PhD in Health, Welfare and Bioethics

The main objective of the PhD in Health, Welfare and Bioethics is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to develop innovative and creative research models, interrelating and responding to the social and health demands of the 21st century.

Basic:

• Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of research skills and methods related to the field in question.
  
• Ability to conceive, design or create, implement, and adopt a substantial process of research or creation.
• Ability to contribute to the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
• Ability to critically analyze, evaluate, and synthesize new and complex ideas.
• Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community, and with society in general, about their fields of knowledge through the means and language commonly used in their international scientific community.
• Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress in a knowledge-based society.

Personal skills and abilities:

• To interact in contexts where there is little specific information.
• To find the key questions that must be answered to solve a complex problem.
• To design, create, develop, and launch new and innovative projects in their field of knowledge.
• Ability to work in a team and individually in an international or multidisciplinary context.
• To integrate knowledge, handle complexity and make judgments with limited information.
• Ability to intellectually criticize and defend solutions.

The PhD in Health, Welfare and Bioethics is linked to the research groups of the School of Health Sciences (FCS) and the Borja Institute of Bioethics (IBB), of Ramon Llull University.

• Global Research on Wellbeing (GRoW) Research Group
• Health, Physical Activity and Sport (SAFE) Research Group
• Health, Gender and Society (GHenderS) Global Research Group
• Pharmacotherapy, Genomics and Exposomics (PHAGEX) Research Group
• Bioethics Research Group (GIB) of the IBB

The main lines of research developed by the FCS and the IBB are:

• Promoting healthy lifestyles, promotion, rehabilitation and treatment of illness throughout all stages of life from an interdisciplinary perspective.
• Guaranteeing the right to health, its determining social factors and the empowerment of individuals, the community, and professionals.
• Gender and health: exploring the impact of gender-based policies, the organization of services, and interventions on health outcomes.
• Social aspects: exploration of social factors, the cultural context with a gender perspective, and their potential impact on people's health.
• Pharmacotherapy and environment as determinants of health.
• Ethical foundations for the distribution of resources and decision-making in healthcare systems, ethical conflicts in genetics, bioethics in pediatrics (decision-making, minors, adults and competence).
• Moral and ethical development in students and healthcare professionals.

• Advanced methodology in quantitative research
• Advanced methodology in qualitative research
• Scientific publishing and circulation of information

• Bibliographic management workshop
• Scientific writing workshop
• Doctoral student conferences, in which the students will have to formally present the state of their research
• Attendance at conferences and other scientific meetings
• Research trips. Mobility.

If the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program (ACDP) considers that the initial profile of the doctoral student needs to be enriched with specific training, due to his/her background or line of the research to be developed, the student will be advised to undertake one of the following supplementary training courses:

• Methodological research seminars on health sciences and bioethics
• Bioethics seminar

Within 6 months of enrollment in the PhD program, the student must prepare a research plan including a definition of the topic of the doctoral thesis, an explanation of the working methodology and the objectives of the research, as well as the resources and time frame for carrying it out.

As a guide, the working plan will contain the following sections:

• Title (provisional) of the doctoral thesis
• Abstract describing the subject of study and the methodology to be used (maximum ½ page)
• Hypothesis, problem or argument to be addressed, studied or analyzed (maximum ½ page)
• Significance of the subject (maximum 1 page)
• Theoretical bases of the research (maximum 1 page)
• Previous research on the same topic (maximum 2 pages)
• Methodology (maximum 2 pages)
• Principal limitations of the research (maximum 1 page)
• Contribution to knowledge (e. g., new methods, new concepts or theories, etc.) (maximum 1 page)
• Timeline

If the research plan and document of activities receive a negative assessment from the academic committee, the doctoral student must prepare a new research plan, which will be reassessed within six months. In the event of a second negative assessment, the doctoral student will be definitively withdrawn from the program.

• Advanced methodology in quantitative research
• Advanced methodology in qualitative research
• Scientific publishing and circulation of information

• Bibliographic management workshop
• Scientific writing workshop
• Doctoral student conferences, in which the students will have to formally present the state of their research
• Attendance at conferences and other scientific meetings
• Research trips. Mobility.

If the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program (ACDP) considers that the initial profile of the doctoral student needs to be enriched with specific training, due to his/her background or line of the research to be developed, the student will be advised to undertake one of the following supplementary training courses:

• Methodological research seminars on health sciences and bioethics
• Bioethics seminar

Within 6 months of enrollment in the PhD program, the student must prepare a research plan including a definition of the topic of the doctoral thesis, an explanation of the working methodology and the objectives of the research, as well as the resources and time frame for carrying it out.

As a guide, the working plan will contain the following sections:

• Title (provisional) of the doctoral thesis
• Abstract describing the subject of study and the methodology to be used (maximum ½ page)
• Hypothesis, problem or argument to be addressed, studied or analyzed (maximum ½ page)
• Significance of the subject (maximum 1 page)
• Theoretical bases of the research (maximum 1 page)
• Previous research on the same topic (maximum 2 pages)
• Methodology (maximum 2 pages)
• Principal limitations of the research (maximum 1 page)
• Contribution to knowledge (e. g., new methods, new concepts or theories, etc.) (maximum 1 page)
• Timeline

- Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of research skills and methods related to the field in question.
- Ability to conceive, design or create, implement, and adopt a substantial process of research or creation.
- Ability to contribute to the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
- Ability to critically analyze, evaluate, and synthesize new and complex ideas.
- Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community, and with society in general, about their fields of knowledge through the means and language commonly used in their international scientific community.
- Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress in a knowledge-based society.

- To interact in contexts where there is little specific information.
- To find the key questions that must be answered to solve a complex problem.
- To design, create, develop, and launch new and innovative projects in their field of knowledge.
- Ability to work in a team and individually in an international or multidisciplinary context.
- To integrate knowledge, handle complexity and make judgments with limited information.
- Ability to intellectually criticize and defend solutions.

In general, to access an official PhD program, you must hold an official Spanish bachelor degree, or equivalent, and a university master degree, or equivalent, and have earned at least 300 ECTS credits in the two courses combined.

Students in any of the following situations will also be eligible:

• Students who hold an official Spanish university degree, or one from another country that is part of the European Higher Education Area, which qualifies them for access to a master degree in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October, and have earned a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in official university studies, of which at least 60 must be at master degree level.
• Students who hold an official Spanish degree, equivalent to at least 300 ECTS credits, according to the specifications of Community law. These graduates must complete the supplementary training referred to in Article 7.2 of Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January, which regulates official PhD studies, unless the curriculum for their degree includes research training credits equivalent in value to the research credits in master degree studies.
• University graduates who, after obtaining a place in the test for admission to specialized health training, have successfully completed at least two years' training in a program to obtain an official degree in one of the specialist areas of health sciences.
• Students who hold a degree obtained in accordance with the requirements of foreign education systems, without the need for convalidation, if it has been previously verified by the university that it accredits a level of training equivalent to an official Spanish university master degree and that it qualifies the student to undertake PhD studies in the country of issue. Such admission will not imply, in any case, the convalidation of the degree already held by the student or its recognition for purposes other than access to PhD studies. Students who come from a foreign university must provide details of the grading system used at their university, as well as the aforementioned documentation, which must comply with the requirements for translation and legalization established in current regulations.
• Students who hold another Spanish PhD degree obtained in accordance with previous university regulations.
• Students who hold an official university degree that has been recognized as equivalent to Level 3 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education, in accordance with the procedure established in Royal Decree 967/2014, of 21 November, which establishes the requirements and the procedure for approving and recognizing the equivalence of official university degrees and academic standards and for the validation of foreign higher education studies, and the procedure for determining the correspondence to the levels of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education of the official qualifications of architects, engineers, graduates, technical architects, technical engineers and holders of specialized diplomas.

Applicants must have completed previous studies (Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education, Level 3) in Health Sciences, Bioethics or related areas, such as Ethics, Applied Ethics, Health Anthropology or Health Law.

The selection of candidates for the PhD program will be carried out by the Academic Committee for the Doctoral Program. When selecting candidates, the Academic Committee will apply the following criteria:

• Compliance with the legal requirements for access to the PhD course (graduate and master degree, graduate with distinction, etc.)
• Assessment of the academic record
• Assessment of previous official training in Health Sciences and Bioethics
• Assessment of previous training and experience in research into Health Sciences and Bioethics
• Knowledge of English (level B1 or higher)
• Availability of time for study
• The extent to which the candidate matches the course profile and lines of research.

Once it has been verified that the candidate meets the access requirements, the other criteria will be weighted as follows:
50% - Academic record (special consideration will be given to previous training in Health Sciences or Bioethics)
40% - Personal interview and previous research experience
10% - Letter of intent and alignment with the program's lines of research.
The Academic Committee will assess whether students who are admitted need to take additional training and will specify the training necessary.

Admission of students with disabilities
At Ramon Llull University, the Equal Opportunities Observatory (OIO) is the technical body responsible for promoting and coordinating measures to ensure that the whole university community (students, administrative and service personnel, teaching and research staff) can carry out their activities on an equal footing. The aim is to ensure that people with specific needs arising from their disability can engage normally in academic and social activity at the university.

Once admitted, students with a disability will receive personalized attention coordinated by the Academic Committee for the Doctoral Program, the advisor and the thesis supervisor and the Commission for Attention to Diversity, who monitor their integration into the university, evaluating each case and adapting the curriculum, if necessary, (in accordance with Article 14 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October, which establishes the organization of official university education).

Pre-enrollment calendar: from February 9 to September 9, 2026
Applications: online

Documentation necessary for pre-enrollment:

• Application form (if pre-enrolling in person)
• Photocopy of ID card, passport or NIE residence card
• Passport size photo (if this is the first time you have enrolled at this center)
• Official academic transcript with grades for the courses taken and the average mark of the qualification justifying admission, if available at the time of pre-enrollment
• Resume
• Letter of intent
• Students with studies qualifying them for access completed outside Spain: photocopy of the certificate issued by the relevant body (university, embassy, consulate) confirming that these studies qualify the student to undertake PhD studies in the country of issue. Students who come from a foreign university must provide details of the grading system used at their university, as well as the aforementioned documentation, which must comply with the requirements for translation and legalization established in current regulations.
• €100 pre-enrollment fee.

When the pre-enrollment process has been completed, the applicant will obtain a receipt with pre-enrollment details and a pre-enrollment code (CIB).

Enrollment is the final step in the procedure to access the PhD course. Students will be informed individually of the enrollment date. When enrollment is completed, with payment of the corresponding fee, the student will have definitively secured a place. When students enrol, they will have two business days to pay the total cost of enrollment, by bank transfer or using a barcode at the bank. Once enrollment has been formalized, the amount paid will not be refunded under any circumstances.​

Documentation necessary for enrollment:

• Certified photocopy of the qualification that gives you access to the course or documentary proof that the relevant document has been requested.
• Accreditation of English level B1
• Students with studies qualifying them for access completed outside Spain: certificate issued by the relevant body (university, embassy, consulate) confirming that these studies qualify the student to undertake doctorate studies in the country of issue. Students who come from a foreign university must provide details of the grading system used at their university, as well as the aforementioned documentation, which must comply with the requirements for translation and legalization established in current regulations.
• Current account number for direct debit in case of payment by installments.

General conditions for enrollment

1. When a student enrolls, a contract for the provision of teaching services is formalized between the student and the Blanquerna Foundation, which is legally binding from the time of payment. Payment must be made within two working days of the date of enrollment by the means of payment referred to above.
2. Payment includes the corresponding insurance and, for students under the age of twenty-eight, compulsory academic insurance.
3. If a student declines to take up a place, he/she will lose in full any amount he/she has paid.
4. The student accepts the rules for the use of computer services established by the Blanquerna Foundation.

5) The student's personal data will be included in an automated file under the responsibility of the Blanquerna Foundation, so that this contract can be maintained and fulfilled. Students should note that their data may also be used to inform them about the future activities of the Foundation, or for the institution to send them publications. In accordance with the provisions of Organic Law 15/1999 on the protection of personal data, students have the right to access their data to update, rectify or cancel them, or oppose their use, by sending a letter, indicating which right they want to exercise, to the following address: Secretariat of the Blanquerna Foundation / Passeig de Sant Gervasi, 47 / 08022 Barcelona.

This section is a summary of the general conditions for enrollment. It is only for guidance and therefore has no contractual value. In the event of any discrepancy, the provisions of the General Conditions for Enrollment specified in the receipt generated at the time of enrollment will prevail; this receipt formalizes the contract between the student and the Blanquerna Foundation; students can consult it on the intranet whenever they wish.

Comprehensive development of an innovative research project with a social impact

You can view and download the Doctoral Academic Regulations at this link.

• Report of the PhD Program in Health, Welfare and Bioethics

Reports by the Agency for the Quality of the University System of Catalonia (AQU Catalonia)

• PhD in Health, Welfare and Bioethics

Students and graduates

• Graduate satisfaction survey
• Satisfaction survey with admission and public information
• Service satisfaction survey
• Results of the AQU surveys
• 2018-2019 academic year teaching assessment
• 2019-2020 academic year teaching assessment

Faculty

• 2019 survey results

Administration and service staff

• 2019 survey results