1. Chronicity, dependency, and health in the community

• Chronicity and care for frail and elderly people.
• Health in the community.
• Women's health.
• Health, Education, and intergenerational relationships.
• Therapeutic exercise.

2. Health services and utilization of health outcomes

• Utilization of health research results to improve clinical practice and health services.
• Chronic wounds.

3. Social policies and practices in health

• Health and quality of life.
• Social determinants and health inequalities.
• Health policies and practices.
• Mental health and social innovation.

The programme's research lines are supported by the research groups and teams of the 4 institutions that comprise it. The teams have sufficient materials and support available.

The University of Jaén offers a wide range of University Services related to Teaching and Research, Academic Management, and other services to support the University Community. Specific agreements can be established between the University of Jaén and other institutions for the mobility of Faculty and doctoral students.

Research topic: Chronicity, dependency and health in the community

Research topic: Health services and utilization of health outcomes

Research topic: Social policies and health practices

Other Faculty available for thesis supervision

The development of the Interuniversity Doctorate in Comprehensive Care and Health Services includes a training plan with two types of training activities:

a) Mandatory activities. These must be completed by all doctoral students (preferably in the first year of enrollment) and will allow them to achieve the general and transversal competencies of the doctorate. These are transversal training courses organized each year by the Doctoral School of the University of Jaén and the other universities in this programme.

b) Optional activities. A set of specific training activities and courses for the acquisition of program-specific competencies. These include taking courses, seminars, workshops, attending conferences, congresses, and other activities that contribute to training. They must be agreed upon with the mentor. Each year, a series of courses organized by the University of Jaén and also by the other institutions in the program (University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, University of Lleida, and Investen-Carlos III Health Institute) are offered within the program.

All general training activities are in Spanish. Some specific training activities may be in English.

All training and research activities carried out must be registered each year in the Doctoral Student's Activity Document (DAD), using the RAPI application.

RAPI User Tutorial (doctoral students) (in Spanish)

RAPI User Tutorial (faculty) (in Spanish)

Mandatory Activities

Transversal Training. The Doctoral School presents two editions annually (In-Person and Online) of the "Transversal Training Activities Program" to facilitate doctoral students' completion of it throughout their academic supervision and the Doctoral Conferences.

Information and registration for the Doctoral School's transversal training activities.

Optional Activities

Each year, at least 2 specific training activities must be completed, according to the training plan established with the mentor of each doctoral student.

The specific training offer of the programme organized by the 4 participating institutions will be communicated each year and will be open for registration to all doctoral students of the programme.

Offer of specific training activities from the UJA Doctoral School.

History of specific training activities offers:

• 2021-2022 Academic Year.
• 2022-2023 Academic Year.
• 2023-2024 Academic Year.

In accordance with the provisions of RD 576/2023, which modifies RD 99/2011 regulating the official doctoral studies and the doctoral regulations of the University of Jaén and other universities in the programme, the procedures for evaluation of doctoral students are established.

First year

In the first year of enrollment in the programme, each doctoral student must develop and present the research and training plan with the approval of the mentor and thesis supervisor, and it will be evaluated by the academic committee.

After the assignment of the thesis supervisor, the thesis supervision commitment document must be completed, signed, and submitted to the Doctoral School.

Necessary Actions in the First Year:

• Write the Research and Training Plan (download model). The research plan (thesis project) will include at least the methodology to be used and the objectives to be achieved, as well as the means and time planning. The doctoral student's personal training plan will contain a forecast of the different training activities to be carried out during the doctoral thesis (courses, seminars, mobility, etc.). The research and training plan must be approved by the mentor and thesis supervisors (model: thesis supervisor's report). This document must be registered in the RAPI application.
  • This Research and Training Plan must be approved by the Academic Committee, according to these criteria.
• Carry out the Mandatory (transversal) and specific training activities provided for in the program, and register them in the DAD in the RAPI application.
• Participate in the session of the interuniversity evaluation committee with the oral presentation of the research and training plan. This evaluation committee will be made up of 3 doctors who may be linked to the program or external, and the thesis supervisor. The evaluation sessions (annual evaluation), both ordinary and extraordinary, will be convened each year.
  • ​​​​​​​Call for Evaluation Committee Sessions 2024 - 2025

To continue in the program, each doctoral student must have a favorable evaluation from the academic committee (pass). If the academic committee detects significant shortcomings and makes an unfavorable evaluation (failed), the doctoral student must be re-evaluated after 6 months (extraordinary call). If in the second evaluation the academic committee considers that the shortcomings continue to occur and issues a new motivated unfavorable report, the doctoral student will be permanently dropped from the program.

Second year and subsequent years

From the second year of enrollment in the programme, each doctoral student must develop and present the Report of progress in the research and training plan with the approval of the mentor and thesis supervisor, and it will be evaluated by the academic committee.

Necessary Actions since second and subsequent years:

• Write the Report of progress in the Research and Training Plan (download model). The report will include the progress made and an explanation of any change introduced in the methods. The report of the doctoral student's personal training plan describing the different training activities developed during that year. The research and training plan must be approved by the mentor and thesis supervisors. This document must be registered in the RAPI application.
• Carry out the Mandatory (transversal) and specific training activities provided for in the program, and register them in the DAD in the RAPI application.
• Participate in the session of the interuniversity evaluation committee with the oral presentation of the research and training plan. This evaluation committee will be made up of 3 doctors who may be linked to the program or external, and the thesis supervisor. The evaluation sessions (annual evaluation), both ordinary and extraordinary, will be convened each year.
  • ​​​​​​​Call for Evaluation Committee Sessions 2024 - 2025

To continue in the program, each doctoral student must have a favorable evaluation from the academic committee (pass). If the academic committee detects significant shortcomings and makes an unfavorable evaluation (failed), the doctoral student must be re-evaluated after 6 months (extraordinary call). If in the second evaluation the academic committee considers that the shortcomings continue to occur and issues a new motivated unfavorable report, the doctoral student will be permanently dropped from the program.

Criteria for deposit and thesis defense

The academic committee of the doctoral programme will assess compliance with the criteria in each case.

Thesis in manuscript format:

• A relevant scientific article published or formally accepted in an indexed journal.
• The article must be published after the date of the first enrolment in doctoral studies.
• The article must be directly related to the topic of the doctoral thesis.
• The article submitted can only be part of the submitted doctoral thesis, it must not have been included in previous theses and cannot be included in subsequent theses.
• Journal publication of the Protocol will not be accepted as a scientific contribution of the doctoral thesis.
• The doctoral student must appear as the preferred author of the article.
• The doctoral program must appear as the affiliation of the doctoral student. The thesis must meet criteria of originality and absence of plagiarism.
• Favorable report from 2 external experts. In the event that reviewers make observations on the thesis document, the appropriate modifications must be made, if relevant, and a report in response to the observations must be included in the thesis deposit documents.

Thesis by compendium of articles:

• Criteria pending approval

The thesis may be written and, if applicable, defended, in the languages commonly used for scientific communication in its field of knowledge. For doctoral students enrolled at the University of Jaén, if the doctoral thesis is written in a language other than Spanish, it must be accompanied by a document, endorsed by the director of the thesis, stating the title, index, introduction, a significant summary, and the conclusions of the doctoral thesis in Spanish.

The writing of the doctoral thesis must comply with the "Guide for an egalitarian and non-sexist use of language and image of the University of Jaén" that is in force.

Deposit

Once the doctoral thesis has been completed and as the beginning of the procedures for its defense and evaluation, the doctoral student will send the following documentation (all these documents are in Spanish) to tesis [arroba] ujaen [punto] es (tesis[at]ujaen[dot]es):

• Deposit Request
• Waiver Document from the co-authors of the publication
• Doctoral Thesis Document in PDF format with the institutional cover that cannot be modified after the deposit is made.
• Author Description Document
• Document that reflects the originality of the thesis, using the available tools (such as the Turnitin platform). This document, which is obtained from the platform, must be signed on the page of the percentage of coincidences by the director of the doctoral thesis.
• Document of Documentary Commitment of Supervision (if not already submitted), with all signatures, except that of the Vice-Rectorate, which is handled by the Doctoral Section.
• Certificate of the Transversal Competencies Course uploaded to the doctoral student's activity document.
• Certificate of stay outside of Spain for doctoral theses with International Mention.

Evaluation by 2 external experts. The evaluation and obtaining of reports from external experts will be carried out through the following procedure.

It will be verified by the Academic Committee of the program and the administrative unit responsible for doctoral studies if all the requirements to continue with the procedure of defense and evaluation of the doctoral thesis are met.

The Doctoral School, once the deposit of the doctoral thesis has been approved by the Academic Committee of the Program, will open a period of public exhibition of ten working days so that any doctor can examine the doctoral thesis, and if applicable, send in writing to the School the observations they deem appropriate about its content.

Thesis Tribunal Proposal

Once the public exhibition period is finished, the tribunal proposal, along with the acceptances of the tribunal members and their CVs, may be presented to the Doctoral Section, if not already done. The individuals proposed for the tribunal must meet the research experience accreditation criteria.

Defense

The Academic Committee of the doctoral program, once the public exhibition period has finished, will authorize or deny the defense of the doctoral thesis. To do this, it will take into account the content of the doctoral student's activity document and, if applicable, any written submissions received. If the decision is favorable, it will indicate whether the requirements to opt for any of the previously mentioned mentions are met, if requested.

The Academic Committee will propose the defense tribunal to the Steering Committee of the Doctoral School. Once the thesis tribunal is approved by the Steering Committee of the Doctoral School, the appointment will be communicated to the tribunal members, the doctoral student, and the person acting as secretary of the tribunal may convene the thesis defense ceremony with at least 5 days' notice.

Broadening your experience in other universities now becomes essential in a scenario where information, enterprise and society are globalized. Short-term visits (of at least 3 months) to a foreing institution allow doctoral students to achieve the International mention in their diploma. In addition, the option of JointSupervision allows you to achieve a PhD degree issued simultaneously by University of Jaen and by a foreign university. Under this modality of study, you will be assigned a thesis supervisor in each of the participating universities under the conditions laid down in the corresponding cotutele agreement.

PhD students may also spend part or most of their training period in a company. The mention of Industrial Doctorate can be obtained provided that the topic of the thesis is embedded in the research strategy of a company to which the doctoral student is bound by a contractual agreement.

There are different types of mobility grants for doctoral students, including FPI (MINECO), FPU (MECD), individual PAIDI grants or Plan de Apoyo a la Investigación, Desarrollo Tecnológico e Innovación from Jaen University. Sudents may also apply for grants from Campus de Excelencia Internacional, Erasmus mobility grants, and grants offered by the Doctoral School of Jaen University.