Admission criteria (PhD in Criminology)

Access requirements

Article 7 of Rector's Resolution 42/2012 of February 6, ordering the publication of the Doctorate Regulations of the University of Murcia, establishes the requirements to access a doctoral programme:

  1. According to the regulations governing access to any official doctorate programme (Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January), candidates must be in possession of an official bachelor’s degree or equivalent and a master’s degree.
  2. In addition, students who are in any of the following cases may also access:
    1. Have an official Spanish university degree, or of another country belonging to the European Higher Education Area, giving access to a master’s degree programme as per the provisions of Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October, and have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS of official university studies, of which, at least 60 must be at master's degree level.
    2. Have an official Spanish Graduate Diploma containing, according to EU law, at least 300 ECTS. These graduates must compulsorily complete the training supplements referred to in article 7.2 of Royal Decree 99/2011, of January 28, unless the syllabus of the corresponding degree includes credits in research training that are equivalent in training value to research credits in master's programmes.
    3. University graduates who, after obtaining a training place in the corresponding test to access specialised health training, have successfully passed at least two years training in a programme to obtain the official title of one of the specialities in Health Sciences.
    4. Have a qualification obtained in accordance with foreign education systems, it need not be officially recognised, the General Doctorate Committee will verify that this qualification accredits a training level equivalent to that of the official Spanish Master's degree and gives access to doctoral studies in the country where it was issued. This admission does not imply, in any case, the official recognition of a student’s previous degrees nor its recognition for purposes others than accessing doctoral education.
    5. To be in possession of another Spanish title of doctor obtained according to previous university regulations.

Applicant profile

The applicant profiles are as follows:

  1. Graduates in Criminology holding a Master’s degree with criminological content. This is the best profile because the student has achieved general competencies as well as more specific competencies -in the master’s degree- in criminology and also the competencies needed for research. In addition, the student will have a good command of a foreign language, which although not mandatory it will help the student to read and understand English language texts easily
  2. Graduates/undergraduates in sciences related to criminology holding a master’s degree in criminology which enables admission onto the PhD programme. This encompasses students holding a degree in Law, Psychology, Sociology, Medicine, Social Work (…). That is to say, those diplomas that appear in the Syllabus of Criminology of Spanish universities, which have a basic criminological academic training (degree) and a more specific criminological academic training (master’s degree).
  3. Graduates/undergraduates in Criminology holding a non-criminological master’s degree which allows the admission to the PhD programme.
  4. Students holding a master’s degree in Criminology and a degree that is not in criminology, since the specialisation carried out concerns criminology and is a step prior to the doctorate studies.
  5. 5.    Graduates/undergraduates in sciences related to criminology holding a non-criminological master’s degree which allows the admission to the PhD programme. This is the case of those students holding a degree in Law, Psychology, Sociology, Medicine, Social Work (…). That is to say, those diplomas that appear in the Syllabus of Criminology of Spanish universities, which have a specific criminological academic training and basic competencies to start research works in the scope of Criminology.
  6. 6.    Graduates/undergraduates holding a master’s degree that allows the admission to the PhD programme, although none of them are related to criminology. Obviously, this is the most complex profile because this type of students will need a specific academic training, linked not only to complementary academic training but to self-learning. However, the EHEA is characterised by the mobility of students and thus following this concept of access, thereby enabling students to delve into the topic matter of this postgraduate programme.

Admission Criteria

In the event that the number of applications exceeds the number of available places, the Academic Committee will choose the applications in accordance with the following criteria:

  1. Admission profile 1 excludes the others.
  2. Admission profile 2 excludes 3, 4, 5, and 6.
  3. Admission profile 3 excludes 4, 5, and 6.
  4. Admission profile 4 excludes 5 and 6.
  5. Admission profile 5 excludes 6.

However, if the number of applicants exceeds the number of available places and the Academic Committee should exclude some applications belonging to the same group, this process will be carried out using these criteria.

  • Average mark of the academic record, including education at degree and postgraduate level. The weighting of the average mark will be the following:
    • Profile 1: Graduates in Criminology holding a criminological master’s degree: 50 % of the average mark of both qualifications.
    • Profile 2: Graduates in sciences related to Criminology holding a criminological master’s degree: 40 % for sciences related to Criminology and 60 % for the criminological master’s degree.
    • Profile 3: Graduates in Criminology holding a non-criminological master’s degree: 70 % for the first and 30 % for the second.
    • Profile 4: Graduates holding a criminological master’s degree and a general degree: 80 % for the master’s degree and 20 % for the degree.
    • Profile 5: Graduates in sciences related to Criminology holding a non-criminological master’s degree: 60 % for the former and 40 % for the master’s degree.
    • Graduates students holding a non-criminological master’s degree: in both cases, the weighting would be 50 %.
  • Interviews. In cases where candidates still have the same marks, the Academic Committee will interview them assessing the student’s preparation and motivation to access to the doctorate programme, with the place being assigned to the most qualified student.

The Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme will be responsible for assigning the places available in accordance with these criteria. 

Conversely, there are situations in which special treatment is required although they are not directly detailed in the admission criteria:

  • Part-time students. The criteria and admission process for those students is the same as for the other students but the particularities of this situation will be taken into account.
  • Students with special educational needs due to disability will have support and advisory systems for each and every phase of the Doctoral Programme.

Students with Special Educational Needs

Article 8 of the Doctorate Regulations of the University of Murcia states that in the event of students with special educational needs derived from a disability, the selection and admissions systems and procedures will include the relevant action to favour, as far as possible, equality in the access conditions and integration in all aspects. To do so, the Service of Attention to Diversity and Volunteers (ADV) will evaluate the need for possible syllabus adaptations.

Number of places available: 35