The Department of Communication's academic regulations on
depositing and defending doctoral theses
Agreement of the Doctoral Academic Committee of 12 July 2013.
In the light of the new framework established by the academic regulations on doctoral
studies, as approved by virtue of the agreement of the Board of Governors of 20 June
2012, and given that certain aspects of the said regulations are the responsibility of the
doctoral programme's Academic Committee, it has become necessary to regulate the
Department of Communication's system for depositing doctoral theses and authorizing
their defence.
It is also necessary to unify some aspects of the department's regulations that affect the
thesis deposit procedure, such as its regulations on the application of quality
mechanisms and on Special Awards for Doctoral Studies.
To that end, the doctoral programme's Academic Committee hereby regulates specific
aspects of depositing a thesis as part of the doctorate in Communication.
PART 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Object
The object of these regulations consists of governing the procedure of depositing a
thesis as part of the doctorate in Communication offered by Pompeu Fabra University's
Department of Communication.
PART 2. DOCTORAL STUDENT SUPERVISION AND MONITORING
Article 2. Tutor and thesis supervisor assignment
2.1. Once a doctoral student has been admitted to the doctoral programme, its Academic
Committee shall assign them a tutor, who must be a doctor with accredited research
experience and ties with the department's research groups.
Fulfilment of one of the following three requisites shall be deemed to constitute
accreditation of research experience:
- Having had a period of research activity officially recognized by a national or
autonomous community body in the last six years.
- Having published an article in an ISI or Scopus-indexed journal in the last six
years.
- Having participated in a Spanish or European competitive project in the last six
years.
2.2. Within six months of a doctoral student's initial enrolment, the doctoral
programme's Academic Committee shall assign them a thesis supervisor. The student's
thesis supervisor and tutor must be one and the same person, unless there is good reason
for that not to be the case.
The thesis supervisor must be a doctor who has accredited research experience and
meets two of the three requisites established in article 2.1.
If the supervisor meets only one of the three requisites, the doctoral programme's
Academic Committee shall assign a co-supervisor until such time as the former meets at
least two of the said requisites.
The doctoral student may request a change of thesis supervisor. Such requests must be
made to the Academic Committee, which, provided there is good reason to do so, may
appoint a different supervisor following consultation with the student, their original
supervisor and the doctor they would like as their new supervisor. In the event of the
proposed change meeting with any opposition, the Academic Committee shall refer the
matter to the Doctoral School's Management Committee.
Article 3. Co-supervision of doctoral theses
A doctoral thesis may be jointly supervised by two or more doctors when there are
academic grounds for such an arrangement (such as the subject matter involved being of
an interdisciplinary nature), subject to prior authorization from the Academic
Committee. The Academic Committee may subsequently revoke its authorization if it
feels that the arrangement is not in the interests of the thesis.
Co-supervisors must show that they meet the requisites established for thesis
supervisors in article 2.2. However, international co-supervisors need only show that
they meet the requisite related to publications.
PART 3. DOCTORAL THESES
Article 4. Length
The length of doctoral theses submitted to the department must be as follows:
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Theses consisting of a single piece of research: the recommended length for such
theses is 90,000 words, and they must always contain over 75,000 words, not
counting appendices.
Theses in the form of a compendium: such theses must include a report
containing between 12,000 and 18,000 words (not counting its appendix), a
presentation of the thesis being defended, an introductory chapter and final
conclusions, and an explanation of the coherence of the published research. The
report must also have an appendix featuring the published documents or, if their
inclusion is not possible, their complete references, including the corresponding
ISSN, a letter or message accepting them for publication and a copy of the
original article accepted.
Article 5. Mechanisms for guaranteeing thesis quality
The Department of Communication's mechanisms for guaranteeing the quality of theses
in the process of being written are described in the regulations on the application
thereof.
Regardless of the university, centre or institution at which they work, the external
assessor, who is to be nominated by the thesis supervisor and approved by the
chairperson of the doctoral programme's Academic Committee and the coordinator of
the research group to which the thesis corresponds, must be a doctor with accredited
research experience, preferably meeting the requisites established for thesis supervisors
in article 2.2.
The thesis supervisor must submit an external assessment request form and the external
assessor's details (name, address, telephone number, email address and a brief CV) to
the Department of Communication's secretariat.
The doctoral student must submit the following to the secretariat:
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A printed copy of the final version of their thesis (which does not need to be bound).
A copy of the final version of their thesis in electronic format.
The coordinator of the doctoral programme and the coordinator of the research group to
which the thesis corresponds shall, if appropriate, approve the external assessor's
nomination. The secretariat shall request the external assessor's report, which must
explain the opinion expressed and consist of at least 300 typed words.
The external assessor shall have a month to write their report and deliver it to the
Department of Communication's secretariat, which shall send it to the Academic
Committee's chairperson and the research group's coordinator for their acceptance. If
such acceptance is forthcoming, the secretariat shall notify the doctoral student and their
thesis supervisor thereof so that they can request that a board assess the thesis.
Article 6. Assessment of doctoral theses
6.1. The doctoral student must request that their thesis be assessed, to which end they
should submit the following documentation to the Department of Communication's
secretariat:
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An assessment request.
A copy of the final version of their doctoral thesis (which does not need to be in its
final bound form).
A thesis authorship statement.
Proof of having presented the partial results of their thesis in one of the ways
stipulated in the regulations on the application of the department's quality
mechanisms.
6.2. The thesis supervisor must submit the following to the secretariat:
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An exhaustive, favourable report.
A thesis assessment board proposal.
The proposed assessment board must comprise three full members and two substitutes,
all of whom must be doctors with accredited research experience, preferably meeting
the requisites established in article 2.2. The majority of them must be from outside the
University and any institutions that collaborate with it on the doctoral programme. No
more than two board members may be from any single university or institution. In the
event of it being necessary to call on a substitute to attend the defence of the thesis, and
if applicable, priority must be given to whomever of the two would allow for the board's
members to all be from different universities or institutions.
The thesis supervisor may not be a member of the assessment board, unless the thesis is
being submitted under a bilateral co-supervision agreement with foreign universities
which envisages such a possibility.
The assessment board proposal must be accompanied by a report on the suitability of
each of the five suggested board members in relation to the subject matter of the thesis.
6.3. The Department of Communication's secretariat must add the external assessor's
report, as well as the student's activity document in the case of Royal Decree 99/2011
applying to them, to the documentation referred to in this article. The appraisal of all the
said documentation must then be included on the agenda of the next meeting of the
doctoral programme's Academic Committee.
6.4. The doctoral programme's Academic Committee shall appraise the documentation
received and, if appropriate, approve the deposit of the thesis. If the committee's
appraisal does not result in such approval, it must provide the doctoral student and their
thesis supervisor with a written explanation of its decision.
Article 7. Authorization for depositing and defending theses, and approval of
assessment board members
7.1. The doctoral student must submit the following to the secretariat:
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Four printed copies of their thesis, in the conditions specified by the Doctoral
School's Management Committee.
Two copies of their thesis in electronic format.
7.2. The secretariat shall send the doctoral programme's Academic Committee all the
documentation that the thesis assessment and deposit process has generated.
7.3. On the basis of the documentation received, the doctoral programme's Academic
Committee shall, if appropriate, grant authorization for the doctoral thesis to be
deposited and defended, as well as notifying the members of the thesis assessment
board that the defence is to take place, subject to the period for which the thesis is
accessible to the University's doctors having a positive outcome.
7.4. The doctoral programme's Academic Committee must announce the deposit of the
doctoral thesis in order to generate awareness thereof, notwithstanding the provisions of
article 19 of the academic regulations on doctoral studies. The doctoral thesis is to be
deposited for a period of ten working days, beginning the day after its deposit is
authorized, so that the University's doctors can examine it and, if they see fit, submit
any reservations they may wish to express to the doctoral programme's Academic
Committee in writing.
7.5. Once the period of ten working days for which the thesis is to be deposited has
elapsed, the doctoral programme's Academic Committee shall, if appropriate, send the
Doctoral School's Management Committee all the documentation that the thesis
assessment process has generated. If any reservations have been expressed in the period
in question, the Academic Committee shall review the case.
Article 8. Grading doctoral theses
8.1. Grading doctoral theses
The assessment board must issue a report and give the thesis an overall grade in the
terms stipulated in the corresponding regulations. The board may propose that the thesis
be considered “cum laude” if the secret voting procedure undertaken by its members
produces a unanimous agreement in that regard. Once the doctoral thesis defence
session has concluded, the director of the Department of Communication must examine
the votes cast on whether or not the thesis should be considered “cum laude”, and the
secretariat must notify the members of the board of assessment, the doctoral student and
their thesis supervisor of the result.
8.2. Special Award for Doctoral Studies
All theses considered “cum laude” shall be eligible for a Special Award for Doctoral
Studies.
REPEALING PROVISION
These regulations partially amend the Department of Communication's regulations on
the application of quality mechanisms and on its Special Award for Doctoral Studies.
FINAL PROVISION
These regulations shall come into force in the academic year 2013-2014.