Program Overview

Doctoral program in Information and Communication

Introduction

The doctoral programme in Information and Communication is a degree adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), which is jointly offered by the Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media of the University of Barcelona (coordinator) and the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of the University of Zaragoza. The coordinator of the programme is Dr Mario Pérez-Montoro Gutiérrez (University of Barcelona).

Basic information

• Type: Doctoral program
• Faculty or school: Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media
• Branch of knowledge: Social Sciences
• Number of places available: 7
• Language(s) of instruction: Catalan, Spanish, English
• Coordination: Núria Ferran Ferrer

Objectives and competences

Objectives

The main purpose of this doctoral programme is to train new researchers in the areas of information and documentation and communication. The programme aims to train researchers who are able to respond to the challenges posed by the information society and who can advise institutions that have traditionally worked in these fields at a time when new conceptual approaches, new research methods, and new mechanisms of professional intervention and business models are needed.

Competences

Doctoral studies guarantee, as a minimum, the acquisition by the doctoral candidate of the following basic competences as well as those others that appear in the Spanish Higher Education Qualifications Framework:

• Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of the skills and research methods related to this field.
• Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial research or creative process.
• Ability to contribute to extending the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
• Ability to carry out critical analysis and evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.
• Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and society in general about their areas of knowledge in the ways and languages commonly used in the international scientific community.
• Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress in a knowledge-based society.
• Ability to promote Open Science and Citizen Science as a way to contribute to the consideration of scientific knowledge as a common good.

Admission pathways

Access

In general, to access an official doctorate program you must have an official Spanish bachelor's degree, or equivalent, and a university master's degree and have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in all university degree and master's studies. It can also be accessed by anyone who is in any of these cases:

• Be in possession of official Spanish university degrees or equivalent Spanish degrees, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in the set of these courses, accrediting level 3 of the Spanish Qualification Framework for Higher Education.
• Be in possession of a title obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EEES), without the need for it to be approved, which accredits a level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework, provided that this title is valid for to access doctoral studies in the country of dispatch. This admission does not imply, in any case, the approval of the previous title that the interested party is in possession of or the recognition for other purposes than that of accessing doctoral studies.
• Be in possession of a degree obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems outside the EEES, without the need for it to be approved, after verification by the University of Barcelona that this degree accredits a level of training equivalent to the official Spanish master's degree university and which, in the country of dispatch, entitles you to access doctoral studies. This admission does not imply, in any case, the approval of the previous title that the interested party is in possession of or the recognition for other purposes than that of accessing doctoral studies.
• Be in possession of another doctoral degree.
• Equally, university graduates who, after obtaining a place in training through the corresponding test for access to specialized health training places, have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a program to obtain the title, can access official of one of the specialties in health sciences.
• The graduates, architects or engineers who were in possession of the diploma of advanced studies obtained in accordance with what was established in Royal Decree 778/1998, of April 30, or who had reached the research sufficiency regulated in Royal Decree 185/ 1985, of January 23.

Admission requirements

The recommended qualifications for access to this doctoral programme are a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in an area of information science or communication (as specified below). However, due to the interdisciplinary nature of these knowledge areas, degree holders in other disciplines may also be admitted provided that they meet the general academic requirements.

In addition to the general admission requirements and criteria, selection will be overseen by the Academic Committee on the basis of following criteria and points, scored as shown in brackets:

1. Qualification used for admission (0-2 points), assessed as follows: a) Bachelor’s degree or pre-EHEA degree in an area of information science and communication (for example, the UB bachelor’s degrees in Information and Documentation, Audiovisual Communication, and Advertising and Journalism, or the pre-EHEA degrees in Library and Information Science, Audiovisual Communication, and Advertising and Journalism) (1 point). b) University master’s degree in an area of information science and communication (1 point). c) Bachelor’s degree, pre-EHEA degree or university master’s degree in a different subject area to those listed above (0-1 points, depending on the specific content and its compatibility with the research areas covered by the doctoral programme).
2. Academic record for the bachelor’s degree used for admission (maximum 4 points, depending on the gradepoint average). Correction factors will be applied to qualifications issued outside Spain, as provided for in the regulations of the ANECA programme.
3. Academic record for the university master’s degree (maximum 4 points, depending on the gradepoint average). Correction factors will be applied to qualifications issued outside Spain, as provided for in the regulations of the ANECA programme.
4. Research proposal and its compatibility with the research areas covered by the doctoral programme (maximum 3 points).
5. Letters of recommendation. These may be written by former lecturers or people who have had a professional or academic relationship with the candidate. Letters of recommendation must make reference to the candidate’s previous training, analytical skills, and general motivation for learning (maximum 1 point).
6. Curriculum vitae (maximum 4 points), the following aspects will be evaluated: a) University teaching experience in any of the areas covered by the theoretical and practical content of the doctoral programme (maximum 0.5 points). b) Previous scientific publications related to any of the research areas in the doctoral programme (maximum 3 points). c) Other academic merits — placements at foreign universities, knowledge of languages including English, French, Portuguese, Italian and German (maximum 0.5 point).
7. Award of doctoral grant (2 points) or grant application in consideration the time of admission (0.5 points). Spanish grants equivalent to FI (research training) or FPU (university lecturer training) will be taken into consideration, as will competitive grants awarded in other countries.

Enrolment

You can find all the information and enrolment prices at the Doctoral School.

Lines of research and teaching staff

Research lines

• Libraries and information services
• Communication and audiovisual media
• Digital culture and digital contents
• Studies on the value and use of information

Teachers

• Communication and audiovisual media
  • Adrien Faure Carvallo
  • Antonia Nogales Bocio - Universidad de Zaragoza
  • Daniel Cabrera Altieri - Universidad de Zaragoza
  • Elena Bandrés Goldaraz - Universidad de Zaragoza
  • Hibai López González
  • Jose Miguel Tomasena Glennie
  • Joseba Bonaut Iriarte - Universidad de Zaragoza
  • Juan Pablo Artero Muñoz - Universidad de Zaragoza
  • Laura Fernández Aguilera
  • Lydia Sánchez Gómez
  • Maddalena Fedele
  • Maite Gobantes Bilbao - Universidad de Zaragoza
  • María Angulo Egea - Universidad de Zaragoza
  • Maria Jose Masanet Jorda
  • Ricardo Zugasti Azagra - Universidad de Zaragoza
  • Sergio Villanueva Baselga

Research plan and progress reports

You can find all the information at the following links:

• Research Plan
• Activities document
• Annual monitoring report and evaluation and DADDAD
• Guide to good practice in doctoral thesis supervision and tutoring
• Code of good practices of the Doctoral School of the University of Barcelona

Training activities

Programme-specific training activities

In addition to the courses in which they are enrolled, students on the doctoral programme in Information and Communication must also take part in a series of optional training activities (except for AF02, which is compulsory). The objectives, monitoring procedures, mobility actions and schedule do these training activities are provided below.

AF01. Participation in scientific conferences and/or meetings.

• Number of hours: 30
• Objective: To attend and participate in scientific conferences and/or meetings in the doctoral student's field of research.
• Monitoring procedure: The doctoral student must submit certificates of participation in scientific conferences and/or meetings and these must be included in the student's declaration of doctoral student activities. A copy must also be submitted to the Academic Committee of the doctoral programme.
• Mobility actions: This activity requires student mobility in most cases. To cover the expenses incurred during the course of this activity, doctoral students may apply for grants offered by the University of Barcelona, the University of Zaragoza, the autonomous and central governments, and any other private or public entity. It may also be possible to arrange mobility within researcher exchange agreements in force at any given time (international projects: European and with Ibero-America; COST and Marie Curie actions; integrated actions like EAM, etc.).

AF2. Preparation of scientific articles and book chapters for publication.

• Number of hours: 200
• Objective: To draft publications that include the results of the doctoral student's research for publication in scientific journals, preferably indexed.
• Monitoring procedure: The doctoral student must submit a copy of the publication or, when applicable, the acceptance of the article for publication and include it in the declaration of doctoral student activities. A copy must also be submitted to the Academic Committee of the doctoral programme.
• Mobility actions: This activity does not require any mobility actions.

AF3. Participation in courses (seminars, summer courses, etc.) specifically related to the thesis.

• Number of hours: 20
• Objective: To expand upon and complement the student's training.
• Monitoring procedure: Students must submit a certificate of attendance and of successful completion and this must be included in the student's declaration of doctoral student activities. A copy must also be submitted to the Academic Committee of the doctoral programme.
• Mobility actions: If the courses or seminars take place at a centre or university other than the University of Barcelona or the University of Zaragoza, doctoral students may apply for university or autonomous regional selection grants available at that time. It may also be possible to arrange mobility within teaching and research staff exchange agreements in force at any given time (Erasmus, COST and Marie Curie actions, etc.).

AF4. Research institutes at other universities and research institutions.

• Number of hours: 480
• Objective: To expand upon and complement the doctoral student's training.
• Monitoring procedure: Students must submit certification of their research stay. This certificate must include, in addition to the research activity, any training activity undertaken by the doctoral student during his or her stay. The certificate will be included in the declaration of doctoral student activities and will be sent to the Academic Committee of the doctoral programme.
• Mobility actions: To help fund these placements, doctoral students can apply for any grant available offered by the University of Barcelona, the University of Zaragoza, the autonomous and central governments (mobility grants for researchers in training) or any other public or private entity.

Other cross-disciplinary training initiatives:

During the period in which students are enrolled in the doctoral programme, they are required to take two courses offered annually by the Faculty through the UB's Institute of Professional Development (IDP-ICE). These courses do not have to be taken in the same year. The first course is on information management for research and the second is on data visualization for research.

In addition, all doctoral students must attend two training actions per year. The first is offered in the first semester and is on scientific communication. The second takes place in the second semester and is on scientific methodologies.

Doctoral thesis

Theses subject to data protection regulations: ub.edu/portal/web/informacio-mitjans-audiovisuals/tesis

Schedule of thesis readings: fima.ub.edu
oticies/

Thesis Publications: TDX

Career opportunities

Given the special profile of the programme, the resulting researchers will be able to develop both academic and professional careers. At the end of their studies, researchers on the programme should be able to make strategic, organisational and technological recommendations in a wide range of institutions and information and communication centres: public libraries, school libraries, university learning and research resource centres (CRAI), public administration and company websites, digital or digitised heritage management centres, or audiovisual production and dissemination centres, among others.