INTERNATIONAL DOCTORATE MENTION IN DOCTORAL DEGREE

REQUIREMENTS

The "International Doctorate" Mention will be awarded to doctoral theses of the University of Castilla-La Mancha whose preparation and defence meet the following requirements:

1. During the training period required for the award of the doctoral degree, the doctoral candidate must have spent at least three months¹ abroad² at a prestigious higher education institution or research centre, studying or carrying out research work. The stay and activities must have been endorsed by the supervisor and authorized by the academic committee³, and will be included in the doctoral candidate's activities document.
2. Part of the doctoral thesis, including at least the abstract and conclusions, have been written and presented in one of the usual languages for scientific communication in its field of knowledge, which is other than any of the official languages in Spain. This rule shall not apply when the stays, reports and experts come from a Spanish-speaking country.
3. Favourable reports on the thesis have been submitted by a minimum of two doctor experts belonging to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research institute.

At least one expert belonging to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research centre, holding a doctorate, and who is not the person in charge of the stay mentioned in section a), must have been a member of the thesis evaluation jury.

(1) In cases where the length of stay is close to the minimum legally established, the exact start and end dates of the period must be stated (Example: From 01/07/2022 to 01/10/2022. The period 01/07/2022 to 30/09/2022 would be insufficient to meet the minimum duration requirement).

(2) Regarding the venue for the stay, the provisions of the  Clarification on the eligibility of doctoral candidates' stays at foreign institutions for the International Doctorate Mention (resolution of the Vice-Rectorate for Scientific Policy, of 2 February 2022) must be taken into account:

“Stays shall take place at a prestigious higher education institution or research centre in a foreign country, which is neither the country in which the student took the studies that gave access to the doctoral programme (bachelor's and master's degree or equivalent) nor the country of residence. In the case there is documentary and proven evidence of the excellence of the institution for a proposed stay and a preference over other venues is duly justified, the academic committee of the doctoral programme may authorize stays in the same country where the studies that gave access to the doctoral programme were completed and/or the student resides. This exception would only be applicable for non-Spanish doctoral candidates.

(3) Doctoral theses supervised jointly by UCLM and foreign universities may also be awarded the International Doctoral Mention, provided that the general requirements are met and that, in addition to the conditions set out in the previous paragraphs, the stays are carried out in institutions other than those specified in the Cotutelle Agreement.

(4) Authorization from the academic committee will be requested using the form available below, which should be sent to the EID (doctorado@uclm.es) once completed and signed by all (doctoral candidate, supervisor(s) and coordinator), preferably in advance of the stay (in order to allow the School to keep a record of the mobility of its students and to facilitate prompt detection of disadvantages such as that for the minimum length of stay set out below). If, once the stay has been authorized, there is any change to the planned stay, the agreement of the academic committee must be confirmed with a new application detailing the final data.

 FORMS

Authorization from the academic committee for the international stay

DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED FOR THE THESIS DEPOSIT

In addition to the documents required for the admission of the doctoral thesis for processing, students who wish to obtain the "International Doctorate" mention must attach the following documents, all of them available in the thesis reading and defence procedure:

• Application for International Doctorate accreditation, specifying the language chosen for the defence of the thesis.
• Authorization from the academic committee indicated in the previous section if this was not submitted at the time.
• The preliminary reports from the experts must be issued by two doctors belonging to a foreign higher education institution or research institute, accompanied by a report on the suitability of those experts.
• Certificate issued by the foreign centre where the stay took place, indicating the start and end dates, its purpose (research work or studies), the venue (laboratory, department, centre and/or institution) and identification and signature of the person superintending the stay. This researcher may not be part of the proposed jury for assessment of the thesis.
  There is no specific form for this document, and therefore a copy of any document used for another purpose (such as one in support of a grant) containing at least the data indicated shall be valid.

The doctoral thesis evaluation jury must contain at least one doctor belonging to a non-Spanish university or research centre, and who is not the person in charge of the stay abroad. Provision should be made for this person to be replaced by a second one who satisfies the same criterion.