Doctoral Programme in Medieval Studies

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 and which determine admission and, where appropriate, the need for PhD students to undertake complementary training or not.

The Master’s degree that will allow admission to this PhD programme without the need for additional training will be that of Medieval European Studies. Images, Texts and Contexts, offered by the USC. Students with the DEA degree obtained through the following USC programmes will also have access to the programme without complements: Galician Philology, Galician Linguistics, Theory of Literature and Comparative Literature, Studies on History of Art and Music, Economy and Society in History: medieval and modern times, German Philology, Classical Antiquity Texts and Languages. And, in general, according to RD 822/2021, which establishes the organisation of university education and the procedure for quality assurance, all the master’s degrees included in the areas of Philology, Classical Studies, Translation and Linguistics, History of Art and Artistic Expression and Fine Arts, History, Archaeology, Geography, Philosophy and Humanities.

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.

Students will be selected for admission to the programme on the basis of the following criteria:

• Official USC Master’s Degree in Medieval Studies. Images, Texts and Contexts (100%). The PhD Programme has been epistemically related to the Master’s Degree since its foundation.
• For students without this degree:
o Academic record (60 %) determined by the grades obtained in the Master’s degree (or DEA or research proficiency).
o Knowledge of a foreign language at level B1 or higher and knowledge of languages other than mother tongue, etc. Candidates must provide supporting documentation (10 %).
o CV (10 %).
o Professional experience (candidates must provide supporting documentation) (5%).
o Research experience (candidates must provide supporting documentation) (5%).
o Other merits: Competitive scholarships, prizes, attendance at conferences, courses, seminars: 10%.
The same criteria will be applied to admit 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 carry out research in the field of medieval studies from a multidisciplinary perspective.
- Ability to communicate and discuss the research carried out at national and international scientific meetings in the speciality.
- Ability to transfer knowledge and disseminate the research results achieved in national and international scientific forums in the field of knowledge of the programme.