Thesis submission process - capdibupm/normativa GitHub Wiki

Thesis submission process

Date of last update: 2026-05-13

Introduction

Hello!

You are nearing the completion of your thesis and preparing for your defense. Congratulations!

The process leading up to that day involves some bureaucracy and typically takes between 1.5 to 3 months. The timeline depends on the meeting schedules of CAPDIB, CAD-TIC, and EID, which convene once a month (except during summer). You can check the meeting dates on the ETSIT website.

The processes are carried out partly through Thesis and partly via digital documents sent by email. There are three main steps:

  1. Preliminary Evaluation
  2. Deposit Request
  3. Defense

Important: The documents provided are tailored to our Doctoral Program. If you find other information online, it may differ slightly.

Please keep the folders we provide for the entire process and submit them with the directory structure and names specified to facilitate management. Remove any forms that do not apply to your case. The folder with the forms is located at: docs_defense.zip. Read the README.txt files in each folder for more information.

All information should be sent with a copy to:

Warning! Signature of foreign researchers/experts without a local e-signature:

For signing official UPM documents when a foreign signer does not have an electronic signature, the recommendation is:

  • Documents requiring mixed signatures (defense minutes, agreements, or any document combining signatures): use YOUSIGN, because it supports mixed signing flows and uses PAdES, compliant with eIDAS. To avoid workflow issues, the first signature should be from the foreign signer. The signing invitation can be sent by any person (preferably UPM). The free plan includes 2 invitations/month.
  • Documents requiring an individual foreign signature (suitability reports for panel proposals, expert reports, or similar): use Adobe Acrobat Sign via invitation. Adobe uses PAdES (ETSI EN 319142) by default to comply with eIDAS.
  • If no YOUSIGN invitations are available and Adobe must be used for mixed-signature documents (e.g., defense minutes): sign two documents: one with all Spanish electronic signatures and another one with the foreign signer's individual Adobe signature.

Who performs each step:

  • UPM staff/faculty (supervisors, program office, or managing person): choose the platform based on document type, prepare the final PDF, send the signing invitation (YOUSIGN/Adobe), enforce signing order (foreign signer first in mixed-signature workflows), and collect/archive the signed files.
  • Foreign researcher/expert signer: receives the invitation by email, reviews the document, signs electronically in the requested platform, and confirms completion.

Mixing handwritten and electronic signatures in the same document is not allowed. For defense minutes, handwritten signatures are only accepted if all panel members attend in person and sign by hand on the day of the defense.

Official EID visual guide (attached): 2026-05-06-firma-electronica-extranjeros-yousign-adobe.pdf.

1) Preliminary Evaluation

This step is essential to continue with the process. Without the approval of the preliminary evaluation by the CAPD, you cannot initiate the deposit request in Thesis.

Preliminary evaluation

  1. Initiate the process in Thesis.
  2. Complete the spreadsheet: indicios_calidad_programa_DIB.xlsx.
  3. Complete the activity document: solicitud_y_documento_de_actividades_formativas_DIB.docx and attach the corresponding justification documents.
  4. If requesting confidentiality in Thesis, complete and submit: Formulario_03_compromiso de confidencialidad.docx. If not, delete the 2_confidencialidad folder.
  5. Attach the draft of your thesis. It has to be the same version you will send to the expert committee.
  6. If applying for a Doctorado Industrial mention, attach a final report signed by the candidate, the company representative, and the director(s). (No template available.) If not, delete the 3_justificacion_doctorado_industrial folder.
  7. If applying for an international mention, complete and submit Formulario_07_informe_idoneidad_evaluador_internacional.docx. One document per international reviewer. If not, delete the Formulario_07 folder from the 1_formularios_evaluacion_previa folder.

Although in theory CAPDs select the external reviewers and tribunal, in practice this does not occurr. You and your supervisors know the experts in your field best, especially given the diversity within our Doctoral Program. Doctoral candidates and their supervisors are responsible for identifying and contacting suitable experts and tribunal members.

To streamline the process and avoid deadline issues, during Preliminary Evaluation please also provide, in advance, the information required for Step 2: Deposit Request.

Note: If this information is not submitted, the Preliminary Evaluation may succeed, but the Deposit Request might be delayed by at least one month, potentially compromising deposit deadlines. Incorrect documentation after the Deposit Request will require the candidate to wait until the next CAPD meeting (approximately once a month). Correct documentation does NOT expedite the process -as the Thesis platform and EID determine the timelines- but it does prevent delays if incorrect.

Therefore, during Preliminary Evaluation, you must also:

  1. Complete and sign: Formulario_06_propuesta_panel_evaluadores_externos.docx.
  2. Complete without signing!: Formulario_09_propuesta_tribunal_tesis.docx.

⚠️ In order to facilitate the process in the following steps for both you and your supervisors, it is HIGHLY recommended that the president and secretary of the committee be UPM professors. Although this is not required by the regulations (it is even possible that there will be no one from the UPM on the committee), if this were the case, everything would be much easier for you.

The bureaucracy is very high and complicated for the secretary of the committee. If they or the president are not familiar with the UPM procedures, they will ask you and/or your supervisors, and you will end up having to deal with the Rectorate for financial matters and justifications of the defense procedure.

Therefore, if you only have one member from the UPM, it is advisable to propose them as secretary to take care of the bureaucratic procedures, which are neither few nor simple. As president, it is advisable to propose the member with the highest rank from among the remaining members.

All of this will facilitate the proposal of the tribunal by the CAPDIB and its acceptance by the EID.

2) Deposit request

Deposit request

Once the Preliminary Evaluation is approved, the doctoral candidate proceeds with the deposit request. If the expert committee and tribunal are well selected, these documents can be prepared in parallel.

⚠️ The candidate is actually making a deposit REQUEST. When the candidate and their supervisors submit the DEPOSIT REQUEST in Thesis, the candidate's deadline stops running. The date indicated in Thesis is actually the deadline to request the deposit. This ensures that the time limit depends solely on the candidate and supervisors, not on CAPD and EID timelines.

The candidate will work iteratively with the expert committee on the thesis document until the final version is ready.

Reminder: Please review the regulations and use the UPM template, available at:
UPM Doctoral Studies Website

Some things to pay attention to:

  • The year that should appear is the year in which the document is uploaded to the Thesis platform, not the year of the version sent to the reviewers.
  • Do not forget to include the affiliation and position of the directors.
  • Do not include the program code, i.e. do not put 09E7, nor the acronym DIB, but rather Doctorado en Ingeniería Biomédica, or in English Doctoral Degree in Biomedical Engineering.

If there is any mistake that the EID notices on the cover pages, you will have to make an Erratum for only the cover pages, which will be uploaded to the Thesis platform.

  1. Initiate the process in Thesis.
  2. Complete, sign, and submit: Formulario_05_declaracion_autoria.docx.
  3. Complete and submit: Formulario_07_informe_idoneidad_evaluadores.docx. One per external reviewer and tribunal member, including substitutes.
  4. Complete and submit: Formulario_08_informe_valoracion_evaluador_externo.docx (one per external reviewer).
  5. If requesting a videoconference defense, complete and sign Formulario_10_solicitud_defensa_por_videoconferencia.docx. If not, delete the document.
  6. Attach the final version of the thesis.
  7. Attach the response document to the experts. To do this, complete and sign: Formulario_09_respuesta_a_informes_de_evaluadores_externos.docx.
  8. For a videoconference defense, each tribunal member (including substitutes) must sign the acceptance form: Formulario_99_Acceptance_member_thesis_panel_defense_by_videoconference.docx. If not, delete the Formulario_99_tesis_videoconferencia folder.
  9. If there is more than one foreign tribunal member, the director must complete and sign the funding commitment: Formulario_99_cobertura_de_gastos_de_segundo_extranjero_en_el_tribunal.docx even if it is by videoconference. If not, delete the document.

Note: Be aware that the CAPD only evaluates the documentation at its monthly meeting. The final approval is granted by the EID, which meets later and has more time to review the documentation, potentially requesting corrections to the deposit request.

Important: Once the deposit request is validated by the CAPD, the EID reviews all the documentation. If everything is correct:

  • The thesis is made available for public exhibition for 15 calendar days.
  • The proposed tribunal is sent to the CAD-TIC for formal approval at its next meeting.

3) Defense

After the thesis deposit is accepted, the thesis will be publicly available for 15 days at:
UPM Thesis Deposits

After this period, the defense can proceed. We recommend that students and supervisors coordinate a defense date with the tribunal in advance to avoid unnecessary delays.

Defense authorization (CAD-TIC)

  1. The doctoral candidate must send to the tribunal:

    • Thesis draft.
    • Response document to the experts.
    • Final thesis.
    • Document of activities: solicitud_y_documento_de_actividades_formativas_DIB.docx. According to the regulations, despite it does not count for the final grade, it completes the documentation on the candidate's training.

  2. To publicize the defense, the candidate and supervisors must complete and send the defense poster to the administrative secretariat of ETSIT at: [email protected].
    If the defense is online, the public videoconference link will be provided. A poster template with the minimum required information is attached as 1_cartel_lectura_tesis_plantilla_capdib.docx (note that there is no official format).

  3. (⚠️ TEMPORARY MESSAGE: THE PROCEDURE WITH TESEO IS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING CHANGES. THIS PARAGRAPH WILL BE UPDATED WHEN MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE. FOR THE TIME BEING, IT IS OBSOLETE AND STUDENTS DO NOT NEED TO TAKE ANY ACTION.) Before the defense, to expedite post-defense steps, the candidate must complete their Teseo profile on the Ministry's website.
    Refer to Teseo-procedimiento-de-tramitacion.pdf for the procedure. After completion, and following the defense and the opening of Cum Laude envelopes, the CAPD administrative secretary will record the final grade in Teseo.

    Warning! The department you have to select in the platform is: Departamento de Tecnología Fotónica y Bioingeniería.

Important: Even if the 15 days of public exposition have passed, you will not be able to defend your thesis until the CAD-TIC has approved the tribunal and authorized the defense in a formal meeting. If there are no incidents (normally there are none), the defense can be scheduled after the next meeting. You will receive an email confirming the defense authorization and the panel. Be careful with the dates, do not put it too close to the CAD-TIC meeting, because if there is any problem with the tribunal, you will have to wait for the next meeting to be able to defend it. Remember that the CAD-TIC meeting schedule is available on the ETSIT website.

Important contacts

Important: The sooner you complete each step correctly, the smoother your thesis submission and defense process will be. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Good luck with your defense! 🎓🎉

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