Procedure for depositing and defending a co-supervised thesis

First stage (approval by the University of the Basque Country)

The department in which the PhD student is enrolled must present the following documents to the Postgraduate Commission. All documents cited are available on the website.

• The doctoral thesis in digital format.
• Authorisation of the Thesis Supervisor (Appendix 9).
• Authorisation of the Doctoral Programme's Academic Commission (Appendix 11).
• Authorisation of the Dept. Board (Appendix 12).
• Viva Panel proposal, approved by the Dept. (Appendix 14-15).
• If the Thesis is international, then the International Doctorate Request Form (Appendix 19) must also be presented, and the foreign expert reviews.

Once the documents listed above have been received, the University of the Basque Country’s Postgraduate Commission will assess them and inform the Department and PhD student of their approval so that the student can present the approved viva panel proposal at the university in which they will be defending their thesis.

The reviews presented at the University of the Basque Country in order to obtain the status of International Thesis may be the same as those presented at the university at which the viva is to be held, providing they comply with the criteria established by the University of the Basque Country regulations.

Deposit

The deposit shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations in force at the university in which the viva is held.

Defentsa

In addition to the documents generated in accordance with the regulations of the university at which the viva is to be held, and in accordance with both state regulations and those in place at the University of the Basque Country [1], the PhD student must take the following documents with them on the day of their viva, in addition to those required by the other university:

• Envelopes for the Cum Laude distinction.
• Envelopes for the Extraordinary Prize [2].
• Graduation Certificate (two copy).
• Reports by the members of the Viva Panel.

Documents to be presented at the University of the Basque Country after the viva:

• Envelopes for the Cum Laude distinction (if appropriate).
• Envelopes with the option to request the Extraordinary Prize (if appropriate).

Students must also present:

• Free access to thesis form.
• Thesis abstract.
• Graduation Certificate (two copy).
• Reports by the members of the Viva Panel.

[1] University of the Basque Country Marking System. Once the viva has been completed, the Viva Panel shall issue the mark awarded in accordance with the following scale: fail, pass, merit, distinction. If distinction is awarded unanimously, the panel members may propose the thesis be granted a Cum Laude distinction. This is decided by secret ballot (Cum Laude envelopes) and subsequently, also in a secret ballot, the student may be proposed as a candidate for the Extraordinary Doctorate Prize when the call for said prize is issued (Extraordinary Prize envelopes). To this end, the documents provided to this effect on the University of the Basque Country's website should be completed and sent individually in sealed envelopes with the Viva Panel secretary's signature on the back.

[2] All the forms required by the University of the Basque Country are available on the following website.

First stage

As established in the rules governing the University of the Basque Country.

The viva panel must be approved by the other university before the thesis is deposited at the University of the Basque Country.

Deposit

As established in the University of the Basque Country regulations.

Viva

Once the documents have been received by the Master's and Doctoral Department, the following will be sent to the other university:

• Viva Panel members' reports.
• Envelopes for the Cum Laude distinction.
• Envelopes for the Extraordinary Prize.
• Letter attesting to no changes in the thesis (issued by the Master's and Doctoral Department).
• Graduation Certificate (two copy).

The PhD student should ascertain whether the other signatory university requires any further documents, so that they can be sent along with those listed above.

The documents may be sent by the PhD student him or herself or, providing they provide the contact details of the other university, by the Master's and Doctoral Department.