Regulamento De Doutoramento

PHD REGULATIONS THE FACULTY OF LAW, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF PORTUGAL

(APPROVED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC BOARD ON 17 JUNE 2010)

Structure

1. The Ph.D. programme is composed of a two-semester Ph.D. course equivalent to 60 ECTS and a period of six semesters for preparation of the dissertation, equivalent to 180 ECTS.

2. Admission to the dissertation preparation stage is dependent on the thesis proposal being approved.

Admission to the Ph.D. Course

3. Admission to the Ph.D. Course is decided by a committee composed of three professors, appointed by the Director of each School.

4. Applications will be accepted from candidates who have obtained a Masters Degree, or from those who have obtained a pre-Bologna Bachelor’s Degree and present a Curriculum Vitae of an outstanding standard.

5. Candidates’ applications should indicate the area in which they intend to do research, and should be supported by two letters of recommendation.

6. Admission to the Ph.D. course follows selection criteria based on the candidate’s academic merit and his/her motivation and availability, and includes the following procedures: a) an assessment of the candidate’s academic record, based on any scientific papers produced, including, namely, the final Masters project or appropriate equivalent; b) an interview, namely to assess the candidate’s motivation and availability.

6. Applications may be opened so as to allow for the Ph.D. course to begin in the 1st or 2nd semester of each year, and the Director of each School may establish a numerus clausus of candidates to be admitted.

Ph.D. Course

7. The aim of the Ph.D. course is to prepare the candidate to produce a thesis proposal and also to aid him/her to become part of the School’s scientific community.

8. The Ph.D. course may include a legal methodology course or subjects of a similar nature, a forum for scientific debate and sessions on scientific working and research methods.

9. Each School shall establish which subjects are to be offered each year, and candidates shall be required to attend at least two of these subjects.

10. During the Ph.D. course each candidate shall choose a topic for his/her dissertation, suggest a supervisor to the Director of the School and draw up a thesis proposal, which should be presented by the end of the 2nd semester of the course.

11. The thesis proposal should identify the legal issue to be researched and the methodology that will be adopted. It should also include an appendix with a plan of the work to be carried out. The total proposal should be no more than 63,000 characters in length, not counting the indices, bibliography and appendices.

12. The thesis proposal will be assessed publicly in the presence of the candidate by a jury composed of the supervisor and two professors appointed by a Plenary Session of the Scientific Board. 13. The jury shall produce a reasoned decision as to whether to accept the thesis proposal or to invite the candidate to reformulate the thesis proposal, for which a time limit of no more than three months shall be established.

14. The opportunity to reformulate the thesis proposal shall be granted only once, and following this the jury shall decide to accept the thesis proposal or reject it.

Dissertation preparation stage

15. The Ph.D. student will receive proper supervision, and, as a rule, meetings with the supervisor should be scheduled on a monthly basis.

16. At the end of each academic year the Ph.D. student shall present a detailed report on the methods used to carry out the research.

17. The School may invite the Ph.D. student to take part in a forum for scientific debate and allow him/her to present a topic which falls within the scope of his/her research.

18. When the thesis is submitted it should be accompanied by a detailed report from the supervisor on the dissertation preparation stage. This report should conclude with a statement as to the merits of the thesis, which should be referred to in the public defense of the dissertation.

19. The Ph.D. dissertation may not exceed 810,000 characters (including spaces, but not counting the index or the end bibliography), which corresponds to approximately 450 pages.

Ph.D. Defense

20. The jury in the Ph.D. defense is composed of the Rector of the Catholic University of Portugal and up to six additional members. 21. The supervisor and the other members of the jury which assessed the thesis proposal shall also sit on the jury of the Ph.D. defense.

22. Two examiners will be appointed, notwithstanding that all the jury members shall be entitled to actively participate in the public discussion of the dissertation.