Requirements

The "International Doctorate" distinction will be awarded to doctoral theses from the Catholic University of Murcia whose preparation and defense meet the following requirements:

1. That, during the training period required to obtain the doctoral degree, the doctoral candidate has completed a minimum stay of three months outside of Spain at a prestigious higher education institution or research center, pursuing studies or conducting research. In the case of multiple stays, at least one of them must have a minimum duration of one month. The stay and activities must be endorsed by the supervisor and authorized by the academic committee (click here to download the application), and will be included in the doctoral candidate's activity log.
   
   • Before undertaking the research stay, the doctoral candidate must:
     • Complete the Application for an International Stay and provide acceptance from the host institution. They must also submit a work plan to be developed at the requested institution. This application must be signed by the candidate and supervisors and must be authorized by the corresponding Academic Committee.
   • After completing the research stay, the doctoral candidate must:
     • In accordance with the Research Stay Activity of their doctoral program, they must submit a detailed report of their stay and a certificate issued by the host institution, signed by the research supervisor who oversaw their stay.
2. That part of the doctoral thesis, at least the abstract and conclusions, has been written and presented in one of the languages ​​commonly used for scientific communication in their field of knowledge, other than any of the official languages ​​of Spain. This requirement does not apply when the research stays, reports, and experts are from a Spanish-speaking country.
3. That the thesis has been reviewed by a minimum of two expert PhDs from a non-Spanish higher education institution or research institute.
4. That at least one expert from a non-Spanish higher education institution or research institute, holding a PhD and different from the supervisor of the research stay mentioned in section a), has been a member of the thesis examination committee.

Documentación

When submitting their doctoral thesis, students wishing to obtain the "International Doctorate" mention must attach the following documents in addition to those required for this process:

• Application for the certifying of International Doctorate in which the language chosen for the defence of the thesis shall be specified.
• The two previous reports of the experts must be issued by two doctors belonging to a higher education institution or foreign research centre, accompanied by the suitability report corresponding to said experts.
• Certificate issued by the foreign centre where the stay was made, indicating the start and end date of said stay, endorsed by the supervisor of the thesis and authorised by the corresponding academic committee according to the indicated application.
• At least one doctor from a non-Spanish university or research centre, other than the doctor responsible for the stay outside Spain, must be part of the doctoral thesis examining board. Provision should be made for the replacement of this person by someone else who meets the same condition.