Permanence
Doctoral Student Permanence Regulations
The Regulations Governing Doctoral Studies at UCM, BOUC 9-12-2024 (https://edoctorado.ucm.es/data/cont/docs/1348-2024-12-11-BOUC%209-12-2024%20%20Normativa%20Estudios%20Doctorado%20UCM.pdf), develops in Title III Article 3 of RD 99/2011 (https://www.boe.es/eli/es/rd/2011/01/28/99/con), including the latest amendment introduced by RD 576/2023, and regulates the procedure and formalities for authorising extensions, interruption of the permanence period, and the different types of withdrawal, as well as changes in dedication that may occur for doctoral students during their studies.
The duration of Doctoral Studies shall be a maximum of four years full-time, counted from the date of the doctoral student's first enrolment in the programme until the date the Doctoral Thesis is deposited with the Academic Committee of the corresponding Programme.
When the doctoral student has a recognised disability of 33% or more, the maximum duration of full-time Doctoral Studies shall be six years.
With prior authorisation from the Academic Committee responsible for the Programme, part-time Doctoral Studies may be undertaken for duly justified reasons, provided the Programme's verification report contemplates this possibility. Specifically, the PDIQ has 15% of its places available for part-time dedication, mainly intended for students combining their studies with external employment. In this case, such studies may have a maximum duration of seven years from the date of first enrolment in the Programme until the date the Doctoral Thesis is deposited with the Academic Committee of the corresponding Programme.
When the doctoral student has a recognised disability of 33% or more, the maximum duration of part-time Doctoral Studies shall be nine years.
The maximum permanence limit in the programme shall be determined by the doctoral student's most recent dedication regime. Although the PDIQ does not include training supplements, the regulations state that the time taken to complete any training supplements will count towards the permanence deadlines. If the training supplements fall within the Doctoral Programme, such studies shall be considered "doctoral-level training". Any credits the student must take as training supplements must be enrolled in during the first academic year.
Before the aforementioned deadlines expire, if the thesis deposit application has not been submitted, the Academic Committee responsible for the Programme may, upon duly justified request from the doctoral student, authorise an extension of this deadline by one additional year, under the conditions established in the corresponding Doctoral Programme. The extension request must be submitted within the four months prior to, and in any case at least one month before, the end of the permanence limit in the Programme, according to the doctoral student's dedication regime.
A change from one study modality to another shall take effect from the academic year following the request and shall become effective upon formalising enrolment in the corresponding academic supervision. This change may not be requested in the last year of permanence in the Doctoral Programme. The change from part-time to full-time shall be made without the need for justification, upon request from the doctoral student to the Academic Committee of the Programme, and before enrolling in the annual academic supervision for the course. The change from full-time to part-time must be authorised by the Academic Committee of the Programme, upon justification by the doctoral student of the reasons for it. The Academic Committee may request, when it deems appropriate, a favourable report from the thesis director and supervisor. The computation of the duration of studies shall take into account the regime in force for the doctoral student at each time.
Situations of temporary incapacity, birth, adoption, foster care for adoption purposes, fostering, risk during pregnancy, risk during breastfeeding, and gender violence, or any other situation contemplated in the applicable regulations during the periods mentioned in Articles 23 and 24 of the Regulations, shall interrupt the computation of the maximum duration limit of Doctoral Studies.
The doctoral student may request temporary withdrawal from the Programme for unforeseen personal reasons. The maximum duration of the temporary withdrawal period shall be two years. If several temporary withdrawals of shorter duration are requested, the sum of the withdrawal periods may not exceed two years. It is an essential condition to have obtained a positive evaluation in the first academic year in the Programme in order to request it. A doctoral student in their first year of permanence may only request temporary withdrawal for unforeseen personal reasons exceptionally, and provided the thesis project has already been registered and the "Doctoral Student Supervision Commitment Document" signed; in this case, only the period during which the student remained active will be evaluated.
Permanent withdrawal from the programme shall occur for any of the following reasons:
a) At the express request of the doctoral student.
b) If a newly admitted doctoral student does not complete the enrolment and payment of academic supervision fees within the established deadlines.
c) If a newly admitted doctoral student does not register the thesis project and sign the "Supervision Commitment Document" within three months of formalising enrolment.
d) If the doctoral student receives a second consecutive negative evaluation from the Academic Committee of the doctoral programme under the terms established in Article 37 of the Regulations.
e) If the doctoral student, after receiving a first negative evaluation, does not submit a new research plan and records no activity in the extraordinary evaluation call.
f) If the doctoral student exhausts the established deadlines for the duration of studies under each dedication regime as set out in Articles 23 and 24 of the Regulations.
g) In the cases provided for in section 3 of Article 22 of the Regulations.
h) In the cases provided for in section 5 of Article 68 of the Regulations.
i) For any other reason established by applicable regulations.
More information at the Doctoral School: https://edoctorado.ucm.es/estudiantesdedoctorado
Deadlines for thesis deposit and defence for students reaching the permanence limit: https://edoctorado.ucm.es/procedimiento-y-plazos