why a PhD?
A PhD corresponds to the third level of the University studies. This means that it is the highest official qualification, and it is valid nationwide.
The University of Málaga offers a wide range of PhD programmes, covering all fields of knowledge and a wide range of research areas. All these programmes are endorsed by prestigious lecturers and research fellows, and have successfully passed a rigorous verification process, carried out by the relevant Quality Control and Certification national agencies.
The latest rules which regulate the University of Málaga PhD studies are according to Royal Decree 99/2011, which aims at achieving a more productive model in which doctors become the key players in the realization of high-quality R&D, technological transfer to industry, and social development. Far from the now outdated concept of PhD studies as being solely focused on a career in lecturing or research in the university sphere, nowadays doctors are expected to play an important role in all institutions implicated in innovation and research, both public and private.
Moreover, the doctorates of the new programmes enjoy numerous advantages in their training; in fact they are no longer considered as simply students but rather as trainee researchers with all the benefits and rights that this affords them. These are recognised in the Statute of Research Personnel in Training, approved by Royal Decree 63/2006 dated January 27, 2006.
The students who are accepted onto a PhD programme can count on a close assessment and monitoring of their work and research activities, by qualified lecturers and research fellows. They also have the opportunity to participate in training activities to help them develop their communication skills with the academic and scientific communities, as well as with the wider society. They should be able to transmit their knowledge in their areas of expertise, in the mode and languages commonly used in the international scientific community. The students also learn to work both autonomously and, more importantly, as part of a team, in an international and multidisciplinary setting. They will also have the satisfaction of seeing their work and articles published in the most prestigious journals of their field of expertise. Furthermore, they have the possibility to add an additional value to their PhD degree, by elaborating a degree with International Mention or even complete a jointly-supervised degree in collaboration with a university abroad. The PhD studies can be undertaken full time or part time, for those who because of their personal circumstances or if they are working or involved in an activity (remunerated or not) which prevents them from dedicating themselves full time to their PhD studies.
In June 2012, the University of Málaga founded the Doctoral School of the University of Málaga (ED-UMA), to which all the PhD programmes offered by the university are affiliated. ED-UMA was created with a clearly international dimension, and in the spirit of collaboration with other organisations, centres and institutions. The intention of setting up such a Doctoral School was to be able to offer a complete network of professional research, able to respond to the highest scientific and professional standards, creating a system, fundamentally based on knowledge, innovation and research, which helps future doctors to integrate in the scientific community and/or the job market. To satisfy this goal, the School actively promotes ties with strong research groups (both at national and international level), corporate structures committed to high quality training, and institutions and other organisations dedicated to R&D activities. The School also provides cross-cutting training, creating synergies between distinct PhD programmes and organizing complementary activities.
In view of all these aforementioned reasons, we truly believe that it is an exceptionally good decision to enrol on a PhD programme, and we strongly encourage anyone, who meets the necessary conditions, to do so, on one of the PhD programmes that we offer. Each programme has been designed with much enthusiasm, and with the goal of being able to offer a solid and very real option for all those interested in research at the highest level.
