Forms

The doctoral thesis

A doctoral thesis consists of an original piece of research that you must complete in any field of knowledge. This research should advance the theory of your field or apply it to applied knowledge, or it should provide new data or methodologies that improve research in your field. The thesis should equip you to work independently in the field of R+D+I.

Doctoral thesis modalities

It's very important that you consider the most suitable approach when planning your thesis. Your thesis supervisors and academic committee can make recommendations about what's best for you.
Below, we explain the two types of thesis modalities.

Monographic theses
It consists of an original research work in a specific field of knowledge, compiled in a single unpublished document.
The monographic thesis must present, as a minimum, the following sections: index, abstract, keywords, introduction with the corresponding research question and objective(s), methodology, results, discussion, conclusions, and bibliographic references.
If the doctoral thesis is not written in Catalan, a summary in Catalan, along with the title and keywords, must always be included.

Thesis by compilation of publications
Regarding the thesis based on a compilation of publications, two regulations apply depending on the year in which you began your doctoral studies.
Thesis by compilation of publications (if you started your studies before the 2024-2025 academic year)
The theses must meet the following requirements:

  1. The thesis must include a summary or synopsis and a general introduction, in which the work is presented, its subject matter is justified, and the objectives are specified.

  2. The thesis must include a report of the results obtained, a general discussion of these results, and the final conclusions.

  3. A complete copy of the submitted papers must be included, clearly stating the names and affiliations of all co-authors and the full reference of the publication. If any of the papers are in the process of being published, proof of acceptance and the full reference of the publication to which they have been submitted for publication must be attached.

  4. If any of the submitted works have been published in a language other than those specified in the doctoral program, a summary of the work in question, written in one of the program languages, must be attached.

  5. A statement from your supervisors regarding the impact factor and/or journal categorization of the publications included in your doctoral thesis, or the classification of the publishing house where it is published.

  6. If you submit any co-authored work, you must provide a report from your thesis supervisors detailing your involvement in each publication and justifying whether any of the co-authors of any of the work presented in your doctoral thesis has used these works, implicitly or explicitly, in preparing it.

The Academic Committee of your doctoral program establishes the requirements for theses per collection of articles regarding the number of articles and minimum requirements for the journals in which they are published. These criteria must be unique to the doctoral program and must be public. If the criteria are modified, those established at the time of approval of your research plan will apply.
These publications must be the result of your research plan, and therefore, this minimum count excludes publications prior to the date of formal admission to the program (first registration).

Thesis by compilation of publications (if you started your studies from the 2024-2025 academic year)

A thesis by compilation of publications must contain a minimum of two scientific publications published or accepted for publication in a scientific journal or as part of a monograph, provided that they have been evaluated by experts (peer review ).
These publications must be the result of your research plan, and therefore, this minimum count excludes publications prior to the date of formal admission to the program (first registration).
The following format requirements must be met:

  • You must be the first author of at least one of the publications in the compendium. In areas where other criteria must be respected, such as strict alphabetical order, this order must be followed as long as this requirement is clear and well-known.

  • The academic committee of the doctoral program may add specific criteria regarding the characteristics that publications must meet, following the DORA guidelines (San Francisco Declaration of Independence) . on Research Assessment ) and CoARA ( Coalition for Advancing Research Aseso ). These requirements must be made public.

  • Publications must state the University of Barcelona as the affiliation of you, your tutor, and/or the supervisor(s), if they are co-authors of the article and members of the University of Barcelona. The names and affiliations of the other co-authors must also be clearly stated.

  • The accepted version after the publication review process must be deposited in the Digital Repository, the institutional repository of the University of Barcelona.

Theses submitted as a compilation of publications must follow the following minimum structure:

  • A summary or synopsis and a general introduction presenting the work, justifying its thematic coherence, and specifying its objectives.

  • A reproduction of the publications, with information about the database in which the journal or publisher is indexed and the required quality indicators.

  • General discussion of the results and final conclusions.

  • The full references of the publications must clearly state the names and affiliations of all co-authors, as well as a link to the copy deposited in the University of Barcelona repository. If any of the publications are in the process of being published, proof of acceptance must be attached, including the full reference of the publication to which it was submitted.

  • If any of the included publications have been published in a language other than those specified in the doctoral program, a summary of the publication must be attached, written in one of the program languages and, in all cases, in Catalan.

If the doctoral thesis is not written in Catalan, a summary in Catalan, along with the title and keywords, must always be included.