Thesis submission and defense

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 Administration office of the DTLC

Actions to be taken by the student:

• S/he must produce 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.

• In the email sent with the dissertation, s/he mut state whether the International Mention is requested. If that is so, please be aware of the requirements for obtaining the International Mention of the thesis.

Actions to be taken by the tutor (the supervisor of the dissertation):

• S/he must produce a report authorising the submission of the dissertation. S/he will have to upload this report to the electronic platform when proceeding with the online submission.

• S/he must produce a suitability report for each member of the committee proposed to assess the thesis (report in Word here).

• S/he must be aware of the following:

  • 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 submitted, the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program (ACDP) authorizes the request for reports from two external evaluators on the quality of the thesis. Upon receiving the reports, the Administration office sends them to the doctoral student and the tutor so that the online submission can begin.

b) Submission of the dissertation

Various agents participate at this stage, in order to guarantee the quality and formality of the piece of work:

● the doctoral student applies for the submission ot the dissertation

● the tutor assesses it and authorizes its submission, should it meet the academic standards required

● The Administration office of the doctoral program validates all the information provided both by the student and by the tutor of the thesis

● The ACDP, authorizes the submission  of the dissertation, after this has been granted by the Head of the Program.

● The DS appoints the examining board that will assess  the doctoral dissertation

- Once the submission of the dissertation has been approved by the ACDP, the Administration Office sends an email to the student, with a copy to the tutor, informing them that the submission can be processed through the online pltaform, following the following instructions:

- Once the doctoral student has processed and closed the request the request for submission, the tutor –or tutors, in case more than one supervisor is involved– validates all the information that the doctoral student has uploaded, togheter with the information about the members of the examining board and the suitability documents (the same ones that were submitted for the pre-deposit), and a report on the dissertation

 The date on which the director validates this will be considered the definitive date of the submission.

- The Administration office validates all the information uploaded.

- Finally, it is the Head of the doctoral program coordinator, as president of the ACDP, who closes the deposit process. Once the deposit is complete, the DS finally approves the appointment of the examining board, so that the dissertation can be defended.

c) The viva defence

The dissertation must be defended  within six months of the appointment of the examining board by the DS.

The viva defense must be held in a public session between the months of September and July, both included. The student must present the research work carried out, the objectives, the methodology, the main contents and the conclusions, with a special mention of the original and innovative contributions. The members of the board may ask the doctoral student any questions and inquiries that they deem appropriate. Likewise, the doctors present in the room on the day of the defense may also formualte qüestions, after they have been granted the right to do so by the chairman of the board. If the thesis is eligible for international mention, the specific requirements for the defense must be taken into account.

List of actions to be followed by the membres of the examing board at the  viva defence.

The dissertation may be evaluated as “NOT SUITABLE”, “APPROVED”, “REMARKABLE” and “EXCELLENT”. In addition, the committee may propose that the thesis obtain the mention “CUM LAUDE”, after a positive and unanimous secret vote is issued in this regard. (More information).

d) Closing of the file

• International mention
• Publication of the dissertation in TDX
• Application for the doctoral diploma