Objectives and competences
The doctoral programme in Medieval Cultures at the University of Barcelona is part of the university tradition of interdisciplinary medieval studies found today at research institutes and in university master's degree and doctoral programmes offered by the world's most important universities. Our doctoral programme integrates the researchers from the competitive projects at the UB's Institute for Research on Medieval Cultures (IRCVM) and facilitates continuity between pre- and postdoctoral studies.
It offers students of archaeology, philology, philosophy, history, art history and other humanistic disciplines interested in the Middle Ages the tools they need to train as researchers, in collaboration with the different knowledge areas and at an international level of excellence
Basic information
| Type | Doctoral program |
|---|---|
| Faculty or school | Faculty of Geography and History |
| Branch of knowledge |
|
| Number of places available | 10 |
| Language(s) of instruction | Catalan, Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Others |
| Coordination | Carles Mancho Suárez |
| carles.mancho@ub.edu | |
| Phone | 934037939 |
| EDUB details | Indicators |
Objectives and competences
Objectives
PhD students on our programme must be able to master skills that will make them excellent researchers, highly qualified to carry out studies of high scientific impact, in any prestigious research institution with international projection, as well as the ability to lead and supervise the research of third parties, thus contributing to the progress of knowledge of the Middle Ages and to the leadership of the University of Barcelona.
Competences
a) Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of the skills and research methods related to this field.
b) Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial research or creative process.
c) Ability to contribute to extending the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
d) Ability to carry out critical analysis and evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.
e) Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and society in general about their areas of knowledge in the ways and languages commonly used in the international scientific community.
f) Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress in a knowledge-based society.
g) Ability to promote Open Science and Citizen Science as a way to contribute to the consideration of scientific knowledge as a common good.
Admission pathways
Access
In general, to access an official doctorate program you must have an official Spanish bachelor's degree, or equivalent, and a university master's degree and have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in all university degree and master's studies. It can also be accessed by anyone who is in any of these cases:- Be in possession of official Spanish university degrees or equivalent Spanish degrees, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in the set of these courses, accrediting level 3 of the Spanish Qualification Framework for Higher Education.
- Be in possession of a title obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EEES), without the need for it to be approved, which accredits a level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework, provided that this title is valid for to access doctoral studies in the country of dispatch. This admission does not imply, in any case, the approval of the previous title that the interested party is in possession of or the recognition for other purposes than that of accessing doctoral studies.
- Be in possession of a degree obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems outside the EEES, without the need for it to be approved, after verification by the University of Barcelona that this degree accredits a level of training equivalent to the official Spanish master's degree university and which, in the country of dispatch, entitles you to access doctoral studies. This admission does not imply, in any case, the approval of the previous title that the interested party is in possession of or the recognition for other purposes than that of accessing doctoral studies.
- Be in possession of another doctoral degree.
- Equally, university graduates who, after obtaining a place in training through the corresponding test for access to specialized health training places, have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a program to obtain the title, can access official of one of the specialties in health sciences.
- The graduates, architects or engineers who were in possession of the diploma of advanced studies obtained in accordance with what was established in Royal Decree 778/1998, of April 30, or who had reached the research sufficiency regulated in Royal Decree 185/ 1985, of January 23.
Admission requirements
Recommended applicant profile
Most doctoral students will have completed the master's degree in Medieval Cultures at the UB. This degree covers all the areas of knowledge and research associated with the medieval world at our University, and provides the grounding required to access the doctoral programme in Medieval Cultures.
As the doctoral programme is organized by the University of Barcelona, other UB master's degrees are included in the recommended applicant profiles. Consequently, students may access the doctoral programme in Medieval Cultures if they hold a UB master's degree in which the Middle Ages is covered as a cross-disciplinary subject or as part of the discipline itself. Currently, this definition includes the following degrees:
¿ Master's degree in Libraries and Heritage Collections
¿ Master's degree in Ancient Culture and Language
¿ Interuniversity master's degree in Advanced Studies in Catalan Language and Literature
¿ Master's degree in Advanced Studies in Art History
¿ Master's degree in Cultural Heritage Management and Museology
Master's degrees from other universities in Catalonia that meet similar requirements are also considered suitable:
¿ Master's degree in Analysis and Management of Artistic Heritage
¿ Master's degree in Prehistory, Antiquity and the Middle Ages
¿ Master's degree in Local Cultural Heritage Management
¿ Master's degree in Research in Humanities: History, Art, Philosophy, Language and Literature
¿ Interuniversity master's degree in European Medieval Identity
¿ Master's degree in Advanced Studies in Catalan Language, Literature and Culture
Master's degrees from other universities in Spain that meet similar requirements will also be considered.
These recommended academic and curricular profiles reflect the previous training that is required of candidates for the doctoral programme in Medieval Cultures and inform the admission criteria applicable to students from other university systems. However, at the discretion of the assessment committee, students whose training does not meet the above criteria may also be accepted, provided that their research proposals are innovative and compatible with the programme.
Admission criteria
According to the required applicant profile and the criteria set out below, the Academic Committee will give priority to candidates who hold the master's degree in Medieval Cultures from the UB, as this qualification is directly linked to the doctoral programme in Medieval Cultures. For other master's degrees, priority will be given to candidates with the recommended application profile described above, and to indicators of quality and excellence associated with the master's degrees and the universities at which they were taken.
In particular, candidates' grades for the last 180 credits of their bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree and for their master's degree shall be taken into account. These grades shall be considered as students develop their research orientation during these periods of study. Students must therefore demonstrate that they have enough training to begin a thesis on a topic related to the Middle Ages.
Credit will also be given for the candidate's curriculum vitae. Given the importance of languages for research on the medieval world, and the involvement of a considerable number of international lecturers in the programme, candidates must have a good level of another language.
Candidates must submit a statement ofinterestin which they explain why they are interested in one of the four research areas covered by the doctoral programme in Medieval Cultures. They may also be required to present these reasons orally, at the discernment of the Academic Committee. The statement of interest can be no longer than 10,500 characters.
Two letters of recommendation are required.
-Weighting in the evaluation:
In the selection process, the committee will evaluate the above-mentioned criteria in a prioritized manner and with the weighting given here presented:
1) The academic record and merits provided by the candidate. Particular consideration will be given to the grades of the last 180 credits taken in the bachelor's degree or in the sum of the bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as evidence of sufficient training to begin a thesis on topics related to the Middle Ages.
Weighting 40%
2) Research proposal
Weighting 30%
3) Curriculum Vitae. The following will be valued:
1- Having had competitive scholarships (collaboration scholarships for bachelor's and/or master's degrees, etc.) up to 5%
2- Existence of a PhD scholarship prior to the application, 10%
3- Knowledge of languages that are accredited up to 10%
4- Previous research experience in the topics included in the Doctorate. Previous work experience in the topics included in the PhD. Previous publications, attendance at conferences, field work or other activities related to the PhD program, up to 5%
Weighting 15%
4) Motivation letter. The candidate's motivation letter must clearly reflect the reasons that explain his/her interest in doing a PhD in Medieval Cultures and starting research in one of the four lines of research contemplated in the program. The evaluation of the motivation letter may be completed, at the discretion of the Academic Committee, with a personal interview. The document will not exceed 10,500 characters.
Weighting 10%
5) Two letters of recommendation. They can be from former professors or from people who have had some kind of professional or academic relationship with the candidate. The letters must reflect both the candidate's analytical capacity and his/her training and motivation.
Weighting 5%
The evaluation of candidates will take place between the months of May and September. The result of the quantification and weighted qualification of the candidates' merits will be made public by the means provided for in the dissemination of information on this programme. The candidates will then be accepted into the DCM in strict order of relationship and based on the places available. After acceptance and the assignment of a director and a tutor, within the time limits provided for by current regulations, the student will formalize his/her registration to move on to develop the thesis project that will be evaluated in the following evaluation period.
Lines of research and teaching staff
Research lines
- 101161 - Languages: texts and images
- 101162 - Thought, mentality, relations and knowledge transfer
- 101163 - Power and institutions: economy, society and lifestyle
- 101160 - Reconstruction and analysis of archaeological, artistic and textual heritage
Research plan and progress reports
You can find all the information at the following links:
- Research Plan
- Activities document
- Annual monitoring report and evaluation and DADDAD
- Guide to good practice in doctoral thesis supervision and tutoring
- Code of good practices of the Doctoral School of the University of Barcelona
Training activities
List of programme-specific training activities
Year 1
• Electronic resources for research: databases, GIS, bibliographic management (≤ 4 hours).
• Time and task management (≤ 4 hours).
• Oral presentation (≤ 4 hours).
• Doctoral seminar (≤ 20 hours).
• Introduction to the publication of scientific results and/or preparation of studies (≤ 4 hours).
• Linguistic follow-up (≤ 4 hours).
• Reviews in SVMMA or the Anuario de Estudios Medievales (≤ 150 hours).
Second and subsequent years
• Attendance of doctoral studies seminars (≤ 30 hours).
• Attendance of Lectio Magistralis I ≈ IRCVM Internacional or equivalent (≤ 6 hours).
• Attendance of Lectio Magistralis II ≈ IRCVM Internacional or equivalent (≤ 6 hours).
• Attendance of the Conference on Medieval Cultures (≤20 hours).
• Participation in research group seminars (≤15 hours).
• Participation in and papers at conferences (≤50 hours).
• Traineeships in the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) Department of Medieval Studies, the IRCVM, the master's degree programme in Medieval Cultures or the doctoral programme in Medieval Cultures (≤160 hours).
• Preparation of journal articles and book chapters (including reviews in SVMMA or the Anuario de Estudios Medievales (≤150 hours).
• Mobility, over the course of the doctoral programme (≤150 hours).
• Fieldwork (≤10 hours).
• Attendance of research colloquia (≥ 85%).
• Attendance of thesis readings from the doctoral programme in Medieval Cultures (≥ 1).
Additional cross-disciplinary training:
EDUB training pills.
Activities organized by the ARDIT Cultures Medievals student association
Training Activities
Doctoral thesis
Thesis languages:
German, English, Catalan, Spanish, Basque, French, Galician, Italian, Occitan, Portuguese, other.
Thesis publications: TDX
Thesis