Quick guide

To submit your doctoral thesis, you must request access by email from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and from the Postgraduate Office of the institution where the doctoral programme you are studying is based.

The thesis must be submitted online via the Virtual Secretariat.

THESIS REVIEW FORM

GUIDE TO APPLYING FOR A DEPOSIT

Prerequisites

The student must be enrolled in the current academic year
A duly signed supervision agreement
Have an updated research plan assessed, accompanied by favourable reports from the tutor and the thesis supervisor
The title of the research plan, approved in the most recent annual assessment, and the title of the thesis must match
An up-to-date activity report, including the relevant annual assessments and, where applicable, details of compulsory training activities and other specific requirements set out in the doctoral programme’s verification report

The doctoral thesis

Once the thesis has been completed, and following the report from the supervisor(s), you must apply to the CAPD for authorisation to defend it. To do so, you must send a copy of the thesis and supporting documentation for any citations not already included in the system to the relevant academic department
Submit a copy of the thesis with the supervisor’s approval in electronic format (PDF). This copy must comply with current style guidelines (it must not bear any signatures) and the following templates must be used:
- Style guidelines
- Cover template: PDF and DOCX
This request for deposit temporarily suspends the maximum time limit for depositing the thesis, for a period not exceeding four months
Authorization for the InvestigoRepository
Complete this online form with a thesis summary, which will be incorporated into the TESEO database. The thesis details and abstract will be entered into TESEO by the University of Vigo administration.
If a postponement of the thesis publication (embargo) is requested, the reason for this request must also be included in the online form.
If applicable, the online form also collects information on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) involved in the thesis.
The CAPD shall have a maximum of two months from the date of the author’s request to deposit the thesis to submit its report authorising the thesis for defence to the EIDO.
Submit all required documentation in the event that an international distinction, an industrial doctorate distinction, a joint supervision distinction and/or a thesis containing publications is requested.
The EIDO shall establish the procedure to verify that the documentation is complete, that the thesis format is correct and that the originality of the research is guaranteed, for which purpose it shall implement an anti-plagiarism programme.
Once the CAPD has authorised the submission of the thesis for defence, it shall inform the EIDO and forward a proposal for the composition of the examination board that will assess the thesis approved by the CAPD, comprising doctors who are specialists in the subject area of the doctoral thesis and possess accredited research experience.
In the case of theses subject to data protection, two versions must be submitted: an abridged version from which content subject to non-disclosure, secrecy or confidentiality has been removed, and a full copy which will be archived at the university under a confidentiality agreement. The abridged version will be made available for consultation by the scientific community, and the full version will be submitted to the examination board for assessment
Once all the thesis documentation has been received and the relevant department has verified that the file is complete and correct, a public display period of ten working days during term time will commence.

Tribunal

The CAPD, after consulting the thesis supervisor (and/or, where applicable, the tutor), will propose a list of seven members of the examination board to assess the thesis.

All members must hold a PhD and have proven research experience or have fulfilled this requirement at the time of application or in a previous application.

The examination board shall consist of a majority of members from outside the university or institutions participating in the programme, and shall meet the requirements of gender parity and external representation.

The examination board shall be appointed by the EIDO from among the specialists proposed by the CAPD and shall consist of three full members and two alternates.

Persons who are co-authors of publications based on the thesis may not sit on the examination board.

Management guidance on expenditure in thesis examination boards

Thesis containing research articles

A doctoral thesis may consist of a collection of works that the doctoral candidate has published or that have been definitively accepted for publication. The University will recognise a thesis as a ‘thesis based on a collection of publications’ when, in addition to complying with all the provisions of Article 41 of the Doctoral Studies Regulations, the thesis includes a minimum of three research articles, either published or definitively accepted for publication. The articles must be published in journals indexed in the relevant section of the Journal Citation Reports; where this criterion is not applicable, it may be replaced by the criteria established by the CNEAI for these areas.

At its meeting on 26 June 2025, the EIDO Standing Committee adopted the following resolution, which will come into force on 1 October 2025:

In the case of theses that include research articles, the thesis may contain a collection of works that the doctoral candidate has published, or that have been definitively accepted for publication. As set out in Article 42 of the Doctoral Studies Regulations, the text of the thesis that corresponds to the published works shall follow the same archiving rules as the works themselves; therefore, only the post-print of the articles may be deposited, which may be the version submitted by the author prior to publication, the version published by the publisher, or any other version determined by the journal’s or publisher’s copyright and self-archiving policy. Unpublished works or those that have not received final acceptance for publication may not be included as articles.

Additional documentation to be provided:

A report from the thesis supervisor(s), approved by the academic committee of the PhD programme, which must specify:
- The suitability of submitting the thesis under this format.
- Evidence of the quality of the publications submitted.
- The contribution of the PhD student, if there are co-authors.
Authorisation from the journal/publisher to use the publication in the doctoral thesis. If such authorisation is not available, the doctoral candidate must submit written consent from the co-authors agreeing to the inclusion of the work as part of the thesis. It is recommended that these be included as appendices in this case.
If authorisation from the journals is not available, the doctoral candidate shall provide a publishable version of the thesis for the institutional repository Investigo, excluding any articles for which such authorisation is not available. In this version, the articles shall be replaced by their full bibliographic reference together with a direct link to the article. If the articles are published in open-access journals, they may be included as they stand.

The thesis must be presented in accordance with the following structure:

Introduction
Objectives to be achieved
General discussion providing coherence and unity across the various papers
Conclusions and shared bibliography
Full text of the publications

International PhD programme

Proof of eligibility shall be provided by submitting the following documentation:

Two favourable reports, issued prior to the submission of the thesis, from two experts holding a PhD and affiliated with a non-Spanish higher education institution or research institute. The reports must clearly identify the issuing institution by means of its logo, and the person issuing it by means of their signature and stamp. If the institution is not duly identified, the reports will not be accepted
Proof of a minimum stay of 3 months outside Spain at a prestigious higher education institution or research centre
A letter from the thesis supervisor endorsing the stay
A letter from the CAPD of the doctoral programme authorising the stay

Part of the thesis (at least the introduction, abstract and conclusions) must be written and defended in one of the languages commonly used for scientific communication in the relevant field of study, other than any of the official languages of Spain (with the exception of Spanish-speaking countries).

At its meeting on 26 June 2025, the EIDO Standing Committee adopted the following resolution, which will come into force on 1 October 2025:

In accordance with Article 43 of the University of Vigo’s Doctoral Studies Regulations, in the case of a thesis with an international doctorate designation, at least the introduction, abstract and conclusions must be written in one of the languages commonly used for scientific communication in the relevant field of knowledge, other than any of the official languages of Spain. The introduction section shall include the contextualisation of the topic, the reasons for the study and its relevance, the state of the art or the theoretical framework of the thesis, the relevant models and comments on the structure of the document, and shall comprise all chapters situated between the abstract and the objectives of the thesis.

The examination board must include at least one expert with a PhD from a non-Spanish higher education institution or research centre. This person must be different from the person responsible for the placement (the same conditions apply to the examination board’s substitutes) and from the external thesis assessors.

Industrial PhD programme

The title of ‘industrial doctorate’ shall be awarded provided that the following conditions are met:

The existence of an employment or administrative contract with a company in the public or private sector or with a public administration. It cannot be a university
By agreement of the Standing Committee of 22 November 2017, the above requirement is specified as a minimum of two years’ full-time employment (or the equivalent in part-time hours)
The thesis must be carried out within the framework of an official research project being conducted within the company. This must be substantiated and explained in a report, which must be approved by the CAPD

If the project is carried out in collaboration with the university, there must be an agreement governing this collaboration, including the procedure for selecting the PhD candidate.

Optionally, a draft agreement for the development of an industrial PhD will be provided. This agreement is signed by the company, the university and the PhD candidate. It is not mandatory, but may be useful for regulating aspects of industrial property, intellectual property and confidentiality.

Thesis under international joint supervision

The thesis may be carried out under an international joint supervision arrangement if the following conditions are met:

The doctoral thesis is supervised by two or more PhD holders from two universities – the University of Vigo and a foreign institution – who will formalise a joint supervision agreement.
During the period of study required to obtain the doctoral degree, the doctoral candidate has spent a minimum of six months at the institution with which the joint supervision agreement is established, carrying out research work in a single period or over several periods. The periods of study and activities shall be set out in the joint supervision agreement.

A framework agreement will be signed between the University of Vigo and the interested institution, setting out the general terms of cooperation. For each joint supervision arrangement that is put in place, a specific agreement based on the principle of reciprocity will be signed during the first two years of doctoral study; this agreement will have a maximum duration of four years.

The doctoral student will enrol at each of the institutions and fulfil the training requirements of the programmes at both institutions. The time allocated for thesis preparation shall not exceed four years from the signing of the specific agreement and shall be divided between the two institutions through alternating periods of study at each. The minimum period of study at one of the two institutions shall not be less than six months, with the remaining period to be completed at the other. This period of study may be undertaken in a single block or in several separate periods.

Under the joint supervision agreement, and on the basis of a single defence of the doctoral thesis, each university undertakes, if so agreed, to award its own corresponding doctoral degree, following payment of the relevant fees, and to indicate the existence of the joint supervision in accordance with the procedure laid down in the regulations of each institution. Once the thesis has been accepted for consideration, the examination board before which it is to be defended shall be proposed in accordance with the provisions of the specific joint supervision agreement.

Procedure for obtaining joint supervision status for a doctoral thesis
- Appendix: Model joint supervision agreement (Spanish-English version)

Deadlines

Deadline for the submission and public display of the thesis: 10 working days during the academic term following the administrative review, during which time any member of the public may consult the thesis or submit comments.
Due to the volume of documents and checks required, in accordance with current regulations (R.D. 99/2011), it should be noted that several days may elapse between the submission of the documentation and the actual deposit. This will only take effect once the entire file has been verified and when it is published on the website and the person concerned has been notified.
Approval by the EIDO Standing Committee, which authorises the thesis to proceed and appoints the examination board.
The chair of the examination board shall convene the meeting and the secretary shall notify the date, time and place of the thesis defence at least 10 working days in advance of the notification.
Five working days following the date of the thesis presentation and defence for the submission of documentation, for which the secretariat of the examination board or the lecturer to whom it delegates responsibility shall be accountable.

Thesis presentation and public defence

Grades: fail, pass, good, very good.
Honours (cum laude), awarded by a secret ballot of the examination board members (requires a unanimous vote in favour).
Processing time: the public defence must take place within a maximum of three months of the defence being authorised.

Application for the degree

Following the thesis defence and the submission of the minutes by the examination board secretary or designated person (contact details can be obtained via the internal mail system or the general registry of each campus), the student may apply for the degree of Doctor at the postgraduate office by submitting:

A photocopy of a valid tax identification number (NIF)
A birth certificate if the applicant is a foreign national
Copies of entry qualifications (only if the qualifications were not awarded by the University of Vigo) and originals for verification.