PhD in Surgery and Morphological Sciences

Why do this PhD?

Why do this PhD? 

The aim of our programme is for students to learn the scientific-experimental method to contribute to the progress and safety of healthcare, diagnostic and therapeutic strategy in the field of surgery and the morphological sciences selected. 

The objective is to train researchers to be able to initiate and complete original, innovative, and quality research. This research takes the form of a doctoral thesis. 

Researchers must show an in-depth knowledge of the specific bibliography on the subject, the ability to synthesise, interpret and understand the main scientific contributions. 

The PhD in Surgery and Morphological Sciences is accredited towards excellence by the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU).

Professional opportunities

The doctorate is an added value in the merit scale for applying for medical positions in the different areas: care, teaching, research, and management. The incorporation of doctors in surgery and morphological sciences means working to increase safety and technological innovation in this area. It allows entry into the academic world, both in the secondary education sector (modules related to health sciences) and university education (especially in the fields of surgery, human anatomy, and pathological anatomy). 

Testimonials

The PhD in Surgery programme has made the process of writing my doctoral thesis much easier, thanks to the support of my tutor and the activities included in the programme.

Dr. Jesus Badia Closa

Doing this PhD provides me with the necessary tools to start a research career.

Laura Pons Martínez

PhD presentation video

Coordinator

Jose Maria Balibrea Del Castillo

Composition of the academic tribunal for the PhD programme

• The coordinator of the PhD program in Surgery and Morphological Sciences.
• The directors of both departments of Surgery and Morphological Sciences.
• The academic secretaries of both departments of Surgery and Morphological Sciences.
• The third cycle coordinator of the Department of Morphological Sciences.
• A teacher representing each line of research in the PhD program.

Administration

Administrative Support Unit for Medicine and Surgery
Teaching Unit of the Vall d'Hebron
Teaching Pavilion Building
Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 119-129 - 08035 Barcelona
Office phone 93 428 25 19

• Doctorate admissions: 679 23 10 72
• Doctorate deposits: 689 38 67 19
• Doctorate follow-up and withdrawals: 699 36 42 54

Email: doctorat.cirurgia@uab.cat

Office hours: Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 13:00 am

Thesis supervisor/s and academic tutor/s

Thesis supervision and thesis tutoring

Research lines and specific information about the doctoral program on direction and mentoring

The doctoral programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences seeks to enable doctoral students to acquire the necessary skills as researchers in the different specialities of the surgical field, in the field of anatomy and embryology or in pathological anatomy, in its structural and molecular aspects, within the field of health sciences.

In order to implement the proposed objectives, a set of lines of research are presented that include the most important aspects in the care and research plan, of each of the major specialties that constitute it, from the field of chosen surgery or from the field of morphological sciences.

Training is carried out through research competencies. Depending on the line of research chosen, it is possible to investigate within clinical experimental surgery, with observational analytical studies of self-criticism, tests with drugs, materials and scientific products that have been successfully tested in laboratory animals, but have not yet been administered to people, or have not been studied comparatively to understand their indications and the impact on care. It is also possible to research on laboratory animals, which allow a faster contribution to scientific progress, to achieve the use of controlled products and procedures in surgical practice, minimizing problems and avoiding, as much as possible, unwanted effects and unnecessary expenses, deepening the knowledge of the pathophysiology of syndromes, diseases and surgical processes and developing innovations that improve the strategy Care.

In the field of morphological sciences, it is possible to do research in the field of organogenesis, in the normal and pathological development of various organs and systems, and in the methodology of learning human anatomy and embryology. In the field of pathological anatomy, the main lines of research deal with the molecular basis of cancer in its multiple expressions, especially with regard to signalling pathways, progression factors and prognostic and treatment response markers.

The objectives and context of each of these lines, in summary form, are described below:

Human Anatomy

The research group of the Anatomy and Embryology Unit carries out its work on the La Ráfaga campus, in the Faculty of Medicine (Basic Medical Sciences Teaching Unit). The research focuses on studies of clinical anatomy of different body systems and systems, microvascularization, embryonic and fetal development (both in human specimens and in experimental animals), congenital malformations, and teaching methodologies applied to the learning and evaluation of anatomy.

Pathology

The pathological anatomy research team is made up of several groups of researchers linked to each of the hospital teaching units and research centres linked to the UAB. These groups carry out translational research and share research in the field of cancer, especially in the development of knowledge related to the intracellular signalling pathways involved in its development and progression and, especially in recent years, in the role that various molecules can play as prognostic markers and as therapeutic targets. It is, therefore, applied basic research that is carried out in human tumour tissues in a crucial position between biology, the clinic and the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to this line of translational cancer research, some research teams work on solid organ transplant pathology, neurodegenerative diseases, myelodysclerotic syndromes, the infection-cancer relationship and fetal and developmental pathology.

General surgery

A team made up of research groups in general surgery and the different surgical specialties in the area of knowledge of Surgery: general and digestive surgery, cardiac surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, thoracic surgery, angiology and vascular surgery, neurotraumatology and neurosurgery, oral and maxillofacial surgical pathology and anesthesia, resuscitation and pain treatment. These groups carry out, on the one hand, a care and training work for specialists, interns and visitors in training throughout the area. On the other hand, a task of raising the different problems that must be the object of research to advance in the knowledge of the specialty. The work that answers the questions raised is carried out through applied, clinical or translational research with the aim of improving the care strategy. Evaluative research is also important to ensure quality and clinical safety in the surgical setting.

The researchers of the general surgery team carry out their work in the hospital teaching units and research centres attached to the UAB: Vall d'Hebron Hospital (Barcelona), Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital (Barcelona), Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital (Badalona), Parc Taulí Hospital (Sabadell).

Ophthalmology

The ophthalmology research team is made up of renowned researchers in ophthalmology who carry out, on the one hand, a healthcare task, on the other, training specialists, fellows and visitors in training, and, simultaneously, of approaching the different problems that must be the object of research in order to progress in the knowledge of the specialty. The main fields of study are the following: vitreoretinal surgery, intraocular tumours, retinal detachment and new techniques for the surgical treatment of ocular pathologies.

The researchers of the ophthalmology team carry out their work in the hospital teaching units and research centres attached to the UAB: Vall d'Hebron Hospital (Barcelona), Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital (Barcelona), Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital (Badalona), Parc Taulí Hospital (Sabadell). There are also researchers from the programme at the Barraquer Institute and the Institute of Ocular Microsurgery (IMO).

Otorhinolaryngology

The otorhinolaryngology research team is made up of renowned professors and researchers who carry out, on the one hand, care work, and on the other, training specialists, fellows and visitors in training, throughout the area and, simultaneously, addressing the different problems that must be the object of research in order to progress in the knowledge of the specialty. The main fields of study are the following: ENT cancers, head and neck cancer, endoscopic nasoinus surgery, inner ear, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, laryngology, otology and speech therapy.

The researchers of the otorhinolaryngology team carry out their work in the hospital teaching units and research centres attached to the UAB: Vall d'Hebron Hospital (Barcelona), Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital (Barcelona), Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital (Badalona), Parc Taulí Hospital (Sabadell).

Traumatology and orthopedics

The orthopaedic surgery and traumatology research line is made up of renowned researchers in orthopaedic surgery (osteoarthritis, arthritis, hand pathology, spine diseases, etc.), traumatology (osteoarticular injuries due to accidents) and sports medicine and traumatology.

It is made up of independent research groups focused on the study of the pathology of the different joints; shoulder, knee, ankle-foot, hip, hand and spine mainly. Each team has its own lines of research both in the field of clinical and surgical pathology, as well as in the area of experimental surgery applied in the clinic. There is also a specific multidisciplinary group dedicated to the study of the applicability of 3D printing technology in the field of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology.

The researchers of the orthopaedic surgery and traumatology team carry out their work in the hospital teaching units and research centres attached to the UAB: Vall d'Hebron Hospital (Barcelona), Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital (Barcelona), Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital (Badalona), Parc Taulí Hospital (Sabadell).

Urology

The research team is made up of renowned researchers in urology (translational research in bladder, prostate, renal cancer) who carry out, on the one hand, a care work, on the other, training specialists, fellows and visitors in training and, simultaneously, of approaching the different problems that must be the object of research to progress in the knowledge of the specialty.

The groups in this line of research carry out their research work in the teaching units and research centres attached to the UAB: Vall d'Hebron Hospital (Barcelona), Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital (Barcelona), Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital (Badalona) and Parc Taulí Hospital (Sabadell).

Specific information about the doctoral programme

- Proposal for the supervision and tutoring of doctoral theses

The doctoral student, when pre-registering online, must propose who will be his/her director(s), and his/her academic tutor. The Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences (CAPDCCM) will assess the doctoral student's proposal and, if it considers it appropriate, will accept the supervision and tutoring. The academic committee may establish that the academic tutor is also the director of the thesis.

The doctoral programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences recommends that doctoral theses have one supervisor, or at most two, justifying the need for this second direction. The existence of a third thesis supervisor will only be accepted in theses of multicenter studies, international studies or for reasons of an academic nature (such as thematic interdisciplinarity or programs developed in national or international collaboration).

The academic tutor must be a doctor with accredited research experience (University Professor, University Tenured, Contracted Professor, Associate Professor, Associate Professor, A33 or Medical Associate with accreditation from a quality agency), and who is part of the human resources of the doctoral program in Surgery, that is,  to appear as a tutor in the list that you can consult at this link.   

 - Requirements to be a doctoral thesis supervisor in the doctoral programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences

A candidate who meets any of the following requirements may be a doctoral thesis supervisor:

a) All members of the human resources of the Doctoral Programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences. You can consult them in the Directors and tutors section  of this same tab. These candidates will not have to attach any documentation.

b) If you are not a member of the human resources of the doctoral programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences, you will be required to accredit your research experience, that is, the specific information of your publications and the research projects in which you have collaborated, providing:

- If the candidate has a six-year search period (of the last 6 years), he or she must provide proof

- or the Directors' Publications Sheet, which you will find in the admission tab  in this same file, to prove that you have the equivalent of a six-year search period:

• Have 6 publications in the last 6 years. Publications accepted by the journal, with an email, would also count.
• Articles must be published in journals indexed in the Journal Montm report (JCR).
• Type of article: it must be an original article, systematic review, or meta-analysis.
• Junior co-director: these would be all those who have read their thesis for less than 6 years. They must submit a minimum of three publications that meet the above requirements.

In any case, you must present the doctoral degree if you are not:

1. Professor, university lecturer or university associate professor.

2. PhD from the UAB.

It is important that the candidate to supervise a doctoral thesis is in an active employment situation at the time of application, and that his/her active age coincides with the duration of the thesis project.

Contract and honorary emeritus professors may supervise doctoral theses as long as this activity is included in the program of activities presented annually and throughout the duration of the thesis. For new doctoral theses, a second supervisor will be requested.

- Requirements to be a doctoral thesis tutor in the doctoral programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences

The CAPD of the programme has established the following criteria to be a tutor in this doctorate:

• In the theses of the Department of Surgery (areas of Surgery, Traumatology, Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Urology), the tutor must be a university professor, contract professor, university tenured, associate professor, interim associate professor, associate professor A3.3, or associate professor with ANECA or AQU accreditation in research from the Department of Surgery.

• In the theses of the Department of Morphological Sciences (areas of Human Anatomy and Pathological Anatomy), the tutor must be a university professor, contract professor, university tenured, associate professor, interim associate professor, associate professor A3.3, or associate professor, preferably, with ANECA or AQU accreditation in research from the Department of Morphological Sciences of the UAB.

The task of tutor is compatible with that of director and it is recommended that the tutor be one of the directors.

This documentation must be sent by email to the address doctorat.cirurgia@uab.cat.

Once it has been verified that the candidate meets the requirements, he/she will be proposed for the next modification of the human resources of the doctoral programme to be sent to the UAB Teaching Quality Office for processing at the Agency for University Quality (AQU).

Contracted and honorary emeritus lecturers may tutor doctoral theses as long as this activity is included in the programme of activities presented annually and throughout the duration of the thesis. It is recommended that they do not start new theses under a tutoring regime.

You can consult the updated list of tutors, with their contact details (Tutors List 2025).

- Maximum number of doctoral theses per supervisor

A supervisor can supervise a maximum of 5 doctoral theses. In the case of co-management, only the corresponding fraction will count for the purposes of calculating the total address.

Before choosing a thesis supervisor, you must check that the candidate with whom you have agreed to supervise the thesis does not exceed this maximum number of theses that can be supervised simultaneously. If you have any doubts, you can ask the supervisor to consult their theses addressed to sia.uab.cat. Detailed explanations of how to do this can be found in the document Instructions for managers to display listings supervised theses and tutored (tutorial).

- Retirement of a director or guardian

If any of the supervisors or tutors of the doctoral thesis retires (i.e. they do not carry out any activity with an employment contract or registration as a self-employed person), they must resign from the direction and/or tutoring. It will be the responsibility of the doctoral student to manage the change. You can consult how to manage this modification in the Specific information section  of the Monitoring and thesis tab of this file.

Retired supervisors or tutors may be listed in the copy of the thesis as supervisor and/or tutor until the date of retirement, but will not intervene in the validation of the deposit of the thesis. Exceptionally, they may maintain their status as director or tutor if the thesis is deposited within a period of no more than 3 months from the date of retirement.

Admission application

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

• From May 5^th – 23^rd 
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: June 20^th

• From September 15^th to October 3^rd
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: December 19^th

25 places are reserved for the first pre-registration period.

Contact:          

Department of Surgery (UD Vall d’Hebron)

doctorat.cirurgia@uab.cat

Documentation necessary for admission

⁽¹⁾ Check this link to send this mandatory documentation to the Doctoral School along with the rest of the documentation indicated.

⁽²⁾ This supplementary documentation must be submitted or sent to the Doctoral Program.

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 the 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 reviewed the pre-registration and made an admission proposal.
• Access granted: the Doctoral School has reviewed the coordinator's admission proposals and has issued the final admission. An email will also be sent to the doctoral student informing them of the decision. The doctoral student will now be awaiting registration.
• Waiting list: the coordinator has reviewed the pre-registration and has granted admission, but there are no places in the doctorate program.
• Request denied: the coordinator or the Doctoral School has reviewed the application but has not granted admission because it does not meet any of the requirements.

In case you need it, here you will find a complementary information document of doctoral studies.

Requirements and selection criteria

General access requirements

Specific access requirements

To apply for admission to the doctoral programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences, it is necessary to submit a written document of a maximum of five pages, in which the candidate specifies their previous training, in which line of research of the doctoral programme they wish to be admitted and a summary of the objectives to be developed. In addition, the candidate will propose, if deemed appropriate, a proposal for direction and tutoring.

The Academic Committee of the doctoral programme will take into account the information provided by the candidate for admission and the assignment of the supervision and tutoring of the thesis.

The criteria for assessing merits in the selection process are as follows:

• Academic record and affinity of the studies with the different areas of Surgery and Morphological Sciences: (50%)
• Personal interview: (30%)
• Obtaining research grants and grants: (15%)
• Academic stays abroad: (5%)

Registration and fees

When the doctoral student has been admitted, he/she must submit the following documents, duly completed and signed, to the administrative management of the doctorate, within a maximum period of 3 months:

1. Admission Letter

2. Research plan

3. Commitment document

4. Annex to the commitment document

5. Annex to the Code of Good Practice

6. External director registration form, if applicable

7. Application to take the doctoral programme part-time, if applicable

For more information, please contact the doctoral programme at doctorat.cirurgia@uab.cat. The rest of the compulsory documentation must be submitted to the Doctoral School, you will find more information in Documentation in the following section.

Calendar and Registration documents

After the registration

Training activities

Transversal training activities

Mandatory and optional specific activities

The doctoral program requires that mandatory training activities be completed during the first two academic years. Remember that the activities must be recorded in your academic record, and for mandatory activities, accreditation is provided with the document Certificate of completion of compulsory training activities without qualification, duly completed, signed, and uploaded to the activity log. Once the activities have been registered, one of your directors or tutor must validate them (you'll find more information at this link Activities of PhD students: validation of thesis supervisors and/or academic tutors.

Regarding this doctoral program, the scheduled training activities are the following:

Mandatory activities:

• Hospital sessions Participation in the sessions for discussion and scientific presentation of clinical and experimental activity, and reviews of the literature and methodology that are held in hospitals, research centres, foundations, etc., with the participation of medical staff and resident interns (MIR).

• Research paper sent to a high-impact scientific journalResearch paper related to the current doctoral thesis. This includes publication of a book chapter on this research. Papers must have been written after the start of the programme and, as a minimum, must have been sent for publication. They should preferably be written in English.

Optional activities:

• Attendance at seminars or lectures given by experts in the subject areaThis includes the following activities. National or regional activities held by scientific societies specialising in surgery. Seminars or lectures by the Department of Surgery or by other experts in the field. Seminars or lectures given by other institutions working in areas related to this PhD programme's lines of research.

• Giving a seminar on the research projectPresentations given at internal seminars and activities scheduled by the research group within which the doctoral thesis is being developed and in the sessions on research methodology held by the department's different specialist areas.

• Participation in internal seminars organised by the research group or the departmentPresentations given at internal seminars and activities scheduled by the research group within which the doctoral thesis is being developed and in the sessions on research methodology held by the department's different specialist areas.

• Oral presentations or posters at national or international conferencesOral presentations or posters at national or international conferences.

• Presentation of a paper at a departmental symposiumPresentation of a paper on the research being conducted towards the doctoral thesis at departmental symposiums focusing on the thesis subject area.

• Training activities to improve comprehension of the field of studyCourses organised by the Unit for PhD Training and Guidance of the School of Doctoral Studies of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

• Teaching duties (interns and clinical adjuncts)Teaching duties (interns and clinical adjuncts)

• Course on language competence for scientific communicationTo gain greater proficiency in the language or in certain skills involved in communicating knowledge: writing scientific papers, etc.

• Participation in workshops or courses on methodological specialisationSpecialist courses and workshops in the field of research. The recommended course is "Tools for bibliographic research" offered by the UAB's Library Service. This course is aiming at training PhD students in the use of the different sources of information available in the field of health sciences. Initial training is also offered in Open Access publishing.

CERTIFICATION OF TRAINING ACTIVITIES

To add these activities to your file, you can watch this video (You can turn subtitles on/off from the icon in the bottom right corner).

The doctoral program requires that mandatory training activities be completed during the first two academic years. Remember that the activities must be recorded in your academic record, and for mandatory activities, accreditation is provided with the document Certificate of completion of compulsory training activities without qualification, duly completed, signed, and uploaded to the activity log. Once the activities have been registered, one of your directors or tutor must validate them (you'll find more information at this link Activities of PhD students: validation of thesis supervisors and/or academic tutors.

Typologies and Research Ethics

Internationalization

Foreign residencies

International Doctoral Research Component

Evaluation and annual review

How is the follow-up done in the Doctoral Programme in Medicine

To carry out this monitoring, the Doctorate in Medicine has an online platform (https://gestiodoctoratcirurgia.uab.cat/), where doctoral students, directors and tutors can access by entering their UAB account (NIU@uab.cat and password).

The doctoral student will describe and assess the thesis work that has been carried out during the course, explaining the status of the project, the objectives achieved and the degree of progress of the thesis, and will report on the meetings they have held with their supervisors and the status of the presentation of the compulsory training activities.

Finally, doctoral students will also answer whether there have been changes in ethical aspects during doctoral research during the course and whether the development of a doctoral research data management plan has been assessed.

The thesis supervisor and tutor will be able to make their assessments regarding whether all the tasks have been carried out throughout the last academic year, whether the objectives and activities planned according to the student's annual work plan have been achieved and whether they are satisfied with the degree of progress of the work carried out by the doctoral student. Finally, they give an overall assessment of the monitoring report.

Once all the information has been filled in, the doctoral student must click on the "Send follow-up" button and an automatic message will be sent to the supervisor(s) and tutor so that they can access the online platform through the link https://gestiodoctoratcirurgia.uab.cat/, entering their UAB account (NIU@uab.cat and password). They will have to review the information entered by the doctoral student, fill in their report and give their consent. The director(s) and tutor will be able to access the monitoring report at any time through the url https://gestiodoctoratcirurgia.uab.cat/.

In the event that the supervisor(s) or tutor does not give their consent, the doctoral student will receive an email of disagreement with an explanation of the reasons so that he/she can modify the incorrect information, record it and send it again. Finally, a new automatic message will be generated again to the director and tutor so that they can review again and give their assessment of favorable or unfavorable.

Only in the event that there is an unfavourable assessment by all the directors and tutor, the monitoring committee will summon the doctoral student to make an oral presentation.

Follow-up start date for the 2024/2025 academic year: June 2025

The deadline for managing the follow-up report for each academic year, including the validation of the director(s) and the tutor, will be the one published on this page.

Deadline for the 2024/2025 academic year: 7 September 2025

Thesis deposit

The first thing you have to do to start the deposit process is to send  the following documentation to doctorat.cirurgia@uab.cat:

• the final thesis in PDF format
• the panel proposal (panel proposal sheet)
• if you apply for the International PhD Mention, here is the panel proposal form: Panel proposal form for theses with an International PhD Mention
• If you are doing your thesis under joint supervision with another university, here is the panel proposal form: Board proposal sheet for joint supervision thesis
• and the documentation necessary to accredit the members of the panel you propose, if applicable (check the criteria regarding the proposal for a panel in the Specific information section of this tab).

Once we receive it, we will carry out an initial formal review and indicate the necessary corrections. Then, we will send your deposit documentation to the program coordinator so that they can also review it and give their approval. We will then send you the revised documents (which are the ones you will have to upload to the online deposit application) and we will expressly indicate that you can now proceed to record it. With this procedure we avoid returning incorrect deposits that would delay the process.

If you want to deposit your doctoral thesis in this doctoral programme, remember that you must send the documentation to be reviewed at least 2 months before the deadline for the completion of the thesis that appears in your file, or the date you have contemplated to have the thesis deposit completed.

Attention! 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 confirm your deposit request before September 15, 2024, this implies that you send us the documentation to review no later than June 30, 2024.

Remember, before starting the online deposit, review the specific criteria of the doctoral programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences (you will find them in the Specific information section of this same tab).

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

All doctoral students

• External expert 1: Suitability document
• External expert 2: Suitability document
• 01- Proposal for a panel (no need to sign)
• 44 - Turnitin Report (attachment deposit tab)
• 45- Affidavit of the Turnitin Report

International PhD Mention: Mandatory documentation if requested

• 09 - International PhD Mention: 1 report by the external expert
• 10 - International Doctor Mention: 2 external expert report

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 a language other than Catalan, Spanish or English

And the documentation established by the doctoral programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences to its specific considerations

Information related to the thesis

Information related to the theses

In this section you will find indications and/or regulatory aspects of our doctoral programme.

• Internal regulations of the doctoral programme for the preparation of the thesis.
• Internal regulations of the doctoral programme with respect to the proposal of a panel.
• Modification of the registration data of the doctoral thesis.
• Deadline for completion of the thesis.
• Travel of the members of the doctoral thesis committee.
• Modification of the dedication regime.
• Leaves.

___________________________________________________________________________

Internal regulations of the doctoral programme

Copies of theses deposited at the Doctoral School must meet the conditions set out in Article 358 of the 'Academic regulations of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona applicable to university studies regulated in accordance with Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October, modified by Royal Decree 861/2010, of 2 July'. Also those approved by the Academic Committee of our doctoral program, such as the internal regulations for the presentation of the thesis of Surgery and Morphological Sciences.

Thesis infographic: cover, structure and sections

Internal regulations of the doctoral programme with respect to the proposal of a selection board:

In addition to the regulations established by the Doctoral School for the composition of the thesis committees, the following requirements will also apply to this doctoral programme:

Composition of the thesis committee:

• In the theses of the Department of Surgery (areas of Surgery, Traumatology, Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Urology), it is mandatory that the president and the first alternate of the panel are permanent professors: full professors, contract professors, university professors, associate professors or associate professors A3.3 of the Department of Surgery or the Department of Morphological Sciences of the UAB (including interim,  emeritus, honorary and retired).
• In the case of theses of the Department of Morphological Sciences (areas of Human Anatomy and Pathological Anatomy), it is recommended that the chair and the first alternate of the panel are permanent lecturers: full professors, contract professors, university professors, associate professors or associate professors A3.3 of the Department of Surgery or the Department of Morphological Sciences of the UAB (including interim,  emeritus, honorary and retired).
• In the event that there is a guest lecturer on the panel, of great international prestige, not from the UAB, he/she may act as president of the panel. In this circumstance, the secretary and first alternate will be full professors, contract professors, university professors or associate professors from the Department of Surgery or the Department of Morphological Sciences of the UAB (including interim, emeritus, honorary and retired).
• It is advisable that the supervisor is from the area of the subject of the thesis, but it is not mandatory.
• Of the rest of the members of the panel there can be no other member of the UAB.
• If the mention of International Doctor is requested, at least, an expert belonging to a non-Spanish higher education institution or research center with a doctoral degree (PhD), and different from the person responsible for the stay, must be part of the evaluation committee of the doctoral thesis.

Modification of the registration data of the doctoral thesis

Below you will find information on how to make modifications to some aspects of your doctoral thesis.

If the documents we request in each case have been signed by everyone with a valid electronic certificate, you will only need to send the documentation by e-mail to doctorat.cirurgia@uab.cat

If someone does not have an electronic signature, everyone will have to sign manually and, in addition to advancing the scanned documentation by e-mail to doctorat.cirurgia@uab.cat, they will have to deliver the documents (with original signatures) to the Integrated Administrative Support Unit of Medicine and Surgery (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.), without an appointment. You can also submit the documents to the academic secretary's office of the Vall d'Hebron Teaching Unit (Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). If you are in another teaching unit, it can also be sent by internal mail from the corresponding academic secretary's office. Finally, you can also send documents by courier to:

Administrative Support Unit for Medicine and Surgery

Teaching Unit of the Vall d'Hebron

Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 119-129 - 08035 Barcelona

Change of thesis title

You can change the title of your doctoral thesis at any time as long as there are justified reasons and that you do not modify the essence of your initial project (in this case you will have to process a change of project).

It will be the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme that will assess the change of degree and resolve your request.

To make a modification of the registration data of your thesis you can use the document Request for modification of registration data of the thesis. The application must be signed by the interested party, the directors and the tutor.

Change of doctoral thesis project

In the event that you wish to modify, improve, detail or correct your doctoral thesis project, you will have to submit to us  the Application for modification of the thesis registration data, plus the New proposal of the research project (where you detail the changes with respect to the initial project delivered at the time of your admission) and the Modification of the Research Plan.

It will be the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme that will assess your new project and resolve your request.

Change of thesis direction

You can change the supervision of a doctoral thesis as long as there are justified reasons and you request it within six months of the deadline for the completion of the thesis that is established in your academic record (you can consult it here). You must bear in mind that this maximum end date may vary depending on the cancellations and/or extensions pending application, which you must notify us of so that we can accept this change for processing.

The appointment of the thesis supervisor may fall on any Spanish or foreign PhD with accredited research experience, and regardless of the university, centre or institution where he/she provides his/her services. You can consult all the requirements that supervisors must meet in the section Thesis supervision.

You can consult all the requirements that supervisors must meet in the section Thesis supervision.

In the event of a change in the direction of the thesis, the following documents must be provided:

• Application for change of director and/or tutor, signed by the directors and current tutor, those who leave and those who join, if applicable.
• Publication file, of the director who joins, if applicable.
• New commitment document, signed by the doctoral student and by the management and tutoring that you propose to have with this change.
• New Annex to the Code of Good Practices, signed by the donctorand/a and by the management and tutoring that you propose to have with this change.

In the event that you incorporate an external supervisor with this change, you must also attach this file of the external director to the UAB, the publication file of the new director and his/her doctoral degree (except if he/she has obtained it at the UAB).

ATTENTION! Changes in the direction of the thesis will not be processed during the period of follow-up of the course.

Change of thesis tutor

Your thesis must have a single tutor. The tutor can be changed at any time as long as there are justified reasons. The tutor must be appointed by one of the members of the human resources programme of the doctoral programme in Surgery and Morphological Sciences, which you can consult in the Lines and Management section. You can consult all the requirements that tutors must meet in the specific information of the doctoral programme in the section Thesis tutoring.

To make this modification, you must fill in the Application for change of supervisor and/or tutor (signed by the doctoral student, the supervisors and the tutors (for the new student and the one who renounces the tutorship) and the commitment document signed by the doctoral student, the supervisors and the new tutor.

Deadline for the end of the thesis

In this link, in the option of 'Research Plan and activities of doctoral students', you can consult the registered data of your doctoral thesis and see the minimum and maximum deposit date, which counts from the date of enrolment (or 1 October if you have enrolled before the start of the course). The information appears in the header of the page.

You should bear in mind that the maximum deposit date may vary if you request cancellations, changes of permanence regime or ordinary or extraordinary extension.

Once you have the extraordinary extension, this maximum date will not be extendable. If your online deposit application is not recorded and validated by the thesis management and tutoring and the programme coordinator before this date, you will not be able to continue in the doctoral programme. To continue your doctoral studies, you will need to apply for admission to another doctoral programme at the UAB (if your research can be included in any of the research lines of this programme), or to another university.

In order to guarantee that you deposit your doctoral thesis before the deadline, you must start the process at least two months before this date. If you have to request the presentation of the thesis by compendium of publications, you must start the procedure at least three months before.

Travel of the members of the doctoral thesis panel

If a member of the doctoral thesis panel comes from an institution outside the province of Barcelona, he/she is entitled to be paid the travel expenses. These expenses must comply with criteria of proportionality and containment of public spending, and comply with the UAB's travel regulations, which establish the following requirements:

Displacement

Priority will be given to public transport and fares corresponding to the economy class (unless there is an offer in a higher class that is lower than the economy class price). This service must be requested from one of the travel agencies that the UAB has an agreement with.

When there are no regular and collective means of transport or these are inadequate, the use of private vehicles will be authorised, paying the mileage according to the rates in force, and may not exceed the total price of public transport for the same route.

Accommodation

In exceptional cases, in which it is not possible to make the trip on the same day by public transport, a hotel reservation can be processed, with an amount in accordance with the regulations in force at the UAB, and it must necessarily be contracted through one of the travel agencies agreed by the UAB.

Information on how to process these expenses is sent to all the members of the committee, with a copy to the doctoral student, once the panel has been approved by the Doctoral School.

For any clarification, you can contact us at the following address: uisad.medicina.cirurgia@uab.cat

Modification of the dedication regime

You will find information about this procedure through the following link. The documentation must be sent by email to doctorat.cirurgia@uab.cat. In the event that the signatures are not electronic, you must send the documents with original signatures to the UISAD of Medicine and Surgery (in person without an appointment, by internal mail from any teaching unit or through courier). The doctoral study committee will send the resolution to the doctoral student and a copy to the Doctoral School.

Leaves

You will find information about this procedure through the following link. The documentation must be sent by email to doctorat.cirurgia@uab.cat. If the signatures are not electronic, in addition to forwarding the scanned documents by email, you must send the documents with original signatures to the UISAD of Medicine and Surgery (in person without an appointment, by internal mail from any teaching unit, or via courier). Documents cannot be hybrid: they must have either all electronic signatures or all handwritten signatures.

The Administrative Management of the Doctoral Program in Surgery and Morphological Sciences will send you the resolution and a copy to the Doctoral School so that you can update your file online, if approved.

In the case of absences of one year or more, in addition to the documentation requested in this link, you will also need to send us the following documents:

• Modifications to the research plan and training plan, where you indicate that the modification of the research plan is due to the request for withdrawal.
• New work plan proposal, where you detail the new research planning once you return from leave.

If your withdrawal coincides with the monitoring period (academic year 2024-2025: from 16/06/2025 to 7/9/2025) you will have to start the withdrawal request process before the start of the monitoring period, you will not be able to take the monitoring, you will be evaluated as a "doctoral student on leave" and you will have to enrol in the same monitoring in the following year.

Criteria for granting voluntary withdrawals during the second extension

In relation to the voluntary withdrawals that can be requested during the doctorate, in order to grant voluntary withdrawals during the extension of doctoral studies, the following requirements must be met in order to be granted by the academic committee of the doctoral programme:

- The report to be made by the thesis supervisor must state the status of the thesis, if it is advanced, what exact situation it is in.

- They must always be justified and the reasons why they can be granted are:

· work reasons, a new job that implies a lack of time in the dedication to the research of the thesis and generates difficulties in combining working life with the preparation of the thesis. A change of job in the last 6 months prior to the request for leave must be documented.

. care of children and the elderly, which must be justified by documentation.

. illness of the director, which must be justified with the corresponding medical leave.

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

Modification (from the las accreditation of the programme)

Process of substantial modification of the PhD programme for its improvement.

• 2020-2023 - Modification proposal  [document in Catalan]

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 won the Extraordinary Prize in this doctoral programme.

The Extraordinary Doctoral Prizes are awarded for each doctoral programme among all the theses defended in an academic year, at the rate of one prize for every five theses or fraction, without the need for the doctor to request it. The winners are entitled to a refund of the fee they paid for the application for the degree and to a certificate accrediting it.

Specific criteria approved by the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme in Surgery Morphological Sciences for the awarding of the extraordinary prizes

The quality of the thesis will be taken into account, based on the methodology used and the results obtained reflected in publications in journals of impact of the specialty.

They will be distributed according to the percentage of theses enrolled by areas (Morphological Sciences and Surgery). Within the Surgery by areas and specialties.

• Inclusion criteria:

- Grade of Excellent with mention "laude".

- Achieve a minimum of 1 point in the following scale:

Scale:

• An order by score will be created:

- International Mention: 10 points

- Industrial Mention: 10 points

- Each article presented will add a score based on the following scale:

Prospective design: 0.5 points

Controlled Design: : 0.5 points

Randomized Design: : 0.5 points

Multicenter design: 0.5 points

Experimental design in animals: 1 point

The position of the journal by area will be added to the score (the area will be taken as the best classified) according to the Journal Citation Report:

D1 (decile): 4 points

Q1 (quartile) and not located in D1: 3 points

Q2: 2 points

Q3: 1 points

Q4: 0.5 points

Points for the Impact Factor score

The final score will be the sum of the possible mention plus the sum of the score of each article presentedPublications may be submitted until the date that the Academic Committee that awards the Extraordinary Prizes meets.

Doctoral students who meet these conditions will receive a message from the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme, asking them to provide the following information to participate in the selection process:

1. Your ORCID number.
2. PDF copy of the derived article or formal writing from the publisher informing that the work is definitively accepted.
3. In the event that the work has resulted in a patent, provide a registered document from the Spanish or international patent and trademark office.
4. In the event that the work has resulted in new lines of research and/or research projects, provide the data of the new line or project.