Research plan
Before the end of the first year, the doctoral student must prepare a Research and Training Plan, endorsed by the Tutor and the Director, which will include, at least, the following sections: Identification data of the doctoral student and the director or co-directors of the thesis, Title of the thesis proposal, Summary of the proposal, Methodology to be used, objectives to be achieved, means and time planning to achieve the proposed goals and, if necessary, mention of the specific training complements that will have to be carried out. Bibliography.
Annual evaluation
Annually, the Academic Commission of the program evaluates the development of the Research Plan that the doctoral student will present and the Document of Activities together with the reports that the tutor and the director must issue for this purpose, as well as the report of the exchange tutor in the assumption that the student has carried out a mobility stay during this year.
The result of the evaluation, positive or negative, signed by the president of the Commission, will be included in the doctoral student's file. The positive evaluation is an essential requirement to continue in the program.
In the event of a negative evaluation, which will be duly motivated, the doctoral student will have to be evaluated again within a period of six months to prepare a new Research Plan. In the event of a new negative evaluation, the doctoral student will permanently withdraw from the program. To this end, the rector, or the person to whom he delegates, will dictate the appropriate resolution, at the proposal of the academic commission responsible for the doctoral program and following a report from the General Doctoral Commission.
Economic system
The prices for the program (RD 99/2011) in the course are:
- Full-time dedication: €2,200 / course, in two installments of €1,100
- Part-time dedication: €2,200 / course, in two installments of €1,100
If the Academic Committee considers that the doctoral student must take a Training Complement, this will be paid separately from the registration fee.
Full-time students must have paid at least the registration fee for FOUR academic YEARS to defend their doctoral thesis.
Part-time students must have paid at least the registration fee corresponding to SIX academic YEARS to defend their doctoral thesis.
Academic commission
The functions of the academic committee of each doctoral program are:
a) To approve the student selection proposal.
b) To authorize the extensions of the three-year term for the completion of the thesis.
c) To authorize the completion of part-time studies.
d) To assign a tutor to each doctoral student once he or she has been admitted to the program.
e) To assign a thesis director or co-directors to each doctoral student within a maximum period of six months from enrollment in the doctorate.
f) To modify the appointment of a tutor or director of the doctoral thesis, if there are justified circumstances.
g) To evaluate annually the research plan and the doctoral student activities document, together with the reports that the tutor and the director must issue for this purpose.
h) To authorize the presentation and defense of the doctoral thesis.
y) To formulate a proposal for the appointment of members of the thesis tribunal, with the authorization of the rector, with the approval of the competent vice-rector in doctoral matters.
j) To prepare the proposal for training activities of the respective doctoral program.
k) To award the mention "cum laude" when appropriate in accordance with the provisions of Article 20.8 of the Doctoral Regulations.
l) Those others that are assigned in accordance with the applicable regulations.
Structure of the Doctorate and Regulations
The Doctoral Program in Philosophy: Humanism and Transcendence is designed in accordance with RD 99/2011 of January 28, as modified by RD 576/2023 of July 4, which regulates the structure of official doctoral studies. The student may take this training full-time (4 years, with the possibility of obtaining an extension of up to 1 more year for the presentation of the doctoral thesis) or part-time (6 years, with the possibility of obtaining an extension of up to 1 more year for the presentation of the doctoral thesis).
A set of training activities distributed throughout the courses will be developed based on your Personalized Activities Document, agreed with your tutor and director. The ultimate objective is the completion of the doctoral thesis.
After the approval by ANECA of the modifications introduced in the Doctoral Program in Philosophy "Humanism and Transcendence" (July 2017), the training activities that students must carry out (whether full-time or part-time) are the following:
Compulsory:
- Training Complements (if necessary, all those that are established are mandatory; if more are done, they will be optional.).
Full-time and part-time students: 1st year. - Bibliographic Management Workshop, 15 compulsory hours; if more are made, they will be optional.
Full-time and part-time students: preferably in the 1st year. - Scientific Writing Workshop, 10 compulsory hours; if more are made, they will be optional.
Full-time students: preferably in the 1st or 2nd year.
Part-time students: preferably in the 2nd year. - Research Seminar, 20 compulsory hours; if more are made, they will be optional.
Seminars are offered throughout the entire Doctoral Program. - Seminar for Doctoral students, 10 compulsory hours; if more are made, they will be optional.
It can be carried out throughout the entire Doctorate Program. - Attendance at a Congress and presentation of a communication at a Congress, compulsory; if more are made, they will be optional.
Full-time students: preferably in the 2nd year.
Part-time students: preferably in the 3rd year. - Research Seminar, 20 compulsory hours; if more are made, they will be optional.
Seminars are offered throughout the entire Doctoral Program. - Publication of Results: It is mandatory to make at least one bibliographic review and one article or book chapter during the student's permanence in the Program; if more are made, they will be optional. Publications made in magazines must be in magazines of level "C" to CIRCO or CARHUS as a minimum.
Full-time students: preferably in the 3rd year and 4th year.
Part-time students: preferably in the 5th and 6th years.
Recommended:
- Stays in International Research Centers.
Full-time students: 3rd and 4th year.
Part-time students: 5th and 6th year.
IMPORTANT GENERAL OBSERVATIONS:
* Students can carry out, under the guidance and supervision of their Tutor/Director, all those activities organized by other institutions that they consider appropriate to their training process. It will be necessary to present the corresponding certification of each one of them.
* Students will carry out all these activities throughout the 4 or 7 years that their dedication, complete or partial, lasts in the Doctoral Program.
* Doctoral students will have to include all the activities carried out each year in the Doctoral Student Activities Document (DAD), which will be validated by the Tutor/Director.
* Before the end of the first year since admission, the doctoral student must prepare a Research Plan, endorsed by the Tutor/Director, which will include at least the following sections: identification data of the doctoral student and the thesis director or co-directors, title of the thesis proposal, summary of the thesis proposal, methodology to be used, objectives to be achieved, time planning of the research, bibliography. This Plan will be improved and detailed throughout the courses of the doctoral student's permanence in the Program, having to be presented annually to the Academic Commission, with the favorable report of the director, for its approval.
* Failure to comply with the activities referred to in this Program, including the preparation of the DAD and the Research Plan with its annual reports, may lead to a negative report from the Academic Committee. In the event of a negative evaluation, the doctoral student will be evaluated again within six months, for which a new research plan will be drawn up. If a new negative evaluation is produced, the doctoral student will permanently withdraw from the Program.
Permanence Regulations
All students of the Doctoral Program in Philosophy: Humanism and Transcendence will see their permanence in the universities that participate in this program regulated according to the Regulations established by the Comillas Pontifical University (which is responsible for coordination). The permanence of the student is only conditioned by his aptitude, personal achievement, and fulfillment of his university duties.
Loss of student status
Student status is lost due to one of the following situations:
- Completion of studies and obtaining the title.
- Transfer of academic record to another center, at the express request of the student.
- Interruption of studies by the decision of the student for two consecutive years.
- Sanction resulting from a disciplinary academic record that implies expulsion, once the resolution is final.
- The impossibility of continuing the studies begun, because the student has exhausted the maximum number of years of completion of the program.
- Failure to comply with the economic obligations contracted with the university campus where the student has enrolled.
- In addition, the doctoral student will permanently withdraw from the program if they receive a negative evaluation of their Research Plan for the second time by the program's Academic Commission (art. 11.7 RD. 99/2011 of January 28)
Duration of doctoral studies
The duration of the doctoral studies will be a maximum of four years, full-time, counting from the admission of the doctoral student to the program until the presentation of the doctoral thesis (with the possibility of obtaining up to 1 more year of extensions). However, and with prior authorization from the Academic Committee responsible for the Doctoral Program in Philosophy: Humanism and Transcendence, they may undertake part-time doctoral studies. In this case, these studies may have a maximum duration of seven years from admission to the program until the presentation of the doctoral thesis (with the possibility of obtaining up to 1 more year of extensions).
Full-time students
In the Doctoral Program in Philosophy: Humanism and Transcendence, a full-time student will be one who can dedicate 8 hours of daily work to carry out the face-to-face training activities and autonomous work that have been established in the Document of Doctoral activities. This condition will be reflected annually in this Document when registering for this course. For these students, the completion of the program is contemplated within a maximum period of 4 years from the first registration (with the possibility of obtaining up to 1 more year of extensions).
Students with part-time dedication
In the Doctoral Program in Philosophy: Humanism and Transcendence, a student with part-time dedication will be one who can dedicate more than 4 hours and less than 8 hours of work daily to carry out face-to-face training activities and autonomous work that have been established in your Doctoral Activities Document. This condition will be reflected annually in this Document when registering for this course. For these students, the completion of the program is contemplated within a maximum period of 7 years from the first registration (with the possibility of obtaining up to 1 more year of extensions).
Change of student status
A student may change their status from full-time to part-time and vice versa, provided there are reasons that justify it and they make a request to the Academic Committee of the program, in the time and manner established for which. This usually application will have to be accompanied by a favorable report from the tutor and director of your thesis.
Assignment of tutor and thesis direction
Doctoral thesis tutor
1) At the time of admission, the academic committee of the program will assign a tutor to the doctoral student, who will be a researcher of the doctoral program of the venue in which the enrollment was made, meaning this, considering the previous academic curriculum of the same, as well as your preference for a specific line of research in the programme. The appointment of a tutor may be modified at any time by the academic committee, after hearing the doctoral student and, if applicable, the tutor, provided there are justified reasons.
2) The tutor is responsible for adapting the training and research activity of the doctoral student to the principles of the program.
3) The tutor must be a doctor with accredited research experience, with at least one six years of research experience, linked to the doctoral program. The tutor is responsible for ensuring the doctoral student's interaction with the academic committee. For these purposes, the following functions are assigned:
- Regularly review, together with the thesis supervisor, the doctoral student's personalized activities document.
- Endorse, together with the thesis director and before the end of the first year, the research plan prepared by the doctoral student.
- Sign the documentary commitment together with the University where you are enrolled, the doctoral student and the director.
- Issue and submit annually to the academic committee the report provided for in article 11.7 of Royal Decree 99/2011.
Doctoral thesis supervisor
1) Within a maximum period of 6 months from enrollment, the academic committee of the doctoral program must assign each doctoral student a doctoral thesis supervisor who will also act as tutor (if he/she is a member of the program's team of professors), once this is felt, taking into account their academic curriculum, as well as their preference for a specific line of research in the program, unless a director of a different program is appointed; In this case, a guardian will be appointed in accordance with the provisions of the previous section. The appointment of the doctoral thesis supervisor may be modified by the academic committee at any time during the thesis completion period, at the request of the doctoral student or supervisor, provided there are justified reasons.
2) Any doctor, Spanish or foreign, who has accredited research experience, regardless of the university, center, or institution in which they provide their services, can be the director or co-director of the thesis.
3) The thesis director is responsible for conducting all the research tasks of the doctoral student, for the coherence and suitability of the training activities, for the impact and novelty in his field of the subject of the doctoral thesis and of the guide in planning and its adaptation, if applicable, to the other projects and activities where the doctoral student is enrolled. To this end, at least the following functions correspond to it:
- Regularly review, together with the tutor, the doctoral student's personalized activities document.
- Endorse, together with the tutor and before the end of the first year, the research plan prepared by the doctoral student.
- Sign the documentary commitment together with the corresponding University, the doctoral student, and the tutor.
- Issue and submit annually to the academic committee the report provided for in article 11.7 of Royal Decree 99/2011.
- If applicable, endorse the stay and activities required for the inclusion, if necessary, of the mention "International Doctor", in accordance with the provisions of article 15.1.a) of Royal Decree 99/2011.
4) With the prior authorization of the academic committee, the thesis may be co-supervised by other doctors when there are reasons of an academic nature that justify it, such as thematic interdisciplinarity or programs developed in national or international collaboration. The authorization may be revoked later if, in the opinion of the academic committee, the co-supervision does not benefit the development of the thesis.
Follow-up of the doctoral student
Before the end of the first year, the doctoral student must prepare a research plan (which may be improved throughout the training period), endorsed by the tutor and by the director, and which will include, at least, the following sections:
- Identification data of the doctoral student and the director or co-directors of the thesis.
- Title of the thesis proposal
- Summary of the proposal.
- Methodology to use.
- Objectives to achieve.
- Means and temporary planning to achieve the proposed objectives and, if applicable, mention of the specific training complements that must be carried out.
- Bibliography.
Annually, the academic commission of the program will evaluate the Research Plan and the activities document together with the reports that the tutor and the director must issue for this purpose. The result of the evaluation, positive or negative, signed by the president of the commission, will be included in the doctoral student's file. The positive evaluation is an essential requirement to continue in the program. In the event of a negative evaluation, which will be duly motivated, the doctoral student will have to be evaluated again within a period of six months, to draw up a new research plan. In the event of producing a new negative evaluation, the doctoral student will permanently withdraw from the program.
International mobility
In this doctoral program, it is recommended that students spend a stay at a higher education/research center with which the Universidad Pontificia Comillas or the Universitat Ramon Llull have established a specific collaboration agreement for doctoral studies. This mobility can have a variable duration and intensity depending on the specific needs of the doctoral student and their Research Plan. This mobility will have a minimum duration of five months.
The purposes of mobility in the doctoral program in relation to the skills to be acquired by the student, in all the destination universities, are the following:
a) That the student can contact high-level international researchers in their research topic.
b) That the student can carry out any of the training activities provided for in their Document of Doctoral Activities, in a foreign institution or university.
c) That the student can develop teamwork skills and competencies with other researchers at an international level.
d) That the student can, if appropriate, acquire better language skills in languages other than their own.
e) That the student can get to know research institutes, universities, and other institutions of relevance in research on topics related to their field of study.
f) That the student can collect specialized documentation that is difficult to access by usual means, on their specific thesis topic.
g) That the student can expand their study samples through the application of data collection instruments in other countries.
These stays allow doctoral students to work in international environments, collaborate with other prestigious groups and broaden the scope of their research.
To be eligible for this mobility, the doctoral student will have to apply to the Academic Committee, which will have to be accompanied by an evaluation report on this mobility from the tutor and thesis supervisor. In the case of students with part-time dedication, their availability time will be assessed, and the necessary adjustments will be made to favor their participation in the mobility programs. At the destination University, the doctoral student will be assigned a tutor or expert contact in their research topic to support and guide them during their research stay, who will prepare a report on the doctoral student's progress at the end of it.
Simultaneously, the doctoral student will maintain contact with both his tutor and his thesis director who will supervise the adequate progression of his training during the mobility period and the fulfillment of the objectives sought with it. In this doctoral program, it is recommended that students undertake mobility at a higher education/research center with which Comillas Pontifical University or Ramon Llull University have established a specific collaboration agreement for doctoral studies. This mobility can have a variable duration and intensity depending on the specific needs of the doctoral student and their Research Plan.
For the recognition of the International Doctorate, a minimum stay of three months will be necessary, among other requirements demanded by the regulations (art. 15).
The Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of the Comillas Pontifical University and the Faculty of Philosophy of the Ramon Llull University have specific exchange agreements for postgraduate studies and research with the following universities:
- Catholic Institute of Paris. France.
- Free University of Brussels. Belgium.
- University Heidelberg. Germany.
- The Wisdom. Italy.
- University CA 'Foscari di Venezia. Italy
- Canisius College, Buffalo. New York. USA.
- University of Regina. Canada.
- Pontifical Argentine Catholic University "Santa Maria de los Buenos Aires". Argentina.
- University of New South Wales. Sydney. Australia.
- The University of Western Australia. Australia.
Presentation and reading of doctoral theses
Universitat Ramon Llull (General rules for the organization of the doctorate approved by the Doctoral Committee in the session held on November 21, 2024). Vid Chapter 7.