Royal Decree 99/2011 of 28 January (as amended by Royal Decree 576/2023 of 4 July), which regulates official doctoral studies, establishes a maximum period for the completion of doctoral studies. The maximum period shall be four years for students enrolled on a full-time basis and seven years for those enrolled on a part-time basis, in both cases calculated from admission to a doctoral programme (15 October) until the doctoral thesis is submitted to the Academic Committee of the corresponding programme.

In both cases, the maximum period is extended for doctoral candidates with a certified disability of 33% or higher, to seven and nine years, respectively.

If the application for the deposit of the doctoral thesis has not been submitted to the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme before the end of the applicable period, the Committee may authorise an extension of one additional year.

Depending on whether doctoral studies are undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis, as well as on the exceptional circumstances provided for under the applicable regulations, the corresponding deadlines are set out in the following table.

An application for an extension must be submitted to the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme within the four months preceding the expiry of the maximum period of enrolment applicable to the doctoral candidate's study dedication status. Once all the required signatures have been obtained, the application must be submitted to the Secretariat of the Faculty or School responsible for the Doctoral Programme.

For the purposes of calculating this period, any periods during which the doctoral candidate has been granted temporary leave for any of the reasons provided for under the applicable regulations shall not be taken into account. Each doctoral candidate can check their individual deadline for remaining in the programme through the RAPI2 application.

Doctoral candidates enrolled up to and including the 2022–2023 academic year: Extension Application (Form 124) (PDF)

Doctoral candidates enrolled from the 2023–2024 academic year onwards: Extension Application (Form 124A) (PDF)

Students wishing to apply for an extension to complete their doctoral thesis should consult the applicable deadlines and regulations concerning the maximum period of doctoral study on the UCM Doctoral School website.