Doctoral Programme in Education and ICT (e-Learning)
Study plan
The study plan is based on a series of training and research activities (courses, seminars and thematic and methodological workshops) aimed at training for research in the field of education and technology, which support the preparation and defence of the doctoral thesis in order to obtain the doctoral degree.
The learning format of the doctoral programme is generally distance and online, with support provided by the teaching staff, thesis supervisors, tutors and other members of the research community. The course can be taken on a part-time or full-time basis. Students on the full-time programme are advised to obtain a grant that enables them to work on the doctoral programme on a full-time basis. Some grants, such as the UOC doctoral degree grants, may require the student to live in Barcelona, so some training and academic activities in the programme are also available in in-person format.
The programme is run in Catalan, Spanish and English, and the learning resources may be in any of these three languages. A high level of English language proficiency is therefore required.
Each doctoral student, with the guidance of their thesis supervisor and their cohort tutor, draws up a personalized training plan based on their selection of the most suitable activities for their doctoral thesis project, which will in turn contribute to the development of skills necessary for participation in academic life. Within these activities, presenting papers at conferences and publishing articles during the programme are considered essential training experiences that must be carried out before the doctoral thesis is defended.
Various types of training activities are available when drawing up the personalized training plan: foundation and methodological courses, bridging courses, seminars, workshops and courses for professional development as a researcher. Some of these activities are compulsory, but most are optional.
Students are advised to consult their assigned tutor regarding the right time to develop the various activities included in their training plan.
| Type of training activity | Duration | Teaching mode | Timing | Compulsory or optional |
| Core Courses | One semester | Online | 1st and 2nd courses | Required |
| Bridging courses | One semester | Online | 1st year (1st or 2nd semester) | Optional |
| Methodological Foundational Courses | One semester | Online | 1st or 2nd courses (1st or 2nd semester) | Optional |
| PhD Seminars | Two months | Virtual | During the research period | Required |
| Courses investing trasnfer and entrepreneurship | One semester | Online | During the research period | Optional |
| Workshops | 10 hours | Online | During the research period | Optional |
| Supervised Research | One semester | Online | During the research period | Required |
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Particularly in the case of students from outside the European Higher Education Area, these may also include courses from the UOC's university master's degree offer and, if they enrol, students will need to study and pass them during the first academic year of their doctoral studies.
Students' learning pathways may include bridging courses. These bridging courses are based on the specific training needs associated with the entry requirements and are assigned by the Doctoral Degree Academic Committee.
If, for example, the student does not have the required B2 level of English, they will be required to study the courses offered by the UOC's Centre for Modern Languages: English B2.1. and English B2.2.
In any event, to complete the doctoral studies, we recommend that students achieve a C1 level of English, which can also be achieved through the English C1.1 and English C1.2 courses.
| Timing | Subjects | ECTS credits | Type | Language |
| 1st or 2nd semester | English B2.1 | 6 | Optional | English |
| 1st o 2nd semester | English B2.2 | 6 | Optional | English |
|
Timing |
Assignatures |
ECTS credits |
Type |
Language |
| 1st year | Research Design in Social Sciences | 5 | Mandatory | English |
| 2nd year | Elearning Thematic Seminar | 3 | Mandatory | English |
| 1st or 2nd semester | Research in e-Learning | 5 | Optional | Catalan/Spanish |
| 1st or 2nd semester | Research Methods | 5 | Optional | Catalan/Spanish |
| 1st or 2nd semester | Data Analysis Techniques | 6 |
Optional |
Catalan/Spanish |
| 1st or 2nd semester | Construction of Instruments for Research | 5 | Optional | Catalan/Spanish |
| 1st semester (1st or 2nd year) | Advanced Qualitative Methods in Knowledge Society Research | 5 | Optional | English |
| 1st semester (1st or 2nd year) | Advanced Quantitative Methods in Knowledge Society Research | 5 | Optional | English |
Seminars
The following seminars differ in the extent to which they are compulsory or optional.
"PhD Seminars" are compulsory as they form part of the doctoral degree assessment and monitoring process.
The UOC also offers research, transfer and entrepreneurship courses in English aimed at students, researchers and faculty to foster research in scientific, academic and business fields.
Research, transfer and entrepreneurship courses can be recognized as free elective credits on bachelor's degree courses. If you are studying a doctoral degree at any university and have obtained a competitive grant, you can also study it as part of your training resources.
You can check all the courses in the website: https://estudios.uoc.edu/en/doctoral-programmes
| Timing | Field of the education and ict | ECTS credits | Type | Language |
| 2nd year (1st semester) | Phd Seminar 11 | 0 | Compulsory | English |
| 4th year (1st semester) | Phd Seminar 21 | 0 | Compulsory | English |
1These seminars are assessed and synchronous and will be on-site and online.