The doctoral regulations define the maximum duration of doctoral studies as three years in the case of full-time study arrangements, or five years, for part-time arrangements. However, if the thesis has not been defended after this period, the academic committee responsible for the programme may authorize an extension for one year (full-time basis) or two years (part-time basis) which, exceptionally, may be extended for one additional year under the conditions that the committee may establish. For the purposes of these calculations, authorized temporary withdrawals will not be taken into account.
Doctoral candidates and their supervisors can find the deadline for the thesis defence in their RAPI file. This date is determined by the time elapsed since the first enrolment, possible changes prompted by authorized modifications to the study arrangements, approved extensions, and interruptions due to authorized temporary withdrawals. All successfully completed procedures affecting that date are shown in the "See more" link of the file in RAPI.
Doctoral candidates who so need may request one of the following extensions, depending on their circumstances:
- First extension, for either one or two years, as determined by the thesis study arrangements for which they are currently enrolled.
Close to the end of the ordinary period for the completion of the thesis, students who so require should communicate this need to the EID (in an email to doctorado@uclm.es, identifying themselves with their full name, ID number (DNI/NIE/Passport) and the doctoral programme in which they are enrolled). The School's officials, who are so authorized by the agreement of the EID Management Committee on 18 June 2020, can grant this first extension automatically without further formalities.
- Exceptional extension for one further year
An exceptional extension that may be necessary after the first one has elapsed must be expressly requested by the student with due justification, following the instructions detailed below, bearing in mind that this is the final possible extension and must therefore be taken into account so that the defence proceedings can be scheduled during this last year.
- Extraordinary extension due to COVID-19.
Students affected by the first state of alarm decreed in Spain, to cope with the health crisis prompted by COVID-19 in March 2020, will be eligible for an extraordinary extension of 79 calendar days, the period for which statutory terms and deadlines were suspended, as detailed in the relevant procedure.
IMPORTANT:
- The renewal of enrolment in an academic year does not imply the extension of this maximum period (nor vice versa).
- The deadline for the defence of the resulting thesis after exhausting all extension options is final.
PROCEDURE
The procedure to be followed is:
- Access the procedure at the website linked above.
It is not necessary to have an electronic signature. UCLM student credentials can be used to initiate the process.
You must have the agreement of ALL the supervisors of the thesis, for which you can use the form available in the FORMS section. This document must be properly signed by all supervisors and cosupervisors. If opting for the handwritten signature, this should be done on the printed document and the scanned PDF uploaded, with the original being retained in case it is requested at any time during the procedure.
- Once the application has been received at the International Doctorate School and the appropriate verification has been made, it will be passed to the corresponding academic committee for a decision. The doctoral candidate can verify the entire process and the final decision on the website.
If the decision is favourable, the EID will enter the new deadline in the student's file and, simultaneously, the data will appear in RAPI, where it can also be checked.
FORMS: