Doctoral degree in Natural Resources and Environment
Twenty-first century society requires technologies that allow the use of natural resources to be optimised following sustainability and circularity criteria. The programme has various research lines on using geological resources and minimising the environmental impact of this use. Use is considered holistically, covering all environmental aspects, from the harvesting of raw materials to their disposal once they have become waste, and including all of the stages in their physicochemical transformation. Within this framework, the doctoral programme in Natural Resources and Environment proposes a series of research lines that has fostered greater awareness of environmental conservation in the use of natural resources.
The aim of the doctoral programme in Natural Resources and Environment is to provide advanced research training in natural resource use and its environmental impact.
| Academic year | Start date: 1 October End date: 30 September |
| Duration |
4 years (full-time) or 7 years (part-time) For students enrolled before 19/07/2023: 3 years (full-time) or 5 years (part-time) |
| Number of places | 10 |
| Official degree | Doctoral degree in Natural Resources and Environment from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (recorded in the Ministry of Education's degree register) |
| Study load |
To be chosen when you pre-enrol:
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| Fees | |
| Coordinators | Toni Dorado Castaño |
| Secretary’s office | UPC-Manresa Av. Bases de Manresa, 61-73 (08242 - Manresa) Tel.: +34 938 777 228 Email: doctorat.manresa@upc.edu |
- Mineral resources: characterization of deposits, optimization of processing and recovery processes in mining waste.
- Water resources: characterization and treatment of contaminants, study of basins, rainfall, percolation, evaporation, ...
- Geothermal resources: development of technologies for their use.
- Agroforestry resources: agricultural, forestry, environmental and food.
- Atmospheric pollution: characterization of emission and immission sources, treatment and valorization of contaminants.
- Soil pollution: characterization and treatment.
- Treatment of industrial and urban emissions for the conservation of natural resources.
- Recovery of resources in waste: biological, physical, chemical and materials science processes.
- Urban mining: recycling of waste solids.
- Rationalization of the use of energy and material resources in electronic, mechanical and ICT systems.
- Development of new products under sustainability and energy efficiency criteria.
- Control, monitoring and optimization of natural resources with industry 4.0: use of sensors, numerical modeling, artificial intelligence techniques and integration in software development.
- Obtaining georesources: process optimization, security, environmental and social impacts.
- Education and awareness about geological heritage and natural resources (water, energy, ...).
When?
Open all year. Choose the year you wish to start in.
How?
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- Check you meet the entrance requirements.
- Make sure your documents have been legalised.
- Have the endorsement of a director and attach it to the application.
Where?
The UPC's pre-enrolment website.
Who decides on admission?
The academic committee of the programme is in charge of evaluating and admitting candidates.
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- It prioritises students who have had a thesis supervisor appointed.
- Having a means of funding is essential.
When will I know if I have been admitted?
Within a month from the start of the process.
Document generated
The Doctoral Studies Support Unit of the UPC in Manresa generates the letter of admission once a decision on admission has been taken.
First-year students
How?
In person.
Where?
At Unitat de Suport a la Gestió d'Estudis de Doctorat of UPC-Manresa
Av. Bases de Manresa, 61-73
08242 Manresa
Tel: 938 777 228
doctorat.manresa@upc.edu
When?
- Ordinary enrolment: From 1st to 31st of October.
- Extraordinary enrolment: From 1st to 28th of February.
Second-year students and above
How?
On-line
When?
By e-Secretaria
When?
- Ordinary enrolment: From 1st to 31st of October.
Documents generated
- Enrolment (e-Secretaria)
- Registration certificate (e-Secretaria)
Who evaluates?
The Academic Commission of each program.
How is avaluated?
Each student must enter the activities carried out on the DRAC platform following the instructions on this link by checking the corresponding box. You can also refer to this video tutorial.
It is important to note that the director must validate the proposal through Atenea PhD according to the established schedule.
What is avaluated?
The specific requirements to pass the doctoral student's activities document consist of accrediting the completion of at least one of the following activities during the academic course:
- Articles published in indexed journals
- Stays at other universities or research centres or resulting from an agreement (co-supervisor, mobility, Erasmus Mundus, etc.)
- Presentations at International conferences
For first year students, the Accademic Comission also considers participation in courses, seminars and conferences.
When?
- In July. The supervisor and the student receive an e-mail stating how and when they must submit the documents for the academic committee of the programme to assess.
When will I know the result?
In September, when the committee has taken a decision, you will receive an e-mail telling you that the marks have been uploaded to the e-Secretaria.
Documents generated
- Official academic transcript
What is it?
The research plan is an outline of the project you are working on that starts off the research and acts as a guide over the course of the degree.
What format must it have?
When do I have to submit it?
The research plan is presented and publicly defended before an examination committee in the first year.
A public defence may take place in:
- September (students who enrolled for the first time in October).
- February (students who enrolled for the first time in the extraordinary February enrolment period).
To check dates, ask the administrative person in charge of each programme.
What does a public defence consists of?
It consists of the oral presentation of the research plan. It lasts a maximum of 20 minutes, followed by comments and questions from the examination committee. The mark will be "Satisfactory" or "Unsatisfactory". If your mark is "Unsatisfactory", the academic committee of the programme may give you up to six months to make the necessary amendments.
The examination committee is composed of three PhD holders from the doctoral programme. The thesis supervisors and the thesis tutors may not form part of the examination committee.
The Data Management Plan (DMP) is a methodological document that describes the lifecycle of data collected, generated, and processed during the doctoral thesis. This plan must include at least the types of data to be processed, their format, origin, storage, and measures to ensure that they will be treated FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). You will find more information on managing research data at: https://dadesrecerca.upc.edu/
If the research involves interaction with humans or the collection and/or processing of personal data, it will be necessary to ensure compliance with the measures provided for in the General Data Protection Regulation. This brief guide will help you determine which measures are necessary.
For more information: https://bibliotecnica.upc.edu/investigadors/pla-gestio-dades. The template for preparing the data plan and attaching it to this document as an Annex is available at: https://dmp.csuc.cat/public_templates
The personal training plan must include a forecast of the various training activities that will be carried out during the doctoral studies (courses, conferences, seminars, mobility actions, etc.). The training plan must necessarily include some training activity related to open science.
Once the training activities included in the training plan (or others that may arise) have been completed, the corresponding justification must be obtained and the information must be entered into the Doctoral Student Activity Document (DAD). It is important to keep in mind that this document is a living document that can be updated throughout the doctoral studies.
Courses, seminars, or specific workshops of the Doctoral Program:
- Training related to the scientific equipment that will be used by the doctoral student (use, regulations, and/or risk prevention).
- Participation in courses, seminars, or specific workshops of the Doctoral Program, whether scheduled by the research groups in which the doctoral student is working or organized by the Program itself.
- Attendance plan for conferences, symposia, and/or training schools.
Transversal Training:
The transversal training offer organized by the Doctoral School, classified into different training lines to configure a personalized training itinerary, can be found at:
It is mandatory to include some activity related to open science and citizen science (which can be a scientific dissemination activity to society). Once the course is completed, the corresponding justification must be obtained and the information must be entered into the DAD.
Mobility:
If stays at other research centers or universities are planned, details and expected dates must be included. Keep in mind that research stays in higher education institutions or prestigious research centers outside of Spain equal to or exceeding 3 months allow applying for the International Mention More information.
When?
All year round (except August and Christmas holidays).
Take into account the time required to complete the deposit process.
How?
Through the Phedra application.What are the program's criteria for depositing the thesis?
Have at least 1 article published or definitively accepted for publication, as the first author, in journals indexed in the field of expertise and referenced in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), in quartile Q2 or higher in their area, and 1 article published or definitively accepted for publication in at least quartile Q3 of their area. The articles must derive from the research work conducted during the doctoral thesis. The quartile of the latest available year at the time of submitting the article will also be considered.
For students who started their doctorate before the 2024/2025 academic year:
Have 1 article published or definitively accepted for publication and 1 article under review, in journals indexed in the field of expertise and referenced in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) in at least quartile Q3 of their area. The articles must derive from the research work conducted during the doctoral thesis (Agreement CA 19/7/2018).
Documents required for thesis deposit?
- Thesis reviewed by the supervisor(s)
- Thesis abstract in Catalan, Spanish, and English
- Authorization from the supervisor(s)
- Two external expert reports (only if the thesis is not presented as a compendium of articles)
- Proposal for the doctoral thesis defense tribunal with the following requirements:
- Doctors recognized in their field, with accredited research
- The majority must be external to the program
- Supervisors or tutors cannot be part of the tribunal
- Members from collaborating entities responsible for research stays cannot be part of the tribunal
- Standardized curriculum vitae for the proposed thesis tribunal
- Updated activity document (DAD)
- Rights model to include the thesis in TDX
In specific cases:
- Compendium of articles:
- Request for presentation of the doctoral thesis as a compendium of publications
- Written acceptance from co-authors of the articles included in the compendium
- International Mention: Request for international mention on the doctoral title
- Thesis subject to temporary embargo agreements: Request for temporary embargo of the doctoral thesis
- Theses with protection processes and/or confidentiality agreements:
What are the criteria for presenting the thesis as a compendium of articles?
Option 1: Have at least 3 articles published or definitively accepted for publication, in journals indexed in the field of expertise and referenced in the Journal of Citation Report (JCR) in quartiles Q1 or Q2 of their area. The doctoral candidate must appear, at a minimum, as the first author in two of them.
Option 2: Have at least 4 articles published or definitively accepted for publication, in journals indexed in the field of expertise and referenced in the Journal of Citation Report (JCR) in at least quartile Q3 of their area. The doctoral candidate must appear, at a minimum, as the first author in two of them.
Here you can consult the Regulations.
What are the criteria for requesting the international mention?
A stay of at least 3 months in a recognized institution outside Spain or several stays, where one must last at least 1 month.
At least part of the thesis (minimum abstract and conclusions) must be written and presented in a language commonly used in scientific communication, different from the official languages of Spain. Exceptions apply if the stay is in a Spanish-speaking country.
Two reports from experts who did not supervise or tutor the doctoral candidate during the stay(s).
At least one expert doctor from a higher education or research institution outside Spain, different from the person responsible for the stay, must be part of the thesis evaluation tribunal.
Here you can consult the Regulations.
Aplications...
- To change from full-time to part-time study.
- To change thesis supervisor.
- For an extension.
- To stop studying.
Where?
Go to the standard application form section in the UPC's e-services portal and upload the document established for each procedure by the Doctoral School (forms).
For information and procedures pertaining to...
- Cotutelles
- Agreements
- Industrial doctorates
- Grants
- Mobility
- Legalisation of documents
- Equivalences
Where?
Consult the website of the Doctoral School of the UPC.
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