Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona

What you'll study

This mention does not prescribe coursework. Its requirements focus on: an international research stay; preparation of parts of the thesis and defence in a foreign scientific language; and obtaining international expert assessment for the thesis.

• International stay: a minimum total of three months (90 days) spent outside Spain at one or more higher education institutions or recognised research centres. The stay may be split into fragments provided the aggregate is at least 90 days and at least one of the stays lasts one month. The stay must occur while you are enrolled in the doctoral programme.
• Languages for thesis and defence: at least the abstract and the conclusions of the doctoral thesis must be written and defended in a language commonly used for scientific communication in the relevant field and different from any official language of the Spanish State. The rule does not apply when both the stays and the expert reports come from a Spanish-speaking country other than Spain.
• International reports: the external expert reports must come from foreign institutions; these reports will coincide with the external evaluators of the thesis.
• Viva panel: the examining tribunal must include at least one doctor from a non-Spanish higher education institution or research centre who is not the person responsible for the stay; a foreign substitute member is recommended.

Entry requirements

To obtain the mention you must satisfy the stated conditions before or at thesis deposit. Required documentation includes a certificate of the stay issued by the host institution on its official paper detailing start and end dates and the name of the person who tutored you; this certificate must be added as an activity of type 4 (research stays) in the activities document. In case of an international cotutelle, the stay certificate may serve both purposes but may not be signed by the thesis director from the other university. The doctoral programme coordination will request the two international expert reports (who will act as external evaluators); for online deposit you must add the document that proves the idoneity of those evaluators. Documents must be submitted in Catalan, Spanish or English. Documents in French, Italian or Portuguese are accepted with a translation made by the UAB Language Service; documents in other languages must be accompanied by a sworn translation into Catalan or Spanish. Administrative processing for the mention is done together with the thesis deposit; about ten days after the defence the academic record will indicate whether the mention requirements are met. For procedural questions contact the School of Doctorate at tesis@uab.cat, identifying yourself with DNI/passport, NIU, name and surnames.

Career prospects

The mention signals that your doctoral training included an international research period and external international evaluation. It helps demonstrate international collaboration, foreign supervision or external reviewing in your CV and can strengthen applications for positions, postdoctoral offers, research funding or further international partnerships where evidence of mobility and foreign assessment is valued.

Scholarships & funding angle (general)

The programme page directs candidates to consult available mobility grants and the information on international cotutelle; it also recommends arranging complementary mobility insurance at the time of enrolment for the year in which the stay takes place. If your stay is to the United Kingdom or you need social security coverage abroad, consult the relevant embassy or the INSS to verify required procedures.