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Doctorate in Architecture

Doctorate in Architecture uicadmin
Full -time: 4 years. Part-time: 7 years

Enrollment period

Enrollment period for the 2026-2027 academic year: From June 8 to September 14, 2026

The programme

The aim of the Doctorate in Architecture is to train researchers and specialists capable of responding in their field to the problems existing in our society, promoting the generation of innovative knowledge at the service of society. 

To do this, students will acquire training that enables them to generate studies that deepen the knowledge of all dimensions that affect architecture at various levels, as well as the different dynamics of the human and technological systems in which they are involved.

The Doctorate in Architecture program offers a wide range of research lines. These include scales that study landscape and city management; innovative construction systems; content that works in composition, history and architectural heritage; and new subjects in sustainability, cooperation, citizen participation and public health.

This Doctoral Programme in turn aims to respond to currently existing theoretical and methodological challenges, to provide new knowledge that will improve the systems in which architecture is developed from a scientific and ethical perspective. Defending an architecture and an urbanism in which innovation can coexist with different cultures without exclusions, from a humanist perspective in which the sciences and the arts can coexist.

The incorporation of doctoral students into the different research groups is also an objective, in order to specialise and expand the specific contents of each line of research. The existence of specific committees external to the university, during the process of preparing the thesis, guarantees the quality of the research and increases the possibility of creating scientific networks around the thesis, of great help for the doctoral candidate.

The doctoral student of the program acquires a greater depth in the vision of any of the different scales and environments that he chooses from the architectural discipline such as the planning of the landscape and the city, the design of buildings, innovative construction systems, the contents that they work on composition, architectural history and heritage, and new subjects in sustainability and cooperation.

In all these lines, the doctoral student will be able to lead research projects and will specialize in content that will enrich their professional status.

Doctoral School

Academic Accreditation

Doctor o Doctora en Arquitectura por la Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

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 request

Access routes to PhD Admission

Entry profile and criteria for admission to a doctorate in Architecture

A) The recommended profile for doctoral students is as follows: 

  • To be in possession of a degree (bachelor’s or master’s degree) related to the scope of Architecture at all its conceptual and scalar levels, namely: Architecture, Urbanism, Engineering (which leads to a connection with the field of Construction and Structures), Design, Fine Arts, Art History (which leads to a connection with the field of History of Architecture), Philosophy (which leads to a connection with the field of Aesthetics), etc., or other related fields that include subjects related to Architecture research and the disciplines related to it.
  • Previous experience in undertaking a research project.
  • A vocation for the arts, techniques and/or research.
  • Language level. 

b) Admission criteria, 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%

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.

GRC Sustainable Urban Living

Coordinator

Dra. Carmen Mendoza

Group members

Dra. Carmen Mendoza, Dr. Pere Vall, Dra. Marta Benages, Dr. Lorenzo Chelleri, Dr. Diego Navarro, Dr. Borja Ferrater, Dra. Kathrin Golda-Pongratz, Dra. Apen Ruiz Martinez, Sara Eltokhy, Ashley Howard.

Research sublines

  • Research subline: Sustainable recovery and displacement

    Coordinator: Dra. Carmen Mendoza

    This research line addresses the knowledge gap for city planners, policymakers and support agencies related to how to respond to the increasing link between disasters, migration and displacements at an urban scale.

  • Research subline: Community-based Urbanism

    Coordinators: Dr. Pere Vall and Dra. Marta Benages

    Using qualitative GIS and social cartography, this research line is oriented to community-based river management (citizen use and perception, citizen-based river groups, citizen science); characterization of environmental volunteering (significant life experiences, motivations, benefits and barriers); and, healthy aging and co-production of green environments

  • Research subline: Urban and regional resilience toward sustainability

    Coordinator: Dr. Lorenzo Chelleri

    This research line is framed around the exploration and implementation of the concept of resilience as a set of adaptive and transformative capacities enhancing self-sufficiency and sustainability.

Research and teaching team

Invited researchers and collaborators

Technological Innovation in Industrial and Sustainable Building LAB (LITEIS)

Coordinator

Dr. Vicenç Sarrablo

Group members

Dr. Vicenç Sarrablo, Dr. Víctor Echarri, Dr. Juan Trias de Bes, Dr. Felipe Pich-Aguilera, Dr. Josep Lluís Ginovart, Dr. Jordi Roviras, Dr. Pedro Casariego, Dr. Oriol Carrasco, Dr. Íñigo Ugalde, Dr. Ricardo Gómez, Dra. Cinta Lluís, Dra. Alessandra Curreli, Teresa Batlle, Cristina García Castelao, Zuzana Prochazkova.

Research sublines

  • Research subline: Innovative construction systems with ceramic elements

    Coordinator: Dr. Vicenç Sarrablo

    In this line, those constructive systems for architectural envelopes that use ceramic products in an innovative way are investigated, both in brick or tile formats, as well as in large-format and small-thickness tiles and sheets.

  • Research subline: Heritage and factory mechanics. Structural understanding of historic buildings. Sacred heritage and its conditioning of space

    Coordinator: Dr. Josep Lluís Ginovart

    Deepening of the knowledge of the architectural heritage, from the Romanesque to the beginning of the 20th century, through the massive capture of data with the existing technology at our disposal. Also in this line of research, sacred heritage, its state of conservation, legislative requirements and modes of intervention in it are analyzed.

  • Research subline: Energy efficiency of buildings and environment

    Coordinator: Dr. Víctor Echarri

    The objective is to quantify the annual energy demand of buildings based on the constructive solutions of the envelopes, applied passive systems, advanced air conditioning systems, as well as the environmental impacts derived in all phases of the construction, use, reuse and demolition of buildings through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

  • Research subline: Structural Analysis and Design

    Coordinator: Dr. Pedro Casariego

    Research focuses on the analysis and design of structures in the field of architecture, project engineering and construction and provides structural support in product development in the field of industrial and environmental engineering.

  • Research subline: Architecture and health

    Coordinator: Dr. Jordi Roviras

    Analysis of the spaces we inhabit in terms of health and well-being and study of new products or construction systems that provide a clear healthy benefit to the user. The hygroscopic and hydrothermal capacity of materials, indoor air quality, toxic-free materials, acoustic quality and comfort, lighting and electroclimate, among others, are considered.

Research and teaching team

Invited researchers and collaborators

Genetic Architectures (GENARQ)

Coordinator

Dr. Alberto T. Estévez

Members of the group

Dr. Alberto T. Estévez,  Dra. Yomna K. Abdallah, Dr. Pablo Baquero, Dra. Magda Bosch, Dr. Dragos Brescan, Karl Chu, Dr. Josep Corcó, Dr. Dennis Dollens, Dr. Gabriel Fernández, Dr. Agustí Fontarnau, Dr. Marcelo Fraile, Dra. Daniela Frogheri, Dra. Effimia Giannopoulou, Dr. Marwan C. Halabi, Dr. Aref Maksoud, Dr. Abel Miró, Affonso Orciuoli, Dra. Lamila Simisic, Dr. Angad Warang, Ignasi Pérez Arnal.

Research sublines

  • Research subline 1: BioDigital Architecture (& Theory)

    Coordinators: Dr. Alberto T. Estévez i Dr. Josep Corcó

    Together with its corresponding Master in Biodigital Architecture, this line of research addresses the application of genetics to architecture in an interdisciplinary way from two points of view: the real, natural and biological, worked with geneticists, and the metaphorical, artificial and digital, that uses CAD-CAM and AI technologies. Biological and digital morphogenesis, digital organicism, emergence, metaphysics and computation, artificial intelligence, complexity, sustainability, are his keywords.

  • Research subline 2: Biological Architecture (& Digital)

    Coordinators: Dr. Alberto T. Estévez i Dra. Yomna K. Abdallah

    Introduction of biological techniques in architecture and design with digital tools to achieve a biodigital fusion, understanding the potential of bio-learning, bio-manufacturing and genetics. With this, the world's first genetic architecture laboratory was created in 2000, where genetics began to be applied to architecture and design (bioluminescent trees, biolamps, bioprinting, SEM research on structures, biomaterials, etc.).

  • Research subline 3: Digital Architecture (& Biology)

    Coordinators: Dr. Alberto T. Estévez i Dr. Angad Warang

    In a pioneering, international and interdisciplinary environment, widely demonstrated for more than two decades, since the year 2000, when the first digital architecture laboratory in Spain was set up, mention should be made specifically of architecture and computing research and teaching from concepts such as Intelligence Artificial (AI), Ambient Intelligence (AmI), Deep Learning (DL), Evolutionary Computation (EC), Logistic Regression (LR), Machine Learning (ML), Multi-Agent Systems (MAS), Shape Grammars (SG), among others.

  • Research subline 4: Architectural Composition (& Projects)

    Coordinators: Dr. Alberto T. Estévez i Dra. Judith Urbano

    This line of research is the oldest at the UIC Barcelona, founded in 1998 by Professor of Architectural Composition Dr. Alberto T. Estévez, and includes possible research on architectural composition and architectural projects, theory and history of architecture and design.

Research and teaching team

Invited researchers and collaborators

364
Acreditació favorable AQU
Doctoral Degrees
Annual registration fee for the program: €980
Rights to deposit, read and defend the doctoral thesis: €2,490
Application for the title of Doctor: €350
Architecture
Spanish
Catalan
Online
Blended learning

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.

Doctoral Academic Committee for Architecture
SARRABLO MORENO, Vicenç

President
Department of Architecture
sarrablo@uic.es

BENAGES ALBERT, Marta

Member
Department of Architecture
martabenages@uic.es

LLUÍS GINOVART, Josep

Member
Department of Architecture 
jlluis@uic.es

Specific doctoral information

Doctorate in Architecture training

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 Architecture program, at the time of submitting the thesis, it is mandatory to have completed three training courses: Ethics of research in social sciences and humanities; Data protection; and Management of bibliographic sources.
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.

 

Specific Doctoral Committee (CED)

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:

  1. To demonstrate the scholarly objective of the research plan: current status, contribution of work in current period, relevance of the topic.
  2. Present the methodology and the proposed work plan to achieve the project's scholarly objective.
  3. Show that the project's proposed objectives can be reasonably achieved within the stipulated timeframe.
  4. Doctoral candidate’s communicative skills.
  5. The ability to provide a critical and reasoned response to the questions posed by the Committee.
  6. 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)
34 93 254 18 00
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Deposit and reading procedure

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.

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Doctorate in Communication, Educational and Humanities

Doctorate in Communication, Educational and Humanities uicadmin
Full -time: 4 years. Part-time: 7 years

Enrollment period

Enrollment period for the 2026-2027 academic year: From June 8 to September 14, 2026

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.

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 request

Access routes to PhD Admission

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%

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.

Line of research in Comunication

Head of the line of research 

Dr. Alfonso Méndiz Noguero
 

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

Collaborators

Line of research in Education

Head of the line of research

Dra. Mónica Fernández Morilla
 

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

Collaborators

Line of research in Humanities

Head of the line of research

Dra. Magdalena Bosch Rabell
 

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

Collaborators

418
AQU
Doctoral Degrees
Annual registration fee for the program: €980
Rights to deposit, read and defend the doctoral thesis: €2,490
Application for the title of Doctor: €350
Communication
Education
Humanities
Spanish
Catalan
Online
Blended learning

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 

Specific doctoral information

Doctorate in Communication, Educational and Humanities training

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.

Specific Doctoral Committee (CED)

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:

  1. To demonstrate the scholarly objective of the research plan: current status, contribution of work in current period, relevance of the topic.
  2. Present the methodology and the proposed work plan to achieve the project's scholarly objective.
  3. Show that the project's proposed objectives can be reasonably achieved within the stipulated timeframe.
  4. Doctoral candidate’s communicative skills.
  5. The ability to provide a critical and reasoned response to the questions posed by the Committee.
  6. 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)
+34 93 254 18 00
Apply for admission
1
Off

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.

-82
0
1
English

Doctorate in Economics and Law

Doctorate in Economics and Law uicadmin
Full -time: 4 years. Part-time: 7 years

Enrollment period

Enrollment period for the 2026-2027 academic year: From June 8 to September 14, 2026

The programme

The Doctoral Degree in Economics and Law promotes competitive research one an international level focused on contributions of high scientific impact and the generation of socially useful knowledge in the areas of Business Management and Economics and Law.  The objective of the programme is for doctoral students to present a thesis in the field of business, economy or law, which significantly contributes to the advancement of knowledge in these areas. Therefore, the theses defended analyse a topic at the frontier of knowledge, rigorously analysing innovative and stimulating research questions, using appropriate methodologies. In most cases, theses are accompanied by indexed publications or other research outlets, which guarantee the quality required by the degree programme

The focus of the research lines of the doctoral degree programme is based on an experienced mix of theoretical foundations and an orientation towards the treatment of relevant problems. The different areas covered range from economics applied to different fields (health, labour, sport, industry, education, etc.), business economics, international law, law and society and even administrative law. The programme provides PhD-level training in research methodology in business administration and management, economics and law.

The doctoral candidate will acquire a new and enriching vision in the field of his thesis, which allows for a holistic and systematic analysis of their environment (be it business, economic environment or legal framework). The doctoral candidate acquires the ability to work with other scientists and stakeholders in the system by analysing, to present new research questions, and to present an agile way to approach research efficiently.

Doctoral candidates who complete the programme are qualified to lead research in their field. At the same time, it equips them to work in the professional world by providing a robust and consistent analytical capacity of their environment.

Doctoral School

Academic Accreditation

Doctor o Doctora en Economía y Derecho por la Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

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 request

Access routes to PhD Admission

Income profile and admission criteria for the Doctorate in Economics and Law

a) The recommended profile for doctoral students is as follows:

  • Holder of an official qualification related to the field of Social Sciences.
  • Motivation for knowledge and research
  • Knowledge of languages

b) Candidates will be selected based on the following weightings:

  • CV and previous research experience: 40%
  • Research topic and strategic relevance of research in relation to publications and research projects in the lines of the doctoral programme: 30%
  • Interview and motivation: 20%
  • Language level: 10%

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.

1. Research in Applied Economics

Leader

Dr. Toni Mora Corral (Health economics, Evaluation of public policies)

Research areas

  • Health economics. We study the nexus between health and socioeconomic outcomes, the so-called SES-health gradient, using microeconometric techniques and individual-level survey or administrative data. Recent examples within this research area include studies on the interrelations between individuals' health and labour market outcomes in adulthood, the effects of different early-life health dimensions on health and SES over the life course, the role of mothers and fathers in children’s health care use, the impact of pollution on child health, and the presence of an educational gradient in health care use and health outcomes.
  • Evaluation of public policies. We use randomised controlled trials and natural experiments to evaluate the impact of public policies, mainly on individuals’ health status and healthcare use. Recent examples within this research area include studies on school-based nutrition interventions on teenagers' food and drink choices and the impact of unemployment insurance generosity on individuals’ health status.
  • Industrial organisation. Industrial organisation applies microeconomic and game theoretical tools to specific markets where competition is imperfect. Topics addressed include the effects of incomplete information in entry/exit contexts and how mechanisms like piracy can indeed alleviate allocation problems. Networks refer to the structures formed when a set of agents, represented as nodes, interact, which is represented through links. We apply this framework to study how the surplus is split across agents based on their characteristics and the linking costs.
  • Applications of Machine Learning methods (ML). Our research focuses on applications of ML involving the development of ML models that leverage population-level data, such as electronic health records and demographic information, to predict the occurrence of specific diseases or health outcomes. By analysing large datasets, we aim to identify patterns, risk factors, and early markers that can aid in disease prevention and early diagnosis. We also use ML methods to explore treatment effect heterogeneity, that is, the variability in treatment effects among different individuals or subpopulations.
  • Cryptoeconomics and the blockchain. We focus on this thriving sector from a time-series perspective while employing VAR and structural VAR methodologies and relying on impulse-response and variance decomposition analyses. Moreover, we are particularly interested in how cryptos and blockchain technology shape the economy from sectors as different as sports or the metals industry.
  • International trade. We study the impact of trade on the composition of employment and welfare broadly understood. In particular, we are interested in the effects of offshoring strategies on both the sending and receiving ends of the business spectrum.
     

Researchers

2. Line of research Business Economics

Leader

Dr Frederic Marimon Viadiu

Objectives

The area of business economics focuses on the study of companies as complex organisations. To do this, companies are analysed from multiple perspectives, including those fundamental disciplines that help understand how they are created, how they operate and how they interact with the environment.

This research will be carried out using qualitative and quantitative methods taken from the social sciences, from engineering management and statistics.

The main lines of research are:

  • Organisational structures and behaviour
  • Entrepreneurship and innovation
  • Operations management and quality
  • Internationalisation
  • Knowledge management and the company mission

Team of research professors

3. Line of research Law and Society

Leader

Dr. Montserrat Gas

Objectives

The aim of this line of research is to analyse the relationship between law and society, from its double public and private dimensions. The law is an integral part of social organisation, providing protection for its members through the State, its constituent institutions and the legal system itself.

It is imperative that law in society be focused on people. From this perspective, the law must guarantee the public and private legal protection of the individual, for the achievement of his or her integral wellbeing, within the framework of fundamental rights and the legal system as a whole.

From a practical point of view, the aim is also to study, using a multidisciplinary approach, how the justice system works and the agents involved in it, with special emphasis on the means of evidence and auxiliary sciences in relation to the justice system.

Areas of research

Team of research professors

4. Line of research. The grounding of international law: new European and Mediterranean actors in the 21st century’s international society

Leader

Dr María Mut Bosque

Objectives

A team consisting of lawyers who specialise in the field of international law, both private and public, and political experts in order to achieve the following objectives:

  • To analyse the current situation of the State as a par excellence subject in international law, in the Euro-Mediterranean field.
  • To examine the international subjectivity of international organisation and state associations, in the Euro-Mediterranean field.
  • To study the subjectivity of the individual and their participation in the Euro-Mediterranean field.
  • To examine the new actors who have entered the Euro-Mediterranean field.

The methodology will be eminently legal, and therefore an in-depth examination of the groundings of international law, although other elements of private international law will also be incorporated into this examination. In that sense, in relation to the field of the individual, it will become necessary to incorporate elements of private international law.

Likewise, and in relation to the subject area of the doctorate, it becomes necessary, especially when dealing with the subject of new international actors, such as for example civil society, to incorporate elements of political science into our methodology.

As for the expected results, apart from the teaching work characteristic of the doctoral degree itself, a research team will follow the same line of research as that proposed in this report and, furthermore, this team will be made up of the same members. It is therefore expected that the group will publish articles in indexed journals and hold a conference on international subjectivity (within two years). Each of the members of the group will have their own individual line of research, which will also lead to the publication of results.

5. Line of research Administrative and Regulatory Law

Leader

Dr Montserrat Nebrera González

Objectives

In the medium term the aim is to look more in-depth into the analysis of regulatory law in Spain, with a special focus on the main regulated sectors: telecommunications, the electricity market, energy and the financial markets. The aim therefore is to study the legal system of these sectors in detail, contributing to profiling those common elements which they share and unravelling the main dilemmas derived from the way they function in the communitarian and international environment. Within this field, we will focus our research on the sanctioning framework and, in particular, the extremes of legal interest linked to the actions of the regulating body or the state supervisor.

The following will be the primordial object of study:

  • The common principles of regulated activity
  • The sanctioning framework of regulated sectors
  • The dynamic and functioning of the regulator
  • The inter-relationship between the operator and the supervisor. Regime conflict

In the general field of Public Law, the aim is to focus, from the perspective of Constitutional Law, on the study of those Institutions and bodies that deal with the control of security and citizen political participation, with special emphasis on the concept of "governance", and will therefore also include the analysis and eventual evaluation of public policies applied to achieve this.

In this respect, the line of research will prioritise the following areas:

  • Public freedoms and security
  • Legal security and institutional efficiency
  • Political participation, democracy and ICTs
  • Good governance and public policies for its management
  • Political leadership
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Acreditació favorable AQU
Doctoral Degrees
Annual registration fee for the program: €980
Rights to deposit, read and defend the doctoral thesis: €2,490
Application for the title of Doctor: €350
Business Administration
Law
Spanish
Catalan
Online
Blended learning

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.

Doctoral Academic Committee for Economics and Law
DURANY PICH, Salvador

President
Department of Economy and Business Organization.
sdurany@uic.es

PIERRAKIS, Ioannis

Member
Department of Economy and Business Organization.
ipierrakis@uic.es 

URZAY GÓMEZ, Sergi Òscar

Member
Department of Law
sourzay@uic.es

SERRANO DAURA, Josep

Member
Department of Law
jserrano@uic.es 

Specific doctoral information

Doctoral Degree in Economics and Law training

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 Economics and Law program, when students make the thesis deposit, it is mandatory to have completed five training courses: Data Protection; Abstract Writing; Article Writing; Bibliographic Source Management; and Research Ethics in Social Sciences and Humanities.

For doctoral students in the Economics lines, it is mandatory to participate in the seminar presenting the state of research, the PhDay Economics, in the third year.

Specific Doctoral Committee (CED)

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:

  1. To demonstrate the scholarly objective of the research plan: current status, contribution of work in current period, relevance of the topic.
  2. Present the methodology and the proposed work plan to achieve the project's scholarly objective.
  3. Show that the project's proposed objectives can be reasonably achieved within the stipulated timeframe.
  4. Doctoral candidate’s communicative skills.
  5. The ability to provide a critical and reasoned response to the questions posed by the Committee.
  6. 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)
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Deposit and reading procedure

Defended doctoral theses

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.

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Doctoral School

Doctorate in Health Sciences

  • Online / Blended learning
  • Spanish ‐ Catalan