The finalisation of the thesis involves a complex administrative process which lasts approximately 3 months. The process begins with a pre-submission procedure in which the document is submitted to the Department Secretary's Office. After pre-submission, the thesis is submitted for public display. This is followed by an oral defence of the thesis. The final stage involves the administrative formalities necessary to finalise the academic record. 

NOTE: We would like to remind you to pay special attention to the deadline for the thesis deposit which appears on the TCSO interface, in the first screen, where it reads “Data màxima de dipòsit/Deadline for the Deposit”. You must bear in mind that you must count on two months prior to such a date, in order to comply with the department’s internal quality assurance procedures.
 

Schedule for the ending of a thesis

a) Initial submission of the thesis to the Department Secretary's Office 

The doctoral student must provide:

• A PDF copy of the thesis. Substantial or structural changes will not be allowed after this initial submission, unless they are explicitly required by the external examiners.

• Please respect the instructions on format and language provided on the website.

• Authorship declaration

• Official form acknowledging that the dissertation has been submitted

The supervisor(s) of the dissertation must provide:

• A favorable report for the deposit
• A reasoned proposal of the examining board, together with a justification of the suitability of the proposed members, in accordance with the specific Doctoral thesis examining board form.
• It is necessary for the supervisor(s) to take into account:
  • the regulations on travel, lodging and subsistence allowances of the members of the examining board.
  • Instructions for the defenses of doctoral theses starting in January 2024.

Once the documentation has been produced, the Academic Commission asks two external examiners to assess the quality of the thesis. Upon receipt of these reports, the commission ensures that the thesis is of sufficient quality for its final submission to be authorized.  The Academic Commission is responsible for authorizing the submission of the thesis. If the authorization for submission is denied, the reasons for denial will be communicated to the doctoral student and thesis supervisors.

b) Submission of the thesis

Once the Academic Commission approves the submission of the thesis, the Department Secretary Office does the following:

• It sends an email message to the doctoral student, acknowledging that a paper copy of the thesis is to be delivered to the UPF library so that it is kept in stock and available for public display. Before this, however, the doctoral student must get in touch with UPF Factory, so that the final format is checked.
• It submits the thesis, which will be on public display for 7 working days from the day after the deposit, so that any member of the university holding a Ph. D. can have access to it and, if necessary, write a letter addressed to the School of Doctoral Studies with their personal considerations.
• After the public display, should there not be any consideration against the public defense, the School of Doctoral Studies is notified the names of the members of the examining board, so that it can be nominated and the public defense can be celebrated.

c) Public defence

Once the members of the examining board have been nominated, the thesis can be defended, within a deadline of six months.

The thesis defense constitutes a public act, which needs to take place between September and July (both months included). This act consists in an exposition on the part of the doctoral student, who must explain the goals of the dissertation, the methodology and contents, and the conclusions, paying particular attention to its innovative and original aspects. The members of the examining board can formulate as many considerations as they wish. Any person who happens to be present and who holds a doctorate is entitled to formulate his/her own considerations, after the president of the examining board has given them the right to do so.

Regulations to be observed by the examining board in the public defense.

The thesis can be awarded a "FAIL", "PASS", "GOOD" or "EXCELLENT". The board may propose in a secret ballot a "cum laude" mention for the thesis if all the examiners agree to do so. (More information)

d) Files closure

• International Mention in the Doctoral Diploma
• Publishing theses in TDX
• The Doctoral Diploma: Application