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Tue , 08/09/2026 - 02:39

Declaration of equivalence to the academic level of Doctor

Through this procedure, an application may be made for the equivalence of higher education qualifications awarded by foreign institutions to the academic level of Doctor.

The decision on the declaration of equivalence to the academic level of Doctor for foreign higher education qualifications rests with the Management Committee of the University of Zaragoza’s Doctoral School (EDUZ), which will submit its proposal to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zaragoza.

For the declaration of equivalence to the academic level of Doctor, the following circumstances shall be taken into account:

  • The equivalence between the academic levels required for admission to the course of study leading to the foreign qualification and for admission to the relevant Spanish qualification.
  • The duration, mode of study or course load of the period of study required to obtain the foreign qualification for which academic equivalence is sought, and the competences that such study enables the holder to acquire.
  • The equivalence between the academic levels of the foreign qualification and that of the corresponding qualification for which academic equivalence is being sought.

A foreign qualification that has already been declared equivalent at another university may not be submitted for a new equivalence assessment.

Procedure

Application

The application, addressed to the Rector of the University of Zaragoza, must be submitted via the University of Zaragoza’s general electronic registry, at its Registry Assistance Offices, or at any of the locations specified in Law 39/2015 of 1 October on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations (BOE 2 October 2015).

The application must comply with the template established by EDUZ and must specify the Doctoral Programme at the University of Zaragoza within which the content of the thesis falls—and, consequently, the application for equivalence—as well as the reasons for choosing the University of Zaragoza.

Applications must fall into one of the following categories:

  • Applications for a declaration of equivalence to the academic level of Doctor for qualifications from countries belonging to the EHEA.
  • Applications for a declaration of equivalence for qualifications from countries not belonging to the EHEA.

Required documentation:

The application must be accompanied by the following documentation:

  1. A certified or verified copy of the document proving the identity and nationality of the applicant, issued by the competent authorities of the country of origin or provenance (passport or other), or by the competent Spanish authorities responsible for immigration matters (NIE). In the case of Spanish citizens, a certified or verified photocopy of the National Identity Card (DNI) or passport will suffice.
  2. A certified or verified copy of the Doctorate degree or of the certificate attesting to its award. In the latter case, the document must in all circumstances state the name of the degree and the university or higher education institution that awarded it, as well as the country and year of award.
  3. A certified or verified copy of the qualification that granted access to doctoral studies or a certificate attesting to its award.
  4. Explanatory report on the doctoral thesis, stating the members of the thesis examination board and the mark awarded. This report must be no shorter than five thousand words, excluding the bibliography or equivalent, and must contain the objectives of the thesis, a literature review of the prior knowledge on which the research is based; a summary of the discussion of the results obtained and the final conclusions of the thesis.
  5. The applicant’s academic CV, containing research outputs (publications) directly related to the content of the thesis.
  6. A complete copy of the doctoral thesis.
  7. Proof of payment of the fee in accordance with the Decree on Public Fees of the Government of Aragon for each academic year
  8. Affidavit in which the applicant declares compliance with the ethical principles and standards of integrity in force within the academic community; that they have not simultaneously submitted the same application for a declaration of equivalence to another university; the accuracy of the information provided; and that they are in possession of the original documentation required for the requested procedure. The competent body may request this documentation at any stage of the procedure, as well as seek clarifications or, where appropriate, additional documentation deemed necessary to verify the requirements and assess the application.

Additional documentation:

• Applications for a declaration of equivalence at the academic level of Doctorate for qualifications from countries belonging to the EHEA:

  1. European Diploma Supplement (EDS) or another personalised academic document certifying the details of the course of study completed and issued by the competent institution

• Applications for a declaration of equivalence for qualifications from countries not belonging to the EHEA.

  1. Academic certification of the studies undertaken by the applicant to obtain the degree of Doctor, stating, amongst other details, the official duration, in academic years, of the programme of study followed and the training received, specifying, where applicable, the modules taken, the credit hours for each, and the grades achieved.

The examining body may request any other supplementary documentation deemed necessary to determine the equivalence between the studies undertaken and the training required to obtain equivalence at the academic level of Doctor requested.

Requirements for documents issued abroad:

They must be official and issued by the competent authorities for that purpose, in accordance with the legal system of the country in question.

They must be submitted legalised through diplomatic channels or, where applicable, with a Hague Apostille. This requirement does not apply to documents issued by the authorities of Member States of the European Union or signatories to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and Switzerland; in such cases, it will only be necessary to submit certified copies.

They must be accompanied, where applicable, by the corresponding official translation into Spanish that is legally valid in Spain. It will not be necessary to include an official translation of any supplementary documents required by the admissions panel, provided that the documents issued by foreign universities are written in English or are accompanied by an official translation into English, and provided that this does not prevent their proper assessment.

Should there be any doubt as to the authenticity, validity or content of the documents submitted, the necessary steps may be taken to verify them, and the competent issuing authority may be contacted to validate any points in doubt.

The documents referred to in points 4), 5) and 6) of paragraph 1 of the previous article must be submitted in Spanish or English. Should the thesis not be written in either of these two languages, a copy in the original language and a translation thereof must be included; the translation need not be an official one.

Report and proposed decision

  1. The application and supporting documentation shall be forwarded to the EDUZ Steering Committee for the issuance of a report and a proposed decision on the application for equivalence. The report will assess, for all applications for equivalence, compliance with the following requirements:
    • That the subject matter of the doctoral studies and the doctoral thesis of the applicant seeking equivalence to the academic level of Doctor is aligned with one of the programmes offered by the Doctoral School of the University of Zaragoza.
    • That the thesis complies with the provisions of the University of Zaragoza’s Code of Ethics, which is based on the principles of dignity, respect for diversity, equality, integrity, quality and excellence.
  2. In the case of theses from countries outside the EHEA, and in those from the EHEA where the EDUZ Steering Committee deems it necessary, the report shall assess, amongst other aspects, compliance with the following academic requirements:
    • The suitability of the doctoral training of the person applying for equivalence in relation to the requirements for the submission and defence of the thesis as set out in the doctoral programme to which the application for equivalence relates.
    • The assessment of the doctoral thesis, for which aspects such as theoretical underpinnings, originality, methodology and results may be taken into account.
  3. The EDUZ Steering Committee may seek the opinion of the academic committee of the doctoral programme to which the application relates, or of one or more experts in the field, to validate compliance with thematic, ethical or academic requirements.
  4. The EDUZ Steering Committee may approve common criteria for each country, university and field of knowledge (or similar) to simplify the validation of the requirements.

Decision

Following the examination of the procedure and, where applicable, the hearing, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zaragoza, having considered the report issued by the Doctoral Committee, shall issue a reasoned decision containing one of the following rulings:

  • The granting of a declaration of equivalence of the foreign qualification to the corresponding Doctorate degree.
  • The rejection of the requested declaration of equivalence.

The maximum period for reaching a decision and notifying the outcome of the procedure shall be six months, counted from the date on which the application was received by any of the University of Zaragoza’s registries.

The lack of an express decision within the time limit specified in the preceding paragraphs shall be deemed to constitute a rejection of the application for a declaration of equivalence, as established in the twenty-ninth additional provision of Law 14/2000 of 29 December on Fiscal, Administrative and Social Measures, and in Annex 2 to that provision.

Certificate of equivalence at PhD level

The granting of the declaration of equivalence shall be evidenced by the corresponding certificate of equivalence issued by the University of Zaragoza, which shall state the foreign qualification held by the applicant and the university from which it was awarded.

Prior to its issue, the University shall duly notify the declaration of equivalence for the purposes of its registration in a special section of the National Register of Official University Graduates, in accordance with Royal Decree 1002/2010 of 5 August on the issuance of official university qualifications.

Equivalence at the academic level of Doctor shall not, under any circumstances, imply the homologation, declaration of equivalence or recognition of any other foreign qualifications held by the person concerned, nor shall it imply recognition in Spain at a level other than that of Doctor.

Certificates of equivalence shall be issued to the person concerned via the electronic channels provided for this purpose.

Applicable regulations

  • Agreement of 29 June 2026 of the Governing Council of the University of Zaragoza, approving the procedure for the declaration of equivalence of foreign higher education qualifications to the academic level of Doctor at the University of Zaragoza.

For further information, please contact: interedoc@unizar.es