Doctoral program in History of Science

Objectives and competences

Objectives and competences

Objectives

The PhD programme in History of Science aims to provide students with a cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary vision of the history of science. Its general objectives are to train researchers and teachers specialising in the history of science and to promote, foster and stimulate the development of lines of research related to the history of science.
The general objective of the PhD programme in History of Science is the preparation of a doctoral thesis in this discipline, through which the PhD student achieves the following particular objectives:
- Knowledge of the conceptual and methodological tools of the discipline, applied to their specific case of study or field.
- The ability to critically analyse, evaluate and synthesise new and complex ideas.
- The ability to communicate the results of their scientific work in the academic and professional community.
The proposal of this PhD programme responds to the historical relevance of science, technology and medicine, and its current importance: the history of science offers a global vision of the processes that have shaped contemporary science, technology and medicine, and is an excellent tool for analysis and understanding of science and its social relations, which complements the training of scientists by providing humanistic and ethical perspectives, and that of all those whose professional activity will have to do with science, from scientific communication and popularisation to museology.

Competences

Doctoral studies guarantee, as a minimum, the acquisition by the doctoral candidate of the following basic competences as well as those others that appear in the Spanish Higher Education Qualifications Framework:
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

The admission process is overseen by the Academic Committee of the doctoral programme. Candidates must meet the general access requirements. To request admission, candidates must first submit a completed application and curriculum vitae to the Academic Committee, within the period established by the participating universities. Candidates who have successfully completed the interuniversity master's degree in History of Science: Science, History and Society (UAB and UB) are eligible to access the doctoral programme. Candidates should also have a good working knowledge of English, and of Catalan and Spanish if they are not native speakers of these languages. In specific cases, knowledge of classical Arabic may be required.

Candidates are also assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

¿ Academic record and compatibility of the candidate's studies with the content of the doctoral programme (40%).
¿ Whether the candidate has obtained financial aid and research grants (20%).
¿ Research experience (participation in conferences, publications, involvement in research projects) (10%).
¿ International placements (10%).
¿ Personal interview (20%).

Candidates will be informed of the outcome of their application within fifteen days. They will also be notified of any bridging courses set for them by the Academic Committee, which must be taken during the first year of the programme.

Enrolment

You can find all the information and enrolment prices at the Doctoral School

Lines of research and teaching staff

Research lines

• 101402 - Astronomy and natural philosophy from the Middle Ages to the scientific revolution
  
• 101407 - Arab-Islamic science
  
• 101404 - Phisical-mathematical sciences in the contemporany Europe
  
• 101400 - The development of mathematical concepts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Multicultural mathematics. Alternative views
  

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

Programme-specific training activities  

— Attendance of seminars or conferences presented by experts in their field of knowledge. 

— Presentation of a seminar on the student's research project. 

Other cross-disciplinary training initiatives:  

— Participation in workshops or courses on methodological specialization. 

— Presentations at national and international scientific conferences and congresses.  

— Development of a research article. 

— Mobility placements at external centres specializing in the history of science. 

— Collaboration on research projects.  

Training Activities
 

Doctoral thesis

Theses subject to data protection regulations: Given the nature of the theses in this field, no special data protection procedures are required. If, in exceptional cases, such a  need arises, general UB regulations will be applied. 

Thesis publications:TDX 

Thesis
 

Career opportunities

What can you work on ?

The main career opportunities on this PhD programme are as follows:
Academic career in the history of science, technology and medicine.
Science education.
Museology, archives and publishing.
Conservation and management of scientific and cultural heritage.
Scientific communication.
Scientific journalism.
Management of scientific information.
Scientific dissemination.
Scientific terminology.

Contact us

PhD coordination: mforcada@ub.edu

Phone: 934 035 609