Doctoral Program in Sociology of Public and Social Policies 2021–2022

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.

At the completion of the Program student should

- Be able to analyze the different dimensions of public and social policies from a multidisciplinary and systemic perspective, both in theoretical and applied levels

- Be able to design responses and models to manage emerging challenges in the public space, in a plural and complex society, through public and social policies

- Be able to assess the praxis of public and social policies from a multidisciplinary and systemic perspective

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).

To apply for admission to the SPPS Program, the candidate must submit the following:
- Admission application form for the program
- Complete Curriculum Vitae
- Motivation letter indicating the reasons for wanting to join the program, expectations regarding the program, the research line within the program where the candidate's research would be integrated, as well as whether the candidate will be enrolled full-time or part-time. Candidates applying for part-time enrollment must also submit a report explaining the reasons that lead or require them to opt for this modality.
- Thesis project briefly outlining the research topic to be developed in the thesis, explaining, as far as possible, the objectives and methodology.
- Recommendation from a professor of the program..

The Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program will evaluate and prioritize applications according to the following criteria:

• Academic training: up to 30 points out of 100. The possession of the Master's degree in Sociology of Public and Social Policies (or equivalent) will count as 30 points out of 100. Possession of a Master's degree (or equivalent) in Sociology will be valued between 20 and 30 points out of 100. The possession of a Master's degree (or equivalent) in other areas of the social sciences may be valued between 10 and 20 points.
• Academic record of the Master's studies: up to 30 points out of 100.
• Research experience and scientific publications: up to 15 points out of 100.
• Level of English and / or French, Italian or German: up to 10 points out of 100.
• Academic stays in international venues: up to 5 points out of 100.
• Other merits (professional experience, scholarships, grants and awards received): up to 10 points out of 100.

In the case of foreign students whose native language is not Spanish, it may be required to accredit knowledge of spoken and written Spanish comparable to the intermediate level of the Instituto Cervantes DELE.

Admission systems and procedures adapted to students with special educational needs derived from disability

Admission systems and procedures include adequate support and counseling services, which will assess the need for possible curricular adaptations, itineraries or alternative studies in accordance with the provisions of RD 99/2011)

The Academic Committee may ask from candidates to take, in addition to the specific training of the doctoral program, training complements among the subjects of the Master's Degree in Sociology of Public and Social Policies or other pertinent courses up to 30 ECTS. The decision will be made in consultation with the director.

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.

Requirements for the deposit of the doctoral thesis

Before requesting the deposit of the thesis, it is necessary to have approved the research plan for the current year, having uploaded the plan and obtained positive report of the director of the thesis onto the Sigma management platform.

A) Comply with the general requirements of the School of Doctorate

B) Fulfill the specific requirements of the Program, which are (work in progress):

1. Conduct a research seminar (after pre-deposit) where the PhD candidate will present their doctoral thesis to the program's professors, doctoral candidates, and the thesis reviewers.

2. Submit the Activities Document, which must include:
   - Presentations at national and international conferences (at least one per year).
   - An article in an indexed journal (meeting the criteria for CNEAI research assessments). If this is not achieved, a reasoned report from the director must be provided, with a commitment to meet the criteria after the thesis defense (with evidence of this commitment).
   - Completion of transversal activities from EDUZ (at least 20 hours).

3. Submit a proposal for five reviewers of the thesis (who will form the future doctoral thesis tribunal), provided by the thesis director:
   - The proposal must include 5 experts: suggestions for president, secretary, and member, as well as the first and second alternates, with a reference to at least two publications by each of them, directly related to the thesis subject or closely related.

4. In addition to the favorable report from the director(s), a favorable and reasoned report from one of the members of the tribunal must also be attached.

C) If the PhD candidate opts for a thesis by compilation, the following requirements set by EDUZ must be met. Specifically:

- It will be necessary to have published at least 3 articles in JCR Level 1 (Q1 and Q2) and Level 2 (Q3 and Q4) journals and/or SCOPUS Level 1 (Q1 and Q2) journals, and 1 article in journals indexed in FECYT, DOAJ, or DIALNET databases (C1 and C2).

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).

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).

Students have access to the learning resources of the University of Zaragoza and of the various departments, institutes, and research groups participating in the Program.

The University of Zaragoza has been sensitive to aspects related to equal opportunities, taking as a priority objective to make university buildings and their environment accessible by eliminating architectural barriers. It should be noted that present and future university infrastructures have among their design standards the considerations prescribed by Law 51/2003.

Library and Documentation Service

The University has several libraries with ample schedules and easy access. Libraries offer a wide range of services, access to collections in paper and electronic format, and spaces for individual and group work. In particular, the following libraries will facilitate access to documentary funds, bibliographic databases and scientific publications, related to the doctoral program.

Library of the Faculty of Economics and Business, in its Paraíso and Río Ebro campuses

Library of the Faculty of Social and Labor Sciences

International Relations Section

The International Relations Service informs and supports the university community about the different international cooperation programs in the field of higher education. It also coordinates the implementation and development of international training activities in which the university participates, and manages mobility programs for students and teachers.

In addition, it welcomes international PhD students and facilitates their integration into the University, offering support and information about the city, accommodation, Spanish and other language courses, medical assistance, grants and scholarships, etc.

The University of Zaragoza is part of the European Network EURAXESS of Aragon, an information point that provides personalized assistance to foreign researchers who travel to Aragon to carry out their research work, as well as to Aragonese researchers who are interested in moving abroad temporarily . This support is about issues such as procedures for obtaining visas, residence cards and their renewals, homologation of university degrees, job offers, Social Security and health care, schooling and other useful information to facilitate the displacement and integration of the researcher in the country of destination.

Scholarships and Grants

The updated information on scholarships, financial aid and awards is available on the website of the Doctoral School.

Career Guidance Service

Graduates from the program have at their disposal Universa, the career guidance service of the University of Zaragoza, composed of professional counselors expert in Human Resources development. Universa provides personalized information on job search, company selection tests and curriculum development and cover letters. Training sessions on professional competencies and monographic orientation seminars are organized periodically (international mobility, job search, development of professional skills, effective presentations and interviews, etc.) that help guide and facilitate the labor insertion of graduates.