The duration of the doctorate is four years full-time, and seven years part-time, to which an additional extension of one year can be added. On the other hand, students with a disability equal to or bigger than 33% can increase the duration of the doctorate by two more years.

Moreover, students may request temporary leaves (up to a maximum of two years) during which they are not officially students of the UPV/EHU, losing the right of access to facilities, the GAUR online platform, etc.

On the other hand, medical leaves (and other leaves contemplated in higher regulations, such as maternity/paternity leaves etc.), stop the computation of students' time in the doctorate. For these reasons, it is recommended that students plan in advance any possible leaves and extensions of their doctorate, especially to avoid temporary leaves in the last phase prior to the defense of the thesis, in which, necessarily, they will be working on the thesis. It is also recommended to request medical (or maternity/paternity) leaves in appropriate cases, even if doctoral students do not have contracts with the university or other institutions. Otherwise the time spent in the doctorate continues to count and this may jeopardize the obtention of the doctoral degree.

In the case of co-tutelles, students must include the final defense date in the agreement signed by the universities, so it is especially important that the student calculates possible leaves and extensions before agreeing on the defense date. In this case, they must also comply with both the UPV/EHU's regulations on the duration of doctoral studies and those of the other university (or universities).

You can find the forms to apply for leaves and extensions on this link.