PhD in Geography

Training activities

The PhD programmes include research training that is both transferrable and specific to the area of each programme and consists of both compulsory and optional activities.

All the activities that the PhD student must complete are recorded in an activities document, but in any case there are compulsory activities that must be completed in the first academic years. It may also include transferrable activities offered by the same university.

Other professional who are not PhD holders may participate in these activities as long as they hold a relevant qualification in the corresponding area.

Erasmus
You can also do other mobility, under the Erasmus programme, both studies and internships. Check the information in the corresponding links.

To include these activities in your academic record, please check this video (click on the subtitle icon at the bottom right corner).

For this PhD programme the following training activities are scheduled.
 

Mandatory activities:

• Attendance at a congress in the subject area
  This activity is essential to put students in contact with top-level researchers in the geographical area. The meeting can promote synergies between the PhD student and the different experts that favor the extension of the student's research field (10 hours).

• Oral presentations or posters at national or international conferences of the field of knowledge of the thesis
  Oral or poster presentation to advance the results of the thesis, in a national or international congress, on the specific subject of the doctoral thesis. Presentation of the original results of the research itself (100 hours).

Optional activities:

• Research paper sent to a high-impact scientific journal
  This activity is fundamental in learning how to organise, structure and present an impactful scientific work on a geographical topic. The activity involves a learning of synthesis and specification of the results of the thesis in a scientific article (500 hours).

• Research stays in public or private centres, at home or abroad
  Highly recommended activity, since the doctoral student is in contact with researchers and other program teachers. It also helps to forge links between departments, which can generate future exchanges with visiting lecturers (500 hours).

• Giving a seminar on the research project
  The doctoral student is expected to learn to synthesize and present the research in public, and at the same time to discuss with other participants the common aspects of the research. It is an activity that prepares the students for the defense of the thesis (110 hours).

• Participation in the scientific meetings of the research groups
  The Department of Geography favors the transfer of knowledge between the different research groups of the department. The groups periodically organize scientific meetings where ideas, theories and research methods are presented and discussed. These meetings are open to all research, junior and senior staff, and constitute fundamental research exchange spaces for the teaching of pre-doctoral students (160 hours).

• Involvement in research project preparation
  This activity runs in parallel to the writing of the thesis in the case of students who belong to a research group. It requires precisely-defined research objectives, hypotheses, work plans and scheduling of tasks. (50 hours).

• Training activity for the improvement of the understanding of the field of study
  According to the director of the thesis it will be assessed the need for training to acquire new skills and abilities in the field of study of the thesis, in order to make an original and quality contribution. PhD students may take specialized courses or workshops on methodological techniques related to geography, and also courses in statistical techniques in order to improve performance and results (100 hours).

• Professional training activities for PhD students
  This activity, organised by the university itself, together with the Doctoral Conference held annually by the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat), offers guidance on the research scene at national and international levels, so as to assist students in joining the labour market. Students can thus familiarise themselves with the supply and demand for PhD graduates in their field in businesses, public administration, research centres, etc. (30 hours).