Procedure and entrance requirements for the doctorate

General Entrance Requirements

According to R.D. 99/2011, to be admitted* into a doctorate program you need, in general, to possess an official undergraduate degree or equivalent and an official master’s degree.

You can also be admitted by complying with some of the following requirements:

• Possessing an official Spanish university degree, or one from another country in the European Space of Higher Education that gives access to a Master’s degree, and have successfully completed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits, of which at least 60 correspond to the Master’s level.

• Possess an official Spanish Undergraduate degree, of at least 300 ECTS along with complementary studies, unless the plan of studies undertaken included credits for research training, equivalent in value to research credits in the Master’s studies.

• Possess a degree obtained in foreign educational systems, with no need of being homologized, which will be subject to the university’s verification that this level of formation is equivalent to that of the official Spanish degree of University Master’s, and that it would authorize admission in the emitting country to doctoral studies. This admission does not imply the homologation of the previous degree nor its recognition to other effects. The Doctoral Degree thus obtained will be completely valid in Spain.

• Graduates, Architects or Engineers in possession of Advanced Studies (DEA) obtained according to regulation R.D. 778/1998 or who have achieved the research proficiency regulated in R.D. 185/1985.

• Have another Spanish PhD degree according to previous university regulations.

• University graduates who, before obtaining admission to specialized sanitary formation, have successfully passed at least two years of training in the specialized program of Health Sciences.

• Other entry requirements must be approved by the Governing Council at the proposal of the Vice-Rector of Research.

The School Board, at the proposal of its Director, can establish additional entrance requisites for each program that might warrant it, and define the criteria of admission according to the entrance profiles and additional training complements, if any. The complementary formation will not count with respect to deadlines for the Doctoral Thesis.

*Those students who are able to comply with all entrance requirements before the end of the corresponding registration period may apply for admission to a doctorate program.

Admission and registration procedure: 

The procedure for admission to the PhD is the following:

• Comply with general entrance requirements

• Consult the doctoral program offer of Loyola University Andalusia       

• Apply for admission

• Applications for admission should be sent by e-mail, attaching the application form and necessary documentation, preferably in PDF format.
• Printed Application Form (PDF); Printed Application form (Word)
• Essential Documentation

• Evaluation by the Academic Committee of the program requested. A teacher belonging to the Academic Committee of the program requested will assess the documentation provided by the candidates and will interview each of them individually, within the admission period. During the interviews, the candidates will be informed about all the aspects that may interest them about the Program and the planning of their training, all well as their expectations of employability. If a certificate of language proficiency cannot be produced, it will be necessary to take an English Level test on-line, which will be facilitated by the Loyola Doctorate.

• Resolution of applications for admission. Academic Committees will resolve the requests for admission in a written report sent to the Loyola Doctorate Board, in the period determined by the internal calendar of the University. The report will determine, in appropriate cases, any need for enrollment in additional complementary training. The School Board will inform the General Secretariat and the candidates (via e-mail) about the applications approved for admittance. Conditional admission to a PhD program of the University is not contemplated. At the time of admission, the Academic Commission will assign a tutor to the doctoral candidate. The candidates who have not been admitted will be informed of the reasons behind this decision; of a possible ranking on the waiting list, where appropriate; and the procedure for filing complaints to the Board of the Loyola Doctorate.

• Registration. Once admitted, the PhD student must formalize enrollment for Academic Tutelage in the General Secretariat of the University. Registration will take place in each academic year and goes on until the reading of the doctoral thesis in accordance with the established calendar and regulations.