ASSESSMENT OF DOCTORAL STUDENTS

We will be using three elements to assess your progress along with your doctoral studies:

  • Your tutor’s and supervisor’s reports.
  • The doctoral student’s activity report (DAD).
  • Your research plan.


Deadlines for first-year students

 

14 July 2023 is the deadline to submit:

  • Research plans.
  • Doctoral student’s activity reports.
  • Tutors’ and supervisors’ reports.

Presentations of first-year student’s research plans will be scheduled during September 2023.



Deadlines for second- and third-year students

 

15 September 2023 is the deadline to submit:

  • Research plan updates.
  • Doctoral student’s activity reports.
  • Tutors’ and supervisors’ reports.
PhD candidates must upload the DADs and research plans at the platform that their enrollment university facilitates.



Doctoral student’s activity report (DAD) 

 

The DAD is the doctoral student’s activity record, which includes all activities of interest for the development of doctoral studies. The DAD includes scientific outputs (papers, working papers, book chapters, etc.), scholarships, attendance to scholarly conferences, and any other activity related to your doctoral research.


More information about DAD can be found at:


Research plan


During the first year of studies, you are requested to develop and present a research plan, which will be a third evaluation input of your activity.

The research plan must include the following:


Identification data (on title page):

  • University of enrollment
  • Name of the doctoral candidate
  • Thesis supervisor(s) and tutor
  • Delivery date
  • Title of the research plan
  • An abstract of 100-150 words

Research plan contents:

  • Definition of the problem or topic under investigation
  • Research question(s) and research objectives
  • The working hypothesis, if necessary
  • Methodology, work plan, calendar and resources for carrying out the research
  • Results and expected contributions
  • Bibliographic references
  • The contents of the research plan must be supported by a literature review regarding the research question and objectives, working hypotheses and methodology.

The maximum length of the document is 35 pages in Times New Roman or equivalent font, 12-point sized or equivalent and 1.5 spacing, excluding bibliographic references.


You will present this research plan before a committee of three members. The academic commission will designate a committee for each proposed research plan according to the following criteria:

  • At least two of the three committee members must be members of the academic commission.
  • At most one committee member can be one of the professors of the programme who does not belong to the academic committee, depending on the contents of the research plan.
  • At least two committee members must be from a different university from which the student is enrolled.


Research plan updates


Students must update their research plan starting from the second year of studies. This update may report the progress undertaken in the last year, and the possible research plan changes for the forthcoming years.


The updates of the research plan allow students to report progress in their research in a broad sense. They can present and comment on the scientific output they have added to the DAD in the last year and advances that have not yet yielded tangible outcomes.