Program Access Information

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:

• Information about the pre-registration process and its deadlines: https://www.upv.es/entidades/edoctorado/presenta-tu-solicitud-2025/
• Information on the various PhD programmes offered: https://www.upv.es/entidades/edoctorado/todos-los-programas-de-doctorado-ofertados-en-upv/
• Guidance for new students: https://www.upv.es/entidades/edoctorado/consejos-para-nuevos-estudiantes/

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.

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 of 28 January, which regulates official PhD studies, as amended by Royal Decree 576/2023 of 4 July; 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

The PhD Programme in Propulsion Systems for Transport is intended for applicants who, during their previous Bachelor’s and Master’s level studies, have acquired knowledge of thermofluid dynamics, including thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, computational analysis, transport phenomena, reactive and non-reactive flows, combustion, energy and emissions control, together with knowledge of propulsion system technologies. Applicants wishing to begin their research training within the scope of the programme may demonstrate this prior knowledge by holding the Master’s Degree in Propulsion Systems for Sustainable Mobility awarded by the UPV, or another Master’s degree or equivalent qualification that complies with the applicable regulations and, together with their undergraduate education, demonstrates appropriate training in thermofluid dynamics.

According to the description of the UPV Master’s Degree in Propulsion Systems for Sustainable Mobility, applicants with the recommended admission profile are expected to have developed the following competences before entering the PhD programme:

• Identify the main thermofluid-dynamic processes that influence propulsion systems and determine their performance, emissions and environmental impact, while mastering the theoretical and experimental tools required for their analysis.
• Apply critical thinking to propulsion systems by identifying fundamental aspects and proposing appropriate solutions that take account of sustainability and technical and economic feasibility.
• Assess the feasibility of alternatives to conventional propulsion systems through a detailed analysis of the thermofluid-dynamic and chemical principles that govern them, including system-level assessment using life-cycle analysis techniques.
• Contribute to the development of theoretical and experimental techniques that enable propulsion systems to be developed more efficiently and accurately.

The recommended admission profile therefore includes applicants who hold the Master’s Degree in Propulsion Systems for Sustainable Mobility from the Universitat Politècnica de València (degree code 4310980), or another Master’s degree or equivalent qualification that complies with the applicable regulations and, following assessment by the CAPD of the applicant’s academic record and prior training, demonstrates appropriate knowledge of both thermofluid dynamics and propulsion system technologies. In this case, no additional training shall be required.

Other Admission Profiles

For admission profiles requiring additional training, applicants must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent qualification that complies with the applicable regulations. Following assessment by the CAPD of the applicant’s academic record and prior training, the qualification must demonstrate appropriate knowledge of thermofluid dynamics.

Applicants who do not meet any of the admission profiles described above shall not be eligible for admission to the programme.

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 University 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.

Under no circumstances shall such admission imply official recognition of the applicant’s previous degree or its recognition for any purpose other than access to PhD studies.

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.

Under no circumstances shall such admission imply official recognition of the applicant’s previous degree or its recognition for any purpose other than access to PhD studies.

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.

Admission Criteria

As a general rule, applicants from countries in which neither Spanish nor English is an official language must demonstrate proficiency in either English or Spanish equivalent to at least level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

One of the programme’s admission criteria is a letter of support from the proposed PhD supervisor.

Information on the various research teams and their research areas is available on the programme website. For each team, the programme also provides details of the members of academic staff, their research profiles and their contact information.

Applications shall be assessed on a scale of up to 100 points, according to the following criteria and maximum scores:

• Relevance to the programme (maximum 25 points): recommended admission profile, 25 points; other admission profile, 15 points; unrelated qualifications, 0 points.
• Academic record (maximum 65 points): for the defined admission profiles, both the recommended profile and profiles requiring additional training, between 0 and 45 points shall be awarded. A grade of 5 corresponds to 0 points and a grade of 10 corresponds to 45 points, based on the average of the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree grades or, where a single degree is submitted in accordance with the applicable regulations, the grade obtained for that degree. Unrelated qualifications shall receive 0 points. The quality and relevance of the Master’s dissertation or equivalent shall account for up to 20 additional points.
• Other merits related to the PhD programme, including additional academic training, professional experience, participation in research projects and scientific publications: up to 10 points.

A minimum score of 50 points is required for admission to the PhD programme.

When submitting an application, applicants with special educational needs arising from a disability may indicate their specific requirements regarding possible curricular adaptations, alternative pathways or alternative study arrangements so that the Academic Committee can take them into account. All accessibility services available at the UPV shall be made available through the UPV Support Service for Students with Disabilities (Fundació CEDAT), including guidance, classroom and study support, loans of assistive technology for study, transport and communication. Where necessary, the Academic Committee shall also assess the need for possible curricular adaptations.

As stated in section 3.2, two distinct admission profiles are considered: the recommended admission profile, which does not require any additional training, and other admission profiles, which do. In the latter case, the Academic Committee shall assign the following additional training courses, offered as part of the UPV Master’s Degree in Propulsion Systems for Sustainable Mobility, for which the I.O.I. acts as the Responsible Academic Unit (ERT): CMT – Clean Mobility & Thermofluids:

• Socioeconomic, Legal and Sustainability Framework. Course code 35558, 4.5 ECTS credits.
• Electric Propulsion. Course code 35569, 4.5 ECTS credits.
• Thermal Propulsion. Course code 35570, 6 ECTS credits.

As established by the applicable regulations, these specific additional training requirements must be successfully completed during the initial stage of the PhD dissertation and within a maximum period of one academic year.