PhD in Business and Territorial Competitiveness, Innovation and Sustainability

In general, applicants must hold an official bachelor’s degree or equivalent and an official master’s degree to gain access to an official doctoral programme.

Access may also be granted to candidates who meet any of the following requirements:

• Hold an official bachelor’s degree from a university in Spain or another country that is part of the European Higher Education Area that grants access to a master’s degree pursuant to Article 16 of Spanish Royal Decree 1393/2007 of 29 October, and have completed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in all official university studies, of which at least 60 credit hours must be at the graduate level.
• Hold an official Spanish bachelor’s degree, the duration of which, in accordance with European Community regulations, is at least 300 ECTS credits. Such graduates must take the complementary education courses referred to in Article 7.2 of this regulation, unless the curriculum of the corresponding bachelor’s degree includes research education credits, equivalent in educational value to research credits in graduate level studies.
• Bachelor’s degree graduates who, after obtaining a spot in the complementary education courses through the corresponding access test for specialized health education, have completed at least two years of education with passing grades in a programme to earn an official degree in a Health Sciences specialty.
• Hold a bachelor’s degree earned in accordance with foreign educational systems. This degree does not have to be approved if the student’s home university confirms that the educational level is equivalent to official Spanish university master’s degrees and would entitle the graduate to enrol in doctoral studies in the country of issue. This approval will in no case imply the recognition of the previous degree held by the applicant, nor its recognition for purposes other than admission to a doctoral programme.
• Hold another Spanish doctoral degree earned in accordance with previous university arrangements.

Admission to the programme will be decided by the Academic Committee, which will assess the degree to which candidates meet the profile described above. Both full-time and part-time candidates will be considered for acceptance. In the latter case, a candidate’s availability to carry out the activities covered by the programme shall be taken into account.

Once a candidate’s suitability has been assessed based on the documentation they have submitted and the report from the programme coordinator or assistant coordinator, the Academic Committee will decide whether or not to accept the candidate and will report this decision to the IQS Registrar’s Office within the established period.

Regarding students who do not hold a master’s degree with a research background, they may be required to complete a series of complementary education courses. In each case, the curriculum for the master’s degree held by the candidate will be analysed and the research profile courses/subjects that the applicant must take in order to gain admission to the doctoral programme will be defined, as established in the “complementary education” section.

The programme coordinator or assistant coordinator will make an initial assessment of the documentation submitted by the candidate and will conduct a personal interview with the candidate in person or via videoconference if deemed necessary.

Likewise, the programme coordinator or assistant coordinator will review the candidate’s initial project proposal in terms of the lead researcher’s work for the research team most suitable for the candidate in order to assess how the candidate’s interests fit with the team’s research plans.

• Application for admission.
• Photocopy of identity card or passaport.
• One passport-sized photograph.
• Bachelor and master’s degrees’ official transcript of records.
• Certified photocopies of official bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees or equivalents.
• Full curriculum vitae.
• Certification accrediting English language proficiency (at least C1 level).
• Cover letter in which the candidate briefly describes their studies and professional experience as well as their main expectations and interests      regarding the doctoral programme. In addition, for professionals who are currently employed and will enrol part-time, such candidates must explicitly      indicate that they have sufficient time available to make their professional job compatible with the doctoral programme’s activities (maximum length of the letter: 800 words).
• Thesis project with an initial proposal of the area and the topic on which the research work will be conducted (maximum length: between 2,000 and 5,000 words).
• Two letters of recommendation.
• You must inform IQS if you hold a research grant. If a grant you have applied for is still pending a decision, you must inform IQS about your application.

The programme coordinator will carry out an initial assessment of the documents submitted and will conduct a personal interview or videoconference with the candidate.

The initial research proposal will be assessed by the lead researcher on the most closely related research group to determine if the proposal fits with the group’s research lines.

Candidates’ merits and suitability for the programme are evaluated as follows:

When submitting their doctoral thesis for defence, doctoral students must provide:

1. A report from the thesis supervisor approved by the programme’s Academic Committee, which will specify the suitability of submitting the thesis in this manner.
2. A report on the scientific relevance of the publications, preferably based on indexes regarding the use of impact factors for publications.
3. Written acceptance by the individuals listed as co-authors of the papers, if appropriate, regarding the submission of the paper(s) as part of the doctoral student’s thesis.
4. Waiver by the co-author(s) of the papers who do not hold PhDs to submit them as part of another doctoral thesis.
5. Once the work has been completed, the doctoral student shall submit the doctoral thesis as the beginning of the process prior to the defence and evaluation of the thesis. The programme’s Academic Committee, following a favourable report from the thesis supervisor(s), will propose submitting the thesis for defence to the Ramon Llull University Doctoral Committee.

PhD programmes make it possible for various individuals to review theses and encourage the presence of international researchers and experts in thesis supervision and juries.

• Once a doctoral thesis has been drafted, the doctoral student will request, with the explicit endorsement of the thesis supervisor by means of a justified evaluation report, the authorization of the programme’s Academic Committee to initiate the defence procedures.
• The programme’s Academic Committee will request two justified reports from PhDs with proven research experience in the field of knowledge under which the thesis falls. The time limit for the drafting such reports, which must expressly endorse that the thesis is ready for defence, shall not exceed two months in order for the defence to be carried out.
• In the event that the evaluation reports received or the observations presented by PhDs are contradictory, the programme’s Academic Committee may request new evaluation reports from PhDs who are experts in the field of knowledge under which the thesis falls.
• At the same time, the doctoral student shall submit the following to the IQS Registrar’s Office: the required, unbound copies of the thesis (in electronic format as well), dated and signed by the doctoral student and the thesis supervisor, a summary of its content in electronic format for inclusion in databases and institutional archives, and the required copies of the doctoral candidate’s curriculum vitae.

1. In exceptional circumstances, as determined by the programme’s Academic Committee, regarding the participation of companies in the doctoral programme, the existence of confidentiality agreements with companies, or the possibility of producing patents that fall within the contents of the thesis, a procedure will be enabled that ensures that the thesis defence will remain private and that the subsequent archiving shall remain confidential.
2. The jury may propose that the thesis be designated “cum laude” if an affirmative secret vote is unanimously cast. Votes will be counted in a session held apart from the doctoral thesis defence. This session shall be held behind closed doors following the conclusion of the thesis defence and the notification of the overall grade.
3. The Secretary of the jury shall draw up the minutes of the procedure awarding the degree of Doctor, which shall include information relating to the the thesis defence and the grade. The votes referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be enclosed with the minutes of the meeting.
4. If the doctoral student has applied for the International Endorsement for the Doctoral Degree, the Secretary of the jury shall indicate in the minutes of the thesis defence certification that the requirements set out in Article 15 of these regulations have been met.
5. The completed minutes shall be sent to the IQS Registrar’s Office.

1. 1. Once the period for publicly submitting the thesis has ended, and following verification that the reports on the thesis are explicitly favourable, the programme’s Academic Committee will prepare a justified jury proposal to evaluate the doctoral thesis. This will then be submitted to the Ramon Llull University Doctoral Committee to be approved following a report from the supervisor(s) and the tutor.
   2. The jury will be composed of five PhDs with accredited research experience, three of whom will be external to Deusto University, Pontificia Comillas University, and Ramon Llull University. The proposed jury shall include an alternate jury that meets the same requirements. The thesis supervisor(s) or the tutor may not be members of the thesis jury, except in cases of theses submitted within the framework of bilateral cotutelle agreements with foreign universities that permit this in the corresponding agreement.
   3. The presiding judge of the jury shall be the professor with the highest academic rank and seniority in active service. The secretary of the jury shall be a professor from Deusto University, if any, of a lower rank and seniority in active service.
   4. Once approved, the appointments will be notified to the programme’s Academic Committee. In turn, the latter shall notify its appointee to each of the members of said jury, together with a copy of the thesis and the doctoral student’s activity file indicating, where appropriate, that the thesis qualifies for the International Endorsement for the Doctoral Degree.
   5. The doctoral student’s activity file shall be available to the jury as a qualitative assessment tool that will complement the evaluation of the doctoral thesis.
   6. The president of the jury shall agree on the date, place, and time when the thesis defence will be held, upon consultation with the other members of the jury, the thesis supervisor, and the tutor, where appropriate.
   7. The programme’s Academic Committee must give adequate public notification to the thesis defence, announcing the time and place said defence will be held well in advance. The jury shall be formed prior to the defence of the doctoral thesis with the presence of its five standing members or, where appropriate, their substitutes. The Secretary of the jury shall draft the minutes recording the jury’s formation.
   8. The doctoral thesis will be evaluated after the thesis defence that will be held in a public session and on a school day, which will consist of the presentation and defence by the doctoral student of his or her research project before the members of the jury. In the case of programmes in which several universities participate or that involve external partners, the thesis defence will take place where the agreements governing such partnerships indicate.
   9. Once the defence and discussion of the thesis has been completed, each member of the jury will issue a written report containing their evaluation of the thesis. Then, behind closed doors, the jury shall determine the overall grade for the thesis, giving it a “pass” or “no pass”. The President of the jury shall report the grade in a public session.
   10. PhDs present at the public event may ask questions at the times and in the manners indicated by the president of the jury.
   11. In exceptional circumstances, as determined by the programme’s Academic Committee, regarding the participation of companies in the doctoral programme, the existence of confidentiality agreements with companies, or the possibility of producing patents that fall within the contents of the thesis, a procedure will be enabled that ensures that the thesis defence will remain private and that the subsequent archiving shall remain confidential.
   12. The jury may propose that the thesis be designated “cum laude” if an affirmative secret vote is unanimously cast. Votes will be counted in a session held apart from the doctoral thesis defence. This session shall be held behind closed doors following the conclusion of the thesis defence and the notification of the overall grade.
   13. The Secretary of the jury shall draw up the minutes of the procedure awarding the degree of Doctor, which shall include information relating to the thesis defence and the grade. The votes referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be enclosed with the minutes of the meeting.
   14. If the doctoral student has applied for the International Endorsement for the Doctoral Degree, the Secretary of the jury shall indicate in the minutes of the thesis defence certification that the requirements set out in Article 15 of these regulations have been met.
   15. The completed minutes shall be sent to the IQS Registrar’s Office.

Research group focused on the study of consumer behavior, digital marketing, sustainability, digital transformation, tourism, and leadership.

Researchers: Dr. Ramon Palau Saumell (Principal Investigator), Dr. Jorge Matute Vallejo, Dra. Belén Derqui. Dr. Jan-Hinrich Meyer, Dr. Noelia Jiménez-Asenjo, Dr. José Luis Sánchez.

Research areas:

• Brand image, social media
• Structural equations in marketing
• Consumer Behaviour

Research group on higher education teaching in specific disciplines (STEM and Business). This group’s research objectives are to improve higher education knowledge and best practices in specific disciplines (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business) and employ qualitative techniques to analyse scientific and business data.

Researchers: Dr Jordi Cuadros Margarit (lead researcher), Dr Marianna Bosch Casabò, Dr Lucinio González Sabaté, Dr Francesc Martori Adrian, Dr Antoni Olivé Tomàs, and Dr Vanessa Serrano Molinero.

Research areas:

• Development and educational use of simulations
• Analysis based on tracing and quantitative methods
• Use of modelling and teaching to research benchmark educational strategies
• Qualitative techniques to analyse scientific and business data

The Social Economics and Ethics group (or SEE) brings together IQS researchers collaborating on the interface of issues that entail both an ethical background and a social economic aspect, such as poverty, inequality, education, aporophobia, social exclusion, convergence, sustainability, among other issues.

Researchers: Dr Flavio Comim (IP), Dr Octasiano Valério, Dr Mihály Borsi, Dra Cristina Montañola, Dr Francesco Prior, Dr Llorenç Puig, Dr Oriol Quintana, Dr Xavi Casanovas.

Research areas:

The group is currently working on three distinct research fields, namely, i) aporophobia, ii) Chinese development model and iii) economic growth and dynamic convergence. Each field represents a cluster of different projects. More specifically, under the aporophobia umbrella there is a conceptual investigation about the characteristics of aporophobia, a project about the link between aporophobia and artificial intelligence and a project about the elaboration of an implicit association test (IAT) of aporophobia, funded by Ignited. We are also working on aporophobia and social simulation models. Then, under the Chinese development model umbrella we are working on the impact of preferential policies on inequality in China, with the support of the European Commission. Finally, under the dynamic convergence umbrella there is an investigation of the evolution of human capital in China and the development of indicators about quality and quantity of education, in addition to an analysis of convergence of countries’ HDI.