• International Endorsement

1. The reverse side of a PhD diploma may include the "International Doctorate" endorsement provided that the following conditions are met:

  • During the educational period necessary to earn the doctoral degree, the doctoral student has completed an international exchange of at least three months outside Spain at a prestigious institution of higher education or research centre studying or carrying out research work. The exchange cannot be in the doctoral student’s country of habitual residence. The exchanges and activities will be approved by the supervisor of the PhD programme and authorized by the academic committee and will be included in the doctoral activity file.
  • Part of the doctoral thesis, at least the summary and the conclusions, must be drafted and presented in one of the usual languages for scientific communication in the programme’s field of knowledge, other than any of the official languages in Spain, except in cases where the exchange, reports, and experts come from a Spanish-speaking country.
  • A minimum of two experts belonging to an institution of higher education or non-Spanish research institute must provide a written report on the thesis.
  • At least one expert PhD belonging to a foreign institution of higher education or research centre other than the person supervising the exchange referred to in paragraph (a) must form part of the thesis defence jury.

2. The application for the "International Doctorate" endorsement must be presented when the student submits their thesis, along with the documentation proving that the aforementioned requirements have been met. The programme’s Academic Committee will review the suitability of the experts who are reporting on the thesis with a justified written report.

The thesis defence must be carried out at the university in which the doctoral student was enrolled. Regarding joint doctoral programmes, the thesis defence can be conducted at any of the participating universities or in accordance with the terms indicated in the corresponding partnership agreement.