International Doctorate. Royal Decree 576/2023

Article One. Amendment of Royal Decree 99/2011 of 28 January, regulating official doctoral studies. Article 15 is amended and shall read as follows:

Article 15. International Mention in the title of Doctor

1. During the training period required for the award of the title of Doctor, the doctoral candidate must have carried out one or more research stays, amounting to at least three months in total, outside Spain, at one or more prestigious higher education institutions or research centres, with the aim of complementing and strengthening their research training. In the event that several stays are undertaken, at least one of them must have a minimum duration of one month. The stays and the activities carried out must be endorsed by the Supervisor and authorised by the Academic Committee and, once completed and validated by the host institution, shall be incorporated into the doctoral candidate’s activities document.
   Application for Authorisation of Stay for the International Doctor Mention (50.18 KB)
2. Part of the doctoral thesis, at least the abstract and the conclusions, must have been written and defended in one of the usual languages of scientific communication in the candidate’s field of study, other than any of the official languages of Spain. This requirement shall not apply when the stays, reports and experts are from a Spanish‑speaking country.
3. At least two of the expert reviewers of the thesis referred to in Article 13.2 must belong to a non‑Spanish higher education institution or research institute. These experts may not be the same researchers who hosted the doctoral candidate and undertook tutoring or supervisory duties at the host institution.
4. At least one expert belonging to a non‑Spanish higher education institution or research centre, holding the title of Doctor, and different from the person responsible for the stay mentioned in point (a), must have been a member of the thesis examination board.

Article 13.2. Universities shall establish the procedure for the submission of the doctoral thesis, including the setting of a maximum period for its subsequent defence. The thesis must be accompanied by a minimum of two reports issued by doctoral experts in the field, external to the university, who may propose aspects for improvement. These experts may form part of the board that evaluates the thesis. In the light of these reports, the Academic Committee shall set a deadline for the doctoral candidate to respond and, where appropriate, to incorporate any relevant modifications into the doctoral thesis prior to its submission.