Why do a doctoral degree in Psychology, Health and Quality of Life at the UdG?

This doctoral degree is an opportunity to gain research skills for those who are interested in positive social change.From the perspective of welfare and quality of life, various highly qualified researchers offer their experience and the specific lines of research that they conduct in their respective teams, so that students on the doctoral programme who choose these options can acquire specific knowledge, skills and abilities taking part in active research projects, at both a national and international level.The active lines are:

1. Psychological welfare, life satisfaction and values
2. Risk behaviours for health and disease prevention
3. Subjectivities, discourses and contexts
4. Basic psychological processes and psychopathology
5. Psychopathology in children and young people
6. Ageing, Disability Culture and Health
7. Psychology and intervention
8. Childhood, youth and family

The main aim of the Doctoral Programme in Psychology, Health and Quality of Life at the University of Girona is to train researchers in the fields of psychology, health, welfare and quality of life.This doctoral programme encompasses both content relating to the psychological factors involved in disease prevention and health promotion, in areas of particular social and healthcare interest (risk behaviours relating to driving, addictions, sexual relationships, stress and pain, professional burnout, etc.),and questions relating to the welfare and quality of life of people, whether they are healthy or sick, during the different phases of their life cycle, and they offer particular lines of research linked to the development of social policies, in their broadest sense, and to social, psychosocial and psychoeducational intervention programmes.

1.Psychological welfare, life satisfaction and values

Potential doctoral thesis research supervisors: Dr Mònica González Carrasco, Dr Carme Montserrat Boada, Dr Sara Malo Cerrato, Dr Xavier Oriol Granado, Dr Rafael Miranda Ayala; Dr Esther Argelagós Castaño, Dr David Cámara Liébana

Tutors: Dr Mònica González Carrasco, Dr Carme Montserrat Boada, Dr Sara Malo Cerrato, Dr Xavier Oriol Granado

• Life satisfaction and aspirational values
• Childhood rights and the social protection system.
• Audiovisual media between adolescents and adults
• Psychometric instruments of subjective wellbeing and positive psychology

2.Risk behaviours for health and disease prevention

Potential doctoral thesis research supervisors: Dr Josefina Patiño Masó, Dr Maria Aymerich Andreu, Dr Sílvia Font Mayolas, Dr Mònica Cunill Olivas, Dr Rosa Suñer Soler, Dr Sílvia Mayoral Rodríguez, Dr Francisco Calvo García, Dr Bernat C. Serdà Ferrer, Dr Rocio Casañas Sánchez

Tutors: Dr Sílvia Font Mayolas, Dr Rosa Suñer Soler, Dr Josefina Patiño Masó, Dr Sílvia Mayoral Rodríguez, Dr Francisco Calvo García , Dr Maria Aymerich Andreu, Dr Mònica Cunill Olivas

• Sexual risk behaviours and prevention in the face of AIDS, other STIs and unwanted pregnancies
• Risk and prevention behaviour of vehicle users and pedestrians
• Substance addiction
• Stress, pain and quality of life
• Quality of life during ageing
• Processes of loss and grief
• Emotional changes and quality of life in people with chronic diseases

3.Subjectivities, discourses and contexts

Potential doctoral thesis directors: Dr. Teresa Cabruja Ubach, Dr. Pilar Albertín Carbó

Tutors: Dr. Pilar Albertín Carbó, Dr. Teresa Cabruja Ubach,

• Subjectivities, discursive practices and power relations in science, culture and everyday interactions.
• Science, construction of difference and society
• Ethnography: research on cultural practices and collective imaginaries (drug consumption, professional socialisation, gender violence and inequalities).
• Women, victimology and penal system

4.Basic psychological processes and psychopathology

Potential doctoral thesis research supervisors: Dr Esperança Villar Hoz, Dr Beatriz M. Caparrós Caparrós, Dr Francesc Sidera Caballero, Dr Elisabet Serrat Sellabona, Dr Miquel Llorente Espino, Dr Thomas Castelain, Dr Carme Montserrat, Dr Rafael Miranda Ayala, Dr Silvia Mayoral, Dr Núria Mallorquí i Bagué, Dr Adrià Vilà Balló

Tutors: Dr Beatriz M. Caparrós Caparrós, Dr Esperança Villar Hoz, Dr Francesc Sidera Caballero, Dr Elisabet Serrat Sellabona, Dr Miquel Llorente Espino, Dr Thomas Castelain, Dr Silvia Mayoral

• Human motivation and adaptation processes
• Psychopathology in adults
• Human communication and memory
• Primatology, cognition and animal behaviour
• Social cognition and communication; reasoning and arguing

5.Psychopathology in children and young people

Potential doctoral thesis research directors: Dr. Beatriz Caparrós Caparrós and Dr. Francesc Sidera Caballero, Dr. Silvia Mayoral

Tutors: Dr Beatriz Caparrós Caparrós and Dr Francesc Sidera Caballero

• Use and abuse of internet and mobile telephony
• Personality and other psychological factors involved in the origin and maintenance of emotional and behavioural disorders

6.Ageing, Disability Culture and Health

Potential doctoral thesis research supervisors: Dr Mònica González Carrasco, Dr Maria Aymerich Andreu, Dr Pilar Monreal Bosch, Dr Arantza del Valle Gómez, Dr Bernat C. Serdà Ferrer, Dr Silvia Mayoral, Dr Rosa Suñer Soler

Tutors: Dr Mònica González Carrasco, Dr Pilar Monreal Bosch, Dr Bernat C. Serdà Ferrer, Dr Silvia Mayoral

• Adaptation and validation of psychometric instruments in the area of ageing, disability and mental health
• Psychological wellbeing and active and satisfactory ageing

7.Psychology and intervention

Potential doctoral thesis research supervisors: Dr Sara Malo Cerrato,Dr Carme Montserrat Boada,Dr Xavier Oriol Granado, Dr Rafael Miranda Ayala, Dr Rocio Casañas Sanchez

Tutors: Dr Carme Montserrat Boada, Dr Sara Malo Cerrato, Dr Xavier Oriol Granado, Dr Rafael Miranda Ayala

8.Childhood, youth and family

Potential doctoral thesis research supervisors: Dr Francesc Sidera Caballero, Dr Marta Sadurní Brugué, Dr Xavier Oriol Granado, Dr Rafael Miranda Ayala, Dr Silvia Mayoral, Carme Montserrat, Dr Thomas Castelain, Dr Rocio Casañas Sanchez

Tutors: Dr Francesc Sidera Caballero, Dr Xavier Oriol Granado, Dr Rafael Miranda Ayala, Dr Silvia Mayoral, Carme Montserrat

The Doctoral Programme in Psychology, Health and Quality of Life is governed by Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January, which establishes the organisation of official doctoral studies programmes.The access requirements are those set out in this Royal Decree and which can be consulted at the following web address www.udg.edu/doctorat/acces.

1. Academic record (40%)
2. Previous experience in research (20%)
3. Previous scientific publications (20%)
4. Knowledge of languages (preferably English) (10%)
5. Suitability for the doctoral programme ascertained from a personal interview (10%)

Regarding educational activities, the School of Doctoral Studies organises courses, seminars and other cross-disciplinary educational activities (soft skills) directed at research training and assisting with the writing and presentation of the doctoral thesis.We ask that the courses be given in English as our language of choice, although Catalan is the language most frequently used.They are generally 10-hour courses or seminars.There are a series of activities that are transferable and are of interest to all doctoral programmes, and others that are specific to a particular doctoral programme 

Educational course catalogue

For the doctoral programme in Psychology, Health and Quality of Life, some of the professional options for doctoral degree holders are:

1. Academic and research career.Academic career in universities and research centres.Teaching in bachelor's degree and postgraduate studies and leading research projects in national and international institutions.
2. Clinical and sanitary area.Psychological and sanitary assistance and development of intervention programmes to improve people’s quality of life.Also to facilitate collaboration with hospitals, general practitioners and health centres to implement research projects.
3. Consulting services and and social intervention.Governmental institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGO) and private companies also provide contexts where research and analysis skills are valued as factors that affect the health and well-being of the population.The design of social policies, health-promotion programmes and community projects is another possibility for working in this area.
4. Business and organisational sphere.Managing the welfare and the health at work is another area very well considered by companies and organisations.  Advising on the management of stress, quality of life in the workplace and the development of healthy organisational cultures.
5. Innovation, entrepreneurship and transfer.Exploring own initiatives in the area of health and welfare, such as the creation of tech companies centring on innovative psychological or sanitary solutions, or the development of digital applications directed at the promotion of mental health.

Doctoral theses read in the programme

Doctoral theses read in the area

Doctoral student guide

Doctoral Programme in Psychology, Health and Quality of Life

Rules for continuing with doctoral studies

Even though the website of the School of Doctoral Studies sets out the rules for continuing with doctoral studies, the Academic Committee considers it appropriate to create the present document with the objective of reinforcing the available information, thus facilitating access to it for supervisors and students alike.Given that the new regulations for doctoral studies were recently approved, the present document differentiates the conditions for continuing with studies according to whether students enrolled on the doctoral programme before or after the 2023-24 academic year.The present document was approved by the Academic Committee in the meeting of 16 December 2024.

Rules for continuing with doctoral studies

Compulsory training for doctoral students

Mandatory training:  20 hours of cross-disciplinary training

It is compulsory for doctoral students to take part in:

• Course: “Writing and Publishing Articles on Psychology, Education and Health”

The rest of the cross-disciplinary teaching hours can be freely chosen from the courses offered by the School of Doctoral Studies, although the Academic Committee highly recommends attending:

• Course: “Ethics in Psychology and Education Research”

In response to the changes resulting from Royal Decree 576/2023, of 4 July, about procedure of doctoral theses follow-up at the University of Girona, students who enrol on the programme from the 2023-2024 academic year as part of their personal education plan, will be obliged to also carry out one additional annual course from the third year (assuming that the 2 compulsory credits will be done during the two first years).These courses can be from the School of Doctoral Studies, from language courses, from research and open science training course offered within or outside of the UdG.

Using this link you can find the full Personal Education Plan Document , approved by the Academic Committee in its meeting of 16 December 2024.

Format criteria for the doctoral thesis at the University of Girona and submission of theses in electronic format

Before submitting their thesis for revision, the doctoral degree student has to guarantee that the work meets the format criteria set out in the regulations.The Academic Committee will be responsible for checking it and for notifying the student of the appropriate considerations before starting the revision application process.This task will be carried out within a period of 5 working days, starting from the date of the application.

Regulations on format criteria 

The Academic Committee recommends that, in the case of theses submitted in monographic format that result in publications, the doctoral student clearly specifies this modality to avoid possible confusion with the format of publications summary.

Requirements for submitting the thesis as a compendium of publications

The Academic Committee considers it appropriate to create the present document to indicate in detail the structure to be used for a thesis as a compendium of publications within the framework of the Doctoral Programme in Psychology, Health and Quality of Life.The goal is to facilitate the task of the supervisors in guiding their students and, at the same time, to help doctoral students to organise their thesis, according to this modality.The present document was approved by the Academic Committee in its meeting of 16 December 2024.

Requirements for presenting the thesis as a compendium of publications

Requirements for presenting the thesis as a compendium of publications

In the Doctoral Programme in Psychology, Health and Quality of Life, the theses shown under this modality, must meet the following requirements:

1. Minimum of published or accepted articles: 2.
2. One of these articles can be a systematic revision.
3. Requirements for articles: One of the articles has to be published or accepted for publication in journals included in the Journal Citation Index (JCR).The second article has to be published or accepted for publication in journals listed in the JCR, or in the Scimago Journal Rank (SJR), in the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), in the Emerging Source Citation Index (ESCI) or in other databases of similar prestige.

In addition, the regulation indicate that the following conditions must be met:

The works must have been published or accepted after the doctoral student first enrolled in their doctoral studies.In the case of works accepted for publication, the DOI must be provided, if the article has already been assigned one, or, otherwise, the acceptance letter or notification that the article has been received by the publishing company.

Rating criteria for special awards for doctoral degrees

The criteria for the doctoral degree special award for our programme have now been established.The scoring proposal is as follows:

1. Publications derived from the thesis:
   • For each article derived from the thesis published or accepted: 2 points
2. Patents or knowledge transfer:
   • For each product registered (software, psychometric tests or similar) derived from the thesis: 2 points
   • For each collaboration agreement related with the subject of the thesis: 1 point
3. Impact of the research (derived from the thesis): The indexing of the journal and the quartile will be jointly appraised.In the event that a journal is indexed in the two databases indicated (JCR and SJR) only the highest of the two scores will be taken into account.For each article:
   • JCR from quartile 1: 4 points
   • JCR from quartile 2: 3.5 points
   • JCR from quartile 3: 3 points
   • JCR from quartile 4: 2.5 points
   • SJR from quartile 1: 3 points
   • SJR from quartile 2: 2.5 points
   • SJR from quartile 3: 2 points
   • SJR from quartile 4: 1.5 points
   • Indexed in other databases: 1 point
4. Placements at higher education institutions or research centres:
   • Stays of 3 months or over: 2 points
   • Stays of between one month and three months: 1 point
   • Stays of less than one month: 0.5 points
5. Thesis with international mention: 2 points

In the event of a draw, the tribunal may give credit to a thesis’ completion within a shorter period of time.

Minimum requirements to obtain the mention of Extraordinary Award:

In order to obtain the extraordinary doctoral award mention, the student will need to have at least one JCR article derived from the thesis published or accepted and have obtained a score of no less than 5 points in the appraisal of merits.