervisor (ED status) before the end of the term, you will not be able to continue doing the doctorate in which you were enrolled. The maximum date of validation of the thesis deposit by the thesis supervisor conincides with the date indicated in your online academic record. If you have douts, you can contact the Coordination of your PhD programme.

Procedure:

To ask for the extension you need to submit the request to your CAPD. Contact your programme's management to submit this request.  The CAPD will inform the Doctoral School so that the resolution on your request and the deadline for completing the thesis can be added to your records.

IMPORTANT

If you have changed between part-time and full-time status during the first two years of your PhD, the deadline for completion changes with respect to the admission date, because it is calculated in proportion to the amount of time devoted. In these situations, you should review the ending date for your doctoral thesis in Sigma. You will need to request the extension for the same academic year in which you complete your thesis.

If you have switched from RD 1393/2007 to the new RD 99/2011 and you have had progress reviews recognised, the deadline depends on the enrolment on the reviews. You will need to request an extension if you do not deposit the thesis after the third progress review. You will only have a maximum of 5 progress reviews, including those that have been recognised, to complete the doctoral thesis.

For more information, contact the coordinator of your PhD programme.

Requests for suspensions are to be addressed to your CAPD. There are two types of suspensions: sickness- or maternity-related and voluntary.

Whatever the type, you do not have to enrol if the suspension period coincides with a whole academic year (1 October to 30 September). However, if the suspension period covers part of one academic year and part of another, you need to enrol for both years.

These requests only affect the doctoral academic record. If you have a scholarship that implies a employment contract with the UAB, you must also contact ajuts.agr@uab.cat to process sick leave, if applicable.

Suspensions due to sickness, maternity or any other cause determined by law

These must be reported (with supporting document: part of medical leave or medical certificate indicating the days of sick leave or this document) to the CAPD and the PhD coordinator must inform the Doctoral School and Sigma so that they can be added to the students' records.

Voluntary suspension

This is for reasons other than the above and should be requested in writing from the CAPD in advance of the suspension. The request should be duly substantiated. The CAPD will then decide if it can be granted. If it can, the coordinator should notify the student, indicating when the student should submit to the progress review of the current academic year. The coordinator also informs the Doctoral School and Sigma so that it can be added to the students' records. The deadline for deposit the thesis is extended in accordance with the duration of the suspension.

Suspensions are granted for a maximum of one to two years.

Withdrawal

Withdrawal from the PhD programme may result from any of the following situations.

• The student does not enrol on the PhD programme in an academic year.
• The student does not submit to the progress review and the Monitoring Committee records a grade of Not Assessable in the review report.
• The student does not pass the second progress review.
• The student asks for the enrolment to be cancelled. Check the academic and administrative calendar to know the deadline to request cancellation of enrollment.
• The student has exceeded the deadline to deposit.

Suspension request form (form in Catalan)

Report template Academic Tutor / Thesis Supervisor

 

When admission to the PhD programme, the student will choose the enrolment status in which he will develop his doctoral thesis, which may be full-time or part-time. The enrolment status chosen and accepted by the PhD programme is registered in the first enrolment (subject 69501). The time for preparing the thesis will begin to count according to this record. Subsequently, the student, if he considers it necessary, may request, during his first two years of doctorate, within the period established by the academic-administrative calendar, the modification of this status, taking into account that it is the Academic Commission of the PhD programme who will accept, where appropriate, the modification of the enrolment status.

Procedure:

The student submits the Request form for changes of enrolment status to the administration of the PhD programme.

Check the academic and administrative calendar to know the term for the current academic year.

The CAPD issues a resolution on the request and reports this to the Doctoral School so that it can be added to the student's records.

The approved change will take effect on the time remaining to prepare the thesis.

 

First you need to check at sia.uab.es (Online services and procedures/Research Monitoring) that the supervisor(s) and/or tutor named are those currently working with you on your thesis. If there are any changes or if the information is not correct you should contact the Doctoral Programme Coordinator (Department/Institute responsible for your PhD) as soon as possible.

In this link you will find the form to request the change of the thesis supervisor or the academic tutor of your thesis.

In the event that with this change you incorporate an external director, you must also attach this form of the external director to the UAB (download the form here).

Remember that if you modify one of your thesis supervisors or academic tutor, you must sign another commitment document.