PhD in Communication and Journalism

Why do this PhD?

The PhD in Communication and Journalism at UAB is a program that offers advanced training in communication and journalism research and theory. Students who enroll in this program have the opportunity to develop analytical and critical skills in these areas, which will enable them to design and carry out original research on communication and journalism topics.

Through advanced training in research methodologies, communication and journalism theories, and information technologies, program students will have the opportunity to work with experts in the field and participate in innovative research projects. This program provides a solid theoretical and practical foundation in the areas of communication and journalism, allowing graduates to advance their careers as researchers and academics in the field of communication and journalism.

Additionally, the PhD in Communication and Journalism at UAB is designed to prepare students for careers in research and teaching in the field of communication and journalism, both in academic institutions and in the media industry. Graduates of the program will be well-prepared to assume positions as researchers and academics in universities and research centers, and may also seek careers in industry areas such as content production, corporate communication, journalism, and market research.

In summary, the PhD in Communication and Journalism at UAB offers a unique opportunity for those interested in developing

Professional opportunities

This PhD programme provides the following principal career options:

• Research and development departments in the communication sector.
• Journalism companies.
• University teaching.
• Public bodies and institutions related to communication and journalism.

Coordinator

Santiago Tejedor Calvo

Composition of the academic tribunal for the PhD programme

• The coordinator of the PhD programme.
• The head of the Department.
• The secretary of the Department.
• The assistant head of Department for Research and Third Cycle.
• All directors of the research groups of the Department.

Administration

Integrated Departmental Administrative Support Unit (UISAD) of Communication Sciences
University Campus s/n
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès)
Barcelona

E-mail: pg.periodisme@uab.cat
Phone: 00 34 93 581 15 45

Thesis supervisor/s and academic tutor/s

Thesis supervision and thesis tutoring

Admission application

This PhD programme has, for the 2025-2026 academic year, the following pre-registration periods:

• From March, 18th to May, 22th
  • PROPOSAL maximum by the Coordinator: June, 10th
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: June, 27th
• From September, 2nd to September, 22th
  • PROPOSAL maximum by the Coordinator: October, 25th
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: November, 5th
• From November, 4th to November, 14th
  • PROPOSAL maximum by the Coordinator: December, 3rd
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: December, 19th

Reservation of places (number of places):

• First term: 6 places.
• Second term: 4 places.
• Third term: in case of vacancies.

Documentation necessary for admission

In addition to the documentation that each programme indicates, two documents (Other documents1 and Other documents2) that serve as a wildcard are attached for each programme so that the interested person can attach other documents that he or she considers appropriate or that the PhD programme indicates.

Admissions before the established period and pre-admissions

The Doctoral School, following the indications of the coordination of the PhD programme, can issue before the start of the term of admission of an academic course, or before the end of the term of resolution, letters of admission so that you can request a scholarship or to do the visa procedures in your country. It is only necessary that you enter your application in the computer application and that you indicate it in the Observations field, where you must indicate that you need a letter of admission and the scholarship to which you are opting. If the computer application is closed, you can contact the coordination of the programme.

If you need a preadmission, the coordination of the programme can issue it if it considers it appropriate. You must contact the coordination of the programme to inform you of the procedure.

On the International Support Service website you can see more information about future foreign students related to residencies in Catalonia, legal procedures and the UAB campus.

Monitoring your application

You can monitor your application using the same page as you made it. Below are the explanations of the different stages:

• Application made by student: your pre-registration has been saved.
• Incomplete application: there are documents missing from the application.
• Validated by the administrative office: the application and attached documents have been checked.
• Admitted: the coordinator has considered the pre-registration and proposed an offer or admission.
• Offer of admission: the Doctoral School has considered the proposals for admission made by the coordinator and has made a definitive offer. The PhD student will also receive an e-mail informing them of this decision. The PhD student must wait to register.
• Waiting list: the coordinator has considered the pre-registration and has agreed on admission but there are no places on the PhD course.
• Application rejected: the coordinator or the Doctoral School have considered the application but do not agree to admission as not all the requirements have been fulfilled.

If you need it, here you will find a complementary information document on PhD studies.

Requirements and selection criteria

General access requirements

Specific access requirements

Candidates to the PhD programme in Communication and Journalism are recommended to have previously contacted the thesis supervisor and academic tutor they want to propose and present their authorization for their direction / tutoring at the time of applying for admission.

Selection criteria

The criteria used to assess applicants' merits in the selection process are as follows.

• Academic record and affinity of previous studies with the field of communication and journalism or social sciences, and/or professional or research experience in communication and journalism. If the applicant's previous studies were in a field other than social sciences the PhD programme coordinator will determine their suitability, and that of the applicant, for the programme (50%).
• Match-up between the research proposal and one of the Department's lines of research (20%).
• Personal interview (15%).
• Research grants obtained (10%).
• Academic stays abroad (5%).

Registration and fees

Calendar and Registration documents

After the registration

Training activities

Transversal training activities

Mandatory and optional specific activities

For this PhD programme the following training activities are scheduled.
 

Mandatory activities:

• Attendance on working doctoral groups
  These are short sessions coordinated by the heads of the research groups, in which students report on their progress and get useful feedback from their peers.

• Research paper sent to a high-impact scientific journal
  The writing of a scientific paper is a fundamental part of PhD studies. In this activity students take steps each year towards the production of a paper, including those needed to get it published in a suitable medium.

• Giving a seminar on the research project
  Students must give a seminar on the thesis project, addressed to lecturers, other students on the PhD programme and the department's master's degree students. This interaction with their peers is of great benefit to their communication skills.

• Summer Schools
  Summer schools serve to exchange information on projects and set up collaborative networks. They are mobility platforms for students, bringing together experts, guests and students from other countries, with whom to establish exchange agreements, networks and other kinds of academic collaboration.

• Journal clubs
  Each year the PhD programme organises English-language journal club sessions to present and discuss scientific papers published by specialist journals.

• Collaboration meetings between research groups
  The PhD programme organises one session per year in which all the research groups involved present their lines of research. Students attend sessions run by those groups that are working in similar areas to that of their thesis project.

• Participation in internal seminars organised by the research group or the department
  By joining in training activities run by the research groups, students can familiarise themselves with the dynamics of academic research. Their participation is also of great use in the development of their doctoral thesis.

Optional activities:

• Attendance at seminars or lectures given by experts in the subject area
  Each year, the PhD programme organises lectures and specialist seminars related to communication studies. These give students the opportunity to debate with visiting academics.

• Research stays in public or private centres, at home or abroad
  Research stays provide students with further opportunities to interact with researchers from different countries, set up joint research initiatives and enrich their own research project.

• Job market sessions
  These sessions are important to students as they provide the entrepreneurship tools needed in the labour market. The changing rules and demands of this area must be taken into account by universities even when organising their training in top-level research.

• Symposiums for young researchers
  These contacts with other young researchers allow students to share their ideas, propose themes for discussion and new projects, and set up research networks.

• Involvement in research project preparation
  The design and implementation of research projects is an integral part of PhD studies. Involvement in these projects is essential to the acquisition of experience in one of the specific branches of the student's future professional development.

• Participation in workshops or courses on methodological specialisation
  Training in research methodologies is essential to PhD students, so this programme, together with that of the official master's degree, runs an annual course on methodology, which is open to these students.

• Oral presentations or posters at national or international conferences
  Presenting a paper at a conference leads into the type of academic analysis and debate that is acceptable to the international academic community. The process of submitting, revising and preparing the presentation serves to familiarise the student with academic practice.

• Presentation of a paper at a departmental symposium
  The presentation of a paper at a departmental symposium gives students further practice in scientific dissemination. At the same time they give an insight into the state of the art of a study topic in a specific region and showcase the main contributions from the student's own academic community.

• Training activities to improve comprehension of the field of study
  The strategic management of certain additional training activities for students, to familiarise them with concepts, methodologies, tools or professional experiences within the field of communication studies, increases their understanding of its main problem areas.

• Professional training activities for PhD students
  The sessions on professional training for PhD students serve to present useful tools to enable highly-qualified professionals to join the labour market. They aim to improve these students' employment prospects even more.

• Teaching assistance (grant holders)
  Teaching support activities are undertaken by students whose grants include them in their terms. These activities give students first-hand experience of university teaching.

• Course on language competence for scientific communication
  The acquisition of language skills for scientific communication is a sine qua non for disseminating research findings to the international scientific community through high-impact specialist journals or top-level conferences.

• Course on entrepreneurship and business
  The purpose of courses on entrepreneurship is to diversify PhD students' career options. At the same time, providing these highly-qualified professionals with the tools for starting up a business can help to strengthen ties between the university and the productive sector

• Course on project management
  Training in project management is seen as a valuable tool that can enable the design and execution of strategic applied research projects at the local, regional, national or international level.

• Language course or course on teaching through the medium of English
  This activity is vital for students' future professional activities. Given that English is the principal language of scientific communication students need to master it in order to increase their chances of joining the international scientific community.

• Course on job-hunting techniques
  This type of course is important for students' career prospects. It provides an overview of job offers in the sector and basic information on the main job-searching scenarios for highly-qualified persons.

• Course on statistical techniques
  This activity is a vital part of the training of PhD students of communication studies. They need to acquire competence in statistical techniques in order to conduct their doctoral research.

• Course or workshop on innovation in teaching
  Courses or workshops on innovation in teaching make a great contribution to students' teaching skills. They supply pedagogical tools needed in teaching and help teachers to vary the approaches they use in the classroom.

• Course on intellectual and industrial property
  These courses are important for students since they provide information on the laws regulating scientific and industrial production. Knowing how intellectual property is regulated has great value for students, both in their ongoing studies and especially in future employment.

Typologies and Research Ethics

Internationalization

Foreign residencies

PhD thesis under joint international supervision

International Doctoral Research Component

Evaluation and annual review

In relation to the annual review of this PhD programme, the student must take into account the information of the annual review call, which can be consulted following this link.

Thesis deposit

If you want to deposit your doctoral thesis in this doctoral programme, remember that you must send the thesis and the required documents to the e-mail of the programme, at least 3 months before the deadline of completion, which appears in your academic record, so that the Academic Committee for approval.

If you want to deposit before the end of this academic year and not have to pay the fees for the next academic year, you must deposit in the program the thesis and the documentation, before June 15 and before July 17, your application must be completed, in the application.

At the time of making your online deposit, you must attach these documents to your application, in the section "Attach documentation":
 

All PhD students

• 01 - Examining board proposal (the signature is not necessary)
• 44 - Turnitin Report
• 45 - Affidavit

International Doctoral Research Component: Mandatory documentation if requested

• 09 - International Doctoral Research Component: 1 report of the external member
• 10 - International Doctoral Research Component: 2 report of the external member

Compendium of publications: Mandatory documentation if requested

• 08 - Compendium: Resolution of acceptance by the CAPD

Writing a thesis in a language other than Catalan, Spanish and English: Mandatory documentation if requested

• 11 - Resolution if the thesis is written in other language than Catalan, Spanish or English

Information related to the thesis

Internal Quality Assurance System of the centers

Verification

Evaluation process previous to the implementation of the degree: presentation of a proposal for a new PhD programme for AQU-Catalunya (Agency for the Quality of the University System of Catalonia) to issue the binding evaluation for the Council of Universities (Ministry of Universities), which is the responsible agent for verification.

• Report on the PhD programme
• Resolution on verification by the Spanish Universities Council
• Registry of Universities, Centres and Degrees (RUCT)

Monitoring

Periodic monitoring process of the development and results of the PhD programme: self-evaluation carried out, every 3 years, by themselves.

• Monitoring report on the programme

Accreditation

Degree implementation renewal process: presentation, every 6 years from the implementation of the programme, of a self-report so that AQU-Catalunya issues the binding evaluation for the Council of Universities, which is the body responsible for accreditation.

• Accreditation self-report
• Accreditation report
• Resolution of accreditation of the Council of Universities
• Register of Universities, centers and degrees (RUCT)

AQU VSMA Framework

Internal Quality Assurance System of the faculty

Set of processes to manage and monitor the different aspects of degrees, with the strategic objective of ensuring continuous improvement

• Internal Quality Assurance System
• Tutoring Action Plan (PAT)
• Standing Committee

Opina UAB

A channel for suggestions, complaints and praise regarding the functioning of the UAB

PhD data

• Satisfaction surveys of Doctors
• Satisfaction surveys of thesis supervisors
• Check here the results of the doctor's job placement survey
• The PhD figures

Recognition and awards

In this link you will find the doctors who have obtained the Special Prize Award in this PhD programme.