Admission criteria (PhD in Business Sciences)

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.
    d. 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.
  4. To be in possession of another Spanish title of doctor obtained according to previous university regulations.

Admission criteria

The selection of students who meet the access requirements will be carried out by the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme, taking into account the criteria established in art. 8 of the Doctoral Regulations of the University of Murcia (R-42/2012) and those established in the verification report. Specifically, the evaluation of each application will be carried out according to the following criteria and percentages, with each of them ranging from 0 to 5 points:

 

  • Academic record (50%).
  • Accredited knowledge of English (spoken and written) (20%).
  • Interest in the Doctoral Programme. All applications will be required to include a short letter attached (maximum 800 words) stating the student’s reasons and interests leading him/her to follow these studies (30%).

In the event of a tie in the applicants’ assessment, and in order to guarantee the maximum benefit from these studies, the Academic Committee will take into account particularly relevant or significant merits in relation to the doctoral programme:

  • Training and experience in research methodology and data analysis.
  • Participation in conferences and research activities in areas related to the programme

Should further clarification on the merits be needed, the Academic Commission could convene applicants, if deemed appropriate, for a personal interview in order to reach a final resolution.

Access equality and integration in all aspects will be guaranteed to students with special educational needs derived from physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities. Through the Support Unit for Students with Disabilities and /or Special Needs, whenever it applies and with accreditation of the situation of need, the University of Murcia will promote adaptations and availability of the appropriate resources for each situation.

All the relevant information on the admission process and the selection criteria will be included in the official website of the doctoral programme (http://www.um.es/web/economiayempresa/contenido/estudios/doctorados/empresa) as soon as it is verified.

According to Article 5 of the Doctorate Regulations of the University of Murcia (R-42/2012), part-time doctoral studies may be carried out, with respect to the provisions held in the Regulation of Progress and Permanence (R-429/2011) of October 23.

In any case, and even when the circumstances described in the Resolution for the completion of part-time studies occur, prior authorisation from the Academic Commission is required. The requirements and admission procedures remain the same as those described above.

The resolution of the admission process will be issued in accordance with established rules and evaluation criteria. It will be carried out with respect to the criteria of merit, equality and capacity. In any case, admission and selection will be restricted to the entry numbers set for the Doctoral Programme.

Access profile

The Doctoral Programme in Business Sciences has two clearly identified access profiles:

A. Recommended access profile:

The student is a Bachelor or Graduate.

The student has a university master’s degree oriented to the acquisition of specific competences related to academic research (e.g., Research Methodology, Data Analysis).

Students applying for admission to our doctoral programme with this profile are not required to complete training complements.
 

B. Professional profile:

  • The student is a Bachelor or Graduate.
  • The student has a professional master's degree (i.e., MBA, Master’s Degree in Human Resources, Finance, Marketing, etc.) aimed at acquiring specific skills related to the field of business management.

For students applying for admission to the programme with a professional profile, mandatory training complements will be considered.

Generally speaking, it is recommended that the student’s previous university studies, master's degree and/or professional experience have provided the student with:

  • Knowledge on general management and business organisation, strategic management, human resources management, marketing, finance/accounting, quality management, knowledge on statistics and econometrics.
  • A set of generic skills and abilities for research such as analysing, evaluating, synthesizing and integrating knowledge.
  • Students must prove their mastery of the languages that will be used in the doctoral training process (Spanish and English). The required level is at least equivalent to that acquired in high school.

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: 25