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Program Access Information

Ph.D. in Agri-Food Economics

Communication Channels

Information for prospective doctoral students is available on the UPV Doctoral School’s website:

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

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

The following points of interest are worth noting for new applicants:

On the other hand, the pre-registration process for doctoral studies is based on the general pre-registration system of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV). This provides applicants with an online platform that facilitates their access regardless of their location.

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

The admission of each candidate requires two approvals: approval from the Doctoral School, which guarantees compliance with the minimum requirements set forth in Royal Decree 99/2011, and approval from the academic committee of the PhD programmeme (CAPD), which ensures compliance with the requirements set forth in the verification report, in accordance with the established criteria and the evaluation index (IV) score obtained by each candidate.

Access Profiles

The programme defines a recommended admission profile that exempts students holding a master’s degree in the field of Agricultural Economics, Environmental Economics and Natural Resources, and/or Development Economics, thereby ensuring that they are directly prepared for doctoral research:

Other complementary profiles are also accepted:

  • Graduates with technical master’s degrees (agricultural engineering, environmental sciences, etc.) related to the agri-food and environmental sectors, whose curriculum includes economic content.
  • Master’s degree holders in economics or business (Economics, Business Administration, etc.) or social sciences (Political Science, Sociology).

Admission Requirements and Criteria

Admission Requirements

The admission requirements are those set forth in Article 6 of Royal Decree 99/2011 of January 28 and its amendment by Royal Decree 576/2023 of July 4:

  1. In general, to be admitted to an official PhD programmeme, applicants must hold official Spanish bachelor’s degrees (Grado) or their equivalents, and a university master’s degree, or equivalent, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been earned across these two programmes.
  2. Likewise, those who fall into any of the following categories will be eligible:

a) Hold official Spanish university degrees or equivalent Spanish degrees, provided that the student has earned at least 300 ECTS credits across these programmes and demonstrate a Level 3 on the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education.

b) Hold a degree obtained under foreign educational systems belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), without the need for equivalency recognition, that certifies a Level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework, provided that this degree qualifies the holder for admission to doctoral studies in the country where it was issued.

c) Hold a degree obtained under foreign educational systems outside the EHEA, without the need for its recognition, provided that the university verifies that it certifies a level of education equivalent to that of the official Spanish Master’s degree and that it entitles the holder, in the country where the degree was issued, to pursue doctoral studies.

d) Hold another doctoral degree.

e) University graduates may also be admitted if, after securing a training position through the corresponding entrance exam for specialized health training positions, have successfully completed at least two years of training in a programme leading to an official degree in one of the specialties in Health Sciences.

As a general rule, and for applicants from countries where Spanish or English is not the native language—or where another language commonly used for scientific communication in their field of study is not the native language— a level equivalent to B2 on the CEFR is required in any of the official languages of the UPV, in English, or in another language commonly used for scientific communication in their field of study.

Admission Criteria

As for the programme’s admission criteria, we have:

  • Adequate knowledge of Spanish or English.
  • Endorsement from the faculty members who will supervise the thesis. Candidates will have access, through the programme’s website, to the various research teams and their areas of focus. For each team, the faculty members who comprise it and their research profiles are also displayed, along with their contact information.
  • Thesis proposal based on the template available on the programme’s website.

Evaluation of the Application

Applicants will be admitted based on the criteria and weightings listed below:

  • Academic record for the degree (30%).
  • Academic record for the master’s degreeme (60%).
  • Other qualifications (including language skills and professional experience) (10%).

In turn, each merit will be adjusted by a coefficient reflecting its affinity with the research areas of the PhD programmeme. This coefficient will range from 0.5 (low affinity) to 1 (maximum affinity). Degrees in agricultural economics, natural resources, environmental science, and development economics will be assigned a value of 1. Graduates with degrees in agri-food engineering, environmental sciences, economics and/or business, and social sciences will have a coefficient of 0.75. All other degrees will have an affinity coefficient of 0.5.

Additional Training Requirements

As discussed in section 3.2, various distinct admission profiles are considered: the recommended admission profile, which does not require the assignment of additional training requirements, and other admission profiles, which do require the assignment of additional training requirements. As reflected in the current regulations, these specific training supplements must be completed during the initial phase of thesis development, within a maximum period of one academic year.

In the second case, the Academic Committee may assign up to a maximum of 20 ECTS credits for additional training requirements in accordance with the following guidelines: The Academic Committee will review the curriculum vitae and admission profile of each doctoral student (section 3.2) to determine the need for personalized additional training requirements, based on the specific competencies required for their doctoral research project. If so, these supplementary courses will be covered by courses from the Master’s Degree in Agri-Food and Environmental Economics, offered by the Department of Economics and Social Sciences at the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

Candidates with the recommended profile—those holding a master’s degree in agricultural economics, environmental economics, or development economics—will be exempt from the requirement to complete additional training requirements. For other eligible profiles, the selection of courses follows different criteria:

  • Economic and Social Profile (Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Business Administration, Political Science, Sociology): prioritizing introductory courses in the agri-food sector, the environment, and rural development.
  • Technical profile (agricultural engineering, environmental sciences): emphasizing courses in economic theory and methods, which complement the conceptual foundation of students already familiar with sector-specific aspects.

For these two profiles, the committee may award up to a maximum of 10 ECTS credits in supplementary courses. For other profiles, the committee will assign supplementary credits based on the student’s profile and their thesis project. For these other profiles, the committee may assign up to a maximum of 20 ECTS credits for supplementary courses.