On this webpage you can find the main changes made to the Academic Regulation of the UC that have an impact on the PhD Degree Courses (3rd Cycle), by means of a summary of the articles that have been changed.
► Check the webpage with the changes introduced by the new RAUC »
Intellectual Property – Article no.26 [new article]
1 — Intellectual Property entitlement and protection concerning the result(s) obtained in the different research and development activities within a cycle of studies is carried out in accordance with the Regulation for Intellectual Property of the UC, the Industrial Property Code and the Copyright and Related Rights Code.
2 — When the cycle of studies leading to a Master’s or PhD Degree is carried out in association with (an)other national or foreign Higher Education Institution(s) (IES), or the activities take place in institutions with their own intellectual property protection regulations, the entitlement of the intellectual property rights concerning the result is ruled in accordance with an agreement between the entities concerned and the student.
Registration for additional training ECTS credits – Article no. 12
1 — The UC provides the registration to attend curricular units in order to obtain additional training within the cycles of studies, including the PhD Degrees without course (taught component).
2 — In accordance with the registration for an academic year, students may register for two of the aforementioned curricular units if they are registered on a full time basis and for one if they are registered according to other system. In addition, they cannot register for more than two curricular units of the same cycle of studies.
3 — The registration for these curricular units is not taken into account for the purposes of the ECTS credits limits and does not entail additional costs. Thus the student can select curricular units of his/her cycle of studies or another cycle of studies of the same or a lower level.
Registration – Article no. 10
(...) 10 — Not registering for two consecutive semesters or an equivalent period (one academic year) implies the interruption of the academic pathway within the cycle of studies concerned, without prejudice to what is established for the PhD degree students who may interrupt their studies for two consecutive academic years without having to apply again ( no. 8 of article no.65).
Supervision and elaboration of the Thesis – Article no. 68
(...) 10 — When there is a change of supervisor or the thesis theme, and if you had already defended the Thesis Project, the Organisational Unit can request a new Thesis Project. Therefore, the PhD Student must register for a grade improvement.
Academic calendar – Article no. 99
(...) 7 — The special examination period takes place in July, except for the defence of Dissertations or other final works of Master’s Degrees, and the PhD Degrees Thesis Projects that take place in September.
Registration for Thesis – Article no.66
(...) 4 — The registration for thesis on a part time basis is allowed up to the limit of four and six years concerning cycles of studies of 180 and 240 ECTS credits, in the total number of registrations made for the PhD Degree.
5 — If the Thesis is not submitted within the six or eight years subsequent to the registration’s date (cycles of studies of 180 and 240 ECTS credits), the PhD Student must send to the Scientific Council of the Supervisor’s Organisational Unit a justification and an explanation of the work already accomplished and the conditions for submitting the thesis, along with a supervisor’s report explaining the reasons for the non-compliance with the work plan.
6 —The Scientific Council of the Organisational Unit pronounces itself on the continuity of the work or the expiration of the thesis’ registration based, namely, on the relevance, validity, originality and up-to-datedness of the thesis theme, as well as the regularity and quality of the work developed by the PhD Student.
Appointment and constitution of the Examination Board– Article no. 70
(...) 3 — Whenever there is more than one supervisor, only one of them can join the Examination Board, unless it is a cycle of studies in association with foreign Higher Education Institutions whose Examination Boards may include two supervisors from different institutions.
4 — Concerning the aforementioned Examination Board Members …
f) Whenever it is possible, there must be a representation between 33 and 40 per cent of women and men in the PhD Examination Board, unless the Scientific Council substantiates that there is an impossibility to comply with it.
Effect of the suspension of deadline or the registration for Thesis – Article no. 213
Suspension of the deadline concerning Dissertation and Thesis applied to:
- student-pregnant, student-parents (article no. 192);
- students holding positions or performing certain duties, expressly provided for in the Law.
Suspension of a registration for Thesis applied to:
- FCT Scholarship Holders with suspension of the scholarship contract, for a period corresponding to the period of the exercise of those rights authorised by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).
Scholarship Holders – Article no. 215
(...) 5 — The FCT Scholarship is allocated to the beginning of the academic year or semester of the registration at the UC, including the eventual renovation if it is mentioned on the declaration issued by FCT.
6 — If the Scholarship is subject to renovation, the supporting declaration is submitted until 31st May of the Academic Year to which that renovation refers.
7 — If you do not submit your supporting document within the aforementioned deadline, the special situation of FCT Scholarship Holder is annulled concerning the periods of unproven scholarship and the student becomes in a situation of non-fulfilment.
8 — The FCT Scholarship Holders who meet the conditions to request admission to the PhD exam in the semester subsequent to the end of the Scholarship, become exempt from paying the tuition fee of that period.
- Until 28th February if the scholarship ended at the end of the previous academic year.
- Until 31st August if the scholarship ended in the first semester of the academic year.
9 — If there are any changes in the initial conditions of the scholarship, such as its length, suspension or interruption, the student has to substantiate that situation within the 30 consecutive days after its occurrence.
Registration Fee – Article no. 220
(...) 4 — The registration fee is included in the Scholarships of PhD Students whose financing is done by FCT, provided that the amount of the fee may be included in the amount of the scholarship granted, in addition to the tuition fee payment, and may be considered eligible by FCT.
5 — The registration fee payment failure concerning a cycle of studies prevents the student from registering for the subsequent academic year and the issuance of documents related to that cycle of studies.
Rules for Awarding of ECTS credits – Article no. 237
There is no partial awarding of credits to a Thesis or Dissertation, or similar units, which means that it is not possible to obtain credits concerning a Thesis, other final works such as Seminars, or Professional experience (no. 6 of Article no. 238).
This is valid except for the transition between cycles of studies of study programmes of the UC, carried out according to the principle that the maximum of training accomplished in the previous pathway must be recognised (no.6 of article no. 237). In addition, this is also valid to the cycles of studies undertaken in association and the Jointly Supervised PhDs.