Doctoral Programme in Communication, Educational and Humanities from the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Presentation
- Type of programme
- Ph. Degrees
- Campus
- Campus Barcelona
- Duration
- Full -time: 4 years. Part-time: 7 years
- Places
- 18
- Modality
- Blended learning/Online
Enrollment period
Reasons to pursue the Doctoral Degree in Communication, Education and Humanities
The Doctoral Degree in Communication, Education and Humanities is an interdisciplinary and international doctoral degree that promotes quality research.
This doctoral degree pursues cross-disciplinary research, taking advantage of the epistemological and methodological synergy of these fields. Communication and education go hand in hand in all cognitive processes: communicating somehow involves educating and instructing audiences, and vice versa. All forms of education are based on a communicative process. At the same time, communication and humanities converge in an anthropological vision of the information society and establish curricular synergies (Double Degrees in Humanities and Communication) that call for joint research topics. Finally, education and humanities have rediscovered their common scientific tradition and have returned to their origins, when they were consolidated as scientific areas within the same faculty.
Doctoral School
Academic Accreditation
Doctor o Doctora en Comunicación, Educación y Humanidades por la Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Career paths
New doctors should be able to access post-doctoral research positions by obtaining international grants and funding in order to enter into an academic career.
Also, among many other options:
- To hold positions of responsibility in cultural, public or private institutions, such as museums, theatres, archives and publishing houses, as well as cultural management or cultural policy positions in large international institutions (Humanities Line).
- Assume tasks in research and development departments in the field of communication for both public and private organisations; collaborate in the digitalisation processes of journalistic companies; participate in the definition of corporate and institutional communication strategies; advise journalistic and advertising companies, as well as public and private organisations on new forms of advertising and audiovisual narratives (Communication Line).
- To advise public administrations linked to education and training, as well as educational centres; to assume the management or to carry out editorial consultancy and prepare curriculum materials (Education Line).
In short, the interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary training obtained by the new doctors can make it easier for them to access jobs in a broad field of today's society.
Everything you need to know about the doctoral candidates and students, the thesis supervision, the duration of the programme and the conditions of the Doctorate.
Structure and planning
Specific doctoral information
In their first year, newly admitted doctoral students must prepare their Personal Training Plan. This must include the mandatory and optional courses, whether organized by the Doctoral School or external, as well as the training activities (participation in conferences, stays, teaching collaborations) that they want to carry out during their doctorate. This Plan will be approved by the CED together with the Research Plan.
For the Communication, Education and Humanities program, at the time of submitting the thesis, it is mandatory to have completed five training courses: Ethics of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities; Writing Abstracts; Writing Articles; Writing a Funded Research Project; and Qualitative Research.
It is also mandatory to participate in the seminar presenting the state of research, organized by the Academic Committee of the program, in the third year.
Before the end of the first year, the doctoral student must submit their Research Plan to a committee of experts outside the UIC, the specific doctoral committee (CED), for further approval by the DAC.
The aspects to be considered for the oral presentation and which will be evaluated are as follows:
- To demonstrate the scholarly objective of the research plan: current status, contribution of work in current period, relevance of the topic.
- Present the methodology and the proposed work plan to achieve the project's scholarly objective.
- Show that the project's proposed objectives can be reasonably achieved within the stipulated timeframe.
- Doctoral candidate’s communicative skills.
- The ability to provide a critical and reasoned response to the questions posed by the Committee.
- Present other relevant data during the current period of the research plan: incorporation of the doctoral candidate into a research team (if appropriate).
Development and approval
- The specific committee must evaluate the quality and feasibility of the Research Plan, and it may reject it if it does not seem appropriate.
- Each member of the CED shall evaluate the aspects indicated in the template and, if desired, indicate the optional recommendations, mandatory modifications, or any other comments it may consider in relation to the evaluated research plan.
- At the end, the president of the CED shall fill in the evaluation report
Assessment of your research plan:
- PASS (project and presentation are correct)
- PASS BUT WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT (CED recommends that the doctoral student make some changes that do not substantially affect the research plan, but can improve the thesis project)
- PROJECT WITH compulsory MODIFICATIONS (the project must be reviewed, to incorporate the changes indicated by the CED that modify the research plan presented to a significant extent (objectives, methodology, capacity to carry out...) The doctoral candidate must submit the project again, in writing or in oral presentation to the CED, as directed.
- FAIL (The doctoral candidate will be advised to submit a new project to the CED)
Academic Committee for Doctoral Studies
The Doctoral Academic Committee (CAD) is the body responsible for ensuring the academic quality of the program and doctoral theses, as well as the proper development of the doctoral students’ training process.
The CAD monitors and evaluates students’ academic progress on an annual basis and authorizes key aspects of the doctoral journey, such as thesis supervision, research plan, research stays, or extensions.
It also ensures compliance with current regulations and is responsible for validating the doctoral thesis for its defense before the corresponding examination board.
CAD of the Doctoral Degree in Communication, Education and Humanities
MÉNDIZ NOGUERO, Alfonso
President
Department of Communication Sciences
FERNÁNDEZ MORILLA, Mónica
Member
Department of Education
BOSCH RABELL, Magdalena
Member
Department of Humanities
Teaching staff and lines of research
Line of research in Comunication
Head of the line of research
Objectives
- New advertising formats and platforms, with special emphasis on media and formats that involve audience interactivity (online marketing, viral marketing, interactive television, mobile television, etc.) and integration with media content (brand placement, city placement, branded content, advergaming, etc.).
- Innovation and processes of digitalization and convergence in media organizations. The impact of digitalization on journalism, audiences, and the social value of information.
- Transmediality, new narratives, and literary adaptations to the screen. Storytelling and the crossing of boundaries between information, advertising, and entertainment. Integration of music and the performing arts into audiovisual narrative.
- Communication in organizations, Communication Management, Sustainability, and Corporate Social Responsibility. Organizational communication, responsible marketing, and narratives of the environment and sustainability.
- Humanities and health communication. Narratives of health, illness, and care in film and documentary; the impact of algorithmic communication and information technologies on patients’ health and well-being.
- Creative industries, advertising, and brand cultures. Transformations of brand
strategies in digital, interactive, and transmedia environments.
Stable teachers in the programme
- LACASA MAS, Iván
- MÉNDIZ NOGUERO, Alfonso
- VILLANUEVA BENITO, Isabel
- GONZÁLEZ ROMO, Zahaira
- ROGER LOPPACHER, Olga
- DE LA PRIDA CABALLERO, Rubén
Collaborators
- GARCÍA AVIS, Isadora
- SELVAM, Rejina
- BROWNE SARTORI, Rodrigo
- CASTILLO HINOJOSA, Ana María
- MARTÍN VICARIO, Lara
- ROCA TRENCHS, Núria
- FITÓ CARRERAS, María
- LAGOS LABBÉ, Paola
- SÁNCHEZ COSTA, Fernando
Line of research in Education
Head of the line of research
Objectives
- To develop innovative teaching methodologies to incorporate work on sustainability and social responsibility into the curriculum for Bachelor’s Degree in Primary Education and Pre-Primary Education and the appropriate systems to evaluate them.
- To create inter-faculty and inter-university scenarios to foster responsible and sustainable attitudes and habits among students with the overall aim of reducing their personal ecological footprint.
- To discover the existing limitations in the classroom for the work of scientific, mathematical and linguistic competence, addressing diversity and developing suitable teaching and learning methodologies for the improvement of initial teacher training.
- To boost digital competencies and digital competency in teaching among university lecturers and professors, as well as develop these same competences among future teachers.
- To develop and implement strategies to improve leadership competences and the entrepreneurial spirit of future teachers, as well as promote responsibility in terms of professional performance.
- To improve the teaching and learning processes of English as a foreign language in bilingual and multilingual contexts. To promote intercultural knowledge and the development of students’ linguistic and multilingual skills.
- To analyse family-school relationships and promote the development of good practices. To analyse parenting styles and the relationship with educational practices.
- To analyse and develop educational dynamics that allow us to respond to pedagogical and social challenges in different educational and training contexts, and thus contribute to transformative learning and a more participatory and critical citizenship.
Stable teachers in the programme
- ALBAREDA TIANA, Sílvia
- FERNÁNDEZ MORILLA, Mónica
- FUERTES CAMACHO, Mª Teresa
- PUJOL VALLS, Maria
- GRAELL MARTIN, Mariona
- GRAU GRAU, Marc
Collaborators
Line of research in Humanities
Head of the line of research
Objectives
- To promote the analysis and understanding of the processes that generate culture and the anthropological structures that sustain them, as well as the study of diverse manifestations based on the most representative disciplines within the humanities: history, philosophy, art, and literature.
- To contribute to the study and ethical discussion of the most relevant human and social issues affecting our society.
- To optimize the management of culture and the methodological development of tools that contribute to the promotion and dissemination of cultural heritage, as well as the skills that enable a more professional practice of the role of cultural manager, as has been promoted for years by the Official Master's Degree in Cultural Management at the Faculty of Humanities at UIC Barcelona.
- To promote the transversality of the humanities, especially in relation to the fields of education and communication, without excluding other areas of interdisciplinary research already existing at our university, such as medical humanities.
- To promote the cultivation and development of a reflective and critical spirit, which, based on a deep knowledge of the humanistic tradition, can offer a better understanding of the processes of the contemporary world and respond creatively to the shortcomings and challenges of a globalized, technological, and eminently visual society.
Stable teachers in the programme
- BARÓ QUERALT, Xavier
- BOSCH RABELL, Magdalena
- CAVALLOTTI, Rita
- CRISPÍ CANTÓN, Marta
- ESCRIBANO LÓPEZ, F. Xavier
- MIRÓ COMAS, Abel
- MOYA RUIZ, Albert
- URBANO LORENTE, Judith
- VALLÉS BOTEY, Teresa
Collaborators
- BASTONS PRAT, Miquel
- CORCÓ JUVIÑÁ, Josep
- MACPHERSON MAYOL, Ignacio
- MODUGNO Alessandra
Access and admissions process
Admission procedure for doctoral studies
Everything you need to know about the procedure for general admission, the documentation for admission and the general academic requirements.
STEP 1 . Once the pre-registration period is open, the interested person must complete the online registration for the doctoral program from the web link to the application.
STEP 2. In order to carry out the pre-registration process, you must have the following mandatory documentation at hand:
- Photocopy of the DNI/NIF/NIE/passport.
- Updated Curriculum vitae.
- Photocopy of the respective documents that certify the fulfillment of the academic requirements according to the previous studies that grant you access to the Doctorate: Degree and master's title and academic transcript with the average grade. (For other access paths, Consult the Previous Studies and Documentation Guide).
- Research Proposal
- Motivation letter (according to template)
- Letter of support from the director (according to template)
In the event of proposing a director from outside UIC Barcelona, their CV must necessarily be attached, reflecting their adequacy to carry out the supervision tasks, that is: number of doctoral theses they have directed and, if applicable, the number of recognized six-year research terms.
STEP 3. The candidate is advised to contact their possible thesis director or the person in charge of the line of research of interest to carry out a pre-screening interview before presenting all the documentation. (In order to complete the pre-registration process in the application, the letter of support from the director must be attached together with the rest of the required documentation, according to the template).
STEP 4. The Secretary of the Doctoral School will check that the candidate meets the academic requirements for access to doctoral studies and that the requested documentation is complete and correct.
STEP 5. The Doctoral Academic Committee will assess the number of applications received in relation to the number of new access places available in the program and will decide whether or not to admit the candidate, taking into account the admission profile and the admission criteria specified in each program.
STEP 6. Finally, the Doctoral School will inform the candidate whether or not they have been admitted to the Program, and if applicable, they will be informed of the corresponding procedures to enroll in the doctorate.
Admission Profile and Criteria for the PhD in Communication, Education, Humanities:
a) The recommended profile for doctoral students is as follows:
- Hold a Bachelor's degree and an official Master's degree related to communication sciences, pedagogy and educational sciences, humanities, and social sciences.
- Previous experience in undertaking a research project.
- A vocation for the arts, techniques and/or research.
- Knowledge of languages: a B2 level according to the CEFRL or equivalent is recommended.
b) Candidates will be selected based on the following weightings:
- CV and previous research experience: 40%
- Line of research and related previous knowledge: 30%
- Interview and motivation: 20%
- Language level: 10%
Prices, grants and financial aid
Price
Rights to deposit, read and defend the doctoral thesis: €2,490
Application for the title of Doctor: €350
Enrolment onto the Doctoral Programme
The student must annually enrol on the programme and can only enrol for one of our approved doctoral programmes. There is no option to enrol in another programme simultaneously.
Annual enrolment for each academic year
- Doctoral students shall annually formalise doctoral enrolment corresponding to thesis supervision, training activities and annual evaluation by the Academic Doctoral Committee.
Registration at the time of deposit and thesis defence
- At the end of the thesis, they must formalise the registration of the deposit and the defence of the thesis.
- Once the thesis has been defended, the administrative fees for applying for the doctoral degree must be paid.
Financial Information for academic year 2026-2027
Annual registration fee for the program: €98
- Academic fees: €900
- Administrative fees: €98
Rights to deposit, read and defend the doctoral thesis: €2,490
- Academic fees: €1,810
- Administrative fees: €680
Application for the title of Doctor:
- Administrative fees: €350
Grants and financial aid
The UIC Vice-rector for Research offers predoctoral contracts for doctoral studies. There are also several different grants awarded by different public and private institutions to carry out doctoral studies.
Defended doctoral theses
Deposit and reading procedure
FAQ
General regulations
