The definitive admission of a PhD student to a Doctoral Programme involves the assignment of a Tutor, appointed by the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme. This will be a doctor with accredited research experience, respecting as far as possible the interests expressed by the doctoral student and tutor, who will formalise the acceptance of the rights and duties in their relationship, which will be incorporated into the Supervision Commitment signed between the doctoral student and the University. The tutor will guide and monitor the doctoral student's activities and will ensure the student's interaction with the Academic Committee.
Article 20 of the Internal Regulations of the Doctoral School of the University of Valladolid sets out the duties of thesis tutors:
- To assist their doctoral students in their training process, providing information, guidance and learning resources.
- Facilitate the configuration of the curricular itinerary of their doctoral students.
- Sign the documentary commitment that establishes the functions of supervision of their doctoral students, in the manner established by the University.
- Regularly review the personalised activity document of their doctoral students.
- Periodically report on and endorse the research plan of their doctoral students.
- To attend to the needs of their doctoral students with disabilities, in accordance with the guidelines established by the University.
- All those obligations established in general legislation, in the regulations of the Autonomous Community and in the Statutes and regulations of the University of Valladolid.
On the other hand, tutors have the following rights (art. 19 of the Internal Regulations of the Doctoral School of the University of Valladolid):
- Full integration in the structure and activities of the Doctoral School, in accordance with the rules defined in these regulations for the doctoral programmes of the same.
- All those rights that are recognised in general legislation, in the regulations of the Autonomous Community and in the Statutes and regulations of the University of Valladolid.
Procedure for tutor assignment
The tutor may be assigned in two ways:
- If the application for admission is endorsed by a professor of the Programme to supervise the applicant's Doctoral Thesis and he/she meets the requirements to be a Tutor, the Academic Committee will choose him/her as Tutor.
- Otherwise, the Academic Committee of the Programme will appoint the Tutor from among the lecturers who fulfil the conditions to carry out this task.
The Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme, having heard the PhD student, may modify the appointment of the Tutor at any time during the period of the doctoral programme, provided that there are justified reasons.
The Academic Committee may reconsider the appointment of the tutor at the request of the tutor.
Once enrolled in the Doctorate Program, the Academic Committee will assign each PhD student a PhD thesis supervisor, who may or may not coincide with the tutor referred to in the previous section and respecting, as far as possible, the interests expressed by the doctoral student. This assignment may be made to any Spanish or foreign PhD with accredited research experience, regardless of the university, centre or institution in which he/she provides his/her services. The Academic Committee, having heard the PhD student, may modify the appointment if there are justified reasons.
- The supervisor of the doctoral thesis will be responsible for the coherence and suitability of the training activities, the impact and novelty of the subject matter of the doctoral thesis in his/her field and for guiding the planning and, where appropriate, its adaptation to that of other projects and activities in which the PhD student is enrolled.
- The thesis may be co-supervised by other PhD when there are academic reasons, such as thematic interdisciplinarity or programmes developed in national or international collaboration, with the prior authorisation of the Academic Committee.
Before the end of the first year, the PhD student will draw up a Research Plan that will include at least the methodology to be used and the objectives to be achieved, as well as the means and the time schedule to achieve them.
- This plan may be improved and detailed throughout their stay on the programme and must be endorsed by the tutor and the director.
- Annually, the programme's academic committee will evaluate the research plan and the activities document together with the reports to be issued by the tutor and the director.
- A positive evaluation will be a prerequisite for continuing on the programme.
- In the event of a negative evaluation, which will be duly justified, the PhD student must be re-evaluated within a period of six months, for which purpose a new research plan must be drawn up.
- In the event of a new negative evaluation, the PhD student will be permanently withdrawn from the programme.
- In the event of conflict, the parties concerned shall submit to the decision of the bodies provided for in the regulations of the university in which the student is enrolled.
During the thesis research period, the PhD student must carry out a series of training and research activities, which will be recorded in a PhD student activity document (DAD) and evaluated at the time of the PhD thesis defense. This record is made through a web-based PhD student management application provided by each of the participating universities, following the model(s) authorized by the various institutions involved in this Program, and always in accordance with Royal Decree 99/2011 as amended by Royal Decree 576/2023 of July 4. The PhD student activity document will be reviewed regularly by the thesis tutor and the thesis supervisor.