Doctoral program in Marine Sciences

Objectives and competences

Objectives and competences

Objectives

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.

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:
a) 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.
b) 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.
c) 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.
d) Be in possession of another doctoral degree.
e) 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.
f) 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 main requirement is a Spanish qualification at bachelor's degree level or equivalent and at master's degree level or equivalent that enables the student to benefit from and complete the research training provided in the Marine Sciences doctoral programme.

Consequently, the following will be considered in particular:

¿ Academic qualifications and course plan for the master's degree, or equivalent qualification, used for the purpose of application.
¿ Academic qualifications and course plan for the bachelor's degree, or equivalent qualification, used for the purpose of application.
¿ Other merits for which the candidate has official certification, such as placements in research centres related to marine sciences, publications, or previous professional experience.

Using these criteria to assess the individual merit and academic excellence of candidates, the Academic Committee for the doctoral programme in Marine Sciences will publish an admissions list every year. The Academic Committee may require candidates to take specific bridging courses, depending on their academic profile. Research credits are awarded for bridging courses, which are compulsory for students who have taken a bachelor's degree of three hundred credits or more that does not include credits for research.

Students who have recognized Research Proficiency may be admitted to the programme directly, depending on the subject area and level of training, or may have to take the bridging courses that are recommended by their tutor.

In practical terms, the admission process involves the following steps:

1. All the candidates' qualifications shall be assessed to ensure that they meet admission requirements. Candidates who hold degrees that are fully compatible with the doctoral programme will be provisionally accepted. These are:

¿ Marine Sciences and Oceanography
¿ Civil and Marine Engineering
¿ Biology, Geology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Sciences and Mathematics

For other qualifications, the Academic Committee will assess the curriculum of the applicant's degree course, and submit a proposal to the university at which the student should enrol.

In all cases, the secretary for the doctoral programme in Marine Sciences will carry out an official check, and ensure that the curriculum included the subjects that are most closely related to the four basic branches of Marine Sciences. These checks will reveal whether or not a student should take bridging courses. This will then be confirmed in a personal interview.

2. All of the provisionally accepted students will be ranked, using the weightings given in brackets and according to the following criteria:

a) Grades for previous studies (55%).

b) Introductory research projects (for example in master's degrees), publications and contributions to meetings and scientific conferences that are mentioned in the curriculum (30%).

c) Grants and financial aid (10%).

d) Other merits (5%).

This process will lead to a list of provisionally accepted students. Then, the Academic Committee will issue an acceptance letter. The student's position on the list of accepted candidates will be referred to in relation to the number of places offered on the programme. Therefore, the relevant administrative bodies, including those in charge of completing the enrolment process, must be given this list.

Enrolment

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

Lines of research and teaching staff

Research lines

101339 - Marine biology
101340 - Marine ecology
101341 - Maritime engineering
101338 - Marine geosciences
101342 - Management of coastal and marine areas
101337 - Physical and chemical oceanography

Research plan and progress reports

You can find all the information at the following links:

    
• Research Plan
   
• Activities document
   
• Annual monitoring report and evaluation

Training activities

Doctoral thesis

Career opportunities

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