Joint thesis supervision
Definition and keys
The joint-supervised thesis allows a PhD student to obtain two doctoral degrees, one from each of the universities (from different countries) participating in the joint supervision. These doctoral students will be students at both universities, and must meet the requirements established for the doctorate at each of them. It is this double compliance that makes it administratively complex to manage. However, by allowing the PhD student to carry out his/her research in collaboration with a foreign university, it ensures a high level of internationalisation of the thesis, which is recognised as an indicator of the quality of the thesis.
Joint supervision is regulated at national level(Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January, which regulates official doctoral studies) and means that the PhD student will have a thesis supervisor at each of the two participating universities. The PhD student will have to spend a minimum of nine months away from his/her home institution, either in a single period or in several periods. At least six months of the stay must be at the institution with which the joint supervision agreement is established and the rest may be at another higher education institution or prestigious foreign research centre.
Each thesis joint-supervision will be carried out within the framework of a specific agreement between the two participating universities. This agreement, signed by the doctoral student, the thesis supervisors, the directors of the Doctoral Schools and the Rectors of both institutions, will establish the academic and administrative details governing the joint supervision. By virtue of the agreement, each institution shall recognise the validity of the doctoral thesis defended within this framework.
See articles 14-16: Agreement of 25 June 2020, of the Governing Council of the University, approving the Regulations on Doctoral Theses of the UZ.
See point 12.1: Procedure for the deposit, authorisation and defence of UZ theses (EDUZ Steering Committee, 28 July 2020).
Processing
Application for joint supervised thesis
The first step is to apply for approval to carry out the joint supervision. A prerequisite for this is to be admitted to a doctoral programme, which can be done at the same time.
The documentation to be submitted to apply for joint supervision is as follows:
Student already enrolled in a UNIZAR doctoral programme
Application for the completion of a doctoral thesis in joint-supervision (there must be a correspondence in the directors with the one(s) indicated in the admission).
Application for modification of the designation of thesis supervisor(s) or doctoral thesis tutor, requesting the incorporation of the supervisor of the university with which the joint supervision agreement has been signed.
In the event that the foreign supervisor does not have accredited research experience, it is necessary to apply for its recognition at the same time using this form.
Student not enrolled in a doctoral programme at UNIZAR
Application for admission and thesis joint supervision for students who are not enrolled in a doctoral programme at the University of Zaragoza. In the case of students holding a degree from a country outside the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), if they have not previously applied for it, they must simultaneously apply for admission with that degree.
In the event that some of the supervisors do not have accredited research experience (this is the case of foreigners if they have not supervised any other thesis at UNIZAR), it is necessary to simultaneously apply for their recognition using this form.
Joint supervision agreement
In parallel to the above procedures, the specific thesis' joint supervision agreement can be drawn up jointly with the other university, following the models established for this purpose, in which the following issues will be reflected:
Universities where the joint supervision is carried out.
Names of the respective thesis supervisors, who must have been appointed by the Academic Committee of the programme.
Academic years and duration of the periods of stay at the respective universities, in accordance with the requirements of the regulations.
University and language of defence of the thesis.
Composition of the selection board (whose members must hold a doctorate and have recognised research experience).
Financial arrangements (registration fees for doctoral students, financing of the examining board, etc.).
Intellectual and industrial property regulations in force in both countries.
To obtain a model agreement, it is necessary to contact the administrative section of the EDUZ (extranjerosdoctorado@unizar.es) indicating the university with which the joint supervision is to be carried out. The draft agreement should be sent to the section, in the same email, for review by the academic authorities.
Once the joint supervision application has been favourably resolved, the agreement will be signed by the doctoral student, their directors, the heads of the respective doctoral schools and the rectors of the two universities.
The agreement may be amended by agreement of the parties by signing the corresponding addenda to the agreement.
Enrolment in joint-supervising universities and the development of doctoral training.
Once the Doctoral Commission has approved the joint supervision, the student must enrol at the University of Zaragoza, if he/she is not already enrolled, under the terms established in the joint supervision agreement.
It should be noted that the doctoral student must enrol each year in each of the two universities, but with a fee waiver in one of them.
As far as the University of Zaragoza is concerned, joint supervised doctoral students pay the costs of the opening of the dossier (the first year); the fixed costs for all the academic years included in the joint supervision; and the academic supervision of the doctorate for at least one year; as well as the compulsory school insurance or accident insurance for those over 28 years of age.
On the other hand, all joint doctoral students at the UZ must comply with the same procedures and processes as other doctoral students during their training.
It will not be necessary to request permission from the programme's academic committee or to submit a report on the joint-supervision stays. It will be necessary to obtain a certificate(s) of the joint-supervision stay(s) from the foreign institution, which must indicate the name of the centre/department/laboratory where it was carried out and be signed by the person responsible for it. The start and end dates must be indicated on the report(s). There is no specific model, but it is recommended that they bear the letterhead and/or logo of the host institution. The PhD student must include these certificates in his/her DAD.
Admission of the joint-supervised thesis and its defence
The thesis may be written in the language of either of the two universities and shall be accompanied by an abstract and conclusions written in the language of the other. It may also be written in a language customary for scientific communication in its field of knowledge that is accepted in the doctoral programme in which the doctoral student is enrolled.
The requirements for the deposit, proposal of the examining board, publicity, defence, assessment and mentions of the doctoral thesis will be those in force at the respective universities and established in the corresponding joint-supervision agreement, regardless of the university where the thesis is defended.
Theses prepared in joint supervision must be deposited at the two universities participating in the joint supervision. Therefore, the PhD student must apply for the thesis in the usual way, enclosing the documentation required for a joint-supervised thesis.
The selection board will be appointed by mutual agreement between the two universities, respecting the regulatory requirements of both.
The PhD student must pay the fees for the defence of the thesis to the UZ if the defence takes place at the UZ.
Once the defence of the thesis has been authorised and the examining board has been appointed, the secretary of the examining board must communicate (tesis@unizar.es) the place, date and time of the reading at least ten school days in advance, whether the thesis is defended at the UZ or at the university with which the joint supervision agreement has been signed. In the case of a defence at the UZ, the member of the examining board appointed for this purpose will deliver the corresponding documentation to the administrative section of the EDUZ and will send the necessary documentation to the foreign university. If the defence is defended at the foreign university, the member of the examining board appointed for this purpose will deliver or send the corresponding documentation to the administrative section of the EDUZ within five days.