Nuestra NEBRIJA 32 - enero 2020

46 Article The starting point of the academic career is obtaining a doctor's degree. A doctorate corresponds to third cycle university studies that pursue the acquisition of the necessary competences for scientific research, therefore the PhD degree accredits the qualification to carry out research autonomously. The objective of the doctorate is to carry out an original research project, which will lead to the defense of a doctoral thesis. The doctoral student must acquire disciplinary and methodological skills, which will be obtained during courses and seminars; instrumental skills, which will be acquired during the realization of the research project; and transversal skills, which are taken on institutionally by the Doctoral School. The doctorate degree is the first step in the professionalization of science, therefore, in many countries, the positions to pursue it are associated with an employment contract. Although in Spain financing is not a requirement to pursuing doctoral studies, it is advisable that the researcher in training have a source of funding, since whoever wants a career in research should devote their full time to it. There are several sources of funding for the completion of the PhD, however, competition to obtain a predoctoral scholarship grows every year. The requirements to qualify for one of these scholarships are increasingly stricter, and only the most outstanding academic records manage to pass the selection criteria. Currently, university students with scientific interests know the amount of competition that exists in the academic career, and not only do they try to have the best records, but they soon perform research work in the departments in order to finish their master's degree having some scientific publication that will help them earn points in the calls for predoctoral contracts. O btaining a predoctoral scholarship is not the end , but rather the beginning of a career Claudia Poch Perez Botija. Coordinator of the Doctorate in Education and Cognitive Processes at Nebrija University The academic future of the doctoral student