PhD in Terrestrial Ecology

Why do this PhD?

Are you someone who is concerned about the big environmental challenges we currently face? Would you like to solve them through your own work and ideas? The PhD in Terrestrial Ecology at the UAB offers research in global change and the loss of biodiversity, among other topics, with the support of internationally recognised scientists.  

This PhD programme has the research potential and the infrastructures of the ecologists of the Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology (BABVE) of the UAB and those of the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF).  

If you are interested in joining this programme you must have a genuine interest in ecological research, certain research experience, albeit over a short period, and a good knowledge of English.  

The main professional employment opportunities are (1) research or teaching staff in public research organisations and universities; (2) technical staff in institutions that manage natural systems; (3) company or NGO employees in the areas of natural resources, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, and biological control.

Professional opportunities

This PhD programme provides the following principal career options.
•Researcher or lecturer in public research bodies and universities.
•Specialist working in public or private institutions, charged with managing land use in general and natural systems in particular.
•Work in private companies operating in the fields of natural resources management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, or biological control.

Coordinator

Bernat Claramunt López

Composition of the academic tribunal for the PhD programme

The academic Commission of the PhD program will consist of the coordinator of the PhD program and, at least three more doctors, each from a different line of research. The academic committee is chaired by the PhD program coordinator and has an academic secretary who appoints the same committee from among its members.

Administration

Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology
Faculty of Biosciences
Building C - Office C1/023
Contact: gestio.doctorat.bave@uab.cat
Phone numbers: +34 93 581 2618 / +34 93 581 3786

Thesis supervisor/s and academic tutor/s

Thesis supervision and thesis tutoring

Admission application

This PhD programme has, for the 2024-2025 academic year, the following pre-registration periods:

1a - CSC STUDENTS PRE-REGISTRATION:

• From January, 22 to February, 29
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: March, 14

1b - PRE-REGISTRATION:

• From February, 15 to March, 20
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: April, 25
• From April, 5 to May, 30
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: June, 25
• From June, 10 to July, 30
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: October, 1
• From September, 1 to October, 15
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: November, 5
• From October, 15 to November, 15
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: December, 20

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

The PhD programme in Terrestrial Ecology has the following specific requirements.

• Master's degree or Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) or equivalent that qualifies the applicant to conduct scientific research in the field of ecology and conservation and management of biodiversity. The UAB Master's Degree in Terrestrial Ecology and Biodiversity Management prepares its students to continue their training on the PhD programme in Terrestrial Ecology. In the case of students from other universities or with other master's degrees or DEA the doctoral programme’s academic committee will determine whether access can be granted on the basis of their previous studies.
• Personal interview with the coordinator of the PhD programme.
• Good command of English (reading and speaking), as the language of international academic communication.
• Research experience (attendance on courses, meetings or conferences) or papers published in this field.

Selection criteria

This PhD programme applies the following selection criteria and weighting.

• Research experience (10%)
• Command of the language of international academic communication (10%)
• Personal interview (20%)
• Academic record (60%)

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 at seminars or lectures given by experts in the subject area
  At least one national or international conference should be attended. This activity will take up a maximum of ten hours.

• Oral presentations or posters at national or international conferences
  A presentation should be made in at least one conference. This activity will take up to 100 hours.

• Research paper sent to a high-impact scientific journal
  The PhD must present a paper in an SCI-indexed journal with partial findings from the thesis project.

Optional activities:

• Participation in internal seminars organised by the research group or the department
  Internal seminars of the research group should be attended.

• Course on language competence for scientific communication
  Proficiency in English for science is recommended.

• Mobility
  Mobility grants or other opportunities should be taken to undertake stays at other laboratories working in the same field.

Typologies and Research Ethics

Internationalization

Foreign residencies

PhD thesis under joint international supervision

International Doctoral Research Component

Evaluation and annual review

Thesis deposit

CALENDAR FOR DEPOSITING DOCTORAL THESES

Before depositing, please check the specific calendar for depositing doctoral theses. Above all, remember that, if you have already taken advantage of the extensions and the deadline to finish your thesis is close, you must deposit at least two months before the deadline indicated in your online academic record. Also check your PhD programme, as this date may be extended.

The date that will determine the rest of the dates (panel approval, date of the public defence...) is the date in column: DEPOSIT (date of validation by the coordinator).

ATTENTION! If you want to deposit before the end of this academic year and not have to pay the fees for the following academic year, you must confirm your deposit request before 18 July 2025. 

REPORT FROM EXTERNAL ASSESSORS

In the online deposit application, within the documentation screen, please attach the suitability documents of your proposed external assessors. You will have to upload this suitability document filled by the two assessors, in accordance with UAB regulations, art. 325.bis.

If you aim for the international doctoral research component, the assessors can be the same but remember that they must belong to foreign institutions.

Once yourself, your thesis supervisor and your academic tutor have validated your deposit, the PhD Programme Academic Committee will send your thesis to the assessors so that they can prepare the report. Previously, you may want to contact the assessors to inform them about this role they have been assigned but please do not send them your doctoral thesis.

These assessors must be agreed with your thesis supervisor/academic tutor. We recommend that you contact the coordination team of your doctoral programme to confirm that no additional information is required.

CHECK THAT THE CURRENT SUPERVISORS AND TUTOR ARE CORRECT

Before registering the deposit request, check that the persons listed as directors and as guardian are the correct ones. If not, do not record any details of the deposit and follow as soon as possible the instructions that you will find on this same page, in the section “Changes of directors and tutors”.

If you have external directors to the UAB you must, before starting the deposit, contact ed.intranet@uab.cat since they do not yet have access to validate the thesis deposit.

DOCTORAL TRAINING ACTIVITIES VALIDATED BY THE SUPERVISOR OR TUTOR

Before requesting to deposit your thesis online you should have carried out all the obligatory activities (indicated by a blue icon). Remember that you should have filled in all the details and uploaded the documentary evidence on the application. They must also have been validated by your supervisor or tutor.

Remember that together with the copy of the thesis, you must send your activities document to the members of the examination panel. To obtain it, you only need to enter your virtual file, in the "activities document" tab. At the bottom of the screen, you will find a button that says 'Print'; you must click, and a PDF will be generated with the information that you can send to the members of the examination panel.

DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION

Compulsory documents:

• The thesis file.
• A sheet with the names of the members of the examination panel (not necessarily signed).
• Any documents required by your PhD Programme.
• Turnitin similarity report of the thesis file
• Affidavit on Turnitin's thesis report

Documents which will be required if you make any of these requests, and which should be uploaded in the 'Attach documents' section:

• 2 reports for the International Doctoral Research Component.
• Document containing the decision on whether the thesis may be written in a language other than Catalan, Spanish or English.
• Document containing the decision of acceptance of a thesis as a collection of articles by the PhD Programme Academic Committee.

If the PhD Programme has authorised the presentation of the thesis as a collection of articles, you should indicate this in the online request form.

The request will be considered incomplete if you do not upload all the required documents or information.

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

Renewal process for the implementation of the degree: presentation, every 6 years since the implementation of the program, of a self-report for AQU-Catalunya to issue the binding assessment for the University Council, which is the responsible agent of accreditation.

• Self-evaluation report
• Accreditation report (next coming)
• Resolution on accreditation by the Universities Council (next coming)
• Registry of Universities, Centres 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.

The following prizes and honours have been awarded in relation to this PhD programme.

• Dr Jordi Catalan Aguilà was awarded the 2013 Prize for the Environment by the Institute of Catalan Studies for his contributions to the ecological and palaeo-ecological study of mountain lakes.
• Dr Josep Peñuelas i Reixach has received the following distinctions: Comte de Barcelona Prize (1990), Institute of Catalan Studies - Banc de Sabadell Prize for the Environment (2008), Catalonia Research Prize (2010), Japanese Science Ministry Prize (1998).
• Dr Jaume Terradas received the Narcis Monturiol Medal (1996), the 1998 Prize for the Environment of the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat), and the Prize for the Environment of the Institute of Catalan Studies - Banc de Sabadell (2002).