Below are some of the historical academic highlights of the current Doctoral Program in Chemistry:

· This previous program met the requirements indicated in Royal Decree 1393, dated October 29, 2007, which regulates official university education. It received a positive evaluation from the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA), it was positively reviewed by the Council of Universities, and it received official approval from the Ministry of Education (Official State Bulletin, March 16, 2011).

· This doctoral program was awarded the Citation of Excellence by the Ministry of Education for the 2011-2012, 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years (Ministry of Education resolution dated October 6, 2011, Official State Bulletin, October 20, 2011).

· Previously it encompassed the Doctoral Program in Physical Chemistry Methods of Analysis, regulated by RD 778/1998, which was approved as an official graduate program by the Ministry of Education and Science pursuant to Royal Decree 56/2005.

The doctoral program began its educational mission during the 1991-1992 academic year under the direction of Dr. Miguel Sánchez González, a full professor who led the program until the 2006-2007 academic year. Dr. Iñigo Navarro Blasco then took over and continues to serve as director of the doctoral program.

The Department of Chemistry and Soil Science is primarily responsible for the development of the program, which benefits from the participation of the department's various research groups. This therefore ensures the quality of education offered as regards the various subfields of Chemistry (Material Science, Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Soil Chemistry and Chemical Engineering). As a result, the various areas serve as a framework for the program's lines of research and the research projects that are carried out within it. Since the initiation of the doctoral program, more than 40 doctoral dissertations have been defended, of which 6 have received the Doctoral Award for Excellence. Several research topics have been addressed, which demonstrates the department's training capacity. This has been accredited by the indicators established for the doctoral program's output of research work during the most recent doctoral program evaluation process conducted by ANECA (2004-2009 period). Nearly all of the professors in the Department of Chemistry and Soil Science have directed a doctoral dissertation, with a ratio of 1.7 dissertations directed per professor. In addition, all doctoral students have access to outside funding to complete their programs of study. In terms of academic research output, as measured by academic contributions to journals that rank highly on the impact index scale, the department's average exceeds the benchmark of 3 articles in publications ranked in the top third. The department has achieved a ratio of 3.7 articles (T1) and a total of 5.4 indexed articles (JCR) per doctoral dissertation defended in the program.

Another notable aspect of the program is its encouragement of internationalization among the department's teaching staff. Collaborative relationships are maintained among professors and PhDs at other institutions, both Spanish and international, which enables students in the program to conduct part of their research work at these centers. This makes a significant contribution to improving and enriching the education of future PhDs.

The educational task of the professors who are part of the program is enhanced by the efforts of the Master's Degree in Chemistry Applied to Research and Industry in providing teaching support and direction of research projects. The doctoral program's professional orientation seeks to create professionals who possess scientific critical thinking skills, practical laboratory skills, communication skills, business management skills and teamwork skills: a set of skills that enables students to develop themselves independently in the field of Chemistry. Today's chemicals industry is probably one of the most heterogeneous sectors around. One part of the industry consists of the basic chemicals subsector, whose primary subdivisions focus on the production of raw materials, plastics and synthetic rubbers, organic and inorganic chemistry, industrial gases, polymers and synthetic fibers and fertilizers; in recent years these have represented approximately 40% of production. Another part of the industry consists of industrial and consumer chemicals, which accounts for about 34% of the total sector; its main areas include detergents and cleaning products, inks and paints, the perfume industry and cosmetics. Finally, the last subsector consists of so-called chemistry and health, which encompasses both raw materials and pharmaceutical specializations, such as animal and plant health products. This subsector accounts for 26% of the industry's total production. In the near future it is predicted that the weight of each subsector will vary, but all of them will have a significant market share.

Teachers in the doctoral program are aware of this professional reality, since they regularly deal with the teaching team for Module I of the Master's Degree in Chemistry, made up of qualified professionals from the industry. This structure is designed to create a dynamic equilibrium, as well as a complementarity, between specific problems and modes of work in the industry, and the advanced and instrumental knowledge that a chemist needs within an applied industrial context. PhD candidates can more easily adjust to the relevant tasks in the chemicals industry once they are familiar with the language and management approaches found in the business environment. This approach significantly shortens the chemist's period of initiation and adaptation to industry-specific work methods.

Likewise, it enables students with a strong research drive to learn the technical and methodological aspects that are most relevant to their future application in service of the interests of the various subsectors of the industry. Thus, the program seeks to create and strengthen a confluence between the university's lines of research and those found in R&D&I departments in the chemicals industry. This undoubtedly contributes to interesting synergies, as well as to the transfer of research results to industrial applications.

In this regard, contracts and research projects have been established with various institutions, companies and industries, which over the long run have led to closer ties between students and business contexts and their future professional activities.

The new proposed doctoral program takes the previous teaching and research experience of the old doctoral program as a starting point and adds in the existing link to the industrial context established through the Master's Degree in Chemistry Applied to Research and Industry; the program thus offers added value that will be of great interest for society and reflect the real demand for R&D&I in the professional sector.

In this regard, research tasks are also guaranteed, since the various research teams affiliated with the doctoral program develop a variety of research projects that receive funding from FUNA (the University of Navarra Foundation). This reflects the University of Navarra R&D Committee's prioritized interest in research, framed within the University of Navarra Research Plan.

· Resolution of the Council of Universities

· Final Evaluation Report (.pdf)

· Report of verification request (.pdf)

· Resolution of the Ministry of Education (.pdf)

· Final Evaluation Report (.pdf)

· Information included in the Citation of Excellence application