Doctoral Programme in Psychological Development, Learning and Health

The admission profile establishes the knowledge, skills and abilities that students wishing to access this programme must possess and, consequently, the most suitable qualifications for access to the programme, which determine admission and, where appropriate, the need for PhD students to undertake further training.
Students may be admitted to the programme if they have completed Bachelor’s or Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in the following fields of knowledge (RD 822/2021):
-Behavioural sciences and psychology.
-Educational sciences.
-Physiotherapy, podiatry, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, optics and optometry and speech therapy.
-Nursing
-Medicine and dentistry.
-Social sciences, social work, labour relations and human resources, sociology, political science and international relations.
Once the letter of interest, the suitability to the lines of research and the commitment of direction by a researcher of the programme have been considered, priority will be given to those students who accredit competences related to the degrees of ‘Psychology’, ‘Speech Therapy’ and the field of ‘Educational Sciences’. Likewise, priority will be given to students who access the PDDPAS with the following master’s degrees: ‘ Master’s Degree in Psychogerontology’, ‘Master’s Degree in Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate, Vocational Training and Language, Artistic and Sports Education’, ‘Master’s Degree in Advanced Studies in Language, Communication and its Pathologies’, ‘Master’s Degree in Applied Psychology’, ‘Master’s Degree in Psychopedagogy’. Secondly, the ‘Master’s Degree in Psychology’, ‘Master’s Degree in Gerontology’, and the ‘Master’s Degree in General Health Psychology’ will be considered for preferential access.

Access

The general access and admission requirements are those set out in Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January, which regulates official PhD studies, and as amended by Royal Decree 576/2023, of 4 July. These are:
1. In general, in order to access an official PhD programme, it shall be necessary to hold an official Spanish Bachelor´s degree, or equivalent, and a Master´s degree or equivalent, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been obtained in these two courses as a whole.
2. Access may also be granted to those who are in one of the following situations:
a) To hold official university degrees or equivalent Spanish degrees, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in these courses as a whole, and accredit a level 3 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education.
b) To hold a degree obtained in accordance with foreign education systems belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), without the need for homologation, which accredits a level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework, provided that this degree entitles access to PhD studies in the country of issue of the same. This admission shall not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree held by the interested party nor its recognition for purposes other than access to PhD studies.
c) To hold a degree obtained in accordance with foreign education systems outside the EHEA, without the need for its recognition, after verification by the university that it accredits a level of training equivalent to that of the official Spanish university Master´s degree and that it entitles the holder to access PhD studies in the country in which the degree was awarded. This admission shall not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree held by the interested party, nor its recognition for purposes other than that of access to PhD studies.
d) To hold another PhD or Doctorate degree.
e) Likewise, university graduates who, after obtaining a place in training in the corresponding entrance examination to specialised health training posts, have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a programme for obtaining the official qualification in one of the specialities in Health Sciences, may also be admitted.

A compulsory requirement for admission to the PhD programme is the submission of a report by the student consisting of a reference letter from a lecturer on the programme who i) endorses the potential viability of the future thesis within the framework of a line of research of the programme to which it is linked, and who ii) could act as supervisor if the necessary requirements for this are met.
Furthermore, given the characteristics and scientific level of the PhD programme, the student must have a minimum level of English equivalent to level B2, not only because it is currently the common language of scientific communication at international level, but also because part of the courses, both specific and transversal, as well as various activities of the programme can be carried out in this language. The language level will be accredited with the corresponding official certification of those included in the list of accreditations recognised by the Modern Language Centre (CLM) of the USC for the different levels of the Common
European Framework: https://www.usc.gal/es/centro/centro-lenguas-modernas.

Students will be selected for admission to the programme on the basis of the following criteria:
• Academic record (max. 70%) determined by the grades obtained in the master’s degree (or DEA or research proficiency).
• Previous research experience and its results (max. 10%): In this section, publications, communications and other scientific contributions to congresses and their suitability to the lines of research of the PhD programme will be assessed. Candidates must submit supporting documentation.
• Professional or volunteer experience (max. 5%): In this section, professional or volunteer experience related to the lines of research of the PhD programme will be valued. Candidates must submit supporting documentation (certificate of employment, copy of contracts, grants, etc.).
• Other aspects accredited in the candidate’s CV (max. 5%): In this section, research stays, courses taken and courses given related to the programme’s lines of research will be assessed. Knowledge of a foreign language at B2 level or higher and knowledge of languages other than the mother tongue(s).
• Personal interview (max. 10%): Motivation, attitude and aptitudes, teamwork and communication skills will be assessed.
The same criteria will be applied for the admission of all students regardless of whether they are full-time or part-time.

The PhD programme may be terminated for any of the following reasons:
• Failure to pass the accreditation renewal process established in article 10 of RD 99/2011.
• Failure to accredit compliance with the requirements established by the state or regional regulations in force.
• A proposal is made to terminate the programme as part of the degree review and improvement process in accordance with the procedure approved by the university.
• The occurrence of any exceptional situation that prevents the correct development of the PhD programme.
Termination shall have the following effects:
• It will entail the loss of its official status and its removal from the RUCT.
• It will not be possible to enrol new students in the PhD programme.
• In any case, all affected students must be informed of the termination and of the consequences for the development of their studies.
The University shall adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the academic rights of the students who are taking these studies under the terms established in the resolution for the termination of the study plan, and shall approve the procedure for the termination of the PhD programmes within the University.

- Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of research skills and methods related to that field.
- Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial research or creative process.
- Ability to contribute to the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
- Ability to carry out critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.
- Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and with society in general about their fields of knowledge in the modes and languages commonly used in their international scientific community.
- Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress within a knowledge-based society.
- Ability to promote Open Science and Citizen Science, in accordance with article 12 of Organic Law 2/2023 of 22 March, as a way of contributing to the consideration of scientific knowledge as a common good, through the evaluation of transversal activities carried out by the PhD student related to different dimensions of Open Science and Citizen Science, as well as the training acquired in these disciplines in the form of micro-credentials or similar.

- Ability to adapt the research project and the scientific reports generated in research practice to the ethical commitment established in the Psychologist’s Code of Ethics.
- Ability to analyse and understand critically, and to present synthetically, orally and in writing in the languages commonly used in the scientific community, the multiple and complex theoretical contributions on the chosen research topic in the field of psychological development, learning and/or health.
- Ability to develop and implement a complete methodological design of a novel research project, both in a team and autonomously in an international or multidisciplinary context, through original research that can generate innovation and entrepreneurship in the field of psychological development, learning and/or health.
- To have the ability to search for relevant information and generate scientific knowledge in areas of psychological development, learning and/or health in which this is scarce and to be able to communicate it to the scientific community and society, and to formulate judgements with limited information.
- Ability to answer key questions, to tackle complex problems in a novel and innovative way and to defend proposed solutions in the field of psychological development, learning and/or health.