The Doctoral School of the University of Valladolid provides guidance for its students, the main objectives of which are to offer advice and support to doctoral students enrolled in the different doctoral programmes, to help them adapt to the academic environment and university community, to enhance their academic performance, and to provide the right attention for students who have disabilities or specific needs –as established by Royal Decree 99/2011 of January 28, which regulates doctoral education (modified by Royal Decree 576/2023 of July 4).
This student orientation system is based on several pillars:
Advisory and support services offered by the central bodies of the University of Valladolid. Among others:
- vice-rectorates and area directorates: https://www.uva.es/export/sites/uva/1.uva/1.02.rectorado/
- Student Legal Counsel (asesoria.estudiantes@uva.es)
- The University of Valladolid Foundation: employment, internships, and guidance, etc.: https://funge.uva.es/
- Postgraduate and Degrees Service (seccion.posgrado@uva.es)
- Equality Unit: https://rsu.uva.es/igualdad/unidad-de-igualdad/
- International Welcome Point of the International Relations Office (RELINT): https://relint.uva.es/inicio/internacional/espanol/international-welcome-point-es/
Direct queries to the management team and the administrative secretariat of the Doctoral School: both teams are specialized in different doctoral studies issues (training activities, internationalization, industrial doctorate, master’s programmes, thesis management, etc.), in order to provide the best possible attention. Their areas of specialization, as well as their contact telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, are available on the EsDUVA website.
The teams are also available to answer queries in person at the School, which is located in the Casa del Estudiante (calle Real de Burgos s/n – 47011 Valladolid).
- Tutor, who will ensure the student's interaction with the Academic Committee and who will support the student in other matters during their doctoral studies, such as establishing a personal training plan and recording activities in the student’s Activity Document.
- Thesis supervisor, who will accompany and advise the doctoral student throughout the thesis development in all those tasks included in the research plan and in the personal training plan.
- Coordinator of the doctoral programme as well as to its Academic Committee. Each programme’s webpage contains information about the people involved as well as their contact telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.
Inauguration of the new academic year: the Doctoral School organizes the annual inaugural ceremony of the new academic year (usually in November). This event is a welcome session for newly enrolled students in which they are provided with relevant information about doctoral studies and the related administrative processes. Students also have the opportunity to meet the School's management team and to interact with members of the UVA doctoral student associations who will also serve as a reference point for student integration into the university community.
Regular informative sessions organized by the Doctoral School and aimed at both students and professors. In these sessions, students are informed of the opportunities open to them during their doctoral studies (thesis mentions, international thesis co-supervision, training activities, etc.), scholarships and mobility grants, among other issues. These sessions are conducted in collaboration with other central services of the UVA such as the Vice-rectorate for Internationalization and its International Relations Service, or the Vice-rectorate for Research. We organize these sessions in hybrid and/or face-to-face format on the different UVa campuses and we also deliver of some of them in English so as to facilitate communication for non-Spanish-speaking foreign students.
Sessions held during the last academic year (2022-23):
- “Internationalization of doctoral studies”: Tuesday 29th November 2022, Salón de Actos, Casa del Estudiante (Valladolid).
- “New horizons of collaboration in thesis supervision: international co-supervision and industrial doctorate”: Wednesday 14th December 2022, Salón de Actos, Casa del Estudiante (Valladolid).
- “Doctoral studies: Creating and exploiting opportunities”: Wednesday 15th February 2023, Salón de Grados-Fase II, Campus María Zambrano (Segovia).
- “Doctoral studies: Creating and exploiting opportunities”: Friday 17th March 2023, Aula Polivalente, Campus La Yutera (Palencia).
- “International collaboration in PhD studies: Co-supervision (cotutelle) theses”: Wednesday 7th June 2023, Salón de Actos, Casa del Estudiante (Valladolid).
- “What if I did a master's degree and a PhD? How to orient your future career towards research”: Thursday 29th June 2023, Salón de Actos, Casa del Estudiante (Valladolid).
Internationalization events: the Doctoral School maintains close collaboration with the Vice-Rectorate for Internationalization and the International Relations Service (RELINT). We collaborate with them in academic fairs in order to disseminate the academic offer of research master’s degrees and doctoral programmes in the context of International Staff Weeks of the Erasmus programme, and we provide welcome days for visiting doctoral students of the Erasmus KA171 programme at the UVA, among other activities. These events also serve to support the advice offered to our own students and faculty, thereby favouring their immersion in an international context.
Specific support system for students with disabilities: at the University of Valladolid, we are committed to supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion for each of our students and staff members.
The Rector's Delegation for University Social Responsibility at the UVa coordinates the services and programmes of the Social Affairs Service, the Equality Unit, the International Development Cooperation Office, and the University Volunteer Management Office.