The following is a description of the guidelines for all the process and the tasks associated with every phase of the PhD studies are detailed. This document must not be sent to the student, this is only intended for the tutor and PT’s Director.  

2. PhD thesis development: tasks, academic requirements: and formal requirements

From the beginning of the PhD and throughout all the process, the PhD candidate must complete different tasks relates to the PhD Thesis (PT). These tasks’ objective is to direct the candidate towards the completion of the thesis and the dissertation. The table below details each task, the phase in which the candidate needs to undertake them and who is the academic agent who will advise the candidate.

To carry out these duties, the different agents that intervene, as well as students, have available the technological tools explained below:

2.1 The Management System (MS)

The Management System is the IT tool that integrates all the processes related to the student, from the moment the student asks for information about a program, enrolls to the program, goes through the study process, finishes it and obtains the diploma. The MS is displayed in two different scenarios: an internal one for the institution’s academics and another one aimed at showing students their information (the PANAL – Standardized Access Web to e-Learning Applications).

2.1.1 The Panal: MS for the students

The Panal is the window to the MS prepared for every student. Via the Panal, the student can:

• Have access to the Virtual Campus (VC) in which the candidate is taking the PhD subjects.
• Consult a different type of information such as the academic and personal data;
• Interact via sending documents or inquiries to the academic secretariat, the postal service department, technical support, etc.; and
• It is the space through which the PhD candidate must submit all the works required from all the tasks relates to the PT.

2.1.2 The Management System for the Theses Directors

The different academic agents intervening in the tasks relates to the development of the PT must use this platform to manage the thesis.

To do so, directors need to access to: https://sg.funiber.org through the user and password that are given to them.

Afterwards, once they are in the platform, they have to access to the icon “Academic Monitoring”. This icon gives access to the information of students and their academic progress. All the tasks described in the next sections will need to be developed in this MS’s section as indicated. Moreover, the MS manages the document delivery that PhD candidates need to have in every phase to carry out all the academic tasks related to the PT. In case such documentation is lost, the tutor or director needs to refer students to the same documentation available at the campus in order to recover it. The documentation related to the research work I and II and the PT’s Proposal is found in the section “Phase III” and the one specifically concerning the PT’s writing, in the “Phase IV” section.

The Panel control PhD Thesis

To access to the Control Panel of the “Academic Monitoring” these steps should be followed:

1. Access to the MS (https://sg.funiber.org) with your user and password:

2. Select the option “Academic Monitoring”:

3. Select the option “Control Panel PhD Thesis”:

4. The list of students assigned to this user will be displayed:

In this panel, there is an access to the Tasks in which the student is, the remaining time for the course’s completion and the last interaction the platform has recorded. This task will be in constant improvement so that it collects more information.

2.2 Previous actions to the intervention of the PhD Thesis Director

2.2.1 Phase I and II – TASK 1: PhD form

During Phase I and II, the PhD candidate will take the PhD subjects and seminars and will fill out the PhD form (Annex 1). This tasks’ main goal is that the candidate subscribies to a line of research and makes an approach to the field in which the PT is included in. In this way, the candidate is forced to be focused on this work from the very start. In Annex 1, there is a template of the PhD form. From this very early phase of the process, the PhD candidate will have to develop the research in accordance with the APA or Vancouver citation styles and comply with the “Writing and format compulsory guidelines for PhD Theses” described in Section 2.5: Formal aspects in developing projects.

The Academic coordination is the agent in charge of verifying and grading this process.

This form is in the “Thesis” tab of the student’s academic record in the Management System (MS) and can be checked at any moment.

2.2.2 Phase III

As mentioned in the table before, Phase III consists of two phases:

1. Task 2: Research work I and II
2. Task 3: PhD Thesis’ Proposal (PTP).

During the development of research work I and II, the PhD candidate will count on the support of a tutor. In order to go on with the PTP (further on, the PT), the candidate will be assigned one or more director/s specialized in the PhD candidate’s line of research.

Phase III – TASK 2: Research project: Research work I and II

Research Work I and II are a structured continuum that leads to the PTP. Both works are a way for the PhD candidate to be prepared for the PhD Thesis Proposal (PTP) and the PT itself. In fact, these works are an essential piece in the PT’s development, for they are the pillars of the research. If the pillars are unstable, it seems likely that the PhD candidate has problems when continuing with the following phases.

One of the most important aspects that the candidate must start defining at this point the research methodology to be implemented in the PT.

In this regard, it should be noted that preference, for this doctoral program, is toward research that follows a quantitative or positivist paradigm, incorporating mixed data collection techniques or instruments (quantitative and qualitative). Similarly, research that follows a purely qualitative methodology will not be discarded, as long as it is fully justified and possesses the necessary scientific rigor. For example, the use of a computer program to categorize and analyze text.

It is recommended that the candidate does not exceed the four months deadline to complete the two research works. During the phase, the candidate has the support of a Research Project’s tutor (further on, RP), who would have been previously assigned. Finally, the tutor will grade every one of the works completed by the PhD candidate.

Annex 2, 3 and 4 include the templates of the mentioned documents:

• Annex 2: Research Work I
• Annex 3: Research Work II
• Annex 4: Thesis Proposal Template (PTP) and Cover

The Research Work I and II completed by the PhD candidate and approved by the tutor are available at the Management System (MS). They can be found in the academic record, in the “Thesis” tab. Management of tasks and documents in the MS that must be done by the tutors and directors is described in the section 2.5.1 Work Management in the MS.

2.3 Actions in which the PhD Thesis Director takes part

2.3.1 Phase III – TASK 3: PhD Thesis’ Proposal

Writing the PTP is the second part of Phase III of the PhD. It can be started only if the PhD candidate has passed the Research Work I and II (Research project) and has been assigned a Thesis Director (further on PT Director) so that he can assist the candidate in its completion. In this phase, it is necessary to disregard the theory of the research’s components and go straight to the definition of those specific to the PhD thesis’ proposal. For example, it is not appropriate to explain what is understood by variable, hypothesis, etc. The PTP has to do with the defined sections and extensions described in Annex 4: PTP Template and Cover. Moreover, the PhD candidate will need to take, before delivering the PTP:

• Approved research by the Ethics Committee, as described in Annex 5: Guidelines and Ethical Review Process.
• In case it is necessary, the signature of the corresponding PhD Research Educational Collaboration Agreement between the research center and the university. The candidate has to ask practicas@unini.edu.mx for the agreement, process the signature of the research center and send the document back to the same e-mail so that the other party signs it.

Likewise, same as every work of the PhD, the PTP needs to comply with the Vancouver citation style (for thesis related to the health field) or APA (for other type of PhD) and follow the Writing and Format Compulsory Guidelines for PhD Projects. During the whole process, as discussed earlier, the candidate can count on the support of the assigned PT’s Director, with whom the candidate will contact via e-mail and, if deemed appropriate, via video conference. The candidate will have to submit the PTP via the PANAL in the MS. Documents sent via e-mail must not be accepted. Once sent, the director will receive an alert via e-mail. In that same message, the director will be able to download the document sent by the candidate and to send it back. In Annex 6: Report and Valuation Criteria, guidance for the candidate’s work analysis is provided. Once the PTP has the director’s approval, the director will have to record the “Director Approval” in the candidate’s academic record, in the Management System, (see PTP’s management here). The final version is to be sent in one document and must include:

• Cover: according to the official model of the university to which the candidate is enrolled Annex 4: PTP Template and Cover)
• Document stating the Director’s acceptance and approval (Annex 10: PT Acceptance document)
• Content: PTP Sections
• Annexes:
  • Ethics Committee Approval and documents (Annex 5: Guidelines and Ethical Review Process
  • Other documents that may be appropriate.

The file must be named in the following manner: First Name’s capital letter + Last Name_PTP. For example, the PhD candidate Sergio Bravo Lopez will name the file: SBravoLopez_PTP Then, the candidate will have to prepare and submit, via the PANAL, the following information. The Commission will receive the PTP and assess the work basing on a scale from 1 to 10 (with 7 as the minimum grade to pass).

If the work obtains a grade equal to or higher than 7, it is a Passing grade, on the contrary, if the grade is less than 7, it is considered a Failing grade, hence, the candidate should submit it again through the PANAL in the MS.

If these guidelines are not followed, the Academic Committee will not accept the work for assessment.

PhD Thesis proposal management in the Management System (MS)

The candidate will have to submit the PTP via the PANAL in the MS. Documents sent via e-mail must not be accepted. Once sent, the director will receive an alert via e-mail. In that same message, the director will be able to download the document sent by the candidate and to send it back. To know how to handle the works in the Management System, consult the section 2.5.1 Works Management in the MS. When the PT’s Director considers that the work is set to receive a Passing grade, the Academic Committee will assess it. To do so, the Director will need to inform via the MS that the proposal is approved and that the candidate can already submit the definitive version for the review by the Committee. Consequently, the following steps can be taken:

1. Access to the THESIS tab in the candidate’s academic record in the Management System (MS).
2. Then, the following screen will display, showing the submission information of the candidate and “Director’s Approval” in the section “Next Step”. In this step, the PT’s Director must just approve the submission for grading by the Committee. For that, the option “Manage Thesis” should be selected:

3. Next, a new window will open, in which the “Director’s Approval” will need to be selected: Once the Director approves the proposal, the candidate will receive a notification via e-mail to upload the final version of the PTP to the PANAL for it to be assessed by the Academic Committee, in accordance with the form in Annex 6: Report and Assessment Criteria

PhD Thesis proposal assessment by the Academic Committee in the Management System (MS)

When the PT’s Director approves the PTP submission in the MS, the Academic Committee of the PhD will receive a notification. From this point, the Academic Committee will have to assess the candidate’s PTP and follow these steps as to enter the grade and the assessment report (Annex 6) in the MS: Access to the THESIS tab in the candidate’s academic record in the Management System (MS).

2. Then, the following screen will display, showing the submission information of the candidate and “in the section “Next Step” the request “Enter PhD proposal grade and Enter Assessment Report (Academic Committee)”. To grade it, select the option “Manage Thesis”:

3. Next, a new window will open in which the Committee Responsible will enter the grade in the “Grade” field and upload the corresponding report in the “Assessment report” field: If it is a passing grade, once it is entered and the report is uploaded, the candidate’s advance status is automatically modified to the PT4 task and the PhD’s Advance 1 tasks begins. Both the candidate and the Pt’s Director receive a notification. In case the Committee does not approve it, the task will not be modified and the candidate should continue working with the Director in the submission of PT4.

2.3.2 Phase IV: PhD Thesis’ Development

The last phase of the PhD is focused on the PT’s development, which can only be started if the Academic Committee has approved the PTP. The research work must be original. In case the project contains plagiarism or violates any professional code or code of ethics, the candidate may face expulsion. If the candidate is allowed to continue in the program, a new PhD proposal will be required and the process should be restarted. To develop the PT, the PhD candidate counts on the advise of the PT’s Director that was assigned to the candidate for the PTP. In this process, the PT’s Director has the following functions:

• Resolving the doubts that the candidate has in relation to the development of the PT.
• Assessing the relevance of the topics proposed by the student for the academic program in which you are enrolled.
• Reviewing the work the PhD candidate submits in the different advances and help the candidate improve the work in case it is necessary.
• Providing the indications and guidelines necessary so that the PT meets the minimum academic quality standards that are required.
• Advising the candidate about the PhD’s topic.
• Advising the candidate in connection with data bases or bibliographic search that is related to the PhD’s topic.
• Help in the interpretation of results process.
• Suggesting spelling, writing or format corrections on the documents submitted by the student.
• Submitting to the student, in case of plagiarism, the plagiarized content. If the PT’s Director detects at least a 20% of verbatim contents in subsequent paragraphs, excluding the correct citations, the review of the final project will be suspended in order for the candidate to correct the situation. In case of recurrence, the Academic Committee will study the possibility for the student to be expelled from the PhD program. It is key that the Director uses, to review the projects, an Anti-plagiarism Software, it is common for the Director to use one but if it is not the case, the Annex 10: Anti-plagiarism Software Handbook provides access to and instructions for the Anti-plagiarism software if you need it.

These are not functions of the PT’s Director:

• Choosing the topic that the candidate has to develop in the PhD.
• Performing the bibliographic search the PhD student should make as to develop the work.
• Explaining methodological procedures to perform field studies, statistical analysis.

PhD’s Structure and Formal Requirements

The PhD’s work will need to comply with the structure defined in the Annex 7: Thesis Template. If the Director deems it appropriate, the structure of the suggested thesis may be partially altered. Recall that, as every PhD’s academic works, the PT must follow the APA or Vancouver (health) citation style as well as with the “Writing and Format Compulsory Guidelines for PhD Projects” stated in the Section 2.5: Formal aspects in developing projects.

2.3.3 Phase IV: TASK 4: Advance 1 Submission

The development process of the PhD Thesis (PT) begins with the PhD’s Thesis Proposal (PTP), followed by the Advance 1. In this first development the student should present the developed chapters I, II and III (see the structure in Annex 7: Thesis Template). Nevertheless, chapters II and IV should not be complete, as the idea is that the PhD candidate can complete them after the Advance 1 submission as the research progresses. Similarly, it is worth clarifying that all the Pt is subject to, as it happens with any research report, a continuous improvement process that will conclude only when the complete document is submitted. The PhD has a 9 to 15 months deadline to develop the chapters belonging to Advance 1. The deadline will vary depending on the time spent in complete the PhD’s previous phases. In any case, for the correct calculation, the candidate needs to bear in mind that the maximum period to finish the program is 60 months (5 years), starting from the registration date. At the same time, the approximate length for this Advance 1 will mean the 50% of the thesis’ final pages. Additionally, the protocol the candidate must follow is detailed below_

• Firstly, the PhD candidate has to develop the Advance 1 under the PT’s Director supervision. Both will keep in contact via the personal mail and communication tools such as video conference, whenever necessary.
• Next, the PhD candidate will have to submit the Advance 1 via the PANAL (in the section available below the academic record). Documents sent via e-mail must not be accepted. If you need to review how to manage the review process, consult the section 2.5.1 Works management in the MS.
• Once the PT’s Director considers Advance 1 meets the objectives, the approval will be given via the MS. In any case, the candidate will be informed with a notification sent to the e-mail, which will serve as an indicator to go ahead with the writing of Advance 2.

To approve the work in the MS, the PT’s Director will have to follow these steps:

1. Access to the THESIS tab in the candidate’s academic record in the Management System (MS) – 2.5.2 Access to the candidate’s academic record)
2. Then, the following screen will display, showing the submission information of the candidate and in the section “Next Step”, the request for “Manual advance to Advance 2 – PT (Director) ”. For the approval, the PT’s Director will need to select the option “Manage Thesis”:

3. Next, a new window will open, in which the Director will have to change the status to PT5: Once the task is modified, the Advance 2’s dvelopment begins.

2.3.4 Phase IV: TASK 5: Advance 2 Submission

Once the student receives the approval for Development 1 through the Panal they should continue with the development of Development 2. This development consists in developing the introduction and all the chapters in the DT template, apart from the Bibliographic Reference and Annex sections (see the structure in the previous section). To do out, the student should add these chapters to the document where the Development 1 chapters were developed.

The PhD candidate has 9 to 15 months to complete this phase. The deadline will vary depending on the time spent in complete the PhD’s previous phases. In any case, for the correct calculation, the candidate needs to bear in mind that the maximum period to finish the program is 60 months (5 years), starting from the registration date. Likely, the total length of the chapters that integrate the PT (Advance 1 + Advance 2) should not exceed 315 pages (annexes apart). Additionally, the protocol the candidate must follow is detailed below:

• Firstly, the PhD candidate has to develop the Advance 2 under the PT’s Director supervision. Both will keep in contact via the personal mail and communication tools such as video conference, whenever necessary. Every submission needs to be done via the PANAL. If you need to review how to manage the review process, consult the section 2.5.1 Works management in the MS.
• During this process, the candidate will have to prepare an article based on the research project and submit it for publication in an indexed and well-known journal. (Annex 14: indexed and renowned journal). To submit the DT, it is essential to have the journal’s publication approval. The article must be unpublished, that is, it cannot be a literal copy of the doctoral thesis.
  • NOTE: It is obligatory that the thesis director appears as the coauthor of the published paper. The PhD candidate will appear as the first author. 
• Once the PT’s Director considers Advance 2 meets the objectives, the approval will be given via the MS. In any case, the candidate will be informed with a notification (created by the MS) sent to the e-mail, which will serve as an indicator to go ahead with the PT final document.

To approve the work in the MS, the PT’s Director will have to:

1. Access to the THESIS tab in the candidate’s academic record in the Management System (MS) – 2.5.2 Access to the candidate’s academic record)
2. In the “Thesis” screen, there will be the submission information of the candidate and in the section “Next Step”, the request for “Manual advance to PT Submission – PT6”. For the approval, the PT’s Director will need to select the option “Manage Thesis”:

2. Next, a new window will open, in which the Director will have to change the status to PT6:

Once the task is modified, the next step will be sending the PhD’s Final Document.

2.3.5 Phase IV – TASK 6: Writing the PhD’s final document and repository

Once the candidate receives the Advance 2 approval via the PANAL, the next step is to continue developing the PT’s final document. To that end, the PhD candidate will need to:

• Make one last review paying attention to the comments proved by the Director, citation style, formal requirements and linguistic accuracy.
• PT Sections:
  • Institutional cover
  • Author’s commitment (it proves the total responsibility of the research project). It is found in Annex 9: Author commitment.
  • Proof that an article related to the research topic has been approved for publication by a journal.
  • Acknowledgments
  • General, tables and figures indexes
  • Term glossary (if appropriate)
  • All the other sections
  • Bibliographical references: only those cited in the thesis
  • Annexes or appendixes

All the information must be contained in one Word format document and in pdf format, as well. It is recommended tha the PhD candidate develops this work in 2-3 months. The deadline will vary depending on the time spent in complete the PhD’s previous phases. In any case, for the correct calculation, the candidate needs to bear in mind that the maximum period to finish the program is 60 months (5 years), starting from the registration date. To know how to handle the Documents TD in the Management System, consult the section 2.5.1 Works Management in the MS. Once the PT’s Final Document meets the objectives, the PT’s Director will approve it via the MS. In any case, the candidate will be notified via an alert sent to the personal e-mail, that will indicate that the PhD Thesis has been submitted and is now waiting for acceptance by the Academic Committee. To approve the work in the MS, the PT’s Director will have to follow these steps:

1. Access to the THESIS tab in the candidate’s academic record in the Management System (MS) – 2.5.2 Access to the candidate’s academic record)
2. In the “Thesis” screen, there will be the submission information of the candidate and in the section “Next Step”, the request to “Approve Final Document”. In this step, the PT’s Director must just approve the submission for grading by the Committee. For that, the option “Manage Thesis” should be selected:

2. Next, a new window will open, in which the “Approve Thesis” will need to be selected:

Once the Director’s approval is confirmed, the candidate will be notified as to upload to the PANAL the PT’s final document, which will be assessed by the Academic Committee.

2.4 Tasks, phases and documentation that are subsequent to the PT’s Director

2.4. 1 PhD assessment by the Academic Committee in the Management System (MS)

When the PT’s Director approves the PTP submission in the MS, the Academic Committee of the PhD will receive a notification. At that moment, the Academic Committee:

1. Will review the PT and will check that it complies with the guidelines required by the PhD program.
2. Will verify the work’s final quality and, according to each case, will assign an expert reviewer to assess the project, following the report model attached to the Annex 8: PhD Assessment Report Template This report may positive, in which case the PhD thesis is automatically approved by the Academic Committee. In case it is negative, it will have to include proposals for improvement, which will be sent to the Director and the PhD candidate, who will have to upload the thesis again to the MS.
3. The Academic Committee will check that the proposals for improvements have been applied to the work, otherwise, the PT will be sent back to the reviewer, following the same process aforementioned until all improvements are applied, in which case the thesis will be approved.

To assess the candidate’s Pt, it is key that the Academic Committee’s responsible follows these steps in the MS:

1. Access to the THESIS tab in the candidate’s academic record in the Management System (MS) – 2.5.2 Access to the candidate’s academic record)
2. Then, the following screen will display, showing the submission information of the candidate and the request to “Approve Final Document” in the section “Next Step”. To approve it, select the option “Manage Thesis”:

7. Then, a new window will be displayed. If the document has obtained a passing grade, the status must be changed to PT7, if it has obtained a failing grade, the Academic Committee’s responsible must select the option “Fail”. In those cases in which the Academic Committee request the expert reviewer to complete a report, such report will be uploaded to the “Assessment Report” section as many times as it is necessary.

Within a maximum period of a month and a half, the Academic Committee will notify both the PhD candidate and the PT’s Director if the thesis has been accepted or not. Otherwise, the candidate will have to review the project and correct it basing on the comments provided. On the contrary, if the PT is accepted, the organization process of the dissertation act will begin. Prior to beginning with the reading and PhD thesis dissertation , the Academic Committee will check if the PhD candidate has submitted any proof that an article has been accepted or published in an indexed journal (Annex 14: indexed and well-known journal), as indicated in section II: Task 5 (Phase IV): Advance 2 submission, subsection b).

The PhD candidate will not be required to submit a printed copy of the PhD thesis’ final document, since UNIB will take over this procedure.

Candidates from UNINI MX will have to comply with the protocol described in Annex 12: PhD Submission Protocol for the university.  

2.4.2 Phase IV – TASK 7: PhD Thesis assessment and dissertation

Once the PhD Academic Committee has accepted the PT, the PhD Thesis dissertation act’s organization will begin. Firstly, the Academic Committee will designate the board, which will be made up by three doctors with recognixed experience in research, the one with the oldest PhD will act as president and the ones with the newest, as a secretary, what turns the third member into the spokesperson. At least one of the members will not be from UNIB. Anyway, a substitute doctor will be designated. The dissertation will take place face-to-face or via video conference, in accordance with the PhD candidate’s wishes: at any of the International Iberoamerican University (UNIB) headquarters, at the European University of the Atlantic (UNEATLANTICO) or at any other university or educational institution with which UNIB has signed a collaboration agreement. The following calls are foreseen:

• A) Face-to-face

The candidate will be able to ask for the face-to-face dissertation during the whole year. To that end, the candidate will have to upload the PhD thesis to the MS with the Director’s approval, a month and a half before. Dissertations will take place at:

• International Iberoamerican University Mexico (Unini-MX).
• International Iberoamerican University Puerto Rico (UNIB).
• European University of the Atlantic (Uneatlantico), Santander (Spain).
• Other collaborating institutions.

• B) Via video conference:

The PhD candidate can request that the PhD dissettation takes places via video conference at UNIB or at other universities or institutions with which UNIB has signed a collaboration agreement. Similarly, the deadline is open during the whole year. The Academic Committee will be the one in charge of deciding and making up the board, in accordance with the demands and possibilities existing at every moment. As much as possible, it will be attempted that at least one member of the board is present at the dissertation place.

Guidelines for the PT Dissertation

In the dissertation, the PhD candidate will have to present the PT (work, used methodology, content and conclusions, with an emphasis on original contributions) before the PT’s board and those who attend the act. The presentation will last for 35-40 minutes. Once it is finished, the board’s president will give the floor to the Pt’s Director and in case it is a face-to-face act, to the doctors present. Then, the Pt’s board members will start a round of questions. The PT’s board Director will assume the role of moderator. Once the interventions by the PT’s board have finished, the Board will deliberate behind close doors the merits of the Dissertation corresponding to the PhD Candidate and once the deliberation has finished, it will communicate two grades: one for the research work and another one for the dissertation. The grades may be: fail, pass, good, excellent. If the final grade is excellent and there is a consensus among the board members, the candidate will be awarded a cum laude. Every year, in accordance with the PhD defenses, the university will award a “PhD Extraordinary Award” to the PhD thesis or theses that have been graded with a cum laude and that can prove it. Once the PT’s dissertation is finished and as long as the result has led to the obtainment of the PhD degree, the PhD candidate may request the Doctor degree to the appropriate administrative management unit of the International Iberoamerican University. Passing the PT leads to the attainment of the Doctor degree, awarded by the International Iberoamerican University in the program and line of research on which the thesis was based.

2.5 Formal aspects in developing projects

A=Area F(xk,yk) = Function at k point. Sn = Sum a = Toal number of points.

The following guidelines are common to the works of the PhD’s II and IV phases, in other words, RW-I, RW-II, PTP and PT. Generally, the APA or Vancouver style (last edition) is followed from the very first moment the student starts the PhD program. Compliance with the styles is required, in relation to in-text citations, end-text references, tables and figures.

• APA Style
• Vancouver Style

The document will be assessed with the following aspects:

• Text:
  • In Word and pdf format.
  • The text will have to be justified and the automatic division of the document activated (hyphens).
  • Indent (1.25) at the beginning of each paragraph.
• Paper: letter size or A4.
• Letter:
  • Size: 12
  • Font: Arial or Times New Roman
  • Color: Automatic
• Margins:
  • Left and right: 3
  • Top and bottom: 2.5
• Paragraph, headings and subheadings line spacing:
  • Line spacing: 1.5
  • There is no line spacing between paragraphs, so you need to enter 0 between the previous and next spacing.
  • Before every heading or subheading and at the end of the previous paragraph, press enter twice and start writing. After writing the heading or subheading, press enter and start writing.
• Page numbers:
  • Pages will be numbered at the bottom, at the center.
  • The cover and acknowledgments are not listed.
• Chapters: ever chapter starts in a new page. This heading has to be centered. The rest of the sections need to be at the left margin, no intend.
• Numbering of the sections and subsections:
  • “HEADING IS 13 POINTS IN CAPITAL LETTERS AND BOLD”
  • “Subheading is 13 points and bold”
  • “Subheading is 12 points in lowercase and italics”
  • “Subheading is 12 points, in lowercase and italics”

Example:

CHAPTER 1. EDUCATIONAL ORIENTATION

• 1. Historical analysis
• 1.1. Starting point:
• 1.1.1. Law until 1970 >>>>No further subsections allowed

• Headers:
  • For headers use Calibri font, size 10, italics and centered text.

Odd pages: Author’s First and last name. Example:

Juan García García

Even pages: Work’s heading: Example:

The tutorial work in intercultural interventions in unfavored contexts

• Tables and figures:

Tables and figures will be numbered progressively, centered, and with the characteristics detailed in the corresponding citation style (APA or Vancouver). Both have to contain explanatory text with any clarifications needed, including their source. In the case of the figures: A figure can be a graphic, diagram, a map, a drawing or a picture. The text has to be size 10 (Times New Roman or Arial). Regarding the tables, letter will have to be size 10 and the notes size 9 (Times New Roman or Arial). The tables have three kinds of notes, that are placed below them.

• General notes: “A general note describes, explains or gives information related to the complete table and ends with an explanation of the abbreviations, symbols or so. Within the general notes, credit for any table from other sources will be included” (APA, 2010, pp. 140-141).
• Specific note: it refers to a particular column, row, or cell and it is indicated by superscripts lowercase letters (^a, ^b, ^c).
• Probability note: it indicates the p value and the results of the hypothesis testing verification, and they are indicated with an asterisk (*)

• Equations:

Equations tat are written in their own line will have to be written down with an equations editor. Simple equations that are not going to show in an in-text citation are inserted in the line that is being wirrten on, for example: a = (b + c)^0.5. If the equation is complex or is going to be cited or mentioned somewhere in the text, then it should be written in a new line (leaving a blank line before and after the equation), placing a sequential number between parentheses located at the right margin of the page, for example:

The chapter number will have to be written together with the equation numbers if the work has that strcuture. For example, for chapter 1:

To insert an in-text citation in which an equation is referenced, it will be necessary to use the word “Equation” followed by the corresponding number, for example: Using Equation 1 … The equations’ variables will have to be defined immediately after the equation the first time it is used and will have the same format as in the equation, for example:

where:

A=Area F(xk,yk) = Function at k point. Sn = Sum a = Toal number of points.

• Bibliography

Besides what is established at the APA and Vancouver styles, it is essential to keep in mind that an even number of electronic and paper references need to coexist in a scientific work. Works in which the vast majority of references follow the scheme: “Retrieved from http://…” will not be accepted.   Finally, it is reminded that works not complying with the guidelines stated in the present Handbook will not be accepted, hence, it is recommended that you read this handbook carefully.

Works management in the Management System

The student must always send the works or assignments via the MS, submissions via e-mail are not allowed. Once the PhD candidate submits the work, the assigned tutor will be notified via e-mail, hence starting the reviewing process. In that same message, the tutor can download the student’s work, as it can be seen in this screen shot: The link provides direct access to the work. The tutor/director will have to review it and send the student via e-mail the feedback so that the candidate can apply the suggestions to the work. At the same time, the tutor will state the result of the review in the platform. To obtain the student’s e-mail and leave proof of the feedback in the MS, the tutor should follow these steps:

5. Access to the MS with the user and password provided:

6. Select the option “Academic Monitoring”:

7. Search by entering the First and Last Name of the PhD candidate in the corresponding fields:

8. To leave proof of the review result and send it to the candidate, the tutor will have to access to the academic record first, through the program to which the candidate is enrolled. In case several students share their First Names, you must select the student that is enrolled to the corresponding PhD program. Below is an example of a PhD student: 9. Once you are in the student’s academic record, you have to select the “Thesis” tab: 10. In the “Thesis” tab, the submission of the student will be visible in the “Monitoring” section, there, the tutor should click on “+” to add the review which will be sent to the candidate: 11. By clicking on “+”, a new window will pop up to add the comment. Then, you should upload to the “Documents” tab the reviewed work, write the message, the subject and select the “Send E-mail” option. 12. Once the comment is written and the document is attached, the tutor should click on “Save” and the document will be recorded in the “Monitoring” section (the candidate has no access to this comment, it is just for internal purposes): This process will be repeated as many times as necessary until the tutor thinks the project is set for a passing grade. Then, the grade should be entered in the following way:

1. Once you have access to the student’s academic record (see step 1, 2, 3 and 6 and previous ones), the tutor should select the “Thesis” tab:

Research Work Management (student-tutor)

2. Then, the following screen will display, showing the submission information of the candidate and the resquest to “Enter Work Research I Grade (Tutor)” in the section “Next Step”. To grade it, select the option “Manage Thesis”:

3. Next, a new window will open in which the tutor will enter the grade in the “Grade” field:

4. Once the grade is entered, the student’s advance status automatically changes from task “T01” to task “T02”. Similarly, the tutor has to leave proof in “Monitoring” of the work’s approval:

5. The same phases need to be followed for the Research Work II. Once the candidate has submitted the work, the “Next Step” of the request will be to “Enter Research Work II Grade (Tutor)”. To grade it, the tutor should follow the same procedure as in the previous case: select the “Manage Thesis” option.

6. Next, a new window will open in which the tutor will enter the grade in the “Grade” field and then click on “Save”:

In this phase, the student’s advance status will not be updated because in order for the candidate to go on with the next phase (the PhD Thesis Proposal), the Academic Committee will have to assign a tutor to the candidate. PhD Thesis’ Proposal – PTP (student-director) Management The management and feedbacks of the PTP documents are the same as in the management system. Nevertheless, the PTP demands an additional step that the director needs to take so that the proposal can be approved. That phase is called the “Approval”, whose selection is obligatory in the same management system. IMAGEN “GESTIONAR TESIS” The system will show the information in the following way: IMAGEN “VISTO BUENO”

1. Access to the MS (https://sg.funiber.org) with the provided user and password:

2. Select the “Academic Monitoring” option:

3. Search by entering the First and Last Name of the PhD candidate in the corresponding fields:

4. Once the candidate’s data have been entered, access to the candidate’s academic record through the program to which the candidate is enrolled will appear below. In case several students share their First Names, you must select the student that is enrolled to the corresponding PhD program. Below is an example of a student from the PhD in Education:

5. Once you are in the student’s academic record, you have to select the “Thesis” tab: