Joint thesis supervision
Definition and key points
A joint thesis allows a doctoral student to obtain two doctoral degrees, one from each of the universities (in different countries) participating in the joint programme. These doctoral students will be students at both universities and must meet the requirements established for a doctorate at each of them. It is this dual compliance that makes its management complex from an administrative point of view. However, by allowing the doctoral student to carry out their research in collaboration with a foreign university, it ensures a high level of internationalisation of the thesis, which is recognised as an indicator of its quality.
Joint supervision is regulated at national level (Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January, regulating official doctoral studies) and means that the doctoral student will have a thesis supervisor at each of the participating universities. The doctoral student must spend a minimum of nine months outside their home institution, either in a single period or in several periods. At least six months of the stay must be at the universities with which the joint supervision agreement is established, and the rest may be at another higher education institution or prestigious foreign research centre. at least six months must be spent at the universities with which the joint supervision agreement has been established and the rest may be spent at another prestigious foreign higher education institution or research centre. In the case of a stay of at least three months at an institution other than those involved in the joint supervision, and if the other requirements are met, the International Mention may be obtained in the Doctorate degree.
Each joint supervision agreement 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, shall establish the academic and administrative details governing the joint supervision. Under the agreement, each institution will recognise the validity of the doctoral thesis defended within that framework.
See Articles 14-16: Agreement of 25 June 2020, of the Governing Council of the University, approving the RESOLUTION of 28 August 2024, of the Rector of the University of Zaragoza, announcing the Procedure for the deposit of doctoral theses at the University of Zaragoza.)
See point 12.1: Procedure for the deposit, authorisation and defence of theses at the UZ (EDUZ Management Committee, 28 July 2020)
Procedure
Application to carry out a thesis under joint supervision
The first step is to apply for approval to carry out the joint supervision. An essential requirement for this is to be admitted to a doctoral programme, a procedure that can be carried out simultaneously.
The documentation that must be submitted to apply for joint supervision is as follows:
Student already enrolled in a doctoral programme at the University of Zaragoza
Application to undertake a doctoral thesis under joint supervision (the supervisors must correspond to those indicated in the admission).
Student not enrolled in a doctoral programme at the University of Zaragoza:
Application for admission and joint supervision of a thesis for students who are not enrolled in a doctoral programme at the University of Zaragoza. In the case of persons holding a degree from a country outside the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), if they have not previously applied, they musthave not previously applied, they must simultaneously apply for admission with that degree.
If a future thesis supervisor does not have accredited research experience, it is necessary to simultaneously request recognition using this form.
However, it should be noted that for jointly supervised theses, and for the exclusive purposes of supervising that thesis, the Doctoral Committee recognises the research experience of persons proposed as supervisors from foreign universities participating in the joint supervision if they are able to supervise theses at those universities. In any case, it shall be ensured that at least one of the thesis supervisors has accredited research experience in accordance with the terms set out in the regulations in force (Agreement of 30 October of the Doctoral Committee).
On the other hand, if the thesis already has at least one supervisor with accredited research experience, it will not be necessary to apply to the Doctoral Committee for recognition. In such cases, in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement of 29 February 2024 of the Doctoral School Steering Committee, the Academic Committee of the programme will be responsible for authorising joint supervision. To this end, it will be sufficient to submit to the committee, together with the joint supervision application, an abbreviated Curriculum Vitae of the researcher, indicating publications (including the relevant quality indices), participation in research projects and theses supervised.
In any case, although not necessary, the Doctoral School recommends that the Doctoral Committee be asked for recognition of research experience, as this will allow researchers to supervise other theses and participate in thesis committees at the University of Zaragoza.
Joint supervision agreement
In parallel with the above procedures, the specific joint supervision agreement for the thesis may be drawn up jointly with the other university, following the models established for this purpose, which shall reflect the following issues:
Universities where the joint supervision will take place.
Names of the respective thesis supervisors, who must have been appointed by the programme's Academic Committee.
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 the thesis defence.
Composition of the panel (whose members must be PhD holders and have proven research experience).
Financial arrangements (registration fees for doctoral students, funding for the panel, etc.).
Intellectual and industrial property regulations in force in both countries.
To obtain a model agreement, please contact the administrative section of the EDUZ (extranjerosdoctorado@unizar.es), indicating the university with which you wish to carry out the joint supervision. The draft agreement must be sent to the department, at the same email address, for review by the academic authorities.
Once the joint supervision request has been approved, the agreement will be signed by the doctoral student, their supervisors, the heads of the respective doctoral schools and the rectors of the two universities.
The agreement may be modified by agreement of the parties by signing the corresponding addenda.
Enrolment at the universities involved in the joint supervision and development of doctoral training
Once the joint supervision has been approved by the Doctoral Committee, the doctoral student must enrol at the University of Zaragoza, if they are not already enrolled, under the terms established in the joint supervision agreement.
It should be noted that doctoral students must enrol each year at both universities, but are exempt from paying fees at one of them.
With regard to the University of Zaragoza, doctoral students in joint supervision programmes pay the costs of opening a file (the first year); the fixed costs for all academic years included in the joint supervision programme; and the academic supervision of the doctoral programme for at least one year; in addition to the compulsory school insurance or accident insurance for those over 28 years of age.
Furthermore, all doctoral students in joint supervision at the University of Zaragoza must comply with the same procedures and processes as other doctoral students during their training.
When undertaking joint supervision stays, it will not be necessary to request permission from the programme's Academic Committee or to submit a report on them. However, it is necessary to obtain certificate(s) of the joint supervision period(s) from the foreign institution, which must indicate the name of the centre/department/laboratory where it took place and be signed by the person responsible for it. The certificate(s) must indicate the start and end dates of the period(s). There is no specific format, but it is recommended that they bear the letterhead and/or logo of the host institution. The doctoral student must include these certificates in their DAD.
Admission of the thesis under joint supervision and defence
The thesis may be written in the language of either of the two universities and shall be accompanied by a summary and conclusions written in the language of the other university. It may also be written in a language commonly used for scientific communication in the field of knowledge and accepted by the doctoral programme in which the doctoral student is enrolled.
The requirements for submission, proposal of the examination board, publicity, defence, assessment and mentions of the doctoral thesis shall be those governing the respective universities and established in the corresponding joint supervision agreement, regardless of the university where it is defended.
Theses produced under joint supervision must be deposited at the two participating universities. Therefore, the doctoral student shall submit the application for admission to the process of the thesis in the usual manner, also attaching the documentation specific to theses under joint supervision.
The examination board will be appointed by mutual agreement between the two universities, in accordance with the regulations of both.
The doctoral student must pay the thesis defence fees to the UZ if the defence takes place there.
Once the thesis defence has been authorised and the tribunal appointed, the secretary of the tribunal must notify (tesis@unizar.es) the place, date and time of the defence at least ten working days in advance, whether it is defended at the UZ or at the university with which the joint supervision agreement has been signed. If the thesis is defended at the UZ, the member of the panel designated for this purpose shall submit the relevant documentation to the administrative section of the EDUZ and send the necessary documentation to the foreign university. If the thesis is defended at the foreign university, the member of the panel designated for this purpose shall submit or send the relevant documentation to the administrative section of the EDUZ within five days.