Proposed Examination Board
If the thesis is accepted for consideration, the Academic Committee will draw up a proposal for the thesis examination board, which will consist of three full members and two substitutes. Where the subject matter of the thesis so requires, the thesis supervisor may submit a reasoned request to the Academic Committee of the PhD programme asking it to propose an examination panel comprising five full members and two alternates.
The proposal shall specify the individuals nominated for the roles of chair, secretary, panel member and first and second alternates; for each of these individuals, reference shall be made to two publications directly related to the subject matter of the thesis or closely related to it, in which the doctoral candidate must not appear as a co-author.
The examination board assessing the thesis must not include more than two members from the same institution. In all cases, the board must consist of a majority of members from outside the PhD programme and the university where the thesis is to be defended.
When appointing the examination board, the principle of gender balance must be ensured; there must be at least one man and one woman amongst the full members of the board (two in the case of five-member boards).
Where the thesis is being submitted for an ‘International’ distinction in the Doctor or Doctora degree, at least one member of the examination board must belong to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research centre. In any case, research must be one of the institution’s main activities, and it shall be the responsibility of the programme’s Academic Committee to justify this requirement to the Standing Committee of the Doctoral School’s Governing Board, for which purpose it may request as many reports as it deems appropriate.
In order to facilitate the procedures involved in the assessment of the doctoral thesis, it is recommended that the proposed secretary (who must be currently employed) be affiliated with the University of Zaragoza. When proposing substitutes, it must be borne in mind that, should the involvement of such members be required, the examination board must continue to meet the requirements of gender parity, a majority of members from outside the programme and the University of Zaragoza, and, in the case of theses with an international focus, the presence of an expert from a non-Spanish higher education institution or research centre.
Requirements for examination board members
Each proposed member must hold a doctoral degree, be an expert in the subject area in question and have accredited research experience; that is, have at least six years of research experience accredited by the CNEAI or by a regional accreditation agency. Such accreditation may be replaced by a sworn statement.
Possession of at least one of the following qualifications shall be considered equivalent to a period of research; therefore, it will not be necessary to apply for recognition of research experience:
- Be accredited by ANECA as a tenured university lecturer or hold a higher academic post
- Be a tenured researcher at the CSIC or hold a higher rank
- Have supervised at least two doctoral theses
- Be a principal investigator (PI) or co-principal investigator (co-PI) on a competitive project funded by the State Research Agency (AEI) or by the European Commission
The supporting document must be attached to the examination board proposal. In these four cases, a sworn statement is not accepted.
Applications for recognition of research experience are restricted to PhD holders who are unable to provide evidence of their research work by submitting their six-year research record or a sworn statement, or by providing supporting documentation for one of the four cases detailed above.
The application for recognition of research experience must be submitted via Solicit@ using the relevant standard form.
In the event of authorisation to act on behalf of another person, the relevant authorisation document must be attached to the application form.
The following may not form part of the examination board:
Neither the supervisor nor the thesis tutor, except in the case of theses submitted under joint supervision agreements with foreign universities that provide for this. In such cases, the examination board shall be expanded by the number of supervisors, and these shall be listed as members of the board only in the minutes of the thesis defence at the foreign university
More than two members from the same institution. The main examination board shall consist of a majority of members from outside the PhD programme and the University of Zaragoza. For the purposes of their participation on a thesis examination board, retired persons or those on leave of absence shall be deemed to belong to the last institution at which they were employed. For these purposes, persons belonging to the company or institution where the thesis was carried out, in the case of theses eligible for an industrial distinction, shall not be considered external members.
Those individuals in respect of whom circumstances exist whereby authorities and staff employed by public administrations must abstain from participating in the relevant procedure, particularly where such circumstances relate to the author of the thesis, the tutor or the supervisor. In particular, proposals for examination boards shall not be accepted where any of their members is married to, in a de facto relationship with, or related by blood up to the fourth degree or by marriage up to the second degree to, the author of the thesis.
Co-authors of publications derived from the thesis. Furthermore, the PhD candidate must not be listed as an author of any publications submitted as part of the proposal to the examination board that are directly related to the subject matter of the thesis or closely related to it.
The researcher who supervised or directed the work at the host organisation during the stay, in the case of theses eligible for an ‘international’ distinction on the Doctor’s degree. f) The person responsible designated by the company or institution where the thesis was carried out, in the case of theses eligible for an ‘industrial’ distinction on the Doctor’s degree.
The person designated by the company or institution where the thesis was carried out, in the case of theses eligible for an ‘industrial’ distinction on the Doctorate degree.