Doctoral Program in Education 2019–2020

The RD 99/2011 highlights the high professional training of doctors in various fields, especially those that require creativity and innovation. Therefore, the doctors of the program will have acquired, at least, personal skills and abilities to:

1. Develop in contexts in which there is little specific information.
2. Find the key questions that must be answered to solve a complex problem.
3. Design, create, develop and undertake innovative and innovative projects in their field of knowledge.
4. Work both as a team and independently in an international or multidisciplinary context.
5. Integrate knowledge, face complexity and formulate judgements with limited information.
6. The criticism and intellectual defence of solutions.

Other competences in the field of education that help achieve the objectives of the Program.

The requirements for access to doctorate studies are set in RD 99/2011 and can be consulted in the corresponding Instruction of the Doctorate School (pdf). In general, an official Spanish Bachelor's and Master's degrees or equivalent are required, with a minimum global extension of 300 ECTS credits.

Candidates with university degrees issued by a country of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) may request admission directly (info). If the degree is issued by a country outside the EHEA, the application for access with a non-homologated foreign degree must be submitted (info).

Those interested can expand their information in the administrative section of the Doctoral School (web) or the administration of the program (see contact data in the program general information section).

Preferred candidate profiles

1. Graduates holding degrees related to education, and/or holding the Zaragoza “University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning: Introduction to Research”; graduates who have been introduced to research methodology, or who possess an official university Master’s Degree in another area which ensures that they have been trained in the abilities and knowledge featured in the Doctoral Program.

2. Candidates holding a Master’s Degree (or Licenciatura) in subjects related to education, and holding the equivalent to Suficiencia Investigadora (aptitude to research) required by doctoral programs previous to Spanish Government Decree RD 1393/2007, e.g. by the University of Zaragoza Doctorates in Psychology, Educational Sciences, and Specific Didactics, or by other programs deemed equivalent.

3. Candidates holding an official pre-EHEA Master’s Degree (or Licenciatura) in education-related subjects and/or holding the Zaragoza “University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning: Introduction to Research”, or other official Master’s degrees guaranteeing that the candidate possesses the knowledge and abilities required by the profile.

4. Holders of official education-related university degrees and/or of the “University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning: Introduction to Research”, or of other official Master’s Degrees that guarantee that the candidate possesses the knowledge and abilities required by the profile, provided he/she has coursed the equivalent of 300 ECTS credits.

5. Holders of degrees obtained in educational systems outside the EHEA (European Higher Education Area): official equivalency approval is not required, provided that the degree qualifies its holder as a research trainee in the area of education, in accordance with our program’s profile, and allows its holder to be admitted to doctoral studies in the country of issue (research phase and presentation of a thesis). 

Specific requirements

In addition to all other general documents required by the University of Zaragoza, the candidate should accompany the application for acceptance in the Doctorate in Education Program with the following documents (clearly numbered as follows):

1. Complete curriculum vitae

2. A copy of the university degree or degrees that entitle the candidate to be admitted to studies on a doctoral level (degree copies should be provided independently of the university where they were obtained, and thus should likewise be presented if the degree was obtained at the University of Zaragoza).

3. Academic record (grades obtained in courses) from both academic cycles: first university cycle (Grado, Licenciatura, Diplomatura, Bachelor’s Degree) and second cycle (Master’s Degree). (These documents are required independently of the university where they were obtained, and thus should likewise be presented if the applicant studied at the University of Zaragoza).

4. A certificate of the syllabus of the previously obtained Master’s Degree including all courses attended and the credits assigned to them. It is also recommended that the candidate present the course description of each subject (however, students holding the title “University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning: Introduction to Research” are not required to present the corresponding documentation).

5. Documentation providing information on the type of Master’s Degree obtained by the candidate, which is either a Master’s Degree in Research, or a Master’s Degree qualifying for the exertion of a profession in an education-related area (students holding the title “University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning: Introduction to Research” are not required to present this documentation).

6. Official certificate that proves proficiency in the English language at least at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ​​(CEFR) or equivalent. Apart from the official certificate proving the candidate’s mastery of English at the corresponding level, the candidate is likewise required to provide a document that proves his/her title’s equivalence with the language levels established in the CEFR.

7. A cover letter expressing the candidate’s motivation to enroll in the study program leading to a Doctorate in Education: expectations, areas of research interest, and any other aspects deemed relevant. This motivation letter should be formulated according to the following indications.

The letter is to be concise, in Spanish, not exceeding one page (Calibri font, 11 pts., simple line spacing).

After an initial presentation, the candidate shall include the following sections:

    -Basic curriculum data of the candidate, with an obligatory mention of the degrees with which he/she is qualified for admittance to the program, and the years in which the degree were studied toward and obtained.

    -Mention of any other training that might be considered important in connection with the program’s profile.

    -Previous experience in the research field.

    -Personal motivation to enter the Doctorate Program.

    -Subject on which the candidate wishes to write his/her doctoral thesis.

    -Indication of the thesis subjects pertinence to one of the three avenues of research in the Doctoral Program.

    -Eventually, an indication of tutor / thesis director preference.

  -The candidate’s eventual connection with research groups or units which will facilitate the integration of his/her training into the program.

8. Official supporting documents providing justified accreditation for each of the candidate’s merits as requested by the Academic Committee (see below: Selection Criteria).

9. In the case of non-native speakers of Spanish, a certificate that proves that the candidate has a sufficient level of oral and written Spanish to follow the Program correctly.

Selection Criteria

The Education Doctorate Academic Committee shall apply the following scale to evaluate the candidates’ respective merits.

Only merits that are adequately proven shall be taken into account.

 1. An academic record that substantiates the candidate’s abilities and knowledge related to the profile: up to 70 points.

        1a.- First university cycle academic degrees (up to Bachelor’s): 35 points.

        1b.- Master’s Degree or equivalent allowing for admittance to doctorate programs: up to 35 points.

                - Master’s Degree in Education Research: 35 points.

                - Master’s Degree qualifying for professional work related with education: 10 points.

 In this section 1, only one diploma from each academic cycle (and sub-section: 1a and 1b) shall count toward the score. If the candidate has obtained more than one diploma in any one of the two academic cycles, or in both, the second diplomas from each cycle shall be the only ones that count toward the final score in Section 2.

2. Other diplomas and academic titles: up to 5 points.

        - Doctorate: 5 points.

        - A further Master’s Degree in research: 3.5 points.

        - A further Master’s Degree qualifying for the exertion of an educational profession: 2 points.

        - A further degree equivalent to Bachelor’s (Grado/Licenciatura/Diplomatura): 1 point.

3. Officially accredited mastery of the English language: up to 5 points.

Minimum required level: B1 in the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

        - Official certificate equivalent to C1-C2 of the CEFR: 5 points.

        - Official certificate equivalent to B2 of the CEFR: 2.5 points.

        - Official certificate equivalent to B1 of the CEFR: 1 point.

4. Accredited activities of initiation to educational research: up to 15 points.

        - Published research articles in the area of education: for each article, 1 point will be assigned. (The published article should be presented to the Committee. Publications in conference proceedings shall not be taken into account).

        - Papers presented to conferences and scientific gatherings in the field of educational research: for each paper, 0.5 points shall be assigned. (The candidate is required to present the certificate emitted by the institution or entity that organized the conference. Papers presented to internal scientific meetings by research teams shall not be taken into account).

        -  Participation in projects or research groups in the field of educational research: for each project or research group in which the candidate has participated, 0.5 points shall be assigned. (Certificates emitted by the main researcher will not be taken into account. They should be emitted by the university or the corresponding financing entity, or by a government resolution).

        - Other activities related with educational research (to be studied and evaluated by the Committee in each individual case): up to 0.25 points. (Mere attendance at conferences or scientific meetings does not count; mere attendance in university courses does not count).

5. Motivation letter / cover letter: up to 5 points.

If the cover letter is written conforming to the indications previously featured in the Specific Requirements section, 5 points shall be assigned.

Required complementary courses

Candidate profile: holder of a Master’s Degree or equivalent in Education Research.

No complementary courses required.

Candidate profile: holder of a Master’s Degree qualifying him/her to exert an education-related profession.

Required complementary training: Courses Nos. 63130, 63131, and 63132 (19 ECTS) pertaining to the “University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning: Introduction to Research” (a common module and two optional courses), or another university Master’s degree that guarantees that the candidate has been trained in the capacities and knowledge required by the Doctorate Program profile.

(For detailed information about these courses, see the study plan for "University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning: Introduction to Research")

Candidate profile: holder of a Master’s Degree in Research (or equivalent) which is not fully adjusted to the Zaragoza University Education Doctorate Program’s profile.

Required complementary training: Courses Nos. 63130, 63131, 63132 and 63133 (25 ECTS) pertaining to the “University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning: Introduction to Research” or another university Master’s degree that guarantees that the candidate has been trained in the capacities and knowledge required by the Doctorate Program profile.

(For detailed information regarding these courses, please see: "University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning:Introduction to Research").

Candidate profile: holder of a pre-EHEA degree equivalent to Bachelor’s + Master’s

Required complementary training: Courses Nos. 63130, 63131, 63132 and 63133 (25 ECTS) pertaining to the “University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning: Introduction to Research” or another university Master’s degree that guarantees that the candidate has been trained in the capacities and knowledge required by the Doctorate Program profile.

(For detailed information regarding these courses, please see: "University Master’s Degree in Lifelong Learning: Introduction to Research")

Candidate profile: student with a degree obtained abroad, outside the EHEA, and not ratified by the Spanish Ministry of Education.

Required complementary training: the Academic Committee shall examine each case individually, and ascertain whether the holder’s situation is equivalent with one of above-mentioned cases, in order to determine which complementary training shall be required. 

Doctoral students, as researchers in training and students of the University of Zaragoza, have to formalize every year the enrollment with the corresponding rights to the academic tutorship while continuing their doctoral training. The enrollment period will be set  in the academiccalendar approved each year by the Doctoral School. 

As a general rule, enrollment will be done online through the Secretaría Virtual ofthe University of Zaragoza. Previously a personal identification number (NIP) and password will have been obtained in the identity management service. Face-to-face registration will be allowed to those who cannot do it online, by going to the doctoral school during public service hours. PhD students must submit every year in which they enroll, documentation about their previous studies, depending on whether they have been taken in countries of the European Education Area or outside that space.

Full and up-to-date information on the enrollment procedure, including key points, is provided on the website of the Doctoral School, as well as prices, discounts and insurance, legalization and translation of documents and some others practical details.

The procedures for the supervision of doctoral students are set in article 11 of Royal Decree 99/2011, which regulates doctoral studies and the rules about Thesis (Reglamento sobre Tesis Doctorales de la Universidad de Zaragoza). The doctoral student admitted to the program has to enrol each academic year in academic tutelage at the University of Zaragoza. The Academic Committee of the program will assign a Thesis Director and a tutor, who may or may not be the same. The Thesis Director will be the person in charge of the overall management of the doctoral student's research tasks, of the coherence and adequacy of the training activities, of the impact and novelty in his/her field of the subject of the doctoral thesis and of the guide in other projects and activities where the doctoral student is involved. The tutor is responsible for the adaptation of the training and the research activity to the principles of the program and the Doctoral School and will ensure the interaction of the doctoral student with the Academic Committee of the program, the body responsible for supervising the progress of the research and training and the authorization of the thesis presentation of each doctoral student of the program.

The supervisory functions of the doctoral students will be documented in the Doctorate Letter which, once the registration is made, will be signed by the doctoral student, its tutor and its director, the program coordinator and the director of the Doctoral School. Those interested can expand the information on the thesis supervision in the administrative headquarters of the program (see contact information in the general information of the program) or by consulting the program coordinator.

The follow-up of the training process leading to the presentation of the doctoral thesis is carried out through the research plan and the doctoral student's document of activities. The research plan is presented before the end of the first year of enrolment and includes, at least, the methodology to be used and the objectives to be achieved, as well as the means and the temporal planning to achieve it. The plan may be improved and detailed later and must be endorsed by the Director and the tutor. The document of activities is the register of all the activities -research stays, courses, attendance to congresses, or others- that the doctorate carries out from his enrolment until the presentation of the doctoral thesis. Annually, the Academic Committee of the program will evaluate the follow-up of the research plan together with the document of activities. The positive evaluation will be an essential requirement to continue in the program. In the case of a negative evaluation, the doctoral student must be evaluated again within a maximum period of six months. Those interested can expand this information in the administrative headquarters of the program (see contact information in the general information of the program) or by consulting the program coordinator.

In order to guarantee the quality of the PhD, in addition to the above mentioned organization system, other requirements are stablished. Specifically, when the thesis is submitted to the Academic Committee for its approval, this Committee will check if all mandatory training activities has been carried out and they are included in the doctoral student's document of activities.

In view of these information, the Academic Committee will make a decision.

The Doctoral School offers an annual series of voluntary activities for all doctoral students. This formation has a transversal and interdisciplinary nature. The offer is dynamic and covers the following formative aspects: communication (oral and written), access and information management, and skills for a future social and professional performance.  Information about the activities, admission and enrolment can be found in the website of the Doctoral School  (info).

Information on specific mandatory and optional training activities is provided.

In addition to the activities indicated here, through the ADD (Anillo Digital Docente / Moodle), the Academic Committee shall inform PhD students about other specific training activities eventually organized by the University of Zaragoza Education Doctorate Program: such activities can take place in conjunction with University of Zaragoza research teams, or in collaboration with other institutions. Such activities are optional.

Such activities can also be consulted on the webpage of the University of Zaragoza Doctorate Department: https://escueladoctorado.unizar.es/

Type of activity: follow-up meetings to monitor research projects, papers, and research results. Mandatory.

Duration: 12 h.

Control modality: the PhD student shall participate in at least one meeting per semester, thus amounting to a minimum of 6 meetings over a period of three years in the case of full-time students, or 6 meetings over a period of 5 years in the case of part-time students. Starting with their second year of enrollment, PhD students shall present at the meeting a report on the progress of their research, and an anticipation of results that are emerging. This activity will be incorporated into the doctoral student's document of activities.

Type of activity: an oral communication, paper, or poster presentation delivered at a national or international conference and/or scientific meeting. Optional.

Duration: 25 h.

Control modality: Full-time students shall carry out this activity in the course of their 3 doctorate years, and part-time students in the course of five years. The activity is optional for PhD students, yet obligatory if a financing source is secured (for instance, in the case of scholarship holders). The presentation shall be accredited with a Certificate of Attendance and a Certificate of Presentation of the paper or oral communication. Activities carried out by the PhD student shall be incorporated into the doctoral student's document of activities.

Type of activity: scientific publications in journals of international renown. Optional.

Duration: 35 h.

Control modality: the PhD student shall prepare at least one scientific article to be sent to a prestigious specialized academic journal for revision. Full-time students shall carry out this activity in the course of their 3 doctorate years, and part-time students in the course of five years. As proof for the Committee, the PhD student shall present a copy of the original text sent to the journal along with the journal’s affirmative acceptance response. If the article is published in the course of the full-time student’s three years of study or of the part-time student’s five years of study, he/she shall present a printed copy of the published manuscript.

Type of activity: a guest residency in another university or in an internationally renowned research institution in Spain or abroad. Optional.

Duration: 250 h.

Control modality: Full-time students shall carry out this activity in the course of their 3 doctorate years, and part-time students in the course of five years. The activity’s obligatory or optional character shall directly depend on the thesis director or co-director’s judgment and on financing possibilities.

The PhD student, the tutor, and the thesis director shall agree upon how to organize the schedule and facilitate travel associated with the residency.

Authorization by the University of Zaragoza Doctoral Program Academic Committee is required before the PhD student begins his/her guest residency at another institution. To obtain that authorization, the PhD student shall send the committee a printed copy of the corresponding request, including a summary of the activities that are to be carried out in conjunction with the thesis research proposal. The request template can be downloaded at:

https://escueladoctorado.unizar.es/sites/escueladoctorado.unizar.es/files/users/docto/impesos/solestancia_0.pdf

After the guest residency has taken place, the PhD student shall present a summary report of the activities carried out therein, and a certificate from the research coordinator tutor or research director of the group where the residency took place.

The duly accredited guest residency or residencies carried out by the student shall be incorporated into the doctoral student's document of activities.

Doctoral students enrolled in doctoral programs benefit from mobility aids established in various national and international calls. The calls for the Erasmus + program stand out.

In the Erasmus + Studies mode, doctoral students can choose a wide range of destinations, since most of the agreements signed by the University of Zaragoza with other universities include places for PhD students of all branches.

In the Erasmus + Stays / Practices in companies modality, PhD students access two calls: the one from the University of Zaragoza and the one carried out by the Iberus International Campus of Excellence for the universities that comprise it, the one from Zaragoza among them.

Other mobility calls are specifically designed for Latin American students and for international stays of students with predoctoral contracts. The mobility of doctoral students of the University of Zaragoza is also encouraged with cotutela agreements signed with foreign universities.

The Doctoral School of the University of Zaragoza has rules and procedures to achieve its various goals, which have been written with the agreement of the different levels of the Doctoral School, and are published on its website.

The regulations section of the Doctoral School website contains other important regulations, both national and of the University of Zaragoza, such as RD 99/2011 por el que se regulan las enseñanzas oficiales de doctorado, el Reglamento de los Estudios de Doctorado (2012) y el Reglamento sobre tesis doctorales (2014).

Rules of duration and permanence in the doctorate are established in Instrucción de23 de mayo de 2018 de la Escuela de Doctorado relativa al acceso, admisión,dedicación y permanencia en los estudios de doctorado de la Universidad deZaragoza (R.D. 99/2011).

Full-time thesis should be complete in three years, from the date of admission to the doctoral program, although the Academic Committee of the program may authorize the extension of this period for one more year. Part-time doctoral students will have five years from their admission to the presentation of the thesis, and the Academic Committee may authorize an extension for two more years. Exceptionally, an additional year of extension can be added.

PhD candidates may request a change in dedication (full-time / part-time) as well as the temporary withdrawal for justified reasons of the Academic Committee. They can cause a definitive withdrawal and see their file closed in these cases: if the available time to deposit the thesis is exceeded or if they receive two consecutive negative evaluations of the research plan.

These processes are explained in detail on our website (info) and the doctoral students are told how to proceed in cases of temporary withdrawal (info).

The academic year is governed by the deadlines established in the specific Doctoral School´s academic calendar.

This calendar sets the periods of request for entry, admission to the programs, enrollment at the University of Zaragoza, as well as how the students must present every year the research plan and the activities document, deadlines for defending doctoral theses, etc.

The Doctoral School website publishes the calendar of the current course as well as the two previous courses (info).

• Virtual communication

- Anillo Digital Docente (ADD/Moodle)

The PhD student can navigate within the University of Zaragoza Education Doctorate Program virtual communication network on the university’s ADD (Anillo Digital Docente), to which all PhD students, tutors, thesis directors, and members of the Program have access.

The Academic Committee shall use that network to inform PhD students and faculty about matters of general interest for all or most of those participants who are involved in the Doctoral Program.

If a specific message or communication only regards matters that affect a small portion of members (for instance, a PhD student, his/her tutor, and his/her thesis director), the Academic committee shall use their official e-mail addresses instead.

- Official e-mail address

All PhD students, tutors, and thesis directors are assigned a University of Zaragoza official e-mail address, which is the one they shall be required to use when communicating with the Academic Committee.

Any item the PhD student wishes to communicate to the Academic Committee (and thereby also to the Doctoral Program Coordinator) should be sent to the e-mail address of the University of Zaragoza Education Doctorate < doctoradoeducacion@unizar.es >, and not to Committee members’ personal e-mail addresses.

- Google Apps for Education at Zaragoza University

The University of Zaragoza uses the official tool “Google Apps for Education de Unizar”

(https://add.unizar.es/add/campusvirtual/google-apps-for-education-gafe).

On that website you will find Google tools such as Drive (to upload and store files), Calendar, video-conferencing with Hangouts Meet, etc. all available for use by PhD students, tutors, and thesis directors as they may see fit.

• Libraries and laboratories

We wish to highlight the importance and usefulness of the libraries in the faculties in which the Doctorate in Education is imparted, and in which you can find resources of the Library of the University of Zaragoza. Thanks to the technological means at the disposal of the University of Zaragoza, these libraries offer ample bibliographical access for research (http://biblioteca.unizar.es/).

The Faculties likewise have two science laboratories with teaching and research equipment.

The Faculty of Human Sciences and Education has a close connection with the Faculty of Health Sciences and Sports which has a Laboratory of Teaching and Observation designed to observe the practice of PhysEd and sports.

• Financial resources to facilitate student mobility (travel expenses, etc.)

The Faculty will endeavor to ensure that doctoral student training activities requiring mobility may be mainly financed by public funds through a series of programs that are solicited on an annual basis: brief residencies financed with corresponding means allocated by FPU/FPI programs, Aragón government funds or other institutions, as well as travel scholarships awarded to doctoral candidates by the University of Zaragoza.

The Doctorate Program shall encourage students to solicit travel assistance funds within the appropriate deadlines, and shall sign conventions with institutions of superior learning that encourage the internationalization of doctoral training.

Furthermore, the University of Zaragoza Education Doctorate program provides funding for the research teams in which the PhD student will be incorporated.