International Relations Bureau

Applying for visiting PhD research stay

Visiting PhD and Joint PhD Programmes 2026–2027

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This programme will enable up to thirty (30) selected Chinese students per year, who have already registered as doctoral (PhD) students at their home institutions in China, to undertake PhD thesis research at UPC for a period of up to twenty-four (24) months

Candidates whose stay at UPC is at least twenty-four (24) months may be eligible to apply for joint PhD supervision through a separate co-tutorship agreement.

Should a co-tutorship agreement be successfully concluded, and provided that all UPC academic requirements are met, the programme will enable the PhD students to earn two Doctoral degrees: one from UPC and one from their home institution in China.

Admission Process for co-tutorship research stay

Students interested in carrying out a PhD research stay at UPC must first find a UPC professor willing to host them.

You can search for research groups and academic staff through FUTUR, the UPC research portal: http://futur.upc.edu/

You must clearly state that you are applying for a CSC–UPC visiting PhD research stay.

Once the host professor admits you, he will forward the following to the UPC International Relations Bureau (international@upc.edu):

  • Letter of invitation
  • Your detailed CV (in English)
  • Your email address.

The International Relations Bureau will send you the official admission letter by e-mail.

Please note that the official admission letter must always be issued by the International Relations Bureau and must include the bureau’s official stamp, which serves as formal validation of the document.

The deadline to request the official UPC admission letter is: March 25th, 2026

With your UPC admission letter, you can then apply to the CSC grants according to their procedures and deadlines.

https://www.csc.edu.cn/

Once the CSC has selected you as a recipient of the CSC–UPC scholarship, you must contact your host professor. He will then coordinate with the corresponding support unit to process an internship agreement (which does not require enrollment), as this is the mechanism through which PhD research-stay students are formally linked to UPC.

The agreement must be signed by:

  • You (the student)
  • Your home university in China
  • UPC General Management

Important: Professors cannot sign the agreement themselves.

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Admission Process for co-tutorship research stay

Students whose stay at UPC is equal to or longer than twenty-four (24) months, and who wish to apply for a co-tutorship (joint PhD supervision) agreement, must process the corresponding co-tutorship agreement. To do so you must follow these steps.

Visit the list of doctoral programmes and select the one you wish to apply for and make sure you meet the specific and general access requirements.

Send the required documents directly to the coordinator and clearly state that you are applying for a CSC–UPC visiting PhD stay (co-tutoring modality)

Their contact details are available on each programme webpage.

Some programmes may ask you to fill in the online pre-enrolment form and upload your documents. If so, follow the instructions provided by the coordinator.

Once the programme accepts you, the coordinator will forward the following to the UPC International Relations Bureau (international@upc.edu):

  • Confirmation of acceptance
  • Your detailed CV (in English)
  • Your email and postal address

Please note that the official admission letter must always be sent to the student by the International Relations Bureau and must include the bureau’s official stamp, which serves as formal validation of the document.

The deadline to request the official UPC admission letter is: March 25th, 2026

With your UPC admission letter, you can then apply to the CSC grants according to their procedures and deadlines.

https://www.csc.edu.cn/

Once the CSC has selected you as a recipient of the CSC–UPC scholarship, you must contact your UPC thesis supervisor, who will contact the Doctoral School to begin the administrative process for arranging the co-tutorship agreement.

After an agreement has been reached, the co-tutorship will become valid only once it has received formal approval from the UPC Doctoral School

More information on co-tutorship agreements at: https://doctorat.upc.edu/en/doctoral-thesis/cotutelle