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Program Access Information

PhD in Health and Wellbeing Technologies

Information channels

Information for prospective PhD students is available on the UPV Doctoral School website:

https://www.upv.es/entidades/edoctorado/

All published information is available in three languages (Spanish, Valencian, and English).

Prospective applicants should take note of the following information:

In addition, the pre-enrolment process for PhD studies is managed through the general pre-enrolment system of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). This provides applicants with an online platform that can be accessed from anywhere.

The online application system includes admission quota management, which ensures that the number of admissions established for the programme is not exceeded.

The admission of each applicant requires two approvals: approval from the Doctoral School, which ensures compliance with the minimum requirements established in Royal Decree 99/2011, and approval from the Academic Committee of the PhD Programme (CAPD), which ensures compliance with the requirements set out in the programme verification report, in accordance with the established criteria and the Evaluation Index (IV) score obtained by each applicant.

Admission Profiles

Recommended Admission Profile

The programme is open to Spanish or foreign graduates who meet the recommended admission profile and hold a MECES level 3 qualification, such as a Master’s degree, former Engineering degree, Bachelor’s degree comprising at least 300 ECTS credits, or equivalent qualification, in Biomedical Sciences; Industrial Engineering, including Industrial Technologies, Organisation, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics or Materials; Computer Science; Telecommunications; Physics; Chemistry; Medicine; Pharmacy; Biology; or Biotechnology.

For PhD dissertations in Occupational Risk Prevention, the recommended admission profile also includes graduates in Civil Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Building Engineering and Architecture.

Other Admission Profiles: 

Applicants holding a MECES level 3 qualification, such as a Master’s degree, former Engineering degree, Bachelor’s degree comprising at least 300 ECTS credits, or equivalent qualification, in another field or with a different academic background may also be admitted, provided that the CAPD considers their education suitable for completing a PhD dissertation within the programme’s research areas.

Applicants with other academic backgrounds may be required to complete additional training where the Academic Committee and the proposed PhD supervisor consider this necessary in view of the applicant’s prior education.

Access Requirements and Admission Criteria

Access Requirements

The access requirements are those established in Article 6 of Royal Decree 99/2011 of 28 January, as amended by Royal Decree 576/2023 of 4 July:

  1. As a general rule, access to an official PhD programme requires an official Spanish Bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent degree, and an official Spanish Master’s degree, or an equivalent degree, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been completed across both degree programmes.
  2. Access shall also be granted to applicants who meet any of the following conditions:

a) Hold official Spanish University degrees, or equivalent Spanish degrees, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been completed through these degree programmes and that level 3 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education has been attained.

b) Hold a degree awarded under an education system within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), without the need for official recognition, which certifies level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework, provided that the degree grants access to PhD studies in the country in which it was awarded.

c) Hold a degree awarded under an education system outside the EHEA, without the need for official recognition, provided that the University verifies that the degree certifies a level of education equivalent to that of an official Spanish University Master’s degree and grants access to PhD studies in the country in which it was awarded.

d) Hold another PhD degree.

e) University graduates who, having obtained a specialised healthcare training position through the corresponding entrance examination, have successfully completed at least two years of a training programme leading to an official qualification in one of the Health Sciences specialisations may also be admitted.

Applicants are recommended to have an adequate command of academic English, equivalent to at least level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Admission Criteria

  • Letter of support from the proposed PhD supervisor.
  • Preliminary PhD Dissertation Proposal: applicants must submit an initial proposal in any format. It must include, at a minimum, background information and references, objectives and methodology.
  • Academic record: applicants must submit the academic records for all degrees used to gain access so that they can be assessed by the Academic Committee.
  • Research area in which the proposed PhD dissertation is situated.

Application Assessment

The Academic Committee shall assess applicants using an Evaluation Index (IV) on a scale from 0 to 100 points. Applicants who obtain an IV score of 70 points or more shall be admitted to the PhD programme.

a) For admission based on a Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent qualification, together with a Master’s degree: IV = NMG + NMM + 30G + 50M, where:

  • NMG = average grade for the Bachelor’s degree, on a scale from 0 to 10
  • NMM = average grade for the Master’s degree, on a scale from 0 to 10
  • G = relevance factor for the Bachelor’s degree
  • M = relevance factor for the Master’s degree.

Values for G:

  • Occupational Risk Prevention: Biomedical Sciences, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Pharmacy, Biology, Biotechnology, Civil Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Building Engineering and Architecture. G = 1.
  • Other research areas: Biomedical Sciences, G = 1; Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Pharmacy, Biology and Biotechnology, G = 0.8; other degrees, G = 0.7.

Values for M:

  • Occupational Risk Prevention: Master’s Degree in Occupational Risk Prevention, M = 1.
  • Other research areas: Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering, M = 1.
  • All research areas: Master’s degrees with 75% relevance, M = 0.75; Master’s degrees with 50% relevance, M = 0.5.

b) For applicants holding a former pre-Bologna degree or Engineering degree at MECES level 3, or an equivalent qualification: IV = 2NM + 80G, where:

  • All research areas: 75% relevance, G = 0.8; 50% relevance, G = 0.5.
  • NM = average grade for the former degree or Engineering degree, on a scale from 0 to 10
  • G = relevance factor:
  • Occupational Risk Prevention: Medicine, Architecture and Engineering. G = 1.
  • Other research areas: Medicine and Engineering. G = 1.

Additional Training Requirements

There are two distinct admission profiles: the recommended admission profile, which does not require any additional training, and other admission profiles, which may require additional training where the Academic Committee considers it necessary. This specific additional training must be successfully completed during the initial stage of the PhD dissertation and within a maximum period of one academic year. The Academic Committee may assign up to 20 ECTS credits of additional training. Where an applicant is admitted under a profile other than the recommended one, the Academic Committee shall review the applicant’s study plan to determine whether they have acquired the required knowledge and competences. Where necessary, the Academic Committee shall define the additional training requirements according to the relevant research area. These requirements shall consist of courses from the Master’s Degree in Occupational Risk Prevention or the Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering.