PhD News

The School for Doctoral Studies, together with UAB Alumni, organises an event every semester for the award of PhD degrees and PhD special prizes.
With 66 PhD programmes, the UAB is one of the leading Catalan universities in the production of theses and generates approximately a third of the doctoral theses that are defended in the Catalan university system each year.
With the PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremonies, which are held twice during the academic year (around May and November), the UAB demonstrates its appreciation for the effort and dedication of young researchers and their contribution to the generation of knowledge.
The main value of the UAB is its human capital and the new doctors are an essential element for the continuation of excellent lines of research. That excellence is based on the quality of the PhDs as a distinctive indicator.
The PhD special prizes confer value to theses which have stand out for their contribution and advance in the different areas of our University.
The prizes are awarded per academic year, in accordance with PhD regulations and with the criteria specified in each PhD programme.
You can consult the list of special prize awards (in Spanish) on this page.
To attend the ceremony you will receive the corresponding invitation to the act when the degree has reached the university or when you have been awarded the extraordinary prize.
The dates of future ceremonies are:
17/5/24
15/11/24
16/5/25
14/11/25
22/5/26
20/11/26
21/5/27
26/11/27
26/5/28
24/11/28
25/5/29
23/11/29
24/5/30
22/11/30
XII PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, November 17, 2023
Room Arnau de Vilanova - Hotel Exe Campus
Vila Universitària, Campus de la UAB
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Reception, registration and accreditation in the hall of the Exe Campus Hotel
6:00 p.m.
Ceremony
8:00 p.m.
Complimentary food and drink and networking
See here the agenda of the ceremony.
Watch the video of the ceremony.
XI PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, May 18, 2023
Room Arnau de Vilanova - Hotel Exe Campus
Vila Universitària, Campus de la UAB
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Reception, registration and accreditation in the hall of the Exe Campus Hotel
6:00 p.m.
Ceremony
8:00 p.m.
Complimentary food and drink and networking
See here the agenda of the ceremony.
X PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, November 18, 2022
Room Arnau de Vilanova - Hotel Exe Campus
Vila Universitària, Campus de la UAB
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Reception, registration and accreditation in the hall of the Exe Campus Hotel |
6:00 p.m. | Ceremony |
8:00 p.m. | Complimentary food and drink and networking |
See here the agenda of the ceremony.
The session will also be live streamed on YouTube.
IX PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, June 3, 2022
Room Arnau de Vilanova - Hotel Exe Campus
Vila Universitària, Campus de la UAB
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Reception, registration and accreditation in the hall of the Exe Campus Hotel |
6:00 p.m. | Ceremony |
8:00 p.m. | Complimentary food and drink and networking |
See the provisional Agenda of the ceremony.
Watch here the video of the ceremony.
Due to the pandemic situation, the ceremony scheduled for July 16, 2021 is cancelled.
VIII PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, November 22, 2019
Room Arnau de Vilanova - Hotel Exe Campus
Vila Universitària, Campus de la UAB
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Reception, registration and accreditation in the hall of the Exe Campus Hotel |
6:00 p.m. | Ceremony |
8:00 p.m. | Complimentary food and drink and networking |
Program
Download the Agenda of the ceremony.
Watch here the video of the ceremony.
VII PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, May 17, 2019
Room Arnau de Vilanova - Hotel Exe Campus
Vila Universitària, Campus de la UAB
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Reception, registration and accreditation in the hall of the Exe Campus Hotel |
6:00 p.m. | Ceremony |
8:00 p.m. | Complimentary food and drink and networking |
Program
VI PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, November 16, 2018
Room Arnau de Vilanova - Hotel Exe Campus
Vila Universitària, Campus de la UAB
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Reception, registration and accreditation in the hall of the Exe Campus Hotel |
6:00 p.m. | Ceremony |
8:00 p.m. | Complimentary food and drink and networking |
Program
Download the Agenda of the ceremony.
Vídeo of the ceremony
V PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, May 18, 2018
6:00 p.m.
Hotel Campus
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Program
Download the Agenda of the ceremony.
Video of the ceremony
IV PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, November 24, 2017
Auditorium - Faculties of Arts and Psychology
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Program
Download the Agenda of the ceremony.
III PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, May 19, 2017.
Auditorium - Faculties of Arts and Psychology
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Program
Video of the ceremony
Download the Agenda of the ceremony.
II PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
Bellaterra, November 18, 2016. Hotel Campus, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Programa
Download the Agenda of the ceremony.
PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony
More than 400 people attended the first PhD degree and PhD special prize award ceremony at the UAB, organised by the Doctoral School and Alumni UAB, on Friday 8 April at the Hotel Campus of the UAB.
Manel Sabés, the Vice-rector for Institutional Relations and Territory, opened the ceremony and spoke of the wish to make it a regular event, to be held twice a year for all recipients of PhD degrees and special prizes at the UAB, to demonstrate appreciation for the effort and dedication of young researchers.
Afterwards Dr. Samuel Sanchez, patron of the ceremony addressed those attending with his talk “The experience of an amazing journey”. Sánchez, recognised as the best innovator under 35 for the Spanish edition of the MIT Technology Review, is an expert in nano- and microrobots. He currently leads a multidisciplinary team with offices in Barcelona and Stuttgart; “The curriculum is very important, but I would also encourage you to be brave, suggest ideas, show what you believe in and what you can contribute to research groups”.
One by one, almost 150 PhD graduates attending came onto the stage to receive their degrees or recognition of special prizes from the rector of the UAB, Ferran Sancho and the Vice-rector of Institutional relations and Territory and the other academic authorities in attendance: the Vice-rector for Finance and Organisation, Montserrat Farell, the Vice-rector for Strategic Projects, Lluís Tort, and the academic secretary of the School for Doctoral Studies, Xavier Gabarrell.
Following the awards PhD in sociology and recipient of the PhD special prize Alisa Petroff, spoke on behalf of all the new doctors and prize-winners: “This PhD has taught me the importance of teamworking, that research is dialogue, that collaborative work adds to and improves the final products as well as the importance of being surrounded by brilliant, generous and upstanding mentors”. Petroff completed her thesis in 2013 and is a member of the Research Group on Immigration and Ethnic Minorities (GEDIME) of the UAB. She teaches in the Department of Sociology at the UAB and her research specialisation is highly qualified immigration, return migration, the integration of immigrants and immigration and the labour market.
To conclude the ceremony, the rector of the UAB, Ferran Sancho, spoke of the commitment of the UAB to continue with research lines of excellence and the feeling of belonging of the people who make up the university community: “A feeling rooted above all in the breakthroughs achieved over the years and shared experiences. The UAB Alumni and Friends Foundation hopes to be an organisation at your service and within your reach to preserve that link with our university” .
After the group photographs the PhD graduates enjoyed a reception where they were able to exchange experiences and share ideas and projects with colleagues from different disciplines.
More information:
What are the COVID-19 containment measures that will be followed during the ceremony?
Throughout the ceremony, the COVID-19 containment measures established in the UAB contingency plan will be followed. Here we remind you of the most important ones:
- You must wear the mask throughout the ceremony and you must keep the recommended safety distances.
- The UAB will assign you a place during the ceremony that guarantees preventive measures for COVID-19.
- It will not be necessary that you have taken any diagnostic test (neither PCR, nor Antigens) to attend the ceremony.