ShareFrequent Asked Question
- VALIDITY OF ACCREDITATIONS REQUESTED UP UNTIL FEBRUARY 2025
- If I have a favourable research/advanced research accreditation issued prior to the LOSU-adapted criteria (effective 1 April 2025), should I apply for the new accreditation for associate or full professor?
- DIMENSIONS AND MERITS ASSESSED AND SCORING
- Which dimensions are assessed for the issue of associate professor accreditation?
- Which dimensions are assessed for the issue of full professor accreditation?
- What is the minimum score required to obtain favourable accreditation?
- Can I be automatically recognised as meeting the criteria for any of the dimensions? If so, how will it be scored?
- Will all merits accumulated up to the time of application, including pre-doctoral ones, be considered for the accreditation of associate professors and full professors?
- MOBILITY
- What is the academic mobility requirement?
- How can I prove that I meet the mobility requirement?
- What are the exemptions to the mobility requirement?
- How do I apply for exemption from the mobility requirement?
- Does having a favourable tenure-eligible lecturer report fulfil the nine-month mobility requirement for the accreditation of assistant professors and full professors?
- Can I submit multiple mobility periods?
- Does research carried out in CSIC centres other than the one where the doctoral thesis was defended count as mobility?
- RESEARCH STAYS
- What are they, and which aspects of them are evaluated?
- Can having had teaching or postdoctoral contracts at other universities be considered a research stay?
- TEACHING ACTIVITY
- How do I certify my teaching activity?
- What are the specifics of the requirement to simultaneously demonstrate a minimum career length and minimum teaching activity?
- Are academic years in which I was engaged in part-time teaching as an associate professor or temporary substitute teacher taken into account? If so, how are they calculated in terms of the number of hours taught?
- Do the years of teaching required for associate and full professor accreditation have to be consecutive?
- Do theory hours and practical hours count equally?
- How can I accredit the quality of my teaching?
- Can positive teaching evaluations made using a teaching assessment manual that is in the process of being certified be recognised?
- In order to be considered, what is the minimum duration of periods of teaching activity that have been positively assessed by means of a teaching assessment manual certified or recognised by AQU Catalunya?
- What score is achieved when positive teaching evaluations made using a teaching assessment manual certified or recognised by AQU Catalunya are recognised?
- What is the teaching quality evidence document?
- Is submission of the teaching quality evidence document mandatory?
- EQUALITY AND CONCILIATION MEASURES
- What equality and conciliation measures does AQU Catalunya have at its disposal?
- How can situations of gender-based violence be accredited?
VALIDITY OF ACCREDITATIONS REQUESTED UP UNTIL FEBRUARY 2025
If I have a favourable research/advanced research accreditation issued prior to the LOSU-adapted criteria (effective 1 April 2025), should I apply for the new accreditation for associate or full professor?
Favourable research and advanced research accreditations are valid on a permanent basis, and therefore, you do not need to reapply.
REQUIREMENTS AND APPLICATION
What requirements must I meet to apply?
- You must hold a doctoral degree.
- You must be able to demonstrate nine months of academic mobility (unless you qualify for one of the exemptions)
- You must be able to simultaneously demonstrate a minimum career length and minimum teaching record: Associate professor: 4 years and 30 ECTS, Full professor: 10 years and 140 ECTS, (more details in the criteria document).
What steps must I take to apply?
To submit an application for accreditation, you must follow the steps below:
- Check that you meet the requirements of the call for applications.
- Prepare all the necessary documentation for the procedure.
- Access Tràmits Gencat, fill in the application, attach the documentation supporting the mobility requirement, sign it and send it.
- Access the generated procedure, pay the fee and attach the documentation indicated in step 2.
DIMENSIONS AND MERITS ASSESSED AND SCORING
Which dimensions are assessed for the issue of associate professor accreditation?
The dimensions assessed for the accreditation for associate professors are the research and transfer dimension and the university teaching dimension.
Which dimensions are assessed for the issue of full professor accreditation?
The dimensions assessed for the accreditation of full professors are the research and transfer dimension, the university teaching dimension and the scientific and managerial leadership dimension.
What is the minimum score required to obtain favourable accreditation?
Accreditation will be awarded if at least 50 points are obtained in each of the dimensions assessed.
Can I be automatically recognised as meeting the criteria for any of the dimensions? If so, how will it be scored?
For associate professor accreditation, the Research Assessment Commission (CAR) determines that the research and transfer criteria have been met if the applicant demonstrates that they have obtained research credentials such as: I3, R3, ERC Starting Grant ERC or other research credentials. With regard to the teaching quality dimension of accreditations for associate and full professors, the CAR also recognises positive assessments of teaching carried out using the teaching assessment manuals certified or recognised by AQU Catalunya.
The score awarded in these cases is the minimum score required to achieve proficiency. In other words, 50 points.
Will all merits accumulated up to the time of application, including pre-doctoral ones, be considered for the accreditation of associate professors and full professors?
Yes. However, only activities carried out during the postdoctoral training period will be considered when evaluating the applicant's compliance with the mobility requirement.
MOBILITY
What is the academic mobility requirement?
You must be able to prove nine months of academic mobility in universities or research centres other than the institution in which you completed your doctoral thesis, with effective research, teaching and/or transfer activity. Mere participation in joint projects does not count. Only postdoctoral activities are considered, and periods of at least one month can be combined.
How can I prove that I meet the mobility requirement?
You must submit the postdoctoral mobility form, available on the AQU Catalunya website, along with the supporting documentation in a single file (preferably PDF). The data provided on the form must coincide exactly with the certificates submitted.
What are the exemptions to the mobility requirement?
- Applicants who, at the time of the entry into force of the Organic Act on the University System (LOSU), on 12 April 2023, have a positive evaluation for university professor or have started the process to obtain it or have a contract as a tenure-eligible lecturer, permanent contract lecturer or associate professor, do not need to accredit their compliance with the mobility requirement. Applicants on temporary contracts as associate or full professors are also exempt, as are those with other temporary contracts with accreditation for these roles.
- Those who can provide documentary evidence of prolonged situations that have prevented them from complying with the mobility requirement due to disability, illness, work-life balance or care for minors, family members or dependants, or due to leave of absence to care for a child or a family member or due to gender-based violence or terrorist violence, as well as in other justified situations, may be exempted from the mobility requirement.
How do I apply for exemption from the mobility requirement?
The new application form contains a section in which you can indicate if you are applying for an exemption to the 9-month mobility requirement. If you choose to claim the exemption, you will need to attach evidence to justify your right to do so. We recommend you prepare a document with details of your claim for exemption as you will need to attach it to the application.
Does having a favourable tenure-eligible lecturer report fulfil the nine-month mobility requirement for the accreditation of assistant professors and full professors?
Yes. Those applying for accreditation as associate professors or full professors meet the mobility requirement if, at the time of the entry into force of the LOSU (12 April 2023), they had or had had a permanent contract as a tenure-eligible lecturer (doctoral assistant) or permanent contract lecturer, or if they already had accreditation for these positions.
Can I submit multiple mobility periods?
Yes. Multiple mobility periods can be submitted as long as they are equal to or exceed one month in duration.
Does research carried out in CSIC centres other than the one where the doctoral thesis was defended count as mobility?
Yes.
RESEARCH STAYS
What are they, and which aspects of them are evaluated?
Research stays involve the physical mobility of the person in international, national or Catalan universities or research centres other than the institution at which the applicant provides or has provided services. In particular, the number and length of the stays, the quality of the activities carried out, the verifiable results and the progress in the establishment of stable work networks, as well as the prestige of the host university or research centre in the field of the applicant's speciality will be assessed.
Can having had teaching or postdoctoral contracts at other universities be considered a research stay?
No. For an activity to be considered a research stay, the employment relationship between the individual concerned and the university must have been maintained. If the displacement involves a contract change, it is not a research stay.
TEACHING ACTIVITY
How do I certify my teaching activity?
With regard to the requirement to simultaneously accredit a minimum teaching career and minimum teaching activity in accordance with the assessment criteria, the following must be provided:
- Service record issued by the person responsible for human resources and/or personnel of the corresponding institution, stating the applicant's working hours, the professional category, and the day, month and year on which the relationship with the centre began.
- Certification issued by the university stating the teaching activity in the terms indicated in the template published on the Agency’s website.
What are the specifics of the requirement to simultaneously demonstrate a minimum career length and minimum teaching activity?
* When the applicant has combined different types of contracts, the total calculation will be calculated proportionally to the time spent on each contract. Associate teaching and substitute teaching contracts with a teaching load of six hours per week (180 hours of annual teaching capacity) will be considered full-time. The rest of the associate and substitute teaching contracts are considered part-time. Where the contract term is not annual or for the full academic year, the proportional part shall be counted.
Are academic years in which I was engaged in part-time teaching as an associate professor or temporary substitute teacher taken into account? If so, how are they calculated in terms of the number of hours taught?
If the applicant has combined several types of contracts, the total amount will be calculated on a pro rata basis according to the time spent on each contract. Associate teaching and substitute teaching contracts with a teaching load of six hours per week (180 hours of annual teaching capacity) will be considered full-time. The rest of the associate and substitute teaching contracts are considered part-time. Where the contract term is not annual or for the full academic year, the proportional part will be counted.
Do the years of teaching required for associate and full professor accreditation have to be consecutive?
No. They do not need to be consecutive.
Do theory hours and practical hours count equally?
Yes. They count equally in terms of the number of teaching hours.
How can I accredit the quality of my teaching?
Evidence of the quality of your teaching must be provided in the form of positive evaluations of your teaching carried out by the universities using a teaching assessment manual certified by AQU Catalunya or similar programmes recognised by the Agency (e.g., DOCENTIA).
Can positive teaching evaluations made using a teaching assessment manual that is in the process of being certified be recognised?
No. Only evaluations conducted using the certified models are recognised.
In order to be considered, what is the minimum duration of periods of teaching activity that have been positively assessed by means of a teaching assessment manual certified or recognised by AQU Catalunya?
As a general rule, the periods are 5 years. However, for associate professor accreditations, positive evaluations of 4-year periods may be recognised.
What score is achieved when positive teaching evaluations made using a teaching assessment manual certified or recognised by AQU Catalunya are recognised?
Both for associate and full professor accreditation, the score for teaching proficiency is 50 points.
What is the teaching quality evidence document?
It is a compilation, in a single file, of all the evidence relating to the quality of the applicant's university teaching, which must contain a description and evaluation of the following elements:
- Student satisfaction. Evidence: results of satisfaction surveys.
- Evaluation by an academic superior. Evidence: report from an academic supervisor on the quality of your teaching activity.
- Management of or participation in teaching innovation projects.
Is submission of the teaching quality evidence document mandatory?
Yes. If you do not have a teaching quality certificate issued by a university through a teaching assessment manual certified by AQU Catalunya or similar programmes, you will be required to submit this document.
EQUALITY AND CONCILIATION MEASURES
What equality and conciliation measures does AQU Catalunya have at its disposal?
You can consult the equality and conciliation measures that have been approved in this document.
How can situations of gender-based violence be accredited?
AQU Catalunya recognises interruptions in professional careers due to gender-based violence. In such cases, an official certificate must be submitted. In Catalonia, the bodies that can issue it are the Social Services, the Offices for the Support of Victims of Crime, the Specialist Intervention Services (SIE) and the Women's Information and Support Services (SIAD).