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PROTOCOLO-DEFENSA-TESIS

Thesis deposit and defence protocol

Applicable from October 1, 2024

The deposit procedure is divided into two phases:

1. Start of the deposit procedure: when the thesis is finalised, the deposit procedure begins with a request for reports from two expert PhD holders working outside the UPV/EHU. This procedure must be completed while the PhD student is still enrolled on the doctoral programme. Once the procedure has been initiated, no extensions or temporary suspensions may be requested.

2. End of the deposit procedure: the deposit procedure ends when the definitive version of the thesis is registered in the UPV/EHU’s electronic hub, the viva is authorised and the members of the viva panel are appointed by the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning. This must be done within a maximum period of 6 months from the start of the deposit procedure.

1. Initiating the thesis deposit procedure

The following steps must be taken in the order in which they are outlined here:

Request for reports and response from two PhD holders from outside the UPV/EHU who are experts in the topic on which the thesis focuses.

Intervening parties: the PhD student, the supervisor from the doctoral programme, the Academic Commission of the doctoral programme and the secretary of the doctoral programme.

The supervisor from the doctoral programme is the person responsible for initiating the deposit process by taking the following actions:

  1. Requesting reports from two PhD holders from outside the UPV/EHU who are experts in the topic on which the thesis focuses. In the event of the PhD student wishing to obtain the ‘International Doctorate’ distinction, these experts must be affiliated to a foreign higher education institution or research institute. Experts must be approved by the Academic Commission of the doctoral programme; said approval must be obtained in the manner specified by each Academic Commission. Experts may sit on the viva panel responsible for assessing the thesis.
  2. Notifying the Academic Commission of the doctoral programme that said reports have been requested. This notification will be carried out in the manner specified by each Academic Commission. The date of this notification will be taken as the date on which the thesis deposit procedure begins, providing the Academic Commission gives its approval, as reflected in the corresponding form.
  3. Sending it, following approval by the Academic Commission, by e-mail to the Doctoral School, via the programme’s email account, so that the date on which the deposit procedure starts can be uploaded to the computer system. The supervisor will also send a copy to the PhD student.
  4. After receiving the reports, in which experts may propose improvements, sending them to the Academic Commission of the doctoral programme for analysis.

The Academic Commission of the doctoral programme:

The Academic Commission of the doctoral programme analyses the content of the reports and sends a signed form form by email to the PhD student indicating that no changes are required or, where appropriate, asking them to carry out the proposed changes within a specific timeframe.

The PhD student:

If changes are required, the PhD student must answer the Academic Commission accordingly and, where necessary, carry out the required changes to their doctoral thesis within the maximum timeframe established and always prior to the deadline for registering their thesis.

Request for favourable reports for thesis registration, proposed appointments to the viva panel and authorisation from the Academic Commission.

Once the definitive version of the thesis has been completed, the PhD student must ensure they are in possession of the following documents:

One of the supervisors will liaise with the Department to which the thesis is affiliated to request the appointment of a thesis viva panel. Said proposal must state who is to be the chairperson, the secretary and the voting members, along with all possible alternates.

2. End of the thesis deposit procedure

Once the Academic Commission of the doctoral programme has given its approval, the PhD student must register the deposit of their thesis and ask the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning to open it up for public consultation.

The thesis must be registered in the UPV/EHU’s Electronic Hub and the date of said registration will be the date used to calculate the maximum period of 6 months from the start of the deposit procedure.

The following documents must be provided during registration:

  • Thesis in digital format.
  • Document of activities.
  • Copy of the letter requesting reports from experts outside the UPV/EHU, with the approval of the Doctorate Programme’s Academic Commission and the Commission’s agreement with these reports.
  • Reports from external experts and, where necessary, the PhD student’s response.
  • Favourable reports authorising the registration of the thesis by the supervisor(s), tutor and Department to which the PhD student is affiliated.
  • Proposal for appointing members of the viva panel, made by the department to which the PhD student is affiliated.
  • Authorisation by the Academic Commission of the doctoral programme.
  • PhD student’s file and thesis abstract.

When necessary, the PhD student will also be required to submit the following documents:

In order to register the thesis on the UPV/EHU’s Electronic Hub, after accessing the hub, select ‘Registro Electrónico’, followed by ‘VR Posgrado y Formación Continua’ and ‘Servicio de Estudios de Posgrado’.

In addition to PhD students themselves, theses may also be registered by thesis supervisors and tutors.

The doctoral thesis must be uploaded to the application separately from the rest of the documents.

If the thesis file is very large, it may be uploaded via the UPV/EHU's internal service or sent via WeTransfer or another similar application. If this option is chosen, you must include the link with the rest of the documents.

Registration of the thesis marks the initiation of all subsequent procedures, which should be completed successively in the following order:

Opening up of the thesis to public consultation. 

The doctoral thesis will be advertised on the university's website to enable PhD holders to submit observations regarding its content within a maximum period of 15 days. The procedure to be followed is described in article 26 of the Management Regulations for Official Doctoral Studies (Resolution of 25 April 2024, issued by the General Secretary of the UPV/EHU).

To initiate the public consultation period, the Postgraduate Service reviews the documents submitted and, once it has verified that they are all present and correct (with the exception of the composition of the proposed viva panel, which will be analysed later on by the Postgraduate Commission), will publish the thesis on the Doctoral website in the section entitled ‘Thesis open for public consultation’, indicting the open and closing date of this period.

In the event of the documents not being present and/or correct, the public consultation period will not be initiated and the interested party will be required to resolve the situation within the following 10 days.

The documents required to initiate the public consultation process will normally be verified on the day following that on which the thesis was registered, providing said day is a working day at the Bizkaia Campus.

Authorisation for the doctoral thesis viva and appointment of the viva panel.

Those involved: the Postgraduate Commission and the Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning.

The Postgraduate Commission:

  1. Will, 15 calendar days after the start of the public consultation period, check that the proposed members of the viva panel comply with the criteria established by law.
  2. If they do, then it will authorise the viva and propose the members of the panel to the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning.

The Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning:

  1. Will appoint the panel and send details of the appointments and authorisation of the viva to the panel members and alternates, as well as to the thesis supervisor, the doctoral programme’s Academic Commission, the Doctoral School, the Department to which the PhD student is affiliated and the PhD student him or herself.
  2. They will also send a digital copy of the thesis to the Department..

The doctoral thesis may not be defended before notice of the appointments has been received by all recipients; nor may it take place until at least two working days after the moment the date of the viva is published. As a general guideline, one month is required from thesis registration to reception of notification of panel appointments and authorisation of the viva.

If a full member of the viva panel is unable to participate for any justified reason, they must send notice of their recusal to the Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning (doctorado@ehu.eus) so that it can appoint an alternate member.  Notification of this new appointment will then be sent to the other members of the panel, the Department, the thesis supervisor, the tutor, the administrator of the centre to which the supervisor (or tutor where appropriate) is affiliated and the PhD student him or herself.

Actions to be taken prior to the thesis viva.

Having received authorisation for the doctoral thesis viva and the appointment of the viva panel:

  • The Department must, within a maximum period of 10 working days, send the panel members a copy of the thesis, the customised document of activities, the reports by external experts and, where appropriate, the PhD student’s response to said reports. 
  • The PhD student must enrol for the thesis viva and pay the public fees established by the Basque Government. To this end, the Postgraduate Service will send them the corresponding promissory note, along with the notification of the appointment of the panel members and the authorisation of the viva. 
  • The Chair of the viva panel will decide on the date, time and place of the thesis viva within a maximum period of 4 months from the date on which the panel is constituted, after first consulting with the other viva panel members, the supervisor(s) and the PhD student him or herself. In the event of an exceptional situation that justifies delaying the viva beyond the 4 month deadline, authorisation must be requested from the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning.
  • The Secretary of the viva panel will provide the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning (doctorado@ehu.eus), the Department Director, the administrator of the Centre to which the thesis supervisor is affiliated and the administrator of the Centre in which the viva is scheduled to take place, with at least 2 working days’ notice of the date, place and time of the viva. This should be done using this form. 
  • The Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning will publish the place, date and time of the viva on the UPV/EHU's doctoral website.
  • The Secretary of the Department will make all the travel arrangements and hotel reservations (when required). Travel, accommodation, maintenance and attendance costs will be covered by the administrator of the Centre to which the thesis supervisor is affiliated; in the event of this person being external to the UPV/EHU, said costs will be covered by the administrator of the Centre to which the tutor is affiliated, in accordance with the sums established by the UPV/EHU. In the case of panel members from the UPV/EHU, the expenses paid will only cover travel from the Centre to which they are affiliated.
  • The sums assigned to the viva will be transferred from the Postgraduate Service to the corresponding Centre once the panel has been appointed and must abide by the terms of the following table: 
3-member panels 5-member panels
Type of viva National International Type of viva National International
Face-to-face 900 € 1.500 € Face-to-face 1.000 € 1.700 €
Semi face-to-face 800 € 1.100 € Semi face-to-face 900 € 1.300 €

 

Doctoral thesis viva certificate

The thesis viva is a public event that is carried out face-to-face in facilities belonging to the UPV/EHU, in the place and on the date and time published on the doctoral website.

One of the panel members may attend online. In such a case, the person who will be attending online must be named in the proposal for the panel appointment sent by the Department.

All members of the viva panel must be present during the viva.

Vivas can be held at any point during the year, except in August and those periods in which the university is closed.

In the event of any of the panel members unexpectedly not being able to attend the viva, the panel secretary will notify the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning so that (if possible) a substitute may be chosen from among the alternates. If none of the alternates are able to attend, then online participation may be authorised. For the viva to be considered valid, the panel secretary must send all the documents that justify the member’s inability to attend to the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning. This may be done either before or after the viva itself (as the situation permits).

The forms to be completed during the viva are as follows:

The panel shall award the thesis one of the following grades: DISTINCTION, MERIT, PASS or FAIL. The PhD Graduation Certificate must state the grade awarded and the language in which the viva was held. In the event of there being more than one language, the percentage of the thesis defended in each should be specified. The graduation certificate should be signed by all members of the viva panel, as well as by the PhD student him or herself. In the event of one of the viva panel members attending online, they must first sign the certificate and then send it to the others so that they can sign it too.

Each member of the panel must complete and sign a final thesis assessment report.

Moreover, if the thesis is awarded a UNANIMOUS DISTINCTION, the panel members shall then hold a secret vote to determine whether, in their opinion, it merits a CUM LAUDE distinction. If the outcome is positive, they must also state whether the student should be proposed as a candidate for the EXTRAORDINARY PRIZE. For the purposes of this vote, the panel secretary shall provide each member of the viva panel with the corresponding voting slip and envelope. The panel members must mark the boxes corresponding to YES or NO, place the slip in the envelope provided and seal the envelope. This envelope shall be delivered to the panel secretary, who should sign each one on the rear flap and send them, still sealed, to the UPV/EHU Postgraduate Studies Service for counting, alongside the rest of the viva documents: graduate certificate, final report by each member of the viva panel and ADDI publication authorisation.

The vote must be unanimously in favour of the Cum Laude distinction in order for this honour to be bestowed. The same is true of the proposal of the student as a candidate for the Extraordinary Prize.

Documents should be sent to the Postgraduate Studies Service by one of the following means:

  • Internal mail or conventional post, to the following address: :
    Postgraduate Studies Service
    Edificio Aulario II
    Barrio Sarriena s/n
    48940 Leioa
  • Delivered in person to the aforementioned address.
  • In the event of one of the panel members attending the viva online, they should send their thesis assessment report and document for the CUM LAUDE and EXTRAORDINARY PRIZE vote individually by e-mail to doctorado@ehu.eus, in order to ensure the secret nature of the vote.

After counting the votes, the Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies will communicate the results to the PhD student, the doctoral programme’s Academic Commission, the thesis supervisor(s), the thesis tutor and the members of the viva panel, indicating whether or not the Cum Laude distinction has been bestowed and whether or not the thesis will be considered for the Extraordinary Prize.