PhD in Medieval Studies

General characterization

Degree pre-requisites

Duration: 8 semesters. Total credits: 240 credits (60 gained in course units of the study programme; 180 in the non-taught component). Type of non-taught component: Thesis dissertation.
The degree of «doutor» corresponds to the level 8 of the NQF and EQF-National Qualifications Framework/European Qualifications Framework.
The first two semesters are intended to deepen the training, with six Seminars. The conference cycle is streamed and the individual thesis project will be developed within the scope of the Seminar on Issues in Medieval Studies. In the 1st semester, the student choose an optional I between the offer available at participating universities or in postgraduate courses of foreign universities and in the 2nd semester choose between the offer available at participating universities or associated research units. The next 6 semesters will be occupied with research leading to the completion of the PhD thesis. Each Seminar is provided by professors from 4 different subject areas, not organized in autonomous modules but in articulation, promoting a true interdisciplinary approach. The thesis must be supervised by two professors from different disciplinary areas.

Several partnerships have been established with Spanish universities in which, under ERASMUS +, doctoral students have the opportunity to attend seminars and complement their training, if they so wish. They can also be integrated into the various projects taking place at IEM, even from a distance.
Doctoral theses can also be prepared under co-tutela, where the respective protocols are celebrated, or according to the Doctor Europaeus model.

Conditions of admittance

Those who can be admitted to this program include: a) Holders of an MA degree or legal equivalent; b) Holders of undergraduate degree, with an especially relevant academic or scientific curriculum, officially recognized by the institutions granting the degree as attesting ability for carrying over this cycle of studies; c) Holders of an especially relevant academic or scientific curriculum, officially recognized by the institutions granting the degree as attesting ability for carrying over this cycle of studies.

Evaluation rules

The study programme is taught according to the pedagogical model of the Universidade Aberta (internationally recognized) and complemented by a one-week doctoral retreat; during this period, the students present and discuss their thesis projects, contact the course's professors and international lecturers, and should also hold a small conference of postgraduate studies, in order to promote their integration in the professional academic environment. The study course leading to the doctoral degree includes the completion of a doctoral program that consists of curricular unit aimed at training for research; the realization of an original thesis, designed especially for this purpose, appropriate to the branch of knowledge or expertise. The seminar curricular units type are classified on a scale of 0-20. The final classification of the PhD course is expressed by approved or not approved formulas. In case of approval, the final classification of the PhD course is expressed in the range 10-20 on a scale of 0-20, doing the arithmetic average of the marks in which the curricular units with 10 ECTS. The final classification of the thesis is expressed by formulas approved or refused by justified nominal vote with no abstentions.

Structure