The Spanish Organic Law 6/2001, of 21 December, on universities, in its new wording provided by the Spanish Organic Law 4/2007, of 12 April, which modifies the previous one, defines the structure of university studies in three cycles: Degree, Master and Doctorate. The Spanish Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January, which regulates official doctoral studies, in its article 2.1., defines the doctorate as the third cycle of official university studies, leading to the acquisition of skills and abilities related to quality scientific research.

Doctoral programmes regulated by previous ordinances (Royal Decree 185/1985, 778/1998,) do not accept new students as they are in an process of extinction. The Programmes regulated by Royal Decree 1393/2007 shall only accept new students until July 2014, from that moment onwards, the only Programmes accessible shall be those regulated by Royal Decree 99/2011.

At the Universidad Católica de Murcia, doctoral studies are organised by doctoral programmes coordinated by the UCAM International Doctoral School (EIDUCAM). A doctoral programme refers to a set of activities leading to the acquisition of the necessary skills and abilities for the award of the Doctor title. Said studies finalise with the preparation and defence of a doctoral thesis which includes original research results.

For students enrolled in programmes regulated by Royal Decree 99/2011, the following periods of time are established: a minimum of two years and a maximum of three years for full-time students (plus 2 extensions of one year each) and a maximum of five years for part-time students (plus 2 extensions, the first of two years and the second of one year).

● The doctoral programmes which can currently be accessed as a new student are those regulated by the Spanish Royal Decree 99/2011.

• Hold the official Spanish degrees of Bachelor's Degree, or equivalent, and Master's Degree.
• Hold an official university degree which qualifies to enter a Master's Degree and have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits, of which at least 60 must be at Master's level.
• Hold an official Spanish Bachelor's degree, of at least 300 ECTS and to do complementary training, unless the curriculum includes research training credits equivalent to those of the Master's degree.
• University graduates in the specialities of Health Sciences, after obtaining a training place, which have at least two years of positive assessment.
• Hold a degree obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems. This degree does not have to be validated if the University confirms that it proves a training level equivalent to that of the official Spanish University Master's degree and would entitle the recipient to enrol in doctoral studies, in the country of issuance.
• Such admission shall not imply the approval of the previous diploma or its validation for any other purposes.
• Already hold a Spanish doctoral degree. To be a doctoral student in accordance with previous university ordinances.
• Graduates, Architects or Engineers who hold a Diploma of Advanced Studies obtained in accordance with the provisions of Spanish Royal Decree 778/1998, of 30 April, or who have reached research competence regulated in Spanish Royal Decree 185/1985, of 23 January, may be admitted.

The following steps must be taken in order to become a doctoral student:

1. Meet the entry requirements. Students who hold a university degree obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems, outside the EHEA, shall request prior authorisation from the Universidad Católica de Murcia, using a standard form and attaching all the required documentation to it.
2. View the offer of doctoral programmes at the Universidad Católica de Murcia. This information may be found in the educational offer.
3. Apply for admission to the doctoral programme.
4. Once you have been admitted to the programme or the thesis project has been approved, the enrolment must be formalised according to the instructions of the doctoral service.

The application form for admission to a doctoral programme, as well as the additional documentation, must be submitted to the Vice-Rectorate for Research of Universidad Católica de Murcia.

The Academic Committee of each doctoral programme may establish additional requirements and criteria for the selection and admission of students to its programme, so the scales may differ from one programme to another. You should ask the programme coordinator for more information of the procedure.

The resolution period is around one month since the admission application formalisation. The admission results shall be communicated by the Doctoral Service to the student via post and e-mail.

At this time, in order to be admitted to a programme, having obtained a Bachelor's degree or equivalent, and an official Master's degree is required. However, holders of the following titles may be admitted to a doctoral programme:

• An official degree of at least 300 ECTS, of which 60 credits must be at the Master's level.
• An official Bachelor's Degree of at least 300 ECTS. These candidates must do complementary training.

If you are not in one of the two situations described above, to access a doctoral programme (Royal Decree 99/2011) you must complete an Official University Master's Degree. Once you have obtained the Master's Degree, you may apply for the registration of the project and subsequently the thesis enrolment fee.

Yes. Nevertheless, you must be in one of the following situations to start the admission procedure:

• If you come from a programme regulated by Royal Decree 185/1985, you must hold a Diploma of Research Competence.
• If you come from programmes regulated by Royal Decree 778/1998, you must hold a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA in Spanish). In the case of programmes regulated by Royal Decree 1393/2007, you must prove that you meet the requirements established by the regulations (art. 6, Royal Decree 99/2011).
• or that you meet the requirements established in art. 6 (Royal Decree 99/2011).

If you have a DEA or Research Competence, you may apply for admission to a doctoral programme regulated by Royal Decree 99/2011. If you do not have Research Competence, you must complete an Official University Master's Degree.

No. As established in art. 6 of Royal Decree 99/2011 to access a doctoral programme accrediting 300 ECTS is required. If you don't reach 300 ECTS, you can:

• Adapt your Degree.
• Complement the missing credits with another Official University Master's Degree of 60 credits.

To apply for a Transfer to another university, you must first apply for admission to the doctoral programme at the other university and obtain the acceptance of the Doctoral Committee of the other university. Once admitted, you must go to the Doctoral Service to receive the payment letter for the amount corresponding to these academic registry fees. Upon payment of the fees, the application for the transfer must be submitted and the original letter of acceptance from the Doctoral Committee of the other University and proof of payment of the fees must be provided via the General Academic Registry of the University. It may also be requested by email (eiducam@ucam.edu). After this procedure is completed, we will send your file to the other University.

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