The thesis can be presented in the traditional format or as a compendium of publications.
To present a thesis as a compendium of publications, the requirements are:
A minimum of two publications of recognised prestige and rigor.
Be the first-named author of at least one of the publications presented.
That the work has been published or accepted for publication after the start of the doctoral studies.
That the publications making up the doctoral thesis have not been used in previous theses.
That the projects presented, as well as having scientific value in themselves, together make up a scientific body. The candidate should be able to establish a guiding thread to put forward a unitary scientific thesis with a broader value than simply the sum of the different papers presented separately.
The doctoral theses presented as a compendium of publications must contain the following sections:
A general introduction Outlining the work and putting forward a new methodological hypothesis relating to the work as a whole; an overall summary of the objectives of the research, a discussion of the findings, and the final conclusions.
A complete copy of the research work (articles, books or chapters of books) This must provide the complete reference of the works, the personal details of all the authors and the journal in which they were published (or, if applicable, the acceptance letter). In the case of papers in which the doctoral candidate is not the first-named author, their exact contribution must be quantified.
The Doctorate Academic Committee may establish the scales it considers necessary to accept doctoral theses in the form of compendiums, and these must be approved by the Steering Committee (relevance of the publication: impact factor, editorial, etc.). Furthermore, it may add extra requirements to those specified in this section.
The thesis must be written in one of the official languages of Catalonia or in English. As an exception, the Doctorate Academic Committee may authorise it to be written in another language if there is sufficient academic justification for this.
