About this course
Workload and Structure of the Independent PhD by Thesis Programme
The volume of the study programme is determined by the workload, given in SUCA credits (in brackets: ECTS points).
The professional doctorate requires as thesis doctorate a workload of 60 SUCA credits (120 ECTS points), to be achieved in the event of Applicants with 150 SUCA credits (300 ECTS) on admission by thesis only; in the event of Applicants with 120 SUCA credits (240 ECTS) on admission to be achieved by thesis of 30 SUCA credits (60 ECTS points) and by transfer of credits from positively completed postgraduate courses in the extent of 30 SUCA credits (60 ECTS points). This corresponds with a duration of 4 semesters. The accumulated minimum requirement for the professional doctorate is 180 SUCA credits (360 ECTS points).
The research doctorate requires a workload of 90 SUCA credits (180 ECTS points), to be achieved by thesis of 60 SUCA credits (120 ECTS points) and by transfer of credits from positively completed postgraduate courses in the extent of 30 SUCA credits (60 ECTS points). This corresponds with a duration of 6 semesters. The accumulated minimum requirement for the research doctorate is 240 SUCA credits (480 ECTS points).
Admission
Applicants can be admitted to the a synchronic distance education programme throughout the year.
Admission requirements
1. Persons meeting the following requirements can be admitted to the Professional Doctorate: Completed university or college study programme of at least 8 semesters with no less than 120 SUCA credits (240 ECTS points) from a diploma programme with a recognized university or college at level 2 and entitling for admission to doctoral programmes in the country of origin of the awarding institution; or a postgraduate specialization or master degree of at least 30 SUCA credits (60 ECTS points). (Master level)
2. Persons meeting the following requirements can be admitted to the Research Doctorate: Completed university or college study programme of at least 10 semesters with no less than 150 SUCA credits (300 ECTS points) from a diploma programme with a recognized university or college at level 2 and entitling for admission to doctoral programmes in the country of origin of the awarding institution; and a postgraduate specialization or master degree of at least 30 credits (60 ECTS points). (MPhil level)
3. The admission-commission of the university rules on the grounds of the formal requirements and the application per single case and upon request of the Applicant according to available enrolments and tutoring capacities, as well as of the submitted research proposal for the thesis. The admission-commission can require an admission-test.
4. Application procedure and admission: Applications for admission to the respective doctoral programme must be submitted with the required documents (application form, curriculum vitae, proof of degrees earned and professional experiences gained, passport copy, passport photo). The admission-commission may require the submission of “original transcripts” directly from the awarding tertiary education institutions.
5.Persons who have been admitted to the programme and who have paid the programme tuitions and fees, will be admitted by the study department of the university as international students.
Transfer credits:
1) The evaluation of degrees and transfer-credits is subject to the provisions of UCN. In the international evaluation of credits UCN applies the full study year transfer-factors on the credits.
2) Total autonomous UCN Universidad Central de Nicaragua offers the doctoral programme according to Nicaraguan study law. In evaluating degrees and transfer-credits UCN applies the standards in compliance with Article 9 Paragraph 2 of the Law no. 89 on the Autonomy of the Institutions of Higher Education.
3) 30 SUCA credits (60 ECTS points) earned in postgraduate specializations or Master programmes can be transferred by Applicants on admission into the curriculum of the Professional Doctorate, as far as they match the research topic of the chosen specialization.
4) 30 SUCA credits (60 ECTS points) earned in postgraduate specializations or Master programmes must be transferred into the curriculum of the Research Doctorate, as far as they match the research topic of the chosen specialization.
5) Credits can be accepted from coursework taken with recognized institutions of higher education, recognized degree programmes, or programmes validated by the University, or from course-work taken with the University at the postgraduate level, according to a study plan matching the chosen specialization.
Duration of Programme
1) The thesis examination programme starts with the confirmed acceptance of the application form by the admission-commission of the University and is becoming effective upon the payment of the non-refundable study-tuitions by the Applicant with the receipt of the payment by the University.
2) The thesis examination programme ends:
a) by the act of granting and awarding the academic title by the university,
b) by the decision of the examining committee that the Applicant did not meet the requirements including the retake options,
c) by delivering the written request to the examining committee to terminate the thesis examination,
d) by failing to complete thesis examination programme within the allowed retake options in compliance with the Letter b.
Doctorate by Publication
A doctorate for scientific publications is possible in compliance with the exclusion clause of doctorate by thesis, as far as this procedure is provided in the particular plans and programmes of study and the conditions thereof are regulated by these plans and programmes,
This is not a short cut to a PhD, however offered to recognized busy researchers and full time professionals who have been publishing academic work or the equivalent. The PhD by Publication, Prior Output or Achievement is quite common among British Universities, having introduced this doctorate to academia.
The PhD by Prior Output aims to demonstrate that the work submitted is of high distinction, does constitute an original and significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge or to the application of knowledge or to both, and does establish that the applicant is a leading authority in the field or fields of study concerned, and that the work put forward is already ‘published’.
The objective is not to review all of an applicant’s published output, but a selection that presents a substantial coherence and linked original contribution. The PhD by Prior Output should be as original and coherent as a conventional PhD degree. The work presented should be already ‘published’ work, open to critical academic peer scrutiny, including written publications in peer reviewed refereed journals and/or published under an academic or University Press, academic publisher, monographs from an academic press, official reports for organizations, portfolios of creative works, or alike. The submitted work presents an original contribution to knowledge and will include work that has been published recently. The submission should be conceived of as adding to a current debate. The publications should emphasize a common academic research area, with a reasonable core argument, and must be original, research-based, of doctoral thesis quality and embedded in an academic discourse.
Applicants can submit published work for examination only after a minimum period of six months from enrolment.
The doctoral degree of PhD by Prior Output is awarded by UCN after the successful presentation of prior output and a covering document of 10,000 to 15,000 words, and an examination. The covering document should contextualize the prior output, demonstrate that it constitutes a coherent entity, and underline the independent and original contribution to knowledge achieved.