A Doctorate is the highest-level academic degree in the European Higher Education System, corresponding to the third cycle in higher education. Its goal is to provide students with the skills to lead and perform scientific research and is awarded to students those who:
- Have demonstrated a systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of the skills and methods of research associated with that field.
- Have demonstrated the ability to conceive, design, implement and adapt a substantial research process with scholarly integrity.
- Have made a contribution through original research that extends the frontier of knowledge by developing a substantial body of work, some of which merits national or international refereed publication.
- Are capable of critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.
- Can communicate with their peers, the larger scholarly community and with society in general about their areas of expertise.
- Can be expected to be able to promote, within academic and professional contexts, technological, social or cultural advancement in a knowledge based society.
La Salle Campus Barcelona and the Observatori de l’Ebre have developed a unique joint doctoral program adding up the efforts of their research groups in order to achieve a polytechnic vision of doctoral studies. Students develop their individual research projects within the framework of officially recognized research groups, while soft skills are fomented in dedicated courses to ensure that the doctoral candidate acquires the expected research and professional capacities. Some of the personal skills expected from a doctor are the following.
- The ability to deal with contexts in which there is little specific information.
- The ability to identify the key questions which need to be addressed in order to solve a complex problem.
- The ability to design, create, develop and undertake new and innovative projects in their relevant area of expertise.
- The ability to work both in a team and independently in an international or multidisciplinary context.
- The ability to integrate knowledge, deal with complexity and make judgements with limited information.
- The ability to critique and support or oppose an intellectual proposal.
This unique combination of skills provides the doctor with additional qualities which are required in both the scientific and business worlds.
Examples of thesis defended in the framework of the program can be found in http://blogs.salleurl.edu/en/phd