These are the terms and procedures you must know and follow to develop your research and training plan, monitor your academic progress, and process applications.
Thesis supervision
Supervisor Allocation
The Academic Committee of the PhD Program (Comisión Académica del Programa de Doctorado – CAPD) will assign a tutor to oversee the doctoral student’s research work at the time of admission.
The tutor must be a faculty member affiliated with the program, with accredited research experience and a permanent position at the USC, or on temporary leave due to participation in research excellence programs. Academic and research staff (PDI) without a permanent position may serve as tutors during the duration of their contractual relationship with USC.
Thesis Supervisor Allocation
Upon admission, or if not possible, within a maximum period of three months from enrollment, the Academic Committee will assign each PhD candidate a thesis supervisor (or co-supervisors) and record this information in the relevant software application.
A supervisor may be any Spanish or international PhD holder with accredited research experience (Art. 25.3.a of the USC Doctoral Studies Regulations), regardless of the university, center, or institution where they work. The thesis supervisor may also be the same person designated as the tutor.
Co-supervision of the thesis may be undertaken by any Spanish or international PhD holder without accredited research experience, provided they meet one of the requirements established in Article 26.5 of the USC Doctoral Studies Regulations.
In order for a supervisor appointed by the Academic Committee to be registered in the application, they must first appear in the USC “Register of Supervisors” database. If not already included, the Doctoral Program Coordinator may request their inclusion by submitting the appropriate forms—available under the "Thesis Supervision" drop-down menu on the Forms and models website to edius [at] usc.es.
Change of Tutor or Supervisor
During the doctoral research period, the Academic Committee of the PhD Program (CAPD) may, with due justification, change the appointed tutor or supervisor(s), either on its own initiative or at the request of the doctoral candidate.
The PhD student may request a change of tutor or supervisor by submitting a reasoned proposal to the Academic Committee via the Virtual Secretariat.
Thesis co-supervision
A thesis may have more than one supervisor when there are academic or interdisciplinary reasons, or in the case of joint programs with other institutions or universities.
The maximum number of supervisors is two. To appoint a third supervisor, the following conditions must be met:
- Proposal by the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program (CAPD)
- Authorization from EDIUS
- One of the supervisors must also be the tutor
- The appointment must be justified by the thematic interdisciplinarity of the thesis (i.e., the supervisors represent different fields of knowledge); the thesis is part of a national or international project obtained through a competitive call and developed in collaboration with another center or national/international institutions; or the thesis is developed under a cotutelle agreement.
Authorization from EDIUS is required—following the CAPD's proposal—to appoint a second supervisor after 36 months from the start of studies for full-time students, or 63 months for part-time students. In the case of mixed dedication, Article 20.1 applies. This appointment must be accompanied by an update to the research and training plan.
This will not be permitted if the doctoral candidate is in an extension period.
To request EDIUS authorization, the program must send the appropriate forms—available under the "Thesis Supervision" drop-down menu on the Forms and Models website—to edius [at] usc.es.
Doctoral candidates may request the CAPD to assign a new supervisor. This procedure is not available through the Virtual Secretariat.
The authorized profile refers to the individual who serves as the tutor or supervisor of a PhD student and is responsible for uploading all evaluation and management reports to the University's online platform.
This profile is appointed by the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program (CAPD).
The Documentary Supervision Agreement (CDS) is the document that outlines the roles of supervision, tutoring, and monitoring of doctoral students. It establishes the conditions under which the thesis will be developed, as well as the rights and responsibilities of the PhD student—including potential intellectual and/or industrial property rights resulting from the research. It also includes acceptance of the dispute resolution procedure, and defines the duties and rights of both the tutor and the thesis supervisor (which may be the same person).
Acceptance of the Documentary Supervision Agreement
The CDS must be accepted by the following individuals:
- The PhD student, after completing their registration (via the Virtual Secretariat).
- The tutor, after the PhD student has accepted the CDS (via the Virtual Secretariat).
- The thesis supervisor, at the time of their appointment by the CAPD. (Non-USC faculty will receive an email invitation to accept the CDS.)
- The program coordinator, without needing notification. The acceptance will appear as a pending task in the Virtual Secretariat once the student and the tutor have accepted the CDS.
Thesis monitoring
PhD students must record all significant activities carried out throughout the thesis process.
These activities must be registered through the Student Virtual Secretariat (in the section “PhD Student File RD 99/2011”) and will be reviewed and validated by the tutor or supervisor (authorized profile), as well as annually evaluated by the Academic Committee of the Program (CAPD).
PhD students are required to retain the original documents that certify the completion of each activity.
To be eligible for thesis submission, the CAPD requires, among other conditions, that all scheduled activities have been completed. It is therefore recommended to ensure that all activities are properly registered and marked as completed in the Activities Document.
The Research and Personal Training Plan is a document that must outline the methodology to be used by the doctoral student, the objectives to be achieved, and the resources and timeline required to accomplish them. The Personal Training section must include a list of the training activities to be undertaken during the doctoral period, including, in all cases, those deemed mandatory by the doctoral program.
When to submit?
- Initial research plan: For students in their first year of enrollment in the Doctoral Program, the plan must be submitted within a maximum of six calendar months from the date of enrollment and always before the end of the academic year. Doctoral students enrolled in the second enrollment period must submit the plan before July 31.
- Research plan modification: Each PhD student may modify their plan whenever necessary. In any case, the plan must be updated if there are any changes to the thesis compared to the latest version approved by the CAPD.
If the plan receives a negative evaluation (which must be duly justified), the PhD student must submit a new version within the deadline established by the CAPD, which must not exceed three months from the date of rejection.
How to submit it?
Through the Student Virtual Secretariat (in the “PhD Student File RD 99/2011” section). Submission is only possible once a tutor or supervisor has been officially assigned in the system. If no assignment has been made yet, please contact your Doctoral Program. After completing all sections of the Research and Personal Training Plan, you must submit it to your authorized profile (tutor or supervisor) for review. Once the report is completed, it will be submitted for final approval by the CAPD.
It is strongly recommended to complete and submit this document as early as possible, since approval of the plan is a prerequisite for applying to pre-doctoral grant calls.
The research progress of doctoral students will be monitored annually by the Academic Committee of each Doctoral Program (CAPD) through the evaluation of the Activities Document and the development of the Research Plan.
Before this evaluation takes place, the tutor or supervisor—listed as the authorized profile—must validate (or reject) the student’s reported activities and subsequently issue a report. Once this report is submitted by the authorized profile, the coordinator of the Doctoral Program will record the Academic Committee’s evaluation in the system, which will then appear in the student’s file as either positive or negative.
In the case of a negative evaluation, which must be duly justified in a report issued by the CAPD, the doctoral student will undergo a second evaluation within the deadline established by the USC, which may not exceed six months from the date of the initial evaluation.
If the negative evaluation is upheld, the CAPD will issue a final negative report, also duly justified. The doctoral student may submit a reasoned request for review of this final evaluation to the CAPD within the deadlines established by the university.
If the appeal is rejected, the student will be permanently withdrawn from the Doctoral Program.
