The main goal of this doctoral programme is to provide advanced training for PhD students in Law and related disciplines.

You may check the complete list of competencies offered by this doctoral programme.

The ideal applicant profile is people like you, who are interested in developing research in Law and willing to take advantage of the opportunities offered in this field. Applicants should be motivated for making new discoveries through research, and have the capacity for critical thinking, comprehension, interpretation and application of research results.

General access requirements for Doctoral Programmes at the University of Jaen

In general, access to an official doctoral programme is available to persons in possession of a Spanish official bachelor's degree, or equivalent, and a university master's degree.

Access is also available to persons who meet one of the following conditions:

1. Being in possession of an official Spanish university qualification, or one of another member country of the European Higher Education Area, which qualifies them for access to a master's degree in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of October 29, and having obtained a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in all official university studies, of which at least 60 must be at master's level.
2. Being in possession of an official Spanish degree whose duration, according to the rules of Community law, is at least 300 ECTS credits. These graduates must attend the mandatory bridging courses referred to in Article 7.2 of these regulations, unless the curriculum of said degree includes research training credits equivalent in educational value to the research credits obtained in master’s degree courses.
3. Being in possession of a university degree and, after obtaining a training place in the entrance test to specialized medical training, having obtained a positive evaluation in at least two years of training in a programme to obtain an official degree in one of the Health Science specialties.
4. Being in possession of a degree obtained under a foreign education system, without need for official recognition, after the University has verified that said degree accredits a level of education equivalent to the Spanish official master´s degree and allows admission to doctoral studies in the country issuing the qualification. In no case shall this admission imply the official recognition of the original qualification held by the individual or its recognition for purposes other than access to doctoral studies. Regardless of this, the doctoral degree obtained will be officially valid in Spain.
5. Being in possession of a Bachelor, Architect or Engineer degree and also having achieved the Diploma de Estudios Avanzados in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 778/1998, of April 30, or the research proficiency stipulated in the Royal Decree 185/1985, of January 23.
6. Being in possession of another Spanish doctoral degree obtained under earlier university regulations.

Specific access requirements for Doctoral Studies in Law

This doctoral programme is open to those in possession of a bachelor´s degree in Law, Public Administration and Management, or Labour Relations. Applicants must also be in possession of a Master degree with a broad coverage of topics related to Law in a broad sense.

With exception, those applicants lacking previous training related to the aforementioned disciplines and meeting the general criteria for access to doctoral studies could also be admitted to this doctoral programme. In this case, the Academic Commission of the doctoral programme will determine the complementary training that the applicant must complete in order to be admitted by taking the recommended courses from bachelor degrees or master studies at the University of Jaen related to the topic of the thesis. The training activities, evaluation and training results will be those established in the corresponding study plan.

Admission criteria

The following criteria laid down in article 9.3.c of the Regulation of Doctoral Studies of the University of Jaen will apply for admission of applicants:

1. The adequacy of the applicant background giving access to doctoral studies to the topic of the thesis. 1.0 point.
2. The curriculum vitae of applicant. 2.5 points.
3. The interest of the research line of the thesis for the Department, Research Centre and personnel involved in direction of the PhD thesis, as informed by the corresponding legal representative/scientific personnel involved. 3.5 points.
4. Applicant´s complementary training requirements and time availability for carrying out the thesis. 0.5 points.
5. Availability of permanent research staff with accredited research experience at the corresponding research area solicited by applicant. 1.5 points.
6. Available resources to carry out the research tasks proposed by applicant. 1.0 point.

In order to be admitted, the applicant must obtain a mark higher than 7 points. The applicant must also have written consent from a scientific researcher qualified according to University of Jaen rules who will act as the thesis supervisor.

Students may enroll in doctoral studies at full dedication, or part-time if duly justified. The maximum period of permanence in PhD studies will be 3 years full-time or 5 years part-time. Students may ask for an ordinary extension for one year if enrolled full-time or two years if enrolled part-time. After this, all students may ask for an extraordinary extension period of one year. Applications for the extensions provided for in current legislation are to be duly reasoned and will be resolved by the Academic Committee for the PhD programme. Students may also apply for a temporary leave for a maximum period of one year, and extendible to one further year. Students may be excluded from the programme if they do not renew enrolments or if they obtain two negative overall assessments consecutively in the training and research activities in which they are enrolled for that year.

According to the rules for enrolment of the University of Jaen, application for doctoral studies is open during the complete year. Application and enrolment in doctoral studies can be done through the University Servicio de Gestión Académica.

There are three periods for application and registration during the year. Places not covered in one period will be added to next period´s offer.

School Year 2023/2024

• First cohort (application open until September 30, 2023; admission and registration during October, 2023)
  • Nº of places offered: 20
• Second cohort (application open until January 31, 2024; admission and registration during February, 2024)
  • Nº of places offered: 0
• Third cohort (application open until May 31, 2024; admission and registration during June, 2024)
  • ​​​​​​​Nº of places offered: 0

Send us your application, and you will receive a personalized response in due time.

Yearly demand for places

If you are willing to apply for grants, please check the University International Relations website.