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Última modificación
Mon , 31/08/2026 - 11:41

Teaching Staff

The academic staff of a PhD programme comprises all the PhD holders who form part of the research teams of the PhD programmes offered by the University of Zaragoza. They must be teaching and research staff at the University of Zaragoza; otherwise, there must be an agreement governing their participation in the programme. 

This information can be found on the website of each PhD programme, under the ‘Teaching Staff’ section. Research areas and teams.

The Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme is responsible for deciding on the composition of the academic staff. Furthermore, this Committee is also responsible for assigning a thesis supervisor and tutor to each doctoral student. 

Based on regulatory requirements and the criteria set by evaluation agencies regarding the accreditation of PhD programmes, which must be taken into account with regard to the teaching staff, the School of Doctoral Studies provides the following guidelines and recommendations:

Researchers who form part of the academic staff of a doctoral programme must have a valid contractual (employment) or civil service relationship with the University of Zaragoza (UZ). Should they not be affiliated with the UZ, there must be a document (agreement, authorisation, contract, etc.) governing their participation. Furthermore, they will be removed from the list of doctoral programme staff when they retire or cease to have any affiliation with the UZ and the aforementioned document is not provided.

Updating the academic staff of a doctoral programme

The human resources component of a PhD programme is a key element in its maintenance and accreditation. Therefore, if there are changes to the programme’s academic staff (whether accumulated over time or not, including new appointments and departures), it is essential to ensure that the requirements set by quality assurance agencies for the programme’s accreditation continue to be met.

Those interested in joining the programme’s academic staff should submit an application to the programme’s Academic Committee. In the event of a favourable decision, the School of Doctoral Studies will be notified during the period it sets aside for this purpose, bearing in mind that this must have been previously recorded as an action in the Annual Plan for Innovation and Improvement (PAIM), and this must be approved by the Quality Assurance Committee for Doctoral Studies. 

In order to update the list of teaching staff for doctoral programmes visible under the ‘Teaching Staff. Research Lines and Teams’ tab on the Doctoral Programmes’ website, EDUZ will ask the programme coordinators  to complete a registration and withdrawal form in relation to the information contained in the Doctoral Programme’s verification report (+ any previous registrations and withdrawals). It is essential that the data on this website matches, where applicable, that on the specific website of the Doctoral Programme. This request will be made annually, and is scheduled to take place prior to the start date of admissions as set out in the academic calendar, and following the approval of the PAIM by the Doctoral Committee (approximately between February and April).

Please note that with regard to changes to research areas and teams, you must take into account the guidelines set out by ACPUA, and any modifications made must be reflected in the Innovation and Improvement Plans (PAIM), which must be approved by the Quality Assurance Committee for Doctoral Studies. In this regard, the following must be considered as actions that substantially modify the verification report (section 6. Human resources): changes to research areas (expansion or reduction) and to the academic staff (new appointments and departures) that result in a change of more than 25 per cent (in both cases, the six-year validity period of the verified report may be taken as a reference). Minor changes to the affiliation and composition of research lines and groups within the doctoral programme shall be considered non-substantial modifications to the verification report; however, they must still be included in the PAIM, which must be approved by the Quality Assurance Committee for Doctoral Studies. 

With regard to the inclusion of the action in the PAIM, in the case of inter-university doctoral programmes, the following must be taken into account, distinguishing between:

  • Those co-ordinated by the UZ. These will be handled in the same way as other doctoral programmes; however, it should be noted that if the proposed actions entail amendments to the verification report, the matter will be dealt with in accordance with the terms of the relevant agreement established between the participating universities.
  • Those NOT co-ordinated by the University of Zaragoza. May include actions in the PAIM that do not amend the verification report, provided that their approval depends solely on the University of Zaragoza. Therefore, in these cases, the action relating to staff development will be included in the section on actions that do not entail a change to the degree programme, specifically under improvement area “04 Academic and Research Staff. Staffing levels (number and/or workload)” (or equivalent), indicating that authorisation will be sought from the Doctoral Programme’s General Academic Committee for the desired changes (specifying full names where possible). This authorisation must be submitted at the time of applying for the staff complement update on the website, once the application window is opened by EDUZ for this purpose.

Furthermore, please note that according to Royal Decree 99/2011 regulating official doctoral programmes, at least 60 per cent of research teams must have accredited research experience. If new recruits do not have such experience, the procedures set out on the website for Recognition of research experience must be followed.