Elaboration of Final Work
Elaboration of Final Work
As stipulated in article 30 of the Regulamento de Estudos de Pós-Graduação da Universidade de Lisboa, the final work is subject to registration within 60 work days after enrolment in the study cycle, in case of attendance of the an advanced studies programme is not foreseen, or within 60 work days after completion of the advanced studies programme if it is planned.
The registration of the final work theme must be submitted through the FenixEdu platform by selecting the options myFenix > Services > Requisitions > Select the option Create > Requisition Type: Registration of Thesis Theme. As foreseen in the Academic Calendar, after enrolling in the 2nd curricular year, the student must submit the registration of the final work theme until 30th November.
Students are responsible for updating this registration, which can be requested through a new submission of the same request, in the same place, whenever any of its components change (title, keywords, supervisors, branch/specialty, among others).
The registration of the thesis theme, for PhDs, is valid for 5 academic years. At the end of this period, students that have not finished their final work and wish to proceed with its elaboration must submit an application for re-entry to the programme and submit a new registration.
In order to obtain the PhD degree successfully, it is essential that the PhD candidates and their academic supervisors have a good relationship. For this reason, it is important that the PhD candidates know what to expect from the academic supervisors and that the academic supervisors know what to expect from the students.
This is a dynamic relationship and, therefore, expectations can be adjusted and adapted as the research is developed.
It is important to note that the objective of this guide is not to prescribe a course of action for a PhD degree, but to establish some guidelines and basic orientations that will lead to a good relationship between both parties. By evidencing the obligations and duties of each party, mutual respect and confidence become the chief vectors that will lead to a successful conclusion of the PhD.
The academic supervisor is expected to:
- Supervise and advise about the investigation project, stimulating a spirit of independence and originality.
- Regularly meet up with the PhD candidates, in person or via the Internet, to accompany the research. The frequency of these meetings must be agreed between both, and it is advisable that they take place at least once a month. It should be noted, however, that this frequency depends on the how advanced the research is and other factors, such as, for example, the occasional absence of the PhD candidate due to fieldwork for long periods.
- Make sure that the PhD candidate is aware of the assessment requirements, as well as their periods, in order to progress in the PhD.
- Monitor the PhD candidate’s progress and advise them to submit the thesis within the recommended timeframe.
- Give feedback on the PhD candidate's written work, whenever possible within a period of no more than two weeks.
- Encourage the PhD candidate to present papers at conferences and to integrate team projects and academic or professional networks in their field of research.
- Advise and guide PhD candidates on the publication in specialized magazines and on the preparation of communications and posters at conferences.
- Promote the joint preparation of research materials and results, with a view to their public presentation and publication in co-authorship.
- Help the PhD candidate in preparation for the mid-term assessment discussions as well as the final discussion of the thesis (e.g., through a role play or oral discussion rehearsal).
- Warn PhD candidate on periods of prolonged absence from the institution to which they belong.
- Help solve problems related to the institutional insertion of the PhD candidate in the institution they belong to.
Do not expect the academic supervisor to:
- Involve the PhD candidates in forms of unpaid work for one's own benefit (for example, assigning them research project tasks for which they are responsible, writing articles or preparing communications at colloquiums where only their name appears as author).
- Impose forms of co-authorship in the case of work carried out exclusively by the PhD candidate.
- Subject the PhD candidate to any form of privacy breach, harassment, or abuse – intellectual, emotional, moral, or sexual.
The PhD candidate is expected to:
- Take responsibility for their own research and learning activities.
- Regularly discuss the work program and schedule of activities with the academic supervisor.
- Make the academic supervisor aware of periods of extended absence from the institution to which they belong.
- Keep a record of all orientation meetings (attendance on the one hand; summary of topics covered and tasks to be performed on the other).
- Agree on deadlines for the submission or presentation of work to the academic supervisor and to do everything possible to respect them.
- Commit to presenting the thesis within the period provided for in the respective regulation.
The final work must comply with the following style guide:
- Text Formating:
- Font and size:
- Times New Roman 11 or 12
- Arial 11
- Calibri 11
- Text colour: black.
- Margins: 2,5 cm on all sides.
- Alignment and line spacing: justified with line spacing of 1,5, without additional spacing between paragraphs.
- Other text formating:
- The first paragraph after a title or subtitle must not be indented.
- The secong paragraph onward should be signaled by an indent of 0,7 cm.
- Titles and subtitles should be separated by a blank line.
- Bold and underlined text should be avoided. Italics can be used to mark concepts or strong ideas.
- Font and size:
- Page numbers:
- The number of the page should be found on the exterior bottom of the page, in other words, on the left for even numbers and on the right for odd numbers, at a distance of 1,25 cm of the end of the page.
- The numbering of pages up to the beginning of the text should be done in lowercase Roman numbers (i, ii, iii, iv, ...).
- From the beginning of the text on, the numbering should be done in Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, ...).
- The dedication, acknowledgments, funding sources, abstracts, indexes, chapters, glossary, bibliography, and appendix should begin on odd numbered pages.
- The dedication should not be numbered.
- Optionally, the document may contain a running title of thesis.
- Thesis should have a maximum of 350 pages, including bibliography and attachments.
- Language:
- The final work may be written in Portuguese or in any other official language of the European Union.
- Works written in Portugues must obey the orthographic norms established in the most recent Acordo Ortográfico da Língua Portuguesa.
- In the case of other official languages of the European Union, the works should subscribe to a norm, not accepting variations throughout.
- The final work must include abstracts and keywords in Portuguese and in another official language of the European Union:
- When the work is written in Portuguese, it must include:
- Abstracts with a maximum of 300 words in each of the selected languages;
- Up to 5 keywords in each of the selected languages.
- When the work is written in another official language of the European Union, it must include:
- An abstract with a maximum of 300 words in the language that the work is written in;
- A more developed abstract in Portuguese, between 1200 and 1500 words;
- Up to 5 keywords in Portuguese and the language the work is written in.
- When the work is written in Portuguese, it must include:
- The final work may be written in Portuguese or in any other official language of the European Union.
- Images and charts:
- Images englobe: diagrams, maps, drawings and other representations of identical nature;
- Charts englobe: tables containing numeric and qualitative data.
- The images and charts must have an index of their own before the beginning of the text and must use arabic numbering.
- The images and charts should, preferably, appear next to the text where they are evoced, containing a label that describes their content.
- The label of charts should appear above the charts, following the text formats (number 1).
- The label of images should appear below the images, following the same text formats with the expection of the alignment (number 1.4) that, in this case, should be centered.
- Bibliographic norm:
- Citations and bibliographic references must follow one of the following norms:
- Footnotes should be inserted with automatic numbering, with a letter size 1 point below the one used for the text, with a spacing of 1 between lines, with no additional spacing between paragraphs, and an indent of 0,4 cm from the second line onward per note.
- Bibliographic references should be located immediately after the end of the text.
- The spacing between lines of bibliographic references should be 1.
- The references should be indented by 0,7 cm from the second line onward per reference.
- Appendixes:
- The appendixes should be located immediately after the bibliographic references.
- The appendixes should be identifiew using the uppercase Latin alphabet (A, B, C, D, ...).
- Cover and Title Page:
- The Regulamento de Estudos de Pós-Graduação de Universidade de Lisboa and the regulations of the programmes establish specific formats for presentation of the cover and title page of the final work. Please find here the available templates, per programme, for the provisional and definitive versions in an editable format:
- PhD's:
- Alterações Climáticas e Políticas de Desenvolvimento Sustentável - Provisional | Definitive
- Antropologia (DANT.ULisboa) - Provisional | Definitive
- Estudos de Desenvolvimento - Provisional | Definitive
- Filosofia da Ciência, Tecnologia, Arte e Sociedade - Provisional | Definitive
- História: Mudança e Continuidade num Mundo Global (PIUDHist) - Provisional | Definitive
- Migrações - Provisional | Definitive
- Política Comparada - Provisional | Definitive
- Sociologia: Conhecimento para Sociedades Abertas e Inclusivas (OpenSoc) - Provisional | Definitive
- PhD's:
- The Regulamento de Estudos de Pós-Graduação de Universidade de Lisboa and the regulations of the programmes establish specific formats for presentation of the cover and title page of the final work. Please find here the available templates, per programme, for the provisional and definitive versions in an editable format:
The Regulamento de Estudos de Pós-Graduação da Universidade de Lisboa establishes the following conditions on final works to be carried out within the scope of PhD programmes:
Article 26, no. 1 - "The study cycle leading to the doctoral degree includes the preparation of an original thesis, expressly prepared for this purpose, appropriate to the nature of the field of knowledge or of the specialty."
Article 26, no. 2 - "The Scientific Council of the school may authorize that, under equivalent demanding conditions, duly justified taking into account the nature of the branch of knowledge or specialty, the elaboration of an original thesis be replaced:
a) By a compilation, duly framed by an introduction, literature review, discussion and general conclusions, of a coherent and relevant set of research works, in which the original contribution of the candidate is clear, published or accepted for publication, mostly during the period of enrolment in the doctoral programme, in journals with selection committees of recognized international merit; or
b) In the field of the arts, for a work or set of works or achievements with an innovative character, in which the original contribution of the candidate is clear, accompanied by written reasoning that explains the design process and elaboration, research capacity, and its framework in the evolution of knowledge in the domain in which it operates."
In the case of theses that result from a compilation of research works, each work/article must be numbered with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, ...) and have the same status as the chapters.
The formal delivery of the final work (provisional document) for admission to public defence, or viva, must be made by email to gestao.academica@ics.ulisboa.pt and must be accompanied by the following documents in non-editable PDF format:
- Application for Admission to Academic Tests;
- Declaration for the Sistema Integrado das Bibliotecas da Universidade de Lisboa (SIBUL);
- Updated Curriculum Vitae;
- Declaration by the supervisor attesting that the thesis is in conditions to be submitted for a viva (one per supervisor) - PT Template | EN Template;
- Final Work (provisional document).
After delivery and validation of the documents, a payment reference will be issued for the fee of Admission to Public Defence (as provided for in Table of Fees at ICS-ULisboa, number 4 of Part B of the Annex).
As provided for in the Academic Calendar for 2022/2023, the formal delivery of the final work must be made until 15th September 2023. Delivery after this date implies enrolment in the following academic year with an obligation to pay tuition and administrative fees until the month of delivery of the final work (inclusive).
From the Latin viva voce, also known as a Public Defence. After the delivery of the provisional document and other documents required for admission to the viva, the process of naming and approving the jury and scheduling the public defense begins. The candidate will receive the Homologation Order of the Jury and the Notice of the Viva.
The Regulamento de Estudos de Pós-Graduação da Universidade de Lisboa and the programme regulations may be consulted for more detailed information about this process.
The calendar of vivas taking place at the ICS can be consulted on the page Theses Discussions. All public defences scheduled at the Universidade de Lisboa can also be consulted on the page Academic Exams Scheduled.
After the viva you must, within 30 work days, deliver the definitve version of the final work. If corrections to the final work are requested by the members of the Jury of the viva, the final work must be submitted for review and validation by the President of the Jury within 15 work days.
The delivery of the definitve version of the final work constitutes the delivery of the following documents:
- One printed copy on 80 grams A4 paper or equivalent recycled paper, with double-sided printing, thermal cover, glue binding and printed spine that contains the complete title of the work, full name of the author, year and the same logos found on the cover;
- Two copies in digital hardware, in non-editable format, delivered on individual Pen Drives and properly identified with the full name of the author, the full title of the work, and the indication of the school and university where the studies were concluded (in this case the Instituto de Ciências Sociais of the Universidade de Lisboa).
These documents must be physically delivered, preferably by the student or, alternatively, by a duly identified bearer, to the Serviço de Gestão Académica (room 2.05) at the Instituto de Ciências Sociais of the Universidade de Lisboa.
Additional Information
The elaboration of a doctoral thesis in international cotutelle applies to doctoral students at the Universidade de Lisboa who, within the scope of the elaboration of a doctoral thesis in similar doctoral programmes recognized as such by ULisboa and by a foreign partner university institution, carries out this component of the doctoral programmes under the guidance of at least one professor from each university.
The total period of work to be defined in the agreement must comprise a period of 2 to 5 years, and the elaboration of the agreement presupposes that the doctoral student has obtained approval in the respective advanced studies programme (1st curricular year), being able to enrol in thesis elaboration.
For more information, please consult theRegulamento de Elaboração de Tese de Doutoramento em Regime de Cotutela Internacional da Universidade de Lisboa.
The European Doctorate is a title associated to the title of Doutor that is confered by European universities, not consisting of an academic degree in itself. The Universidade de Lisboa grants this title under the scope of the Regulamento para Atribuição pela Universidade de Lisboa do Título de Doutoramento Europeu.
Students who meet the following conditions may apply for the award of this title:
- The student must be enrolled in a doctorate at the Instituto de Ciências Sociais;
- The student must have carried out a research stay of no less than one trimester, to prepare the doctoral thesis, at a university or research institution in a European country other than Portugal, which must be duly certified by the same;
- The composition of the jury for the viva must include a member from a higher education institution in a European country other than Portugal and must have complied with the legislation in force, as well as with the regulations regarding the award of the Doutor degree by the Universidade de Lisboa;
- The president of the jury has obtained two positive declarations regarding the thesis presented, issued by two professors belonging to two higher education institutions in two European countries other than Portugal, opinions that must be explicitly mentioned in the minutes of the first meeting of the jury, which will be integral part;
- In the viva, part of the presentation of the thesis must take place in an official European language other than Portuguese, which must also be explicitly stated in the minutes of the viva.
To request the attribution of this title, the student must submit, with the application for admission to academic tests, a requisition directed at the Rector of the Universidade de Lisboa and proof of the research stay carried out under the conditions mentioned above in no. 2.
For more information, please visit the Universidade de Lisboa's page on European Doctorate.