After registration

The commitment document (see download link below) is a written agreement that establishes the framework for relations between the PhD student, the supervisor, the thesis tutor and the UAB, and the rights and duties of each.

Within a maximum of 3 months from when they are admitted to the PhD programme, students and the thesis supervisors assigned to them together draw up a commitment document setting out the conditions under which they will collaborate, the duties and work schedules of the student, the thesis supervisor and the thesis tutor, the system for resolving disputes, etc. This document is signed by the student, the thesis supervisor, the thesis tutor, and the programme coordinator.

The programme's coordinator or administration will arrange for the signing and storing of the document.

If the commitment document cannot be formally ratified for reasons attributable to the PhD student, admission and registration on the  programme are invalidated, with no right to reimbursement of the registration fee.

(Video in Spanish; click on the CC button to display the English subtitles)
 

While working on the doctoral thesis you will take part in a series of training activities designated by the doctoral programme’s academic committee to further your academic progress. There are 2 types of activities: mandatory and optional.

The activities document is your own record of these activities,

The activities document is your individualized record of the training activities linked to the PhD, accessible through the UAB intranet (Research Plan and Activities for PhD Students)

Together with the programme coordinator you must decide which activities you will do while working on your thesis, in accordance with the calendar you are given and after completing registration. The mandatory activities are automatically included in the activities document of your individual register, but the optional activities need to be added to it, as indicated by the programme's coordinator or administration.

The type and the number of activities may subsequently be modified, by following this procedure: the changes must be endorsed by the thesis supervisor and the thesis tutor and approved by the PhD programme coordinators, and they must be recorded in the activities document of your individual register.

To receive a passing grade for these training activities, present the corresponding certificates to your thesis supervisor and, where appropriate, follow the instructions of the programme's coordinator or administrative support staff on adding the certificates to the activities document.

Since one of the prerequisites for depositing doctoral theses, as established by the doctoral programme’s academic committee, is to have completed all the activities in the activities document, you should make sure that these are all duly recorded as having been taken in this document.

The contents of the PhD programme's research plan, established by the programme's academic coordinators, include at least the methodology and objectives that you will have to achieve as a PhD student, the means to be employed and the planned timing of your research project.

From the moment you are admitted to the PhD programme, you will draw up the research plan with the help of your thesis supervisor, who will assist you in defining the research project.

Once this is done you must add it to your PhD academic record (Intranet: Research Plan and Activities of PhD Students) for it to be approved by your thesis supervisor and thesis tutor (see below for the instructions). Finally, fill in and sign the application for approval of the research plan (see below) and submit this and the research plan itself to the doctoral programme’s academic committee, for evaluation and approval.
If, when submitting the application for approval of the research plan, a change in your enrolment status is agreed with your thesis director, you will also need to submit the form for changes of enrolment status so your academic record is updated.

Once approved, the research plan can still be improved, added to or corrected during your time on the PhD programme. To do this, follow the same procedure as above, but using the form modification of the research plan.

The UAB is committed to the objective of achieving excellence in teaching, research and knowledge transfer, and supports the development and use of learning methodologies adapted to each stage.

The School for Doctoral Studies, as an integral part of the UAB, subscribes to that commitment and sets it out in the code of good practice, which is understood as a code of values and principles that inspire its activities and adhered to by all those taking part in them. It should therefore be understood that the School for Doctoral Studies has an internal set of rules including the rights and responsibilities of the supervisors, academic tutors and PhD candidates.

You must sign this code of good practice once you have been admitted to the PhD programme and no later than three months after admission (download here the signature form). You must deliver this document to the Coordination of the PhD programme.

You can consult your file through the UAB Intranet. There you will find the possibility to consult the information of your file, in the option "Acces your academic record", where you will be able to consult if you have already evaluated your annual review, necessary to be able to realize the matriculation.

You can also check it using your smartphone, using the app 'Consulta de notes'. Check the information in this link.

You can check or modify your password through the UAB Intranet. There you will find the possibility to make this query and/or change, in the option "Password management".

On this page of the SAAR portal you will find links with recommendations for the scientific signature. It is very important that you follow them, because if your thesis has articles it is necessary that you make it clear.

Before the deposit of a doctoral thesis, there are some aspects that you must take into consideration.

1. How can I change the title of my thesis?
   You can do it at the time of the thesis deposit, since the title you indicate in the deposit request will be the final one. The coordinator of the program will validate it.

Phd student's guide