phd studies norway

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PhD education

A PhD degree is the highest level of formalized education in Norway.

A doctoral degree from NTNU qualifies you to a range of positions both in the private and public sector. Though academia has traditionally been the main career path, an increasing number of doctors are going into leading positions in the private sector.

The doctoral education at NTNU is structured in various PhD programmes and gaining access to a PhD programme is a prerequisite for completing a PhD.

Find PhD programme

KRYSSPUBLISERT - PhD - Admission and financing - ID 1295482685 (sharing)

In addition to a master's degree or equivalent and a strong academic record, financing is an absolute requirement for admission to a PhD programme . Funding can be both through NTNU and other sources. Available PhD positions at NTNU are continuously posted online.

Programme components

The PhD education is a structured degree with a nominal duration of three-year full-time study . Some PhD positions may include a fourth year of required duties, usually in the form of teaching, this will be detailed in your employee contract if applicable.

• The programme consists of at least 30 ECTS of coursework, and an independent academic work in the form of a doctoral thesis estimated to 2.5 years.
• A PhD degree requires a great deal of independence and capacity for completion
• The final thesis should contribute to the development of new scientific knowledge and meet international standards in the field
• PhD education at NTNU is internationally oriented
• You are expected to contribute to international conferences and publish in international peer-reviewed journals
• It is possible to complete part of your studies abroad, either in the form of a prolonged research stay or by completing some of your courses abroad

KRYSSPUBLISERT - PhD - Dr.philos. degree - ID 1295512303 (sharing)

Dr.philos. degree.

It is possible to complete a doctoral degree outside of a structured PhD education. This is called a dr.philos. degree and is a completely independent non-supervised academic work where your first formal contact with the university will be upon handing in your thesis.

Joint PhD course database

A number of joint projects have been launched to support the vision of Nordic Five Tech as an extended campus. One of them is this joint PhD course database . The aim of this initiative is to increase mobility for our PhD students within the five universities and further strengthen the alliance by encouraging more research cooperation.

If you are a PhD student at one of the Nordic Five Tech universities you do not have to pay for participating in courses registered in this database . Please note that the database also includes non-technical PhD courses.

* Nordic Five Tech universities is an alliance of the five leading technical universities in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

• Chalmers University Of Technology , Gothenburg, Sweden
• Aalto University , Helsinki, Finland (Former Helsinki University Of Technology, TKK)
• Norwegian University of Science And Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
• Royal Institute Of Technology (KTH) , Stockholm, Sweden
• Technical University Of Denmark (DTU) , Lyngby, Denmark

Doctoral awards ceremony

New doctors

krysspublisert ID: 1263188355 For existing PhD candidates

For existing phd candidates.

• PhD Handbook
• Information for current PhD candidates

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Doctoral degrees

Do you want to contribute to the development of new professional knowledge at an international level in your field? A doctoral degree from Nord University qualifies both for a further academic career and for other professions with high requirements for competence and scientific insight.

Nord University offers four PhD programmes within the university's five faculties. A PhD education is a structured degree programme that is standardized to three years of full-time studies. Some doctoral positions include a fourth year of mandatory work.

The research related to the doctoral programmes supports the overall study portfolio as well as the university's profile areas .

The faculties have specific additional information for each individual study program.

To be admitted to the doctoral education, you must have a scientific master's degree of at least 120 credits or another completed higher degree equivalent to a Norwegian master's degree. It is expected that you have a strong academic background with a satisfactory grade point average.

Education from abroad

If you have education from abroad, an assessment will be made during the application process. The education must correspond to a Norwegian scientific two-year master's degree. The documentation must be translated into English or a Scandinavian language. Alternatively, you can contact HK-dir (Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills) for an assessment of your education.

Our four PhD programmes have slightly different academic admission requirements. The other qualification requirements also vary between the doctoral programmes and depend on the specific doctoral positions to be filled.

For more detailed information about the requirements, please refer to the respective PhD programme's website and job advertisements.

Admission requirements

In order to be admitted to the PhD programme, it is further required that you have sufficient funding (see the Financing section), an approved project description, and a schedule for completing the doctoral education.

Admission to our PhD programmes is ongoing and is based on individual applications, which must include the following attachments:

• Documentation of completed scientific master's degree (120 credits) or equivalent higher degree from abroad.
• Project description.
• Statement on any legal and ethical issues raised by the project and how they can be resolved.
• Data Management Plan ( DMP ).
• Proposal for at least one supervisor, and affiliation with an active research environment.

For a complete list, please refer to the PhD regulations § 6-2. (pdf)

Only candidates with satisfactory funding for the entire doctoral education can apply for admission to the doctoral programme. The funding should cover both living expenses (salary) and operational costs related to the research.

There are mainly two ways to obtain funding for a PhD project. First and foremost, you can apply for and secure a doctoral position at Nord University. Doctoral positions are advertised under Vacant Positions on our website. Private financing such as personal or family funds, pensions, or similar sources are not accepted as funding for admission to the organised doctoral education.

You can also obtain a doctoral position or other type of PhD funding at another university, college, or research institute. Some of these positions will be advertised, while others may involve being released from your current employer in private companies or public institutions.

Research Council of Norway

It is also possible to seek funding through the Research Council of Norway's scheme for industrial PhD or public sector PhD, or educational scholarships from various national and international organisations.

You can also approach potential employers in your field of interest and jointly seek funding for your project. Regardless of the form of funding, it is expected that all candidates who are admitted have normally competed for funds that have been openly advertised.

Annual budget

In addition to salary, doctoral candidates employed at Nord University will receive an annual budget to cover the project's operational costs. It will also be possible to apply for additional funding, such as for international mobility. At the time of admission, there should be an understanding between the candidate and the employer/funding source that the planned expenses for the doctoral project do not exceed the available operational funds for the project.

A PhD programme is a structured and supervised degree programme standardised to three years of full-time study. The programme consists of:

• A thesis based on independent research
• A training component comprising relevant courses
• Participation in national and international research environments
• Relevant academic dissemination
• Final doctoral examination, including a trial lecture and a public defense

A PhD study programme requires a high degree of independence and the ability to carry out one's own research project. Some PhD positions include a fourth year with mandatory tasks, usually in the form of teaching or research and project assistance.

PhD candidates are encouraged to conduct parts of the programme abroad, either through research stays or by taking portions of the training component in foreign institutions. PhD candidates are expected to actively participate in international conferences. Candidates who write an article-based thesis are expected to publish in international journals and co-publish nationally and internationally.

Nord University has a common regulation for the PhD degree across all doctoral programmes:

• Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) at Nord University (English) (pdf)

All activities related to the PhD programmes are subject to these regulations. In addition, each programme has its own supplementary provisions. The supplementary provisions may be stricter than the regulations but cannot relax the provisions stated in the regulations. The PhD regulations shall apply in case of any dispute regarding the interpretation of the content on this website and the provisions in the regulations.

Links to the supplementary guidelines for the programmes:

PhD in Biosciences

PhD in Business

PhD in Sociology

PhD in Science of Professions

All PhD programmes have a training component. An overview of courses and seminars, including mandatory and elective ones, as well as the organisation of the training component, can be found on the respective program pages.

Our PhD candidates can take PhD courses at Nord University. If the university does not offer the entire training component itself, arrangements will be made for the candidate to complete equivalent training at other institutions, nationally or internationally.

Please note that it is possible to take courses from a different programme than the one you are enrolled in, but make sure to check in advance if the course can be approved as part of your training component.

During the training period, it is expected that candidates enhance their knowledge of scientific theory, research methods, and research ethics. The development of skills in communicating research results is also required as part of the training.

Most of our courses are open to external applicants enrolled in other PhD programmes both nationally and internationally. Refer to the programme pages to find out which courses are offered and contact the course coordinator to inquire about availability.

Refer to each programme for requirements regarding the number of credits and the academic composition.

Form for application for admission

Application form for admission to a PhD programme at Nord University​ (MS Word)

Form for PhD candidates who have already been admitted

Standard Admission Agreement June 2022 (English, pdf)​

The agreement is completed in collaboration with the faculty's PhD coordinator

Forms related to doctoral defense

Application for assessment of a doctoral dissertation (MS Word)

Declaration describing the research contribution (MS Word)

PhD on Track (literature, references, publishing) is an online resource primarily aimed at PhD candidates and early-career researchers. Its goal is to provide easier access to information on searching and reviewing scholarly literature, academic writing, and sharing and publishing reports and data. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) support researchers at all stages of their careers, regardless of age and nationality. Researchers working across all disciplines are eligible for funding.

MSCA also promotes collaboration between industry and academia and provides innovative training to enhance employability and career development. MSCA is important for seeking and gaining experience in research projects, as well as facilitating international research stays. The Vancouver Recommendations , also known as the Vancouver Convention or Vancouver Guidelines, were developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) . They provide practical and ethical guidelines for authors. Among other things, the Helsinki Declaration must be followed, and the research project must be approved by an independent ethics committee. The convention is used by over 500 medical journals worldwide and serves as a guideline for co-authorship in all fields at Nord University. Erasmus+

As a PhD student, you are eligible to receive an Erasmus+ grant for a mobility period abroad. Erasmus+ is the European Commission's programme for mobility in education.

Depending on whether you are registered as a student or as an employee ("stipendiat"), you can receive a grant either as a student or as an employee. If you are both a student and an employee, then you can choose either option. See Intranet (iNord) for further information or contact the administrative PhD coordinator at your faculty.

The National Research Ethics Committee s are independent bodies responsible for research ethics issues and investigations of research misconduct across all disciplines.

Research ethics guidelines at Nord University emphasize respect for the human dignity and rights of research participants. The welfare and integrity of participants are fundamental and take precedence over the interests of science and society. Research ethics regulations are an essential aspect of conducting academic research at universities. These regulations are in place to ensure that research studies are carried out in an ethical and responsible manner.

The National Research Course Portal provides an overview of PhD courses in the social science subjects offered at Norwegian universities. The website is the result of a national project on the coordination of PhD courses within the Social Sciences, initiated by the National Conference of Faculties of the Social Sciences.

Vitae (Researcher careers) is a global organisation that supports the professional development of researchers. They work with institutions to achieve research excellence, innovation, and impact. Vitae collaborates with researchers, higher education institutions, research organisations, research funders, and other stakeholders to realize the potential of researchers.

Nord Open Research Archive is the university's open digital repository. According to Nord's Open Access (OA) policy , all scientific journal articles should be made available in the repository through self-archiving.

If you have published in a subscription-based journal, archiving the accepted manuscript version (green OA) is a pathway to open publishing (open access) . The full text should be uploaded in the correct version in Cristin; the University Library (UB) checks the rights before making it accessible. Detailed information about article versions and self-archiving can be found on the UB's website.

According to the university's PhD regulations § 17-3 , all PhD theses should also be deposited in the research archive (read more about the publication of PhD theses ).

Cristin (Current Research Information System In Norway) is Norway's research information system. All scientific publications should be registered in Cristin, and other research-related activities (e.g., conference contributions, opinion pieces) can also be registered. In Cristin, you can also upload full-text scientific publications (articles, book chapters, books) and doctoral theses.

The files are then transferred to the university's research archive, Nord Open Research Archive . The University Library checks the publisher's self-archiving guidelines before making the publication available in the archive.

NDS Privacy Services ' main task is to assist institutions in fulfilling legal obligations related to internal control and quality assurance of their own research.

The General Data Protection Regulation requires that all processing of personal data should be documented. NDS offers:

• Preliminary assessment of research projects involving the processing of personal data
• Follow-up during project changes, expansions, and project completion
• Guidance, training, and informational materials for researchers, students, administration, and management
• Access to tools for managing and controlling the institution's processing of personal data, such as the Message Archive, to ensure internal control of research
• Guidance to research subjects regarding their rights
• Public overview of projects processing personal data.

The Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics (REK) are authorized by the Research Ethics Act and the Health Research Act. REK assesses whether research is conducted in a responsible manner. This involves weighing the benefits and risks and assessing whether privacy is safeguarded.

REK must grant prior approval for:

• Medical and health research projects
• General research biobanks
• Waivers of confidentiality for other types of research

If you are unsure whether your project requires prior approval, you can submit a preliminary assessment. This provides REK with a basis for further guidance.

From Idea to Publication. The Research Handbook is a handbook for medical and health research developed by Oslo University Hospital in collaboration with Haukeland University Hospital, but it also provides advice and tips applicable to other disciplines.

Euraxess is an international researcher mobility portal for job and funding searches, career development, international partnerships, and general information about living and working as a researcher abroad.

Research Council of Norway's research programmes provide an overview of programs or activities that focus on targeted research efforts to generate new knowledge and innovation in a specific field. This can include a discipline, theme, and/or industry.

Research schools are networks for doctoral candidates that offer courses, subjects, seminars, and contribute to networking among the candidates. Nord University is a part of several research schools in various fields of study.

NRSH - The Norwegian Research School in History (NRSH)

DIGIT - The Norwegian Research School on Digitalization, Culture, and Society

PROFRES - The Research School for Practice-oriented and Profession-related Research

NORSI - The Norwegian Research School in Innovation

TBLR - The national research school Text, Image, Sound, Space

The Norwegian Graduate School in Mathematics and Science Education

The National Graduate School Photosyntech

MUNI-HEALTH-CARE

At Nord University, the academic and administrative responsibility for the PhD education is delegated to the faculties. Therefore, questions regarding the PhD program should be directed to the faculty that administers the program you are interested in.

The program coordinator, usually a professor, has overall responsibility for the program, while the administrative coordinator provides administrative support.

PhD in Aquatic Biosciences

Academic responsible:  Steinar Daae Johansen   Administrative coordinator:  Jeanett Stegen

Academic responsible:  Johans Tveit Sandvin Administrative coordinator:  Anneli Maria Watterud

Academic responsible:  Elena Dybtsyna Administrative corrdinator:  Inger Lene Wassmo

Academic responsible:  Anne Marit Valle Administrative coordinator (FLU):  Geir Øystein Fjeldavli Administrative coordinator (FSH):  Synnøve Dalmo Tollåli

Department of Research and Development

The Department of Research and Development assists the faculties with common administrative tasks.

Administrative contacts:

Sissel Marit Jensen Grete Ingemann Knudsen

If you wish to pursue a PhD at Nord University, you can apply for an advertised position. See available positions below.

The degree Dr. Philos. (doctor philosophiae) is awarded to academics who have qualified themselves for a doctoral degree without formal supervision. The degree has no normalised timeframe and candidates do not have a relationship with the institut​ion prior to having their doctoral examination approved.

Our PhD programmes

Phd handbook.

The handbook provides information about and regulations for the PhD education that are relevant for potential and current PhD candidates, supervisors and others involved in the PhD education at Nord University.

PhD programmes

As a PhD candidate at OsloMet, you can expect a high-quality research education in a supportive academic environment.

At OsloMet, you will be a full-fledged member of our research community and will join a supportive and diverse community of academics. We have a large and growing number of international doctoral candidates and are committed to attracting talented aspiring researchers from around the world.

Many alumni of our PhD programmes pursue careers in academia, while others go on to high-level careers in the public and private sector—both in Norway and around the world.

PhD candidates in Norway are not students, but employees. Research fellows who are employed by a Norwegian university can expect some of the best working conditions in the world. As you work toward your doctoral degree, you will enjoy a good salary and a host of benefits, including five weeks of paid holiday.

You can also pursue a PhD at OsloMet while working for a different employer, either in Norway or elsewhere in the world.

• Pilestredet Campus, Oslo

All of our PhD positions are publicly advertised. You can view current available PhD positions in our job portal. 

• Job openings

Interested in learning more?

You can find detailed information about our PhD programmes, including application procedures and how to apply for funding, on our employee website. 

• Admission and funding (ansatt.oslomet.no)
• Getting started (ansatt.oslomet.no)
• During your PhD (ansatt.oslomet.no)
• Completion of your PhD (ansatt.oslomet.no)

Upcoming public defences

• Pilestredet Campus
• Faculty of Health Sciences
• PhD defences
• Faculty of Technology, Art and Design
• Faculty of Education and International Studies / Department of Primary and Secondary Teacher Education

Life in Oslo

Are you considering applying for a PhD or academic position at a Norwegian university? We asked the experts—our own international employees—for their advice on how to navigate the transition to working in Norway.

What defines quality of life in a city? Is it the availability of good restaurants, bars and entertainment options? Or is it easy access to unspoilt nature? In Oslo, you don’t have to choose between the two—we have plenty of both.

The sun doesn't set until close to midnight, and even then it never really gets dark. You can spend the evening watching the light change at an outdoor café with friends, or go for a relaxing swim in the fjord alone. Oslo in the summer is a pretty magical place.

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PhD at UiT The Arctic University of Norway

• General information

In order to become a PhD student at UiT you have to either apply for a position that is advertised, or be employed at an external institution that will fund your PhD study. The positions are advertised at Jobbnorge  and EURAXCESS .

When the faculty has made a decision on admission, the student will be sent a form for a PhD agreement to complete.

• Agreement of admission

Housing for PhD students

Housing for PhD students at UiT 

TODOS - Doctoral Students and Postdocs at UiT The Arctic University of Norway

TODOS is an interest organization that works to improve the general welfare of all PhD candidates and postdocs at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. TODOS is a neutral organization. It is not a union, nor is it linked to any union organization, political opinion, or religious belief. TODOS is here to help, assist, guide and educate you throughout your journey as PhD or postdoc. We focus on two important aspects: a good academic working environment and a thriving social life.

PhD On Track

PhD on Track is a web resource aimed primarily at PhD candidates and early career researchers.

Guidelines for evaluation of doctoral degrees at UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Guidelines for the evaluation of doctoral degrees at UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Webpages about HSE and emergency prepardness

Webpages about health, safety, environment and emergency prepardness  (you need to log into the intranet). 

University Library

Munin - where you hand in your Doctoral Theses

Disputation

[skriv tittel her].

• Course of study
• Contact information

Admission requirements

For admission to a PhD program at UiT Norway's Arctic University, you must be formally qualified for admission.

The requirement for admission to the PhD program at the Faculty of Law is the degree of cand. Jur. or a 5-year master's degree in law with good grades. The faculty may on a case by case basis approve a corresponding degree (at least 300 credits) as a basis for admission. The degree must be of such a nature that it qualifies for the execution of the doctoral project. In order to be admitted to the doctoral program, you must also seek to document sufficient potential for research. For more information on admission requirements, see the PhD regulations with supplementary guidelines for Jurfak.

A PhD study is standardized for a 3-year full-time study. To be admitted to the PhD program, you must have funding for the entire period (3 years full-time).

Funding for the PhD program normally takes place by appointment to a PhD position at Jurfak, or as an employee at an external institution that finances the doctoral degree program.

Admission to the PhD program at the Faculty of Law takes place continuously.

Application for admission

An application for a PhD position is an application for admission to the PhD program. Vacancies are advertised here!

The applicant must: • document the education on which the admission is based [CS1] • document necessary language skills in English • prepare a project description that includes: 1. academic report for the project where the topic, issues, research questions, choice of theory and method have been explained 2. plan for connection to the research environment, research group and possible stay at other research institutions For applicants with funding from external institutions • document financing • document permission from an external employer

Application form

Bokmål

Sentral forskrift for opptak til ph.d.-studiet

  Supplementary rules for the Faculty of Law can be found on our regulations page here.

Appointment as a research fellow:

Fellows are normally employed for four years. A compulsory part-time job of 25% is one year, and the doctoral study (postgraduate education) is standardized at three years. It is made up of a scientific dissertation (150 ECTS) and a compulsory education part (30 ECTS). The education leads to the degree of Ph.D. (philosophiae doctor) in law.

The study phase of the PhD study

The study phase is mandatory. The purpose is to contribute to a general doctoral education and lay a good professional foundation for the dissertation work. The study phase consists of six courses of a total of 30 credits. The course rotates so that it should normally be possible to complete the training part during the first two years.

The course in the study phase of the PhD program can be found in the course catalog .

JUR-8008 Examination of the Role and Ethics of the Law. Introduction to the Scandinavian mode l

 JUR-8002 Rettsvitenskapens vitskapsteori /  Philosophy of Science in Law

 JUR-8003 Rettsvitskaplege metodar / Legal Science Methods

 JUR-8004 Rettsvitskapleg avhandlingsskriving og kommunikasjon / Legal Science, Thesis Writing and Communication

 JUR-8005 Rettsvitskapens nasjonale og internasjonale perspektiv / International Legal Perspectives

 JUR-8006 Nasjonale og internasjonale konferansar og nettverks­bygging / National and International Conferences and Networking

The most central part of the PhD program is the dissertation in law, as described in the course JUR-8900.

The dissertation must be an independent scientific work that meets international standards for ethics, academic level and method within the subject area. The dissertation must deal with a legal subject and must be based on knowledge acquired through other study subjects in the doctoral program. The dissertation must produce new legal knowledge, and be at such an academic level that it can be published as part of the legal literature.

For a complete description of the level requirement, see "The standard for doctoral degrees in law at the Faculty of Law, UiT" .

Template for the dissertation and front page

UiT has created a template for writing the doctoral dissertation. The template, as well as information about reference techniques and how to work smarter with word documents, can be found here!

If you only need the front page, you will find front page templates on the same page as well.

The back of the dissertation is entered by Andvord Grafisk AS when the dissertation is sent for printing (after the dissertation has been approved by the assessment committee).

Things to keep in mind when writing in connection with printing

Once your dissertation has been approved by the committee, you can send it for printing. The dissertation is printed in 170x240 mm. As the dissertation is written in A4 format (210x297 mm), keep in mind that everything will be smaller in the printed version. There are therefore certain recommendations you should follow:

• The margin size should be at least 2 cm on the sides and top, and 2.5 cm at the bottom.
• The font size should be 12.
• The page numbers should be centered or at the edge of the page (odd numbers on the right and even numbers on the left).
• Chapters, table of contents, preface and the like should start with odd numbers (so that they end up on the right side of the book.
• Dots and lines should not be less than 0.5 pt thick.

Liv Johanne Martinsen is administratively responsible for the PhD program at the Faculty of Law . 

Christin Skjervold is senior advisor at the Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea .

• Info for supervisors
• Research education committee
• Regulations for PhD

To be admitted to a doctoral program at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, you must be formally qualified for admission (see admission requirements ).

If you have been awarded a PhD position (scholarship), you will also be temporarily admitted to the PhD program. This page will give you more information about how you can then apply for final admission to the PhD program. When you have started in the position and no later than two months after starting, the complete application must be prepared and sent to the faculty.

The application must contain the following:

• Provisional title of thesis
• Project description
• Progress plan
• Financing plan
• Description of the necessary infrastructure
• Supervisors and their role in your supervision  Supervisors ethic guidelines
• Plans for temporary research stays at other research institutions
• Dissemination plan
• Documentation of academic merits that form the basis for admission: Diplomas
• Information on any intellectual property rights
• Project description must be signed by the applicant, all supervisors and head of department
• Application form  (use this document when you write your project description and plan. If not correct filled in, it will be returned). Check that all points have been addressed before you send the application to the faculty

The application must be written in accordance with the application form and sent to the faculty via [email protected] .

The project description must be developed in collaboration with the main supervisor, and contain a description of the research topic, main problems and choice of method. The candidate must provide an outline of the project description together with the application.

The compulsory subjects for the doctoral study in science must contain subjects corresponding to 30 credits, consisting of 3 to 6 credits in scientific theory and ethics, as well as 20 - 27 credits in mathematical and natural science subjects. All elements must be at PhD level (8000 level courses). For more detailed information on admission requirements and subjects, see PhD regulations .

The application must be sent to [email protected] .

Each PhD student must have an individual education plan (instruction component) including courses yielding a total of 30 credits.

Of these 30 credits 20‐27 credits must be within mathematical and/or subjects within of the field of natural science, 3‐6 credits in the field of ethics and philosophy of science and, if desired, 4-7 credits in tranferrable skills.

Please note that the recommended course in the field of ethics and philosophy of science is the course SVF-8600   “Philosophy of science and ethics” given by the BFE-faculty. Students wanting to attend this course have to apply directly to BFE faculty within the given deadlines: PhD courses BFE . You can also attend HEL-8040 given by the Medical faculty. You sign up for this course in the StudentWeb.

The courses that are included in the instruction component should normally be ordinary PhD courses at the institution or special curriculums.

The application is to be submitted to [email protected]  

Instruction component

Signing up for PhD courses at the Faculty of Science and Technology

PhD students at UiT The Arctic University of Norway sign up for PhD courses (8000-level) through StudentWeb. You will find information about how to register for the semester and sign up for courses here . You are not guaranteed enrollment to courses with restricted admission. If you have applied for admission to a restricted course you will be informed if you got admission or not after the deadline.

PhD students from other universities, applicants with a master’s degree or equivalent, or participants in the Associate Professor Programme must apply for admission to PhD courses through SøknadsWeb.

External students must document their basis for admission

External students must remember to upload certified documentation of education, and if relevant, documentation of their status as a PhD student to SøknadsWeb. Confirmation of student status should be from your home University's student administration. Confirmation from your supervisor or copy of award letter is not considered as valid documentation.

Who can apply for admission to the PhD courses The following students may apply for the PhD courses, in order of priority:

• PhD students and research fellows at a PhD student research program at the University of Tromsø
• Participants in the Associate Professor Program
• PhD students and students at a PhD student research program at other universities
• People who have a minimum master's degree or equivalent, but are not admitted to a PhD program.

If there are more applicants than capacity, students will be given priority from the category 1 to 4. Please note that some courses may have additional admission requirements and/or priority keys. This would be stated in the course description for each course.

Special Curriculum

Special curriculums are approved by the Head of Department at the department responsible for the course.

The Faculty will sign you up for the course upon the receival of your application form.

Transcript of record Transcripts can be found at this website www.vitnemålsportalen.no .  

Course overview Below you will find an overview of the PhD courses at the NT-faculty. The courses are not necessarily given in a regular interval. For additional information about each course, please see the  course catalouge.  Check the availability of the courses in the semester you want to take them: spring / fall. Some courses run only in the spring, or only in the fall semester.

Application for recognition of external PhD courses

National and international research training courses may be included in the individual instruction component, provided they have been evaluated by a relevant research environment in respect to scope and level.

Applications for approval shall be submitted to the faculty. 

The approval requires:

‐ Confirmation from the supervisors that the course is relevant and may be a part of the individual instruction component, and that it is at PhD level.

‐ Documentation of the teaching arrangements:

It must be documented that the course is on PhD level. In the event that the scope of the course is not expressed in credits (ECTS), an overview of the number of hours used to complete the course must be attached; one credit is equivalent to approx. 25‐30 hours of work; documentation of successful completion of testing of knowledge, e.g. examinations, essays.

- Random courses taken at UiT, and which do not have a subject code (ex.: FYS-8801), you need to apply for their recogninssion in the form of special curriculum. Check the section above. 

Incomplete applications will be returned.

All applications are to be sent to: [email protected]

Application for final approval of the instruction component:

All PhD-students must apply to have the instruction component finally approved by the Committee for Research Training prior to submission of the thesis.

Final approval of the individual instruction component - Application form

Please send your application to [email protected] .

Application for special curriculum

Progress report.

Every year PhD students and their supervisors are obligated to submit a progress report. The purpose of this progress report is to uncover possible problems that might exist between the student and the supervisor, to uncover deviation from the work schedule and to provide feedback in general. The progress report is done electronically.

PhD students and supervisors report independently of each other.

PhD students submit the report using this form .

The deadline for students is February 1st each year

Supervisors submit their report using this form

The deadline for supervisors is February 28th each year

Midterm evaluation

The Committee for Research Training at the Faculty of Science and Technology, UiT, has with effect from 22 June 2019 introduced a system of midway evaluation for students admitted to the PhD programme in Science.

The system was introduced as a requirement for PhD students admitted to the programme after the date it came into effect, and may also be arranged for students admitted before this date.

All students admitted after 22 June 2018 are to complete the midway evaluation when they are at the midway point of the programme. 

The responsibility of implementing the midway evaluations lies with the departments. The students will receive a comprehensive response to the work on their PhD projects.

Template for midterm evaluation

Template for PhD plan

Guidelines for midterm evaluation

Application for leave of absence and right to study

Leave of absence:

Leave of absence as pregnancy, illness etc. (PhD regulations, section 13) is automatically granted for PhD students, but it must be documented before we can register a new end date. Documentation include confirmation from NAV, hospital, employer e.g. that shows the period (and if so, percent of working time in the period).

The documentation is to be sent to: [email protected]

Right to study:

In the event that the candidate does not complete the PhD study within one year over and above the nominal length of study (normally equal to the employment period), the candidate have to apply to the Committee for Research Training for an extended right to study. Such an application must include the grounds for the delay and a plan for completing the program, and must be signed by the PhD student and his/her supervisors.

Please note that such an application only regards prolongation of the  agreement period , and not prolongation of research fellow positions and salary. To prolong your period as research fellow, please contact your department, as this concerns your employment and not your study.

The application is to be sent to: [email protected]

Grants for research courses and research education

The Faculty of Science and Technology announces grants that can be used for supporting departments in arranging national research courses at the faculty, or to support travel costs for the faculty’s PhD students to participate in national or international courses included in the individual curriculum.  The grants are distributed by the Committee for Research Training based upon applications from the departments and the PhD students.

The grants are distributed to support:

1. Departments arranging national research courses

Application deadline:  15 March

Departments arranging national research courses may apply for grants to cover the expenses for inviting external lecturers.

2. PhD students at the faculty attending external research education. 

The course must give credits and be included in the individual instruction component for the PhD study.

Application deadlines:

• 15 November

The applications from the PhD students are decided after each application deadlines. The student must apply to have the courses included in the instruction component if it has not already been pre-approved.

The Faculty does not support travel to research seminars or conferences. Contributions such as posters or presentations are not approved as part of the individual instruction component for the PhD education.

The grant may cover the travel and accommodation (most inexpensive way). Allowance for board is not covered.

The grant does not cover courses at other universities if similar courses are given at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway.

Along with the application, the student must include a confirmation from the supervisor that the course is relevant and if a similar course is given at UiT or not.

The application must include:

• Budget - cheapest travel and accommodation.
• Confirmation from supervisor about the relevance of the course and if a similar course is given at UiT
• Course description stating the scope and the level of the course

The application must be submitted to  [email protected]

Funding for staying abroad

This scholarship is for PhD student at the Faculty of Science and Technology with UiT as their employer and PhD students who are financed from Sources without the possibility of travel grants. The grants is not given to students with funding from the Norwegian Research Council or other Sources of external funding which could potentially have yielded a travel grant.  

Information about the application

To the right you can find information regarding the application and the application form. Please read the information carefully before you apply. It is important to attach all documents asked for. The application including the attachments is to be sent to  [email protected] . 

Deadline for application: 1 October  

The scholarships rules and  rates  are identical to the rules and rates applicable for permanent scientific staff at UiT on sabbatical year. Since all internal PhD students have teaching load, the department must be noted well ahead about plans to stay abroad.

Transition grant

Transition grants are announced and processed by the Committee for Research Training at the Faculty of Science and Technology.

The grant is intended for qualified researchers who have defended their thesis  or  have received a positive evaluation of their thesis at the Faculty of Science and Technology within the last 9 months. Applicants who have not submitted their thesis will not be considered. As a general rule, the scholarship will cover the salary for a period of at least 6 months after the defence, where 3 months are covered by the Faculty and 3 months by the applicant's department. 

The grant is intended for researchers awaiting clarification regarding Post Docs/Researcher positions at UiT. It must be stated in the application for which position(s) you are awaiting clarification, or if you plan to apply/have applied for funding from e.g. NRC, EU or other sources of funding.

Each department will rank and prioritize their applicants, and must confirm that they are willing to cover their salary for 3 months or more. The application should include recommendations from the head of your department and supervisor, which should include reasons for the applicant based on particular qualifications, research direction and long-range plans for the departments.

 The Committee for Research Education will distribute the grants between the applicants based on following criterias:  

- recommendations from the head of department and supervisor/research group

- total time duration of the PhD study

- how the project fits with the Faculty's strategy

The departments are entitled to decide how the grant is combined with other fundings.

The electronic application including attachments should be sent to:  [email protected]

Application deadline: There are 2 set deadlines each year - 15 May and 15 November.

Regulations

Regulations:

Regulations relating to the Philosophiae doctor (PhD) degree and Philosophiae doctor (PhD) degree in artistic research and development at the University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) 

Supplementary provisions for the degree PhD in Science at the Faculty of Science and Technology

Website for PhD at UiT

The language of preference for a PhD thesis in science is English.

Decisions relating to whether two or more students may present a joint thesis must be decided on a case by case basis by the Committee for Research Training upon a proposal from the research group in question.

Munin is UiT's open access archive for academic and research related material. The university offers all students the opportunity to publish their doctoral thesis or parts of it in this archive. Whether you want your thesis published in Munin or not, all doctorial theses at the Faculty of Science and Technology are to be submitted electronically through the Munin portal. There is no deadline for submitting your thesis. You can save and exit the portal during the submission process and continue later on. Your application for evaluation will not be registered before you complete the submission.

This is a checklist of what you have to remember when submitting your thesis:                        

• You will find the Munin portal for submitting your thesis  here . Use your username and password at UiT. Contact  [email protected]  if you need assistance. You must apply to have your instruction component finally approved prior to submission. The application form is found  here . Send the application to  [email protected]
• Please use UiT's templates  for front pages. The front page shall include the name of our faculty - "Faculty of Science and Technology".
• The thesis should be submitted as  one  .pdf file. If you need assistance with this, contact the Munin staff at:  [email protected] , or phone 776 46255/776 44950. You have the sole responsibility for making sure the pdf file you submit in Munin is complete. When you have submitted your application for evaluation there will be no access to change the pdf. 
• You have to submit a popular scientific summary of your thesis through Munin. The summary has to be written in English. 
• In Munin you have to state that you have the permission from co-authors to publish your thesis and, if relevant, permission to use copyrighted illustrations. These permissions must be obtained beforehand.
• For co-authored works, a statement describing the nature of the student's contribution(s) signed by the student and the main supervisor must be sent to  [email protected] .
• The department that you are affiliated with has to suggest an evaluation committee and a tentative date for the public defence.  Form Suggestion of evaluation committee.
• Your will receive a letter from the faculty administration regarding the evaluation committee, and you will be given the opportunity to give written comments on the proposal within five days of receiving notice.

After this the administration at Faculty of Science will send the thesis to the evaluation committee.

 You will receive notive if the thesis is worthy of public defence and the committees evaluation report approximately 24 days prior to the public defence.

 If the thesis is found worthy of public defence, there are some practical things regarding printing, trial lecture and public defence that have to be prepared:

• Together with the letter from the faculty administration, you will receive two ISBN numbers for your thesis. One is for the printed version (this number has to be printed on the back page of your thesis), and one for the electronic version in Munin. 
• You have to arrange to have 25 copies printed. UiT has it's own printing services you can acces and order your copies here: trykkeriet.uit.no
• 1 printed copy of your thesis has to be delivered to the faculty administration.The thesis will be published in Munin after the public defence, unless you reserved against publication when submitting your thesis in Munin. The thesis will not be published if the evaluation committee finds the thesis not worthy of defence. Munin follows the rules and agreements with journals concerning publishing articles. They will make sure there will be no conflicts of interest with journals or publishers. When submitting you can also stress parts of the thesis that cannot be openly available in Munin.
• A submitted thesis may not be withdrawn before the evaluation committee has determined whether or not it is worthy of public defence. The candidate may nonetheless apply to the faculty for permission to correct formalities in the submitted thesis (" errata "). The application must specify in full all errata to be corrected. The application is to be submitted no later than four (4) weeks before the committee’s deadline for returning their recommendation (which is 24 days). Thus, the errata must be applied for 7 weeks and 3 days before the defence. It is only possible to apply once.
• The title of the trial lecture will be sent to you two weeks (10 working days) before the lecture takes place. The trial lecture should last no longer than 45 minutes.
• The trial lecture and public defence should normally be held in the language in which the thesis is written.

 If you have other questions concerning the practical circumstances regarding submission and public defence, please contact your PhD advisor [email protected] .

Ethical rules for supervisors

New extended rules for PhD regulations for NT-fak, valid from May 10th, 2023

Application form for approval of evaluation committee 

Declaration of impartiality - which needs to be filled in by each suggested opponent, before the application for approval of evaluation committee is sent to the department leader. 

Special curriculum application .  - remember that special curriculum is the same as all the other exams. You need to list both internal and external assessors, type of exam and exam date. 

Information an application for changes in supervision team should have. 

The Committee for Research Education is formed by the vice dean for research, all department leaders at Natural Science Faculty and two student representatives.

Leader of The Committee for Research Education: Vice Dean Cordian Riener

Members: Head of Department at the Department of Physics and Computer Science: Olav Gaute Hellesø Head of Department at the Department for Geoscience: Matthias Forwick Head of Department at the Department of Informatics: Anders Andersen Head of Department at the Department of Mathematics: Martin Rypdal Head of Department at the Department of Chemistry: Peik Haugen Head of Department at the Department of Technology and Security: Bjørn-Morten Batalden

Student representatives: Truls Karlsen - Department of Physics and Technologi  Koen van Greevenbroek - Department of Computer Science and Informatics

The Committee for Research Education has meetings once or twice each semester. 

Gabriela Sirbu [email protected]

All applications are to be sent to the faculty [email protected] .

Visit our webpage for details on the regultations for PhD programmes at UiT: uit.no/regelverk

• Information for supervisors
• Regulations and guidelines
• Doctoral dissertations

Apply for admission  here.

Upcoming meeting dates for the committee in 2024 are as follows:

• 1 February 
• 12 December

Applications with the necessary attachments must be sent to the faculty no later than 3 weeks before the meeting date.

Application for admission to singular PhD courses   

Application deadline:

June 1 for admission to the autumn semester.

December 1 for admission to the spring semester.

Do you want to take a single course without being admitted to our PhD program?

Apply for admission on singular courses at PhD level via SøknadsWeb. You will find the application alternative under singular courses -> Singular courses PhD level.

The following application code must be used: Application code 9301 - Individual courses at PhD level

You do not have to enter the course code in the comments field, but if you want to take an admission-restricted PhD course, you will have to apply for a place on the specific course by applying for admission in StudentWeb after you have been admitted to singular courses. The right to study you receive is general and gives you access to take all PhD courses that are open and available to all singular course students at PhD level, but it does not automatically give you a place on admission-restricted PhD courses.

Who can get the right to study for singular courses at PhD level?

• PhD students at UiT who wish to take a PhD course that is not to be used as part of the PhD degree they take at UiT
• PhD students and students from the Student Research Programme from institutions other than UiT
• Applicants who have completed a master's degree (five-year master or three-year bachelor + two-year master), but who are not PhD students

Documentation

In order for your application to be processed, you must upload the necessary documentation in SøknadsWeb which shows that you meet the above requirements. The deadline for uploading documentation on education via the application web is the same as the application deadline.

What happens after you have been granted the right to study?

When you have been granted the right to study, you must register for the semester in StudentWeb .

The deadline for registration for classes and exams for the autumn semester is 1 September, and 1 February for the spring semester.

You can read more about our PhD courses here.

If you are a foreign applicant, you will find information about admission here.

If you have questions about admission, please contact the admission office.  

Application for admission to the PhD programme in the Faculty of Health Sciences

                                   Apply for admisson  here.

Admission Requirements

You must have following qualification for admission to the PhD program:

• Hold a master's degree with the average grade C or better on their master's thesis and as an overall grade in their master's degree. The 5-year programme must include at least a 20 ECTS master thesis and the 2-year master’s programme must include at least a 30 ECTS master thesis.  Applicants who have completed higher education abroad shall be considered in lin with Section 3-5 (3) of the University and University Colleges Act 
• By special consideration, the Faculty may approve other equivalent qualifications as grounds for admission. 
• Applicants shall document English language proficiency that fulfils the criteria set out in Section 2-1 (1) or 2-2(7) of the Regulations relating to admission to higher education 
• Satisfactory funding of the study programme, generally involving a salary on a par with the salary and employee allowance, infrastructure and indirect costs required for research fellowship. Requirements for funding can be waived exceptionally and in special cases for candidates who have passed student research programme. The condition for such an exception is that the candidate is nearing completion of their doctoral work. 

For more information regarding admission requirements, see  Regulations concerning the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway (UiT)

Attachments to the application

• Project description in the standard template (templates can be found below)
• Milestone/Progress plan for the project
• Data Management Plan
• Written assessment of the project’s feasibility within the normal time frame (templates can be found below) 
• Copies of diplomas
• Documentation of funding (Grant letter, confirmation from employer institution or similar)

Possible other appendices:

• Approval from REK, NSD or other entities. If approval has not yet been granted, a plan for the application process can be attached.
• If the research project is part-time during the funding period, you must include a funding plan showing percentage of working hours for your doctoral project per year/semester.
• If you will be working in a clinic or similar,  in addition to your studies, you must enclose a confirmation letter from your leader stating that at least 50 per cent of your time will be spent on the research project
• If you plan to use a language other than English in your dissertation, you must submit an application to do so
• If you plan to take courses at other universities as part of your training, you must enclose a print-out of the course description (from website)
• Proof of English proficiency:  You must include documentation of proficiency in English if you do not have the Norwegian Higher Education Entrance Qualification. For more information, see  Proof of English proficiency  

The project description has to be written in the following template , with a maximum length of 10 pages.

The project descriptions must comply with section 8  Research protocol of the Regulation relating to organization of medical and health research. 

Accordingly, the project description must specify the following information:

• project manager
• a scientific project plan specifying the project goals, justification, materials and methods. The project plan must also provide a justification for the chosen research design and a tentative time frame for the project.
• a description of how personal health data will be managed , including sources from which the health data will be collected and whether the data will be transferred to or shared with countries outside the EEA
• sources from which human biological material will be collected , and whether the material will be transferred to other parties or abroad
• an assessment of ethical challenges in the research project, in particular a risk-benefit analysis for participants in the research project
• sources of financing , interested parties and dependencies , including any financial involvement the researchers and the research participants have in the research project. 
• a plan for dissemination of results , and information on possible applications, including commercial use of the research results, data or biological materials.

If project descriptions from major research applications are enclosed with the application for admission to a PhD programme, the project description must also specify what the student will be doing in the PhD-project.

Milestone plan/Progress plan

A detailed milestone/progress plan for the research project must be enclosed with the application.

The appropriate templates can be found here:

Milestone plan for research projects -  3 years (full time)

Milestone plan for research projects -  4 years (part time)

Milestone plan for research projects -  6 years (part time)

The proposed milestone / progress plan shpuld include the courses intended to be part of the training component. The training component will collectively consitute 30 credits/ ECTS and will consist of both elective and obligatory courses at the PhD level.

It is important to avoid creating an plan that exceeds the allowed number of credits. If the composition of the courses exceeds 30 credits, necessary adjustment and reduction will be made upon final approval of the training component. 

At the Faculty of Health Sciences, the following courses is obligatory:

• HEL-8040 Theory of Sciences, Research Ethics and Reserch Design- 10 credits (It is recommended to be taken as early as possible)
• HEL-8045-NO Innovasjon og allmennrettet forskningskommunikasjon or HEL-8045-EN Innovation and Public Sciences Communication - 3 credits (It is recommended to be taken after reaching the midpoint of the PhD programme) 
• Courses in Labroratory Animal Sciences are mandatory for candidates with research projects involving the use of experimental animals.

For further information on the elements that can be included in the training component, refer to the section titled "Training Component". Additionally, you can find an overview of which semester the various courses will be offered over the next two years on our website under the section "PhD courses at the Faculty of Health Sciences" 

Also remember to include a plan for your project in this section.

Data Managment Plan (DMP)

A DMP is a document that describes how data in a research project will be handled from the start of the project, throughout the research process and after the project is completed.

A DMP describes what type of data is collected or generated. The plan addresses how the data will be stored, described with metadata, analyzed and possibly shared. The plan also touches on issues related to rights, privacy and costs. 

You will find more information about DMP at UiT Research Data Portal .

See here for:

• Template for data management plans for UiT employees
• Principles and guidelines for research data management at UiT

Written assessment of the project’s feasibility within the normal time frame

A written statement from the proposed main supervisor must be included in the application for admission. Please use this template: Vurdering av prosjektets gjennomførbarhet

The supervisor must confirm if he/she has completed mandatory supervision course. 

Copy of diploma

We need a copy of the entire diploma, not just the front page. If the diploma is not in Norwegian or English, a diploma supplement or translation of the diploma must also be enclosed. If you have a degree from the University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway, you do not need to attach your diploma. Authorization is not recognised as a confirmation of a degree. If you have a diploma from abroad, you should also enclose a completed authorization form from NOKUT in case we need NOKUT to assess your education. You can find the authorization form  here .

Documentation of funding

The applicant mudt demostrate satisfactory funding of the study programme, generally involving a salary on a par with the salary and employee allowance, infrastructure and indirect costs required for research fellowship. Requirements for funding can be waived exceptionally and in special cases for candidates who have passed student research programme. The condition for such an exception is that the candidate is nearing completion of their doctoral work. 

For applicatns who are funded by an employer and intend to combinde the PhD studies with other work, documentation from the employer is required, showing that at least 50 % of the time is dedicated to work on the PhD programme. 

It is crucial that the timeline 

Application for final admission to the PhD programme in the Faculty of Health Sciences - Doctoral Research Fellows employed by the University

Once you have been employed as a research fellow, you must apply for final admission to the PhD program within two months after the start date of your employment. 

                                            Apply for admisson here.

Appendices to the application

• Project description written in the template
• Written assessment of the project’s feasibility within the normal time frame (written by the main supervisor)
• Data management plan

 Possible other appendices:

• If you plan to use a language other than English in your dissertation, you must submit an application to do so.
• If you plan to take courses at other universities as part of your training, you must enclose a print-out of the course description (from website

The project description has to be written in the following  template , with a maximum length of 10 pages.

The project descriptions must comply with section 8  Research protocol  of the Regulation relating to organization of medical and health research. 

• a scientific project plan  specifying the project goals, justification, materials and methods. The project plan must also provide a justification for the chosen research design and a tentative time frame for the project.
• an assessment of ethical challenges  in the research project, in particular a risk-benefit analysis for participants in the research project
• sources of financing ,  interested parties and dependencies , including any financial involvement the researchers and the research participants have in the research project. 

Statement from supervisor 

A written statement from the proposed main supervisor must be included in the application for admission. Please use this template:  supervisor statement (word)

Training component

Courses that are included in the training component shall be at PhD level and must, among other things, include training on the philosophy of sciences, ethics and dissemination. Training will contribute towards achieving the expected learning outcomes as specified in national qualifications framworks for lifelong learning.

The training component must correspond to at least 30 credits, of which 20 credits should be submitted after admission. Elements included should not be more than two years old at the start of the term of the agreement. Exception apply to candidates who have passed a student research programme and have an approved training component as part of the programme. 

In order to complete the PhD programme you must complete all the compulsory courses. Elective courses have to be completed according to the programs regulations.

As soon as possible after completing the 30 ECTS educational component, you must send an email request to obtain a written confirmation of completion from us. This must be done prior to submitting your PhD thesis.

PhD courses taken at UiT and intended to be included in your training component do not require you to apply for apporval. You will add theses courses to your education plan through StudentWeb. 

Courses taken at other universities, colleges, research schools, or other non-degree-granting institution that are intended to be part of the training component should be applied for through:

Important!  Candidates admitted to the PhD programme after 14.06.2023 will adhere to the revised study plan, whereas those admitted to the programme before will adhere to the study plan in effect at the time of their admission. Consequently, there may be variations in the permissible conten and extent of the training component. 

Requirements in the educational component

Compulsory courses (10 ECTS):

Elective courses (20 ECTS):

Elective courses can be PhD-level courses from UiT, or other universities, scientific presentations and research stays abroad. Always check the course description for any overlapping content with other courses. You can  apply  for pre-approval if you are unsure whether the course meets the requirements.

For more detail and other options, see the PhD regulation, Section 15 or the study plan.

PhD courses at UiT or other degree-granting educational institution in Norway or abroad 

When you have successfully completed a PhD course at a Norwegian university, you do not need to submit documentation in the form of a transcript. We obtaain this information from our shared student system. 

For PhD courses taken at a foreign university, you must include an official transcript of records in the application, showing the number of passed ECTS / credits. 

For those admitted after June 16th, 2023: A maximum of 5 credits in the training component can be PhD courses on "transferable skills" 

PhD courses from other faculties at UiT may overlap with the Faculty of Health Sciences' PhD courses, which will lead to a reduction in ECTS. You can check in the course description to find out if one course overlaps with another. 

Direct Reading 

Application for direct reading should be prepared by the supervisor. The supervisor is requested to get in touch with the faculty for information regarding the application process and requirements for necessary documentation

Courses taken at research schools or other non-degree granting educational institution

Upon successfully completing a PhD course or program at a research school or other non-degree granting educational institution, you must submit a certification/ diploma showing the number of credits and a course description.

1 credit is equivalent to a minimum of 25 working hours

Note! Courses organized by the Norwegian Medical Association (Legeforeningen) will no longer be accepted as part of the training component, effective January 1st, 2023. Candidates who have passed these courses before January 1st, 2023, can apply to have these courses in the training component according to the existing practise. 

Scientific communication

In the application, confirmation of the presentation / scientific communication, and a copy of the presentation, poster etc. should be included. 

For those admitted to the PhD programme after June 14th, 2023:

The maximum number of credits that can be approved for scientific communication of your traning component is 2 credits. Below you will find the different type of scientific communication and number of credit points you can receive for each:

• Poster: 1 credit
• Scientific presentation: 1 credit
• Conference article: 2 credits
• Scientific article: 2 credits

Please note that you can receive a maximum of 2 credits regardless of the combination of these types of scientific communication you choose.

For those admitted to the PhD programme before June 14th, 2023:

You can receive 1 credit for presentation at a national conference and 2 credits for a presentation at an international conference. 

Yoy cannot have more than 3 credits from communication activities (presentation, popular science presentation, etc.) in your training component. The same presentation (same content) cannot be counted twicde. 

Research stay abroad

A research stay abroad lasting at least two weeks can be credited with 1,5 credit per week, up to a maximum of 6 credits. Foreign citizens cannot receive credits for research stays in their home country. 

In the application, you must provide confirmation from the institution indication the period during which the research stay took place (start and end dates).

Note! Candidates admitted to the programme after June 14th, 2023, will not receive credits for research stays abroad. 

Popular Science Presentation 

For those admitted to the program after 14.06.23:

You can get a maximum of 2 credits for popular science presentation (examples: podcast, chronicle, webpage). 

Each type of popular science presentation awards 1 credits each. 

For those admitted to the program before 14.06.23:

You can get a maximum of 3 credts for dissemination work (presentations, popular science presentations etc.) in your training component. 

In the application, a copy of the popular science presentation/ article/post or similar must be attached. You must also account for the number of working hours you have spent on the work. 1 credit corresponds to a minimum of 25 work hours. 

PhD courses at the Faculty of health sciences

PhD courses running next semester

In the  course catalog , you will find an overview of courses offered in the next semester. 

PhD courses at the Faculty the next year 

Spring 2024

Autumn 2024

Spring 2025

Autumn 2025

Overview of all the PhD courses at the Faculty of Health Sciences

Below is an overview of all PhD courses at the Faculty of Health Sciences. The courses are not running every semester and not necessarily at regular intervals.

You will find the course description in the  course catalogue , with information about course contents and exam format. Since the course description can be revised, you must always refer to the course description for the current semester for exact information about curriculum, examination forms etc., when you apply for the course.

Not all courses will be given in English. For information about the language for a given course, please see the course web page.

The education plan and semester registration in StudentWeb

Semester registration

Education plan

Moving courses to different semester

Elective courses

Register for courses

Cancellation of registration for examination

Midway assessment PhD candidates at the Faculty of Health Sciences

The midway assessment consist of a seminar and aims to provide you, as a PhD candidate, and your main supervisor with an independent assessment of wheter you have made sufficient progress to complete the PhD education according to the progress plan. You will rexeive specific feedback on your work thus far and receive input for your future work. 

The midway assessment allows the department to identify candidates who require structured support. It is expected that such an evaluation will lead to better progress in the project and increase the likelihood of completing the study within the stipulated time. 

Successfully completing the midway assessment is a requirement for being eligble to defend your thesis. 

The midway assessment for PhD candidates at the Faculty of Health Sciences was introduced in spring 2018 and applies for all those admitted to the PhD course from January 1st, 2018. The admission committee can decide to exempt candidates from the midway assessment in cases where the candidates have been admitted to an abbreviated PhD programme.  The timing can also be ajusted if you have taken or are taking leave or extensions. Beyond these adjustment, it is not possible to postpone the midway assessment. 

Composition of the committee 

The candidate will be informed about the date and the composition of the committee at least two months in advance of the midway assessment. The comittee consist of two internal UiT staff members with a PhD or equivalent qualification who are not involved in the project and are unbiased. 

Your supervisor is responsible for selecting the committee members, and you will be asked by the administration if you have any objections to the proposed members. 

The candidate´s tasks before the assessment

Three weeks before the assessment seminar the candidate must send a completed self-report form, with attachments, to the administration.

The self-report form contains:

• Progress of study
• Progress of the educational component
• List of published and planned articles
• List of retrieved approvals (if relevant)

The self-report form must be submitted with the following attachments:

• Original project description for the PhD project
• Original and revised (if any) milestone plans
• Published articles and manuscripts in preparation.
• The departments may specify further requirements to the contents of the progress report than described here.
• Plan for the rest of the PhD project (1-2 pages)
• Copy of approvals (if relevant)

The committee will also receive an overview of the committee´s mandate and the form of the evaluation from the administration no later than two weeks before the seminar.

The midway assessment – the evaluation seminar

Participants in the evaluation seminar include you (the candidate), the main supervisor, and the evaluation committee. It is optional whether co-supervisors attend. The seminar can be conducted via video conference or in-person meeting and can be held in English or a Scandinavian language.

The seminar begins with a discussion between you and the committee (without your supervisor(s) present). You will discuss any issues related to the project, supervision, academic environment, or other factors relevant to the progress of the Ph.D. project.

Following this, there is a discussion between the supervisor(s) and the committee (without you present). They will discuss the further plans for the study, the structure of the guidance, and any other factors related to the progress of the Ph.D. project.

Then, the candidate delivers a presentation lasting 20-30 minutes, following the recommendations outlined below.

• Summary of your own project
• Progress in the training component
• Assessment of risk factors in the project
• Future work on the project, and how to achieve the goals

After this, a joint discussion takes place among you, the supervisor committee, and the evaluation committee.

The discussion should address the following themes:

• Progress according to plan
• Chosen methods
• Preliminary results
• Presentation of the results
• The candidate´s academic skills
• Coherence of the work that has been done
• The scope and structure of the supervision
• Suggestions for improvements/changes in the project
• Cooperation with the supervisor(s)

The total scope of the assessment seminar is 90 minutes.

The tasks of the assessment committee

Based on submitted documents and the assessment seminar the committee will assess:

• Whether the educational component and the project progressionare satisfactory according to the plan
• The candidate´s knowledge of the field in general and more specifically for the project- The candidate´s knowledge of research methods, specifically for the project and for the field in general
• Whether all the necessary approvals have been obtained (for projects where it is relevant)
• The candidate´s academic independence
• The candidate´s understanding of scientific thinking
• The candidate´s ability to present, analyze and assess research findings
• Understanding of priorities/adjustments due to delayed progression

After the discussion the committee will fill in and sign a  record of evaluation  for the midway assessment. The candidate´s achievement at the midway assessment will be graded satisfactory or not satisfactory.

In the record of evaluation, the committee will describe needs for follow-up and provide advice for further work with the PhD project.

The record of evaluation is sent to the administration by the end of the term.

Follow-up after midway assessment

The administration registers the completed midway assessments. The departments review all reports from midway assessments and the responsibility for follow-up of candidates lies with the department where the candidate is affiliated.

If the committee finds that a candidate needs follow-up, a meeting must be arranged with the department and the team of supervisors within one month after the midway assessment seminar. A written plan for completion of the dissertation must be made. Within six months after the assessment seminar, a written progress report must be submitted to the Head of Department. The report may be assessed according to Sections 24 and 25 of the PhD regulations.

Progress report 

All PhD candidates, and their main academic supervisor, at the Faculty of Health Sciences must submit an annual progress report. 

All PhD candidates and main supervisors who must submit a report will receive an e-mail with a link to the web form that must be completed.

The purpose of this progress report is to uncover deviations from the planned progression/timeline. The Vice Dean, together with the faculty administration, will review all the reports and assess further follow-up measures.

Supervision

The supervisor’s responsibilities

You should have regular contact with your supervisors.

Your supervisor(s) should:

• give you advice on the formulation and scope of topics and problems
• discuss and assess hypotheses and methods
• discuss results and their interpretation
• discuss the conception and implementation of presentation (including organization, language, documentation, etc.)
• assist in finding relevant literature and data available through libraries, archives etc.
• provide guidance on ethical questions of relevance to the thesis

Your supervisors are obligated to:

• know the prevailing PhD-regulations at the Faculty, and the  Ethical guidelines for supervision at the University of Tromsø.
• follow your progress in the project and theeducational component
• follow up on scientific issues that can cause a delay in your progress

As a PhD candidate, you will join an active research environment. Your supervisors are responsible for facilitating active participation in the research environment. 

The supervision is regulated by "The Agreement upon admission to doctoral program at the University of Tromsø " which includes doctoral candidates, supervisors, the department and the faculty.

Changes in supervisory team

If you wish to make changes to your supervisory team during the PhD studies, you must submit an application to the Facult yusing our  web based application form . Remember to log in using your Feide username and password. A confirmation from all supervisors is also required and can be uploaded as a pdf-file, e-mail or similar in the application form.

Supervision problems - The Conflict Council

Occasionally, conflict may arise between the PhD candidate and a supervisor. If the conflict is of such a nature that it may undermine the possibility of completing the doctoral studies or potentially lead to significant delays, the Faculty of Health Sciences has a Conflict Council (Konfliktrådet) that can assist the parties involved in resolving the conflict.

Both the PhD candidate and the supervisors may report cases to the Conflict Council through this email address:  [email protected] 

This email goes to the Vice Dean of Research Education and two members of the PhD administration at the Faculty. All parties involved are bound by confidentiality in such a case. 

Two Head of Departments at the Faculty are then appointed to constitute the conflict council in each case. These will not be from the department that the PhD candidate belongs to,

Meetings in the Conflict Council

The Conflict Council meets with the involved parties separately and as a group. The Research group leader will also participate in the group meeting. The PhD candidate is allowed to have a confidential advsior present at the meeting . Both the PhD candidate and the supervisor are given the opportunity to present their versions of the conflict, and the Research group leader is allowed provide supplementary information. The council will then sketch a possible solution to the conflict and a proposed action plan for completion of the PhD project.

Content of the action plan

The proposed action plan will:

• discuss the remaining milestones in the project and the anticipated time required to reach these
• propose new supervisors in cases where the supervisory agreement is terminated to ensure supervision for the remainder of the PhD project period
• give advice on compensation for lost time caused by the conflict

If the Conflict Council does not succeed in finding a solution to the conflict, a report will be sent to the Research, Education and Communication Section for further follow-up.

Prolongation of right to study and leave of absence for Ph.D. candidates at the faculty of health sciences.

The agreement period and the right-to-study The agreement period is the contracted time period in which you have the right to get supervision from your supervisors.

The right-to-study is the right to be affiliated with a study program and to take Ph.D. courses without paying a semester fee. You retain the right to study for a period of time equating to two years of effective study exceeding the agreement period. As long as you retain the right-to-study, you can take PhD courses without paying the semester fee, you also have access to library services, your UiT e-mail account, and may use other IT-systems at the university.

Note that if you are granted a leave of absence, the agreement period will be extended correspondingly.

For research fellow at UiT 

Leave of absence

Are you employed as a research fellow at the university and have taken a leave of absence or are currently on a leave of absence?

If you currently are employed as a research fellow at the faculty of health sciences, you will not be required to inform the Ph.D. administration if you have been granted a leave of absence from your position (as a research fellow). The administration will make sure that any leaves of absence and/or long-term sick leaves are entered in our system (FS), based on the information found in our personnel and wage payment systems. This procedure is performed manually and will therefore not updated consecutively.

• Prolongation of right to study

Are you employed as a research fellow at the university and find yourself unable to complete your dissertation within the allotted time (i.e., the allotted funding)?

According to PhD regulations, Section 12 your right to study lasts for two years after your research fellow position has been terminated. I.e., you will still be registered as an active student for up to one year following the termination of your position, or until your disputation, whichever comes first. Please note that this does not mean that you automatically qualify for further supervision once your research fellow position has been terminated. If you do not complete your PhD during the original right-of-study period (agreement period + one year), you can apply for prolongation for a limited time period (PhD regulations, Section 12). You will be notified at least one semester prior to the expiration of the right to study.

The application needs to include a justification for the delay, as well as a time schedule for completion and submission of the thesis. You can apply using this  web application form .

The right to study is not associated with conditions of employment. Please note that this application form only pertains to prolongation of the right to study, and not a prolongation of research fellow positions and salary. To prolong your period as a research fellow, please contact your department, as this concerns your employment and not your studies.

Please note that your right to study is withdrawn with immediate effect if you quit your position as research fellow.

For externally funded research fellows 

• Leave of absence 

If you are an externally funded research fellow (i.e., you are an employee of any organization other than UiT) you are required to inform the university if you have taken a statutory leave of absence and/or long-term sick leave. Statutory leaves of absence due to pregnancy, illness etc. (see PhD regulations, Section 13) will automatically lead to an extension of the agreement period for PhD students but must be documented before a new end date can be registered. Confirmation from NAV (Norwegian Labor and Welfare Organization), a hospital, employer or similar, specifying the duration of the absence (or percentage of working time during the period) must be sent to:  [email protected]

Academic, social or personal reasons for leave of absence If you have other academic, social or personal reasons for a leave of absence, you can use the following  web form to apply for said leave of absence. This only applies to PhD students with external financing and does not apply to research fellows employed at the Faculty of Health Sciences, you apply directly to the department where you are employed. 

If you are an employee at a healthcare organization and have been ordered to work full time (100%) at a clinic due to Covid-19, you have the right to apply for a leave of absence from your studies during that period.

• Prolongation of right to study 

Are you employed as a research fellow at an external organization (other than the university), and find yourself unable to complete your dissertation within the allotted time?

According to PhD regulations, Section 12 your right to study lasts one year after the time allotted for your dissertation. The allotted time is the period of that that you were accepted with and was given funding for, this also includes and postponements due to leaves of absence and/or sick leaves.

If you do not finish your dissertation within the timeframe of your right to study, you can apply for the right to study to be extended for a limited period of time (according to PhD regulations, Section 12). You will be notified at least one semester prior to the expiration of your right to study.

The application needs to include a justification for the delay, as well as a time schedule for completion and submission of the thesis. You can apply using this  web application form

Mobility grant

The application deadline for the mobility grant will be announced during fall 2023

About the grant:

The grant is intended for research stays abroad with a duration of 2-6 months. 

It is possible to apply for a research stay in Europe and the rest of the world.  The grant covers personal costs, such as travel expenses and additional costs in connection with the stay abroad. No support is granted for travel home during the stay abroad. The size of the grant is calculated according to The Research Council of Norway rates.  

Please contact  [email protected]  for questions regarding the mobility grant. 

Who is eligible to apply?

• If you are employed as a research fellow at UiT you are eligible to apply for the mobility grant.
• The grant scheme does not apply to research fellows funded by the Research Council of Norway or other external funding agencies  The grant can be applied for by students in their second or third year of study.
• Support can be granted for one stay abroad during the PhD study. 

Application requirements

It is of outmost importance that the applicant carefully read the  guidelines  and make sure to submit all the required documents. 

The aplication must include: 

• Purpose of the stay abroad and relevance to the doctoral project 
• A plan, including time indicators for the research stay 
• A budget and financing plan 

 In addition to the application form, the following documents must be attached to the application: 

• Recommendation from the main supervisor. The supervisor must give his / her professional assessment of how important the stay abroad will be for the completion of the doctoral project. 
• Confirmation from the Head of Department showing that he/she supports the application  
• An invitation letter from the host institution 

You can apply for the mobility grant through this form: 

Processing of applications

Submitted applications will be processed shortly after the deadline for the grant application. 

The faculty administration has the right to refuse and / or reduce the scholarship amount if it exceeds available funds. 

Useful information about international stays

UiT has a web page containing useful and relevant  information  for employees at international stays. Here you will also find necessary forms to be used when applying for advance or final settlements. 

Reporting and financial settlement

Advance payment: Up to 90% of the grant can be paid out in advance of the stay.  You apply for advanced payment in the DFØ app

Travel expense claim: Shortly after the research stays end, you must registrer at travel expense claim in DFØ.  Only costs documented with receipts (or other documentation) will be reimbursed. Any amount in excess of the approved grant will not be paid out. 

Report : The grant recipient must submit a short scientific report to the faculty after the international stay. The report should describe the scientific results of the stay and whether there are plans to continue the collaboration with the host institution. Please include the duration of the stay and the name of the host institution. 

This report  form  must be used. 

Mentor group

Completing a doctoral degree can be demanding and involve many different challenges that go beyond the specific research project to be carried out. Therefore, at the PhD program in Health Sciences, we offer our PhD candidates the opportunity to participate in mentor groups where they can recieve information about and dicsuss various challenges with others in the same situation.

Who is the program for?

Everyone who applies for admission to the PhD program in Health Sciences after June 1st, 2022, will be offered the opportunity to join a mentor group. Participation is voluntary. Participants are expected to be active participants in all 12 mentor group meetings. 

Mentor Group:

A mentor group consist of up to 10 PhD candidates who are put togheter across disciplines but who are at the same stage in the program. Consideration is also given to geographical location and language. Most groups will be digital and in Norwegian. 

What is a mentor?

A PhD mentor should facilitate a healthy psychosocial environment for the PhD candidate, in our case by bringing together and supporting a group of PhD candidates from different departments. For their groups, the mentor will be a guide through the PhD process, a career counselor, and a gateaway to various resources (for example, by informing about various programs and support services at UiT) 

Our mentors are scientific employees from our departments, they have a PhD and desire to support our PhD candidates. 

What is the difference between a mentor and a supervisor?

The supervisor's role is primarily more specific and centered around the candidate's research project, where the main tasks are to provide academic guidance for planning, implementation, and documentation of a research project.

The mentor is a supplement to the supervisor. The mentor share implicit knowledge and experience at a more general level, which is more focused on coping with doctoral education, career planning, and the work/study life of PhD candidates. Mentors do not address challenges related to the individual research project. 

The thesis must be an independent scientific work that meets international standards relating to ethics, academic level and methodology within the field. Through the thesis, the candidate will help develop new academic knowledge and the thesis must be of a standard that indicates that the thesis can be published as part of academic literature in the field. 

The thesis may be a non-published monograph or a compilation of several smaller works, i.e. a collection of articles. If the thesis is a collection of articles the candidate must explain the correlation between these works in the summary. 

Requirements of the scientific articles 

The most common practice is to include three articles in the dissertation, and that the candidate is the first author of at least two of these. There is no requirement for included articles to be published, but as a general rule a dissertation is submitted only when one of the articles has been published and the others are in publishable form that are ready for submission to a relevant peer-reviewed scientific journal in the subject area. There are no requirements as to which type of articles that can be included in the dissertation. For articles that summarize / analyze non-fiction works, it is recommended that the candidate take special care to avoid overlap with the cover text. Articles in the dissertation cannot be published more than five years prior to the beginning of the studies. Exemptions can be made by the faculty if there are extraordinary circumstances. 

The thesis is to be written in English. The thesis can only be written in Norwegian if granted upon admission to the PhD-program. 

The thesis must include a popular scientific summary in Norwegian and English. 

The thesis summary (kappa)

The thesis summary (kappa) is the scientific document, which with the relevant articles, completes the PhD thesis. 

The candidate is the sole author, and this is where you will show your independence as a researcher. This includes:

• showing a good and updated overview of the research field
• conveying capacity for critical assessment of your own work and the research of others
• demonstrating necessary methodological competence
• demonstrate reflection on ethical issues and choice of research projects. 
• showing how the main research questions are answered through the included individual articles 

The summary should supplement and elaborate on the articles, rather than repeat and summarize them. 

Please note, that citation rules also apply for the summary, including citation of your own work. 

Some guidelines for the summary can be found in Guidelines for the Evalutation of Candidates for Norwegian Doctoral Degree  i.e 

"When evaluating a thesis, special consideration should be given to wheter the thesis represent an independent and comprehensive piece of scientific work of high academic standard with regard to the formulation of problem issues, methodological, theoretical and empirical basis, documentation, treatment of literature and chosen form of presentation. It is especially important to consider wheter the material and methods applied are relavant to the questions raised in the thesis, and whether the material and methods applied are relevant to questions raised in the thesis, and whether the arguments and conclusions postulated are vaild" 

Things to consider when you write the summary (regarding the printing of the thesis) 

You can send the thesis for printing as soon as it is approved by the evaluation committee. The thesis is printed in a 170x240 mm format. You must keep in mind that everything will appear smaller in the printed version since the thesis in written in the A4 format (210x297 mm). 

To avoid any problems in this process, please follow these recommendations: 

• Margin size should be at least 2 cm on the sides and on the top of the page. The margin at the bottom should be 2,5 cm. 
• Set the font size to 12.
• The page numbers should be centered or on the outer edge of the page (odd numbers to the right page and even numbers to the left).
• Chapters, table of content, preface etc. should start on odd page numbers (so to appear on the right-hand side in the book).
• Bullet points and lines should not be less than 0.5 pt. 

Thesis template 

The university has made a Word template for writing the doctoral thesis. The template, as well as information about reference techniques and how to work smarter with Word documents, can be found on this page: 

Thesis template  

Please note that you must put only the name of the Faculty in full on the front page, as well as the year and month of submission. 

The name of the department, placement of logos from collaboration partners or supporters as well as crediting of partnership, can be put on the Colophon Page. 

The back cover of your thesis will be added by the printing service provider (UiT Trykkeri) when the thesis has been sent for printing (after the thesis has been approved by the evaluation committee). 

How to submit your thesis

Before the thesis can be submitted the educational component must be approved (30 ECTS).  You can get the educational component approved by sending an enquiry to [email protected]

The thesis must be submitted electronically in Munin with the following attachments:

• A picture of yourself , or something related to your thesisto be used for dissemination
• A PDF-file of your thesis. You should submit the thesis as one single file. If necessary, it can be submitted in separate files. In this case, please use meaningful file names e.g. introduction.pdf, paper-1.pdf, paper-2.pdf etc. Contact information: [email protected]
• Co-Author declaration   which describes the candidate’s contribution to each component (articles and the summary). If similarly detailed author's declaration for a publisher has already been filled out, you can include that instead
• Plagiarism self-declaration form

In addition, you have to enter two abstracts in the Munin form:

• A short popular scientific abstract (for the public).  The text will be included in the University’s annual doctoral thesis booklet, in the public announcement of the thesis and in a press release. You have to explain your project (including methods) and describe the potential impact. Avoid jargon and try to make your work comprehensible for a general public. Max 1000 characters including spaces.
• A short scientific abstract.  A short abstract of your thesis, with a length of approx. 200-300 words, in both English and Norwegian. 

Please note that the submission is not completed untill you have submitted all the neccessary documents! 

What happens after the submission

After the evaluation committee is appointed

The faculty will send the committee an e-mail with the thesis and other relevant information regarding their evaluation work. You and your supervisor will receive a copy of this e-mail. The committee must submit their assessment within 3 months of receiving the thesis.

Date of the defence

It is the committee's responsibility to find the date for the defense. The leader of the defense shall always consult with you and your supervisor in setting the date. 

The defense shall normally take place within four months after the committee is appointed. If needed, the stipulated defense date can be later than four months, but this has to be approved by the candidate. 

Errata list

You cannot correct typing or any errors after you have submitted your thesis. However, typing errors and other corrections can be summarized in a separate document attached to the thesis entitled "Errata" ("Erratum" if there is only one error). This document must be approved by the faculty before it can be attached to the thesis, and you must apply within two months before the defence. The errata can only include formal errors, like typing errors in text or tables or other minor mistakes. You cannot include changes to the meaning of the text. You send the errata to [email protected] as a complete list of errors with references to page and line numbers in the thesis.

The evaluation

You will receive the committee’s evaluation at least three weeks before the scheduled defence.

When can you send your thesis for printing

You will get information about how to order the thesis prints in the e-mail confirming that your thesis is approved by the evaluation committee. The Faculty of Health Sciences will cover printing expenses. You have to submit 5 copies of the thesis to the faculty and these will be forwarded to the University Library.

You will receive an ISBN-number for your thesis along with the evaluation report.

Title of the Trial lecture

You will receive the title of you trial lecture by e-mail 10 working days before the scheduled defence.

When will you receive the graduation certificate/diploma

It normally takes a few weeks receive your graduation certificate/diploma. It can take more time if your defence occurs late in the spring semester. 

If you reside in Tromsø you must collect the graduation certificate at the Information Desk at MH West. If you do not live in Tromsø, the graduation certificate/diploma will be mailed to the address registered in StudentWeb. It is your responsibility to inform us of any changes in mailing address before receiving the graduation certificate.

Diploma registry

By using the Diploma Registry, you can collect your results from higher education in Norway and share them with potential employers, educational institution and other relevant recipients. 

For more information visit Vitnemålsportalen . 

Trial lecture 

The PhD candidate must complete a trial lecture. The lecture constitues as an independent part of the doctoral examination for the PhD degree and must be on a topic given from the assessment committee. The purpose of the trial lecture is to test the candidate's abiliity to acquire knowledge beyond the topic of the thesis and their ability to disseminate such knowledge

The trial lecture has a timeframe of 45 minutes for the presentation + 10 minutes for introduction and questions from the opponents.  

Public defences at the Faculty of Health Sciences

The public defence marks the end of the doctoral education and qualifies the candidate for research at an international level. Furthermore, it is an important arena for dissemination of research activities at the university. Therefore, UiT The Arctic University of Norway emphasizes that the public defence is a very formal and solemn event.

Defence location

The faculty reserves appropriate rooms for the trial lecture and public defence. Auditorium Cortex at MH West is normally used for public defences at campus Tromsø.

Defence announcement

The time and location of the public defence is normally announced 10 working days in advance.  The defence announcement can be found at Tavla, at the faculty info screens and outside the defence room. If you agree to use a picture for the annoucement, the defense will also be announced on our Facebook-page: UiTHelse 

Both the candidate and the members of the evaluation committee are expected to dress formally.

The leader of the defence wears the Dean's robe during the public defence, but not during the trial lecture.

Trial lecture

The trial lecture lasts for 45 minutes + any questions from opponents and the introduction by the leader of the defence.

After the trial lecture, lunch will be served for supervisors, the adjudicating committee, the leader of the defence and the candidate. Lunch will normally be served in the MH cafeteria. 

Public defence

At the public defence, the public audience must have arrived and is expected to rise when the defence leader, the candidate and committee enter the room. Order of entry procession: the leader of the defence, candidate, 1st opponent, 2nd opponent and the leader of the committee. The order is reversed when leaving the room. Members of the committee sit on reserved seats in the front row. 

The leader of the defence introduces the candidate, who then provides a brief overview of the most important scientific contributions of the PhD work. The presentation should ideally last about 30 minutes but must not exceed 45 minutes.

The first opponent opens the discussion with the candidate. This takes about 45 minutes but can last up to one hour.

The leader of the defence assesses the need for a 10-minute break before the second opponent takes over. The second opponent can spend up to 45 minutes for discussion with the candidate.

After both discussions, the leader of the defence announces the possibility for ex auditorio opposition. There is only time for brief comments/questions.

The leader of the defence will intervene if opponents exceed the allocated discussion time significantly or do not let the candidate speak. The leader of the defence will also intervene if the language is inappropriate or the general public disturbs the public defence.

Note! The Faculty does no longer offer a event after the defense, but can be help if asked. 

External defenses or defenses at another UiT campus 

External defence

It is possible to arrange the public defence at other sites than the university campus. The application to arrange the public defence at alternative locations must comply with the Faculty guidelines.  

External defenses will considered according to the following guidelines:

• The external institution has directly or indirectly contributed to the thesis through data collection or access, have been significant part of the PhD candidate's learning environment during the PhD period, or otherwise played a significant role in the project 
• The external institution can confirm that they have the necessary infrastructure (suitabe location, technical equipment, technical/administrative contact person), and that they provde economical guarantee for additional expenses (travel cost for the committee leader, leader of the defense, supervisors)
• The application must be able to argue for a clear institutional and professional added value beyond the dissertation itself, for instance through planned or continued research collaboration betwwen the professional environment at UiT and the external institution. 

Application for external defenses at another university will not be considered. The same goes for application for arranging defenses at a hospital if the only reason is the PhD candidate's employment there. 

It is the PhD candidate who must sendt the application and it must:

• Answer point 1-3 above
• Be recommended by the research group leader, head of department, as well as confirmation from the relevant authoritites within the external institution with regards to the criteria above. 

The application must be supported by the external location, the research group leader and the institute leader before the Faculty can process the application. 

Defenses at other campuses 

UiT - the Artic University of Norway has several campuses located in Northern Norway, and we support arrangeing defenses on all of our campuses. While the majority of our defenses are centered at the Tromsø campus, you do not have to formally apply to hold your defense on any of the other campuses.  However there are certain prerequsities that must be met before considering defenses at alternative locations: 

• Contact person:  It is important that there is a contact person at the campus, that can do some pracitcal task surronding the defense i.e book the location, order lunch, arrange IT-support, decorate the location, be there on the day of the defense)
• Technical support:  Every defenses held on the Faculty of Health Sciences shall be streamed digitally, and sometimes the opponents attends digitally. It is important that the candidate has technical support on the day of the defense. 
• Suitable location for the defense:  It is important that the campus has suitable location for arranging the defense. This includes have room for audience, technical equipment (PC, microfone, screen). If the opponents attends physically, they will need a room nearby to whitdraw for discussion. 
• Suitable location for the lunch 

Please note, you do not have to apply to the Faculty if you wish to hold your defense at any of UiT's campuses, but if you are planning to have it on another campus than campus Tromsø, please send the information above to [email protected] . 

Dr.Philos 

The degree of Doctor of Philosopiae (dr.philos) is awarded to academics who have qualified for a doctoral degree on their own, without formal supervision. You have no affiliation with the university as a doctoral candidate until your application for the doctoral examination has been approved. 

You can find the Regulation concerning the degree of Doctor Philosophiae (Dr.Philos)  here . It is imporant that you read through it before applying. 

The degree of dr.philos is awarded based on:

• A scientific thesis - the thesis should be an independent, scientific work. It should contribute to the development of new academic knowledge and be of an academic level that suggest it could be published as part of the academic literature. 
• A trial lecture on a given topic
• A public defense of the thesis

Application to be given the right to present yourself for the degree must be sendt to [email protected] 

The following must be included in the application:

• Plagarism self-declaration form 
• Declaration of independence which describe your contribution to each component of the thesis. If similarly detailed author's declaration for a publisher has already been filled out, you can include that instead. 
• CV / Documentation of education 
• Confirmation of affiliation with UiT 
• Confirmation that the thesis has not been submitted for evaluation anywhere else. 

The supervisor's responsibilities 

 The supervisor must be in contact with his or her PhD candidate at regular intervals. 

As a supervisor you are expected to:  

• Advise the candidate regarding phrasing and demarcation of the subject and thesis. 
• Discuss and evaluate hypotheses and methods of research 
• Discuss results and interpretations of said methods and hypotheses 
• Discussing the setup, layout, and execution of the dissertation(disposition, language, documentation etc.) 
• Help the candidate navigate field literature and database I relations to the university library, archive, etc. 
• Guide the candidate in questions of ethics related to the dissertation.    

As a supervisor you must:

• Make yourself familiar with the PhD regulations set by the faculty, as well as the ethical guidelines regarding supervision at the University of Tromsø.
• Keep yourself informed about the progress of the candidate's project and the educational component.
• Follow up any issuses that can cause the candidate to be delayed in their studies
• The PhD candidate must be a part of an active scientific environment. As a supervisor, it is your responsibility to make sure that the candidate can participate in a research group and/or  scientific enviroment in an active manner. 
• The supervision is regulated by the " Avtale ved opptak til organisert doktorgradsutdanning »; Introduction , part A, part B and part C , which includes but is not limited to doctoral candidates, supervisors, the institute, and the faculty.  

 In addition to the above-mentioned responsibilities, the candidate's main supervisor is expected to:

• Find members for the evaluation committee responsible for the midway assessment, as well as booking a room and/or setting up a digital meeting for the seminar. 
• Find members for the evaluation committee for evaluation the dissertation (see Proposing the assessment committee )

Supervision problems - The faculty mediation service

Occasionally, a conflict arises between the PhD candidate and a supervisor. If the conflict is of such a nature that it may weaken or affect the possibility of completing the doctoral studies or lead to major delays in progress, the Faculty of Health Sciences has a mediation service (Konfliktrådet) that can assist the parties involved in resolving their conflict. 

Both the PhD candidate and the supervisors may report cases to the mediation service through this email address:  [email protected]   

This email will be set to the Vice Dean of Research Education and two members of the PhD administration at the faculty. All cases are treated with strict confidentiality.  

Two heads of departments at the faculty will then appointed as constituents of the mediation service, whose purpose is to preside over each case. These individuals will be required to be from different department, of which the PhD candidate does not belong to. 

Mediation services meetings 

The mediation service meets with the involved parties separately and as a group. The Research group leader will also participate in the group meeting. The PhD candidate is allowed to bring a supporting person. Both the PhD candidate and the supervisor are given the opportunity to present their versions of the conflict, and the Research group leader is allowed provide supplementary information.  

Based on the information gathered from the preliminary meetings, the mediation service will then draft a possible solution to the conflict and a proposed plan of action for the completion of the PhD project. 

Plan of action content 

The proposed plan of action will: 

• discuss the remaining milestones of the project and the anticipated time required to reach and complete said milestones 
• contain suggestions for new supervisors in cases where the supervisory agreement is terminated, to ensure the Ph.D. candidate is given supervision for the remainder of the PhD project period 
• give advice regarding compensation for time lost due to the conflict 

  If the mediation service does not succeed in finding a solution to the conflict, a report will be sent to the section for Research, Education and Communication for further follow-up. 

Changes in supervisory team 

If you have joined as a supervisor in an existing supervisory team, or if you end your role as a supervisor before the student's agreement period is over, it is important that the student sends an application for changes in supervision to the Section for Research, Education and Communication. 

If not applied for, the changes will not be formal.

This is the candidate's responsibilty, not the supervisors, but please remind the student of this. 

Mid-term Evaluation

The midway assessment provides the candidate and supervisor with an independent assessment of whether the candidate has adequate progression to complete the PhD education on schedule. The candidate will receive specific feedback on his/her work and get suggestions for further work. The midway assessment allows the department to identify candidates that need structured follow-up. It is expected that such an assessment will improve progress in the project and increase the likelihood that the candidate completes the PhD-program on time.

The midway assessment must be conducted 15-18 months after entering the PhD programme. If the candidate works part time with the PhD project, this will be accounted for when deciding a date for the midway assessment. The date can also be adjusted if the candidate has had any leave of absence. Otherwise, it is not possible to postpone the midway assessment.

The supervisors responsibilities: 

The main supervisor is responsible for suggesting an evaluation committee consisting of two members. The committee members should be academic staff at UiT, and at least one member must be. Appointment of an external committee member must be approved by the department. Additional costs by appointing an external member will be charged to the department. Furthermore, a committee member must have a PhD and be familiar with the candidate´s research field. Committee members must not be involved in the project and must be impartial. The Head of Department appoints the assessment committee. The members of the assessment committee are obliged to examine all the documentation provided ahead of the midway assessment.

The main supervisor must also make sure the seminar is carried out . This includes finding a suitable date for the seminar, as well as booking a room and/or setting up a digital meeting for the seminar. 

The main supervisor will also have to attend the seminar . 

Proposing the assessment committee

Appointment of evaluation committee for the thesis

It is the main supervisors responsibility to find members to the evaluation committee, and to send the application of appointment of evaluation committee. The composition of the committee should normally be clarified by the time your PhD candidate submits their thesis. 

The committee needs to be approved by the candidate and the Head of Department before the Pro Dean of Research Education formally appoints the evaluation committee. This is done by the Faculty. 

Information you must submit in the form 

Attachement that must be uploaded in the form 

Please note; the commitee will not be formally appointet until the submission in Munin is completed!

Requirements for the composition of the committee

The composition of the committee must be justified and any deviation from the criteria must be justified sepereatly. The justification must show how the committee as a whole covers the field of study addressed by the doctoral work. 

The composition of the committee must be such that (§27 PhD regulation): 

• Both genders are represented 
• At least one of the members is employed at the university 
• At least one of the members has no association with the university 
• At least one of the members does not have a primary affiliation with a Norwegian institution 
• All the members are holding a doctoral degree or equivalent 
• At least one member has competence at the level of professor or equivalent 
• The majority of the committee are external members 
• The majority of the committee are employed at institutions awarding the doctoral degree. 

List over the Head of Departments at the different departments at Faculty of Health Sciences 

The PhD education is regulated by:

  "Regulations concerning the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Tromsø - The Artic University of Norway (UiT) , and

Supplementary provisions on the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) in Health Sciences at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway

Study program for the PhD program in Health Sciences

You will find upcoming defenses here:  Tavla

Questions regarding the PhD programme may be directed to [email protected]  

Contact us:

Dissertation

• The PhD Committee
• Guide for the PhD programme

Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education is a multidisciplinary faculty that offers research training within most fields in the humanities and social sciences. Subjects in which you can specialize in are among other: philosophy, archaeology, history, religious studies, education, pedagogy, sociology, social anthropology, community planning, cultural understanding, political science, linguistics, literature, tourism, child welfare, social work, northern studies and more.

About the PhD Programme in Humanities and Social Sciences

The PhD program is an organized research education and consists of an independent research work with a doctoral dissertation and a training component. The program's nominal length of study is three years full-time study/ 180 ECTS. The HSL faculty admit PhD candidates for either 3 or 4 years of studies. candidate on a 4-year contract have 75 % of full-time allocated for PhD studies, and 25 % of the time for duty work in a PhD fellow position. The educational plan for the PhD study is individual for each PhD candidate and agreed on when signing the Agreement upon admission to the PhD programme. The individual education plan consist of serveral plans for the PhD project; among them are time schedule woth a plan for the work with the doctoral research project/dissertation, a data management plan, a plan for dissemination, budget and a funding plan, a plan for the instruction component and more. The aim of the education is an independent research work with a scientific dissertation on a high international and academic level defended in public disputation. The PhD program opens for doctoral projects with professional specialization in a number of humanities and social sciences. Implementation of the program requires integration and participation in one or more of the faculty’s active research environments, collaboration with other researchers and connection to relevant networks nationally and internationally. The PhD candidates receive close follow-up and academic guidance, but the candidate must take responsibility for the planning and implementation of the dissertation work.

The PhD study’s relevance

A doctorate degree is Norway's highest education and qualifies for research activities of international standard and for other work in society where high standards of scientific insight and analytical thinking are required, in accordance with good scientific practice and research ethical standards. For example, the education provides qualifications for a further career as a researcher at universities, colleges, research foundations or business and other sectors where research and development is conducted and high demands are placed on knowledge and competence. With a doctorate you can also get positions with work / responsibilities in leadership and management in knowledge companies; undertake investigative tasks in government and municipal administration; drive knowledge dissemination and teaching; participate in product development and international cooperation; and you have attractive skills in an international labor market.

How to become a PhD student in Humanities and Social Sciences?

In order to become a PhD candidate at HSL-faculty you have either to apply for a PhD fellow position that is advertised, or be employed at an external institution that will fund the PhD project. You must have completed a master’s degree with good grades and document proficiency in English and have a doctoral research project that fit within our faculty’s research interests and strategies.

Advertised positions

The faculty hiers approxcimately 20 PhD fellows every year. All vacant positions are advertised through Jobbnorge.no and UiT's webpage .

Desired educational background, qualifications, application deadline and topic of the call for PhD projects are specified in the advertisement for each vacant PhD fellow position. Working conditions, application requirements including mandatory attachements and procedures are also specified in the advertisement.

Applicants that are chosen and employed shall submit an application for admission to PhD programme in Humanities and Social Sciences within a specified deadline after commencement of their work contract. We recommend you to read the requirements for an application for admission to PhD-studies at HSL-faulty further down.  

External applicants

The faculty welcomes candidates that are employed at external institutions to apply for admission to PhD-studies. Admission is contingent on the availability of adequate funding, which as a general rule should covers personnel and running costs, and overhead for a doctoral fellow position. For part-time candidates, it is required that a minimum of 50 % of the candidate’s working time may be spent on the doctoral degree programme. The required funding can be achieved by applying for a vacant Doctoral Research Fellow position at an external institution where the agreement with your employer are to apply for admission for the PhD programme at UIT/HSL-faculty. The main supervisor should be employd at UiT. 50 % of the supervisory time provided by empoyees at HSL-faculty must be covered by the external institution. There is an requirement that the candidate keep a work place in a relevant research community at one of the faculty's departments or centres for 12 months during the admission period. The cost with office, infrastructure, library services etc must be covered by the external institution.   

An agreement between the external institution and the HSL-faculty has to be signed and enclosed when applying for admission. The same requirements apply for external candidates with regard to the project description and other mandatory application attachements. The faculty accepts application twice a year. The application deadlines are: 1 April and 1 October. 

Requirements for admission

Section 8 of The UiTs PhD regulations and the faculty's supplement regulations describe formal requirements in order to be admitted to the PhD programme in Humanities and Social Sciences. To be admitted, the candidate must have sufficient university education, good grades and be able to document adequate proficiency in English. in addition, there is a requirement for sufficient funding.   

Educational background

In order to be admitted to a doctoral degree programme, the applicant must have completed a master´s degree that meet the descriptions in The Norwegian qualifications framework for lifelong learning (NQF). HSL-faculty can approve other similar education as equal. Applicants with foreign higher education will be assessed in accordance with the Act relating to universities and university colleges in Norway, section 3-5 (3).

Normally an applicant can be admitted based on either an integrated master’s degree of 300 credits or a master’s degree of 120 credits building upon a bachelor’s degree of 180 credits. The Master’s degree should contain a major written work equivalent to 30 ECTS.

Foreign master's degree will be approved unless there are demonstrated substantial differences between the foreign degree and the qualification it is compared with. This could be substantial differences in the learning outcome; differences in access to further activities e.g., PhD studies, research activities and paid work; differences in the key elements of the master's programme e.g., training (or lack thereof) in relevant scientific theory, methodolgy or master's thesis; or differences in the quality of the master's programme and/or institution that issued the master's degree. A foreign master's degree shorter than 120 ECTS or a master's thesis shorter than 30 ECTS are not by itself considered substantiel differences. 

Applicants need to document sufficient Proficiency in English for PhD-level studies . A list of valid tests and scores is found on the webpage.

All applicants should have a grade-point average of B or higher (or equivalent goog grades) on their master’s degree in order to be admitted to the PhD programme. The grade-point average also applies to 300 ECTS points integrated five-year master’s degrees, in which all courses are to be included in the grade-point average.

The doctoral research project and research community/group

The academic character of the PhD project (methodology, perspectives and theories) determines with which research community the project should be affiliated. Therefore, the applicant should, when admitted, have affiliation to the department/centre that the doctoral project belongs to academically, regardless of whether the applicant holds a master’s degree in a discipline at this department. Still the applicant must document training in theory and methodology within the Social Sciences or Humanities.

Exceptions to the rules

Experience-based Master's degrees of 120 credits may be basis for admission to the PhD programmes. In such cases the faculty must see to in advance that the quality of the master's thesis in question, has been externally evaluated as adequate for the purpose of admission to the doctoral degree programme from an academic, methodological and philosophy of science perspective. Such evaluation must be carried out by at least one professor / associate professor from a relevant subject area at another institution that awards PhD degrees in the discipline in question. The admissions committee should put decisive weight on this external evaluation.

An exception may be granted for applicants with a grade-point average of C (or equivalent) on their master’s degree if the applicant can document scientific work beyond their master’s degree, where they have been sole or principal author. Examples of what may qualify as scientific works are accepted or published peer-reviewed articles, publishable academic works and academic reports and studies.

If a long time has elapsed from the completion of the master's degree to the submitted application for admission to PhD studies (10 years or more), the applicant should refer to their own interest in research with documentation of accepted or published scientific / professional work beyond the master's degree.

Application for admission to PhD studies

UiT and the faculty has some requirements in order to make application for admission complete. For UiT employed PhDs, a temporary admission to the PhD studies has been granted when being employed, but an application for admission has to be submitted within a deadline of  between 1-3 months after commencement of work contract. 

The application with the project description and other documents is evaluated and approved by the Doctoral Degree Commitee at the faculty.

• Project description included project plans . Formal requirements are listed below.
• Certified copies of the masters and bachelors diploma, transcript of records and Diploma Supplement  
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Certificate of English proficiency , for those who need it (see the requirement for admission to PhD studies here )
• Agreement on Admission .  Standard agreement form shall be used. The agrement consist of three parts (Part A, B and C). Part C is only relevant for applicants employed at other institutions than UiT. Before submission the agreement shall be signed by:
• Agreement Part A: Vice-dean of research and the doctoral candidate. The vice-deans signature will be obtained by the caseworker after the application has been accepted
• Agreement Part B: Supervisors and doctoral candidate 
• Agreement Part C: Vice-dean and a representative in the management at the external institution that have the authority to enter such agreements e.g., research director, director etc., and the doctoral candidate. The vice-deans signature will be obtained by the caseworker  after  the application has been accepted

If you would like a review of what should be included in the project description before you deliver your application, you can contact the PhD advisor (see the Contact tab). Please arrange a meeting in advance.

Project description requirements

A relatively detailed project description of your research project with the project's plans shall be developed and written in collaboration with your supervisors. Use this template for project description and project plans . The project description consist of to parts: one for the extended and detailed description of the project (app. 10 pages) and a second part for the project's plans. The presentation of the research project shall include:

Part 1 Project description

Part 2 Project's plans

When do I apply?

Where do i send/submit the application.

The application with the project description, the Agreement on Admission, and all other required attachments shall be sent to one of the faculty's PhD advisors (see the Contact tab). 

Handling and evaluation of the application

The application is processed by the faculty administration and forwarded to the admission body.

1. The application is submitted to the faculty administration at HSL-faculty

2. The administration looks through the application and advise the applicant on various aspects pertaining to the application, e.g. missing information, formal errors.

3. The relevant department or center appoints researchers active within the field of the doctoral candidates project to assess the scientific quality of the project. The department/center gives their recommandations.

4. The Doctoral Degree Committee formally approves admission if the application is found satisfactory

The applicant is informed on the decision of the committee and receives a letter of admission. Comments and required amendments and/or changes to the project description is conveyed. A copy of the Agreement of Admission now also signed by the vice-dean will be enclosed with the letter.

Academic and social inclusion of doctoral candidates - the mentor scheme

New doctoral candidates will be offered a mentor at their department or center. The purpose of the mentor scheme is to contribute to a good transition to research education by offering the doctoral candidate support to deal with various aspects of being new in a research community and facilitating integration into the PhD study programme and relevant academic environments. The mentor scheme is a supplement to other existing frameworks for academic and social integration, such as supervision, participation in research or project groups, PhD coordinator, forums/meeting places for doctoral candidates, etc.

• The mentor is connected to the new doctoral candidate from the candidate's first day on the PhD study. This also applies when the PhD candidate is not employed at UiT but has an external employer.
• The department/center is encouraged to include a mentor in their start-up meeting held by the unit with the new doctoral candidate. At the start-up meeting, it is recommended that the department/center seek to clarify the roles (responsibilities and tasks) of the various persons they will relate to during the course of study: mentor, PhD coordinator, supervisors, research group and/or project manager, respectively.
• The mentor scheme will be offered to the new doctoral candidate during the first 6 months of the programme. If the candidate has an external employer and has an agreement on workplace in the relevant academic environment at the department not from the start of the PhD study but later, the mentor can both be connected to the candidate at the start of the programme and be offered mentor support during the candidate's first period with workplace at the department.
• The first meeting between the mentor and the new doctoral candidate is mandatory, other contact may be optional on the part of the candidate.
• The mentor scheme should include both 'one-to-one' contact between the mentor and the individual new doctoral candidate, and in group meetings with the mentor and other candidates.
• The mentor and candidate should be located at the same campus, and the mentor should preferably have a workplace in the same corridor or building as the candidate.
• Units with few PhD candidates and/or candidates on different campuses can collaborate with other units on joint mentoring.
• The selection of a mentor should be chosen among PhD research fellows who are at the end of their course of study (as part of their compulsory duties or during the ‘completion grant’-period), or among employees in positions such as assistant professor/associate professor who have recently completed their own doctoral degree. The choice of mentor must help reduce the asymmetrical relationship between the new doctoral candidate and the mentor. The mentor role should not be combined with the role of PhD coordinator. One and the same mentor can be connected to several candidates.
• Hourly resource for mentor is recommended for 10-15 hours.

Mentor's tasks:

• provide social and practical assistance in the candidate's commencement of the programme;
• be a 'coupler' that facilitates contact between the candidate and relevant environment/persons;
• be an initiator of contact with the candidate (hear how things are going, joint coffee breaks, give advice and tips);
• help to identify situations where the structures/frameworks around the candidate do not work or if something needs clarification, and report this to the appropriate body (e.g. head of department, research group leader or supervisor);
• the mentor shall not have personnel responsibility or responsibility for the academic follow-up of the candidate.

Training component

The aim of the training component is to further develop the scientific competence acquired by the PhD candidate throughout the course of previous studies. It will provide knowledge and skills beyond the work on the dissertation, and will underpin the dissertation work.

The training component consist of 30 credits. A tentative plan for which PhD courses, research courses or conference participation, the PhD candidate should complete, are agreed upon when the candidate is admitted to the PhD study and signs the Agreement upon admission with the faculty. We recommend that the candidate complete the training component within the 2-3 first semesters of study. When the components are completed, the candidate must apply for final approval of the training component to the faculty. This should be done in due time before the planned submission of the dissertation. The training component must be approved before the submission of the doctoral dissertation.

The structure of the training component for PhD candidates at HSL faculty

The HSL faculty offers common courses for PhD candidates that cover the requirements for the compulsory components of the training component in scientific theory, research ethics and dissemination. Courses in these subjects are offered annually, either in the autumn or spring semesters, while an optional course in research method is offered every other year. The departments/centers are responsible for offering subject-specific topics in theory and method or in special topics and positions. Some of these go into fixed rolling plans, while others are arranged only as one-off courses. The training component has the following structure:

Theory of science and research ethics (10 credits)

SVF-8054 Theory of Science (7 credits) – offered every Fall term

SVF-8038 Research Ethics (3 credits) - offered every Spring term 

Dissemination (5 credits)

HSL faculty offers one PhD course in dissemination. In the Fall term it is offered with English as language of instruction, while in the Spring term it is offered with Norwegian as language of instruction:

SVH-8001 Research dissemination (5 credits) – offered every Fall term

SVH-8002 Forskningsformidling (5 credits) – offered every Spring term

Electives in theory and method (15-17 credits)

The candidate must set up elective PhD courses within theory and method of relevance to the doctoral project. The composition of the courses should preferably consist of courses in both method and theory. A conference participation with a paper presentation can replace a PhD course as 3 or 5 credits in the training component. If the offer of relevant courses for the candidate's doctoral project is small, a special syllabus can be drawn up and the faculty can be asked to have it approved in the training component.

The following are offered as optional subjects in theory and method:

SVF-8040 Qualitative research (5 credits) - offered every other year in the spring semester (in Norwegian only). Offered next spring 2024 and spring 2026.

One course of up to 2 credits in generic skills can be approved in the training component. We recommend GEN-8001 Take Control of your PhD Journey: from (P)reflection to Publishing (2 credits) - taught every semester. New PhD candidates are given priority. High North Academy (HNA) also offers other subjects in generic skills, for more information see here .

See other PhD subjects in the course catalog online.

National research course portal in Social Scienses 

Follow this page for more information about courses in social sciences offered at the various institutions:  https://www.sv.uio.no/english/research/phd/courseportal/ 

Requirements for documentation in order to get the training component approved are:

Documentation required for approval of (credit-giving) PhD courses as part of the training component:

• local, national and international PhD courses that are arranged with credits are normally approved with the stated credit score;
• an approved participation/paper/examination must be documented by a transcript of records, a course certificate, or similar.

Documentation required for the evaluation of conference participation for credits are:

• The conference should be of scientific or academic character, that is, the topic of the conference should be scientific and the speakers should be academic scholars. The content of the conference should be relevant for the training component for which the credits are to be given: subject specific theory and methods/academic approaches and perspectives.
• Model 1: In order to obtain 3 credits, the conference must extend over at least two days, and the PhD candidate must have held a presentation of at least 15 minutes. The workload shall be 90 hours, cf. that one credit is equivalent to 30 work hours.
• Model 2: In order to obtain 5 credits, the conference must extend over at least two days, and the PhD candidate must have held a presentation of at least 20 minutes. The workload shall be 150 hours, cf. that one credit is equivalent to 30 work hours.
• The documentation of conference participation and presentation should be supplemented, for example, by the list of participants and the conference programme. The PhD candidate’s conference presentation should be attached in the form of a manuscript, or similar.
• Participation at conferences of a shorter duration or participation without holding a presentation will not be approved.
• Only one conference participation can be approved as part of the training component.

Application form for approval of training component 

In connection with the admission, the appointing committee or the PhD Programme Board formally appoints two supervisors. The department/centre is responsible for ensuring that the appointed supervisors have expertise and available capacity to supervise. The main supervisor should normally be employed at UiT, have doctoral degree himself/herself and be an active researcher within the field of the candidate’s PhD project. He/she should also have prior experience in supervision of PhD candidate and/or formal training in research supervision.

Upon admission, a formal agreement (part B of the PhD agreement) is entered into between you and the supervisors, which is mutually binding. In addition, UiT has Ethical guidelines for supervision. These can be found here

PhD candidates can receive a total of 240 hours of supervision, including the time the supervisors need for preparation and follow-up work (for example, to read chapter drafts, etc.). This equates to 40 hours per semester over 3 years, or 30 hours per semester over 4 years.

At the start of the PhD studies, the candidate and the supervisor will put together a plan for the work on the dissertation and the instructional component. This will be the candidate’s individual education plan against which progress throughout the studies is measured.

The academic dialogue with supervisors is central to the work on the dissertation. This collaboration should start as soon as the formal admission is in place. The supervisor’s foremost task is to assist you in the work on the dissertation. This includes far more than reading through finished chapters or articles. candidates’ needs will often be individual and varied. The supervisor can be regarded as a professional mentor who also assists the candidate in establishing a professional network, getting to know an international research environment, discussing work routines, and more.

Initially, the guidance will often be about developing the work plan for the project, as well as discussing the framework for the supervision. During this phase, it is important that the candidate and the supervisors become acquainted with each other, so that a positive basis for the cooperation will be established in the future. Further in the study, discussions about the dissertation itself will become increasingly central. Most people experience problems to a greater or lesser degree along the way, both professionally and personally. If the candidate has established a mutual relationship of trust with his or her supervisors early in the course, it will be easier to contact them if problems should arise. The supervisors are there, not least to help in academically challenging situations. If the problems are of a more personal nature a PhD candidate employed at UiT, can make an appointment with the employees’ health service, HEMIS . In such situations, it may be helpful to contact the supervisors to discuss possible revisions to the studies work plan.

If the PhD candidate and/or supervisor feels that the relationship is not working as desired, that there is a need for other competence in the supervision, or that for other reasons a change of supervisor is desired, this should be a simple decision. A simple application with reasons for changing the supervisor is sent to the department/centre. You can seek advice from the Head of Department/Deputy Chair/PhD Coordinator or the PhD administration at the faculty.

Reports on the progress

All PhD candidates and their supervisors are required to submit a report on the progress of the PhD education each year. The PhD candidates will respond to the report via Studentweb (for the previous year) as part of the semester registration in the spring semester (within 1 February).

The supervisors are sent questionnaires from the faculty via email to be answered for each candidate they are main supervisor for.

The questions about progress are based on the individual education plan (plan for the work on the dissertation and plan for the instructional component) that the candidate has delivered at admission and which is included in the PhD agreement. Information provided in the report is treated confidentially.

It is considered a violation of the reporting obligation if the candidate does not submit the annual progress report. The consequence of a failure to report may result in the annulment of the PhD agreement on admission (cf. section 25 of the PhD regulations).

As part of the quality assurance system at UiT, the faculty sends the progress reports to the departments/centers, where they are entered as a background document for the annual research conversation the management will have with the PhD candidate. The departments/centers then report back to the faculty about the progress of the PhD studies, any measures the department/centre has initiated or plans to initiate, and any measures the departments/centers wish the faculty to follow up. The department/centre reports are processed by the PhD Programme Board (usually in the June meeting).

Mid-term assessment

Midway through the PhD programme, the candidate will be assessed on the progression of his/her studies. This is done by performing a ‘mid-term assessment’.

From 01.08.2018, all PhD candidates who are admitted to a PhD programme at UiT must complete a mid-term assessment. The mid-term assessment is a compulsory part of the PhD programme. The department/centres are responsible for conducting mid-term assessments. The scheme also includes candidates in the PhD programme for the humanities and social sciences who have an external employer.

§17 of UiT The Arctic University of Norway’s regulations for the degree of philosophiae doctor (PhD) states the following:

(1) A midway evaluation must be conducted for each PhD candidate. The midway evaluation comprises an evaluation of the candidate’s progress in relation to the PhD agreement. The purpose of the evaluation is to evaluate the progress and quality of the doctoral work and ensure that the candidate will complete by the agreed time. In the event that significant shortcomings associated with the doctoral work are identified, measures must be implemented to correct the situation. The format of the midway evaluation will be determined by the Faculty.

In its supplementary rules to the PhD regulations, Quality assurance and reporting , the faculty adopted the following form of mid-term assessment at the faculty board’s meeting on 26 October 2018 (issue FS 34-2018):

The HSL faculty shall have a joint procedure for conducting mid-term assessments for each PhD candidate. The arrangement of the mid-term assessment shall be organised by the institutes/centres. The mid-term assessment is a compulsory requirement for all candidates admitted to the PhD programme from autumn 2018 and must be approved before the candidate can apply for the trial lecture and public defence of the dissertation.

The mid-term assessment will be carried out in the candidate’s 3rd–4th or 4th–5th semester (depending on whether he/she has been admitted on a 3-year or 4-year agreement). The mid-term assessment will be an obligatory milestone in the study programme, and the time of its occurrence will not be adjusted according to the candidate’s progression unless special circumstances (illness, leave of absence) require its postponement.

The assessment will address both the progress of the PhD study with a view to its completion within the standard time, and give the candidate (and supervisors) constructive academic feedback on the material submitted that the candidate can take with them further into the doctoral work.

The committee shall consist of at least two members. At least one member should have no connection to the candidate’s institute/centre or closest academic environment.

Conclusions on delayed progress of the study following the mid-term assessment may lead to termination of the doctoral degree agreement cf. chapter VII of the regulations for PhD degrees at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

Provisions for assessment of PhD candidates admitted in previous years 

For PhD candidates admitted to the PhD programme for the humanities and social sciences before 1 August 2018, other provisions apply:

The Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Teacher Education will have institute-based arrangements in which at least one ongoing assessment will be performed (obligatory). This should preferably be carried out as a mid-term assessment. It is optional for the departments to decide whether they also require further assessments, for example a final assessment.

The point during the candidate’s course of study at which the mid-term assessment will take place is not specified in the old regulations, and for candidates admitted in the spring of 2018 and preceding semesters it is the departments’ own procedures that apply. This does not prevent the institutes/ centres from also choosing to use the faculty’s joint procedure for performing mid-term assessments for PhD candidates admitted before autumn 2018.       

HSL faculty's joint procedure and guide for mid-term assessment

The objective of the mid-term assessment is for the PhD student to be able to assess the progress of his or her studies, both in terms of the educational component and the PhD project, in respect of its completion as planned/within the standard period of time. The arrangement aims to help the PhD student by identifying conditions that pose a risk of the project coming to a stop or being delayed, as well as to provide input that may improve the quality of the work. Through the assessment, the student (and supervisor) will also be given constructive academic feedback that the student will be able to take with them further in their work. 

The mid-term assessment will be a central and obligatory part of the institute’s/centre’s follow-up of the student, in addition to regular supervision, annual progress reports, and conversations with researchers and peers.   

When will the mid-term assessment be carried out?

The institute/centre is responsible for conducting mid-term assessments for students associated with the unit. This responsibility also includes PhD students with external employers who are rooted in the unit’s academic environment.

The mid-term assessment will be carried out in the student’s 3rd–4th semester or 4th–5th semester (depending on whether the student is admitted on a 3-year or 4-year agreement).

The point in time at which the assessment occurs is agreed as part of the student’s individual education plan at the start of their studies and is incorporated into the PhD agreement. At the beginning of each semester the faculty will send the institutes/centres overviews of those students who, on the basis of the plan, will be undergoing a mid-term assessment.

Written documentation

It is recommended that the student submit written material prior to the assessment, e.g. one month (four weeks) in advance. This is to be agreed by the student with the supervisor. Written documentation may, for example, include:

• draft texts (chapters, articles, summary, etc.) – with an upper limit (e.g. 20,000 words (40–50 pages)
• table of contents
• updated data management plan
• copy of original PhD agreement containing the completion plan for the course of study
• other material

Composition of the academic panel

To evaluate the PhD student’s work, the institute/center appoints a panel consisting of two scientists. One of these should be appointed as a commentator appointed in consultation with the PhD candidate. At least one of the members of the panel should have no connection to the candidate's institute/center or closest academic environment. The candidate's supervisors should not be members of the panel. Academics who participate in the panel for the mid-term assessment are not considered ineligible of later standing as a member of the assessment committee that will evaluate the candidate’s dissertation for the PhD degree, but when choosing a member, discretion and caution should be exercised.    

The institute/centre is responsible for performing the mid-term assessment. It may, for example, be arranged as a two-part seminar in which the first part is a presentation of the project, while the second is set aside for comments and discussion. All or part of the mid-term assessment may be open or closed to other PhD students and members of the academic community. It is important to arrange an open/closed event with the student well in advance. 

The recommended timeframe for the mid-term assessment is three hours/half a working day.

The results of the student’s presentation, the submitted material and/or the oral summary are reported by the panel in a mid-term assessment form.  

Content of the presentation

The presentation should be a briefing about the academic status of the research project, as well as other factors that are important to the completion of the study. This may, for example, include:

• presentation of the project’s main points (in the form of a preliminary table of contents and a briefing on how far the work has come).
• project status and further plans for the project, data, method, analyses, publications, trips overseas etc.
• comment on progress and schedule in relation to the date of admission and the timeframe for the position of research fellow.

Content of the assessment report

The results of the assessment must be reported in a separate form. Here, the external member of the panel (i.e. the member unrelated to the student’s institute/centre or closest academic environment) will lead the report, including a statement about the student’s progress and potential to complete the dissertation within the stipulated time/before funding expires (see note 1 below).     

The report shall conclude with one of the following:

1) the student’s progress is good and is proceeding according to plan. The project (and the educational component) is feasible within the remaining funding period. 

2) the student must adjust the PhD project and/or the plan for the educational component, but has the potential to complete the project within the remaining funding period. 

3) the student is delayed in the work on the PhD project (and the educational component). It is not feasible for the student to complete the study within the remaining funding period.    

The assessment report is sent to the institute/centre, which forwards this to the student, supervisors and faculty. 

If the assessment panel concludes that there is a need for adjustment, the institute/centre will implement the measures it deems appropriate (point 2), and involve the faculty in the event of inadequate progress (in case of concluding cf. point 3) for further follow-up.  

Following the assessment the student and supervisor will, if necessary, prepare an adjusted progress plan for the remaining work and submit this to the faculty (in case of point 2).   

1) For PhD students on 4-year admission agreements with 75% time set aside for PhD studies and 25% time for work obligations, a subjective assessment must be made of the progression of the studies in relation to the possibly larger or smaller scope of work obligations performed in the period from the start of the studies until the mid-term assessment.  

Report from mid-term assessment

The result of the assessment must be reported in a separate form. Here, the eksternal member of the panel (i.e. the member unrelated to the students department/senter or closest academic environment) should take lead on writing the report, including a statement about the student's progress and potential to complete within the stipulated time/before funding expires. 

Link to reporting form for mid-term assessment

A copy of the report should be sent to the facultys administrative team for the PhD education. 

Stays abroad – scholarship

For PhD students holding a university scholarships at the faculty, it is possible to apply for funding to cover additional costs for research stays at a foreign host institution for 2-6 months in duration. The scheme is announced once a year, normally at the end of a calender year with an application deadline in January/February. The scheme is an offering to PhD students in their 3rd-5th semester of study (for PhD students on 3-year admission contracts and in the 2nd or 3rd year of PhD students on 4-year admission contracts. 

The faculty’s support scheme with foreign scholarships is announced on UiT’s TAVLA and an invitation will be sent to the PhD students via email.

Transitional Scholarship

Transitional grants are announced once or twice a year and are intended for skilled researchers who wish to pursue a scientific career. Those eligible to apply will be those who recently have completed the PhD degree or submitted their dissertation for assessment in the period that has elapsed since the previous invitation to apply. Scholarships are awarded for a duration of up to 3 months. The condition for being awarded a transitional scholarship is a PhD degree by defence and in a position to accept the scholarship before the end of the calendar year in which the award is granted.

Invitations to apply for transitional scholarship are announced on UiT’s TAVLA and sent via email to the qualified candidates.

The work on the dissertation is the PhD student’s main task and should be in focus from the start. The other aspects of the study, such as the instructional component, should be an aid to the work on the dissertation.

For the individual, the dissertation is important because the insight gained through it will set the terms for how one will later work and think as a researcher. The dissertation is also a research project with importance for one’s future career.

The academic requirements of the dissertation

Item 19 of the PhD regulations for UiT states:

“The dissertation is to be an independent piece of academic research that meets international standards of ethics, scholarship and method in its field. Through the dissertation, the student will contribute to the development of new knowledge, and the dissertation shall be at a level meriting publication as part of the scientific literature in the field.

The dissertation may either be a monograph or a collection of several smaller research papers – an anthology. Such collections must have a connection between the various components, and the connection must be explained in a summary.”

This objective emphasizes the academic requirements for doctoral dissertation. But what exactly does it mean that a dissertation should contribute to the development of new knowledge, and that it should be published as part of a the scientific literature in the field?

The requirement to contribute to the development of new knowledge is an ambitious goal. One way to understand this is for a doctoral dissertation to be at the forefront of research. This means that the student must actively relate to other literature and other people’s research, and place their own project in relation to this research. This already applies in the project description, but in the dissertation it should be argued even more clearly what makes it possible for one’s own project to contribute new knowledge to a particular field of research. In this connection, thorough literature studies are often important.

The requirement to be at the forefront of the research applies not only to theoretical approaches and the dissertation question, but also in terms of method. Methodically, the student should demonstrate that he/she is familiar with existing approaches or techniques, and justify both design and choice of technique in relation to frontline research in the field.

At other levels of study it is possible to rely on secondary literature in the presentation of relevant theory or professional literature. In a doctoral dissertation, the student should document familiarity with the academic literature by employing primary sources, by explaining the academic debate around the literature, and by making independent interpretations of it.

In other words, whether a dissertation is considered as placing itself among frontline research is determined by the assessment committee’s evaluation of its academic quality. Such assessments can also be expressed by publishing – for example, by publishing empirical results or theoretical reasoning from the on-going work in the form of articles or shorter contributions in journals/anthologies.

Monograph or article collection?

The dissertation can be either a monograph or an article collection (a compilation of several shorter works). It is important that the student think through this option at the beginning of the project period. Feel free to discuss it with potential supervisors or other academic figures. Also think through and discuss with your supervisors whether it may be appropriate to have them as co-author(s) on articles.

The dissertation should be an independent scientific work that meets international standards in terms of theory, method and empiricism in the field of study. A good way to gain an insight into the requirements for a dissertation is to read others’ dissertations within your own and adjacent fields or subject matters.

Item 19 of the supplementary rules of the PhD regulations outlines the requirements for dissertations. In summary, the following can be said:

• A monograph should normally be no longer than 300 pages. The PhD student should be the sole author of the dissertation.

Article-based dissertation

• Article-based dissertations should normally consist of at least three articles of normal length. A summary article (‘kappa’), normally of 40–80 pages in length, comes in addition.
• The summary article should be an individual / independent work. It should not only summarize, but also consolidate the research questions and conclusions presented in the dissertation (articles) in a unified perspective, thus documenting the dissertation’s context. This also includes a clarification of the dissertation’s contribution to the research field within which it is placed or positioned. In the summary, the student must also make clear the use of method and theory in the dissertation if this is not apparent from the sub-papers. For previously published articles, the summary must also contain academic updates so that the dissertation as a whole appears to be academically up to date. Alternatively, such updates can be made in the individual articles.
• Joint work (articles published in collaboration with co-authors) are accepted in the dissertation as long as the doctoral candidate’s individual efforts can be identified and documented. Upon submission, the dissertation must be accompanied by a signed statement signed by the co-authors and the doctoral candidate which describe specifically the student’s contributions.
• The student should normally be the main author of at least half of the articles.
• For articles with multiple authors, there may be grounds to increase the number of articles.
• The articles must have a level similar to that required for publication in recognised professional journals with peer review. This also applies to book chapters.
• All publications included in the dissertation must follow ethical rules and conventions for academic quality assurance of research.

Declaration of independent research for article collections 

For article-based dissertations where one or more of the articles have co-authors, a declaration must be completed for each article with co-authors describing the student's independent contribution to the article / book chapter. It is the student who must fill in the declaration and state whether he / she has contributed with e.g. problem formulation, method, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing etc. The student must sign the declaration and must obtain signature from the co-authors. The declarations must be uploaded in separate pdf-files when the dissertation is submitted in Munin. The committee will have access to the statements. The statements will however not be published in Munin when the dissertation has been approved and published in connection with the public defense.

Declaration describing the independent research contribution of the candidate

Doctoral theses including film/audio-visual material/other media

A doctoral thesis may also include film, audiovisual material or other medium. Such material can be an appendix to the thesis. It should be clarified how such material should be viewed in the context of the doctoral thesis. If this is not clear in the actual doctoral thesis, it can be elaborated in an attached letter to the thesis (and uploaded together with the thesis in Munin).

A scientific anthropological film can be considered as equivalent to a scientific article and replace one of the three required articles in a articled-based doctoral thesis according to given criteria:

- the film has been peer-reviewed and assumed for or published in an approved publishing channel

- the film has listed author(s) and institution affiliation

- the film is registered and reported in Cristin as 'scientific article' not film, and within the registration deadline for publications in the relevant year

It must be made clear in the summary (the introduction article 'kappa') how the film should be seen in connection with the other parts of the thesis.

Works that may not be submitted

A candidate may not submit research work or parts of a work which has been accepted as basis for previous examination unless the work is a minor part of a thesis consisting of several related works. Data, analyses or methods from earlier degrees may, nonetheless, be used as a basis for the PhD project.

Work published more than five years before training begins may not be included as part of the thesis. The faculty may waive this requirement under extraordinary conditions.

(3) A thesis that has been evaluated / is submitted for evaluation at another institution may not be submitted.

Dissertation language

The dissertation must be written in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, English or Sami. Language for the dissertation is reported to the faculty in the individual education plan form in connection with admission. The dissertation language should normally also be the language for the trial lecture and the defence of the dissertation, unless the faculty decides otherwise (cf. the PhD regulations section 34 and section 35). Alternatively, the language should be Norwegian. If the student wishes to use another language, the student must apply for his/her own approval upon admission.

Research ethic rules and conventions

The dissertation must follow ethical rules and conventions for academic quality assurance of research. For articles with multiple authors, the Vancouver rules should normally be used. One should stay acquainted with the Vancouver Convention; see information on the website of the National Research Ethics Committees. If there are deviations from the Vancouver rules, the reason for this should be described in the declaration by the co-author(s).

About the Vancouver Rules in brief: The Vancouver Rules have three important criteria for authorship. All three criteria must be met:

• You must have made a significant contribution to the planning and design of the project, or participated in the data collection, or participated in the analysis or interpretation of data;
• Significant contributions must have been made when the manuscript was written or revised, and
• You must participate in and approve the completed work submitted for publication.

Contributors who do not meet these criteria should be listed in a footnote.

When the doctoral dissertation is written and ready to be assessed by a committee, it must be submitted to the faculty by filling in an electronically form in Munin (UiT’s open research archive) and by uploading a PDF-fil with the dissertation.

Submitting of PhD dissertation in Munin

It is the student who decides when the submission will take place. The supervisors cannot be held responsible for the content or outcome of the assessment committee’s recommendation. The faculty accepts the submission of doctoral dissertations throughout the year.

UiT has an electronic submission portal, “Munin – Open research archive”, for all master’s and doctoral dissertations, which is part of the University Library. Munin is the university’s open research archive for academic and research-related material. All PhD students must submit the dissertation via Munin. There is a requirement for open access to the dissertation for all candidates.

There is no deadline for doctoral dissertations. The student delivers the dissertation at his/her own discretion, but the working hours for support staff are 0800–1545 (summertime 0800–1500). However, you can save the completed submission at any time and finish it later. It will not be registered until it is completed on the submission screen.

The dissertation itself must be submitted by uploading a PDF file (one file composed of all the dissertation’ parts.) An electronic form must also be completed. When the student completes the submission, the faculty will be notified automatically by email. The submission is reviewed and, if everything is in place, approved. The dissertation should be delivered as a PDF file prepared for double-sided printing. The front and back page must follow the standard template. The dissertation will be printed in book-size on 17 x 24 cm paper with surrounding cover. It is recommended to use 13-point as the font size (e.g.. Times New Roman) on the original document, as in practice this gives about 12 points of print on the finished book-print (17 x 24 cm is scaled down about 20 % from the original A4 edition). We recommend 25 mm of margin on each side.

The template for the cover can be found here .

Please observe that the font and type size on the front page are also part of UiTs logo and must not be altered.

Questions about printing should be addressed directly to the UiTs Print Office.

Munin – submission: https://munin.uit.no/

Once submitted, a work cannot be withdrawn until it is finally decided whether the doctorate is worthy of defending. More information about this can be found below.

The university’s digital knowledge archive aims to make visible quality-assessed research work via open and free publication on the internet. The dissertation is stored in Munin and will be available in the future to you and others via a permanent URL. This makes it very easy for you to refer to the dissertation in applications and references.

The contents of Munin will be searchable and easily retrievable both locally, nationally and internationally. This is ensured by the University Library through collaboration with archives at other institutions. The dissertation is also registered as an electronic document in the library base Oria.

Dissertation to be published in Munin must be related to doctoral degrees awarded at UiT. All doctoral dissertations will be made publicly available. No restrictions can be imposed with regard public disclosure and publication of the doctoral work, with the exception of postponement of the publication date agreed in advance. Such postponement can be agreed between the PhD candidate and the funding soucre/employer only when the purpose is for these to be able to consider any patenting/commercialisation (see the PhD regulation, Section 19 ). The dissertation must not contain material that is contrary to confidentiality, privacy or copyright. For the dissertation is to be made available in Munin, the candidate must also obtain permission to use, for example, illustrations or other objects to which others own the rights. As previously mentioned, in the case of article-based dissertations, the consent of any co-authors must also be obtained. The dissertation becomes available in Munin only after it has been approved by the assessment committee.

At the same time as the dissertation is delivered via the portal, some questions must be answered about publishing: whether all or only parts of the dissertation should be published, about permission for publication, etc. Check the formal requirements regarding publication in the UiT’s Regulations concerning the PhD degree, Section 21.   There is also a field in the electronic form where an abstract should be placed. The Munin group at the University Library that administers this will contact you if they need more information. If the dissertation consists, in whole or in part, of published material, the Munin group, in collaboration with the student, will investigate what restrictions the publisher may have against making it available in Munin.

A text (up to 200 words) written in the “abstract” field in the electronically form in Munin. This will be used in dissemination work by UiT and must be written in both Norwegian and English . You can also write the abstract in additional languages. The text (up to 1000 characters) to be written in the “Popularized summary” field should be in Norwegian and English and is used in a brochure that the UiT produces every year about completed doctoral dissertations at UiT. If you have questions about procedures, guidelines or other issues related to publishing a dissertation in Munin, please contact [email protected] .

Assessment of the dissertation

The defence of the dissertation should be held within three months after the date on which the dissertation was submitted for assessment. The supervisor is obliged to report the pending submissions of the dissertation of the PhD students they supervise to the faculty. The assessment committee should normally be formally appointed before the dissertation is submitted. On average, the work of appointing a committee takes about two months. The student should therefore arrange a submission date with supervisors and the department/centre so that the work of appointing an assessment committee can begin well in advance.

The committee’s assessment (recommendation) should be available within 2 months of receiving the dissertation, unless an alternative schedule has been agreed with the faculty.

The minimum time from the faculty receiving the assessment to the date of the defence should be 3–4 weeks. This is due to case processing after the assessment and practical proceedings of the defence, as well as to give the candidate time to prepare the trial lecture.

Appointment of the assessment committee

Student and supervisors can discuss possible committee members prior to submission. It is not common practice for the student to contact any committee members after the dissertation has been submitted.

The main supervisor is responsible for making the department/centre and faculty aware of pending submissions from students so that the work towards appointing a committee can begin (cf. section 26 of the PhD regulations). The assessment committee is appointed by the PhD Programme Board after the department/centre has proposed the committee’s composition. The candidate is notified of the proposed committee by the faculty, and has the opportunity to submit written comments on the committee’s composition within five working days from receiving the notification.

A committee will be composed as follows (cf. section 27 of the PhD regulations):

• both genders are represented
• at least one of the members is employed at the university
• at least one of the members has no association with the university
• at least one of the members does not have a primary affiliation with a Norwegian institution
• all members are holding a doctoral degree or equivalent
• at least one member has competence at the level of professor or equivalent
• the majority of the committee are external members
• the majority of the committee is employed at institutions awarding the doctoral degree.

The assessment committee will consist of at least three members. Appointed supervisors cannot be members of the committee. Former members of the mid-way evaluation panel are not necessarily disqualified and may be considered as members of the assessment committee.

The candidate is advised when the dissertation has been sent to the assessment committee via a copy of a letter sent to the committee along with the dissertation.

The committee’s recommendation

The committee submits a written recommendation (assessment) to the faculty, which is quickly communicated to the candidate.

The length of the report varies considerably within and between subjects, from a couple of pages up to 10 pages. The length in itself indicates nothing about the conclusion or that there were particularly difficult assessments. People who participate in the committees and who write their contributions to the overall recommendation are different, and come from different places and traditions, so the variations are broad.

It is normal, on the one hand, for the recommendation to state something about the strengths of the dissertation and its contribution to the frontline research in the discipline or field. On the other hand, the recommendation should also formulate the committee’s criticism of (main features) and objections to the dissertation. This may apply to theoretical, methodological and empirical aspects. Then the report ends with a conclusion. Here we find three principal variants:

1) The conclusion is that the committee has found the dissertation worthy of public defence.

2) A preliminary report where the committee recommend that the faculty permit that the candidate do minor revisions of the dissertation before the final recommendation is made. This means that the dissertation is not ready for approval in its present form, but that the committee finds it good enough to be prepared for re-submission (within a deadline of 3 months).

3) The committee concludes that the dissertation needs significant changes is necessary in theory, hypothesis, material or method to be able to recommend the dissertation worthy of defence. The committee will then recommend that the dissertation not be approved. In such cases, the work cannot be resubmitted until 6 months have passed.

If the dissertation is defined under the aforementioned items 2 or 3, there are major consequences for the further consideration of the case.

Concerning item 2): The PhD Programme Board takes the final decision on whether section 32 (of the PhD regulations) should be used – that is, if they agree to the committee’s recommendation that the student be able to submit the dissertation in a revised form within three months. The PhD Programme Board will then set an exact deadline for resubmission. This can also be shorter than 3 months if the recommendation is only for minor matters to be reworked. Such preliminary recommendations from the committee are not considered a rejection, but as part of the first submission. The resubmitted dissertation is then sent back to the committee. They then assess whether the candidate has met the recommendations outlined in the preliminary recommendation, before finalizing it and submitting the final recommendation to the faculty.

It is recommended that the candidate prepare an attachment (about 1 page) outlining the main points of changes made on the basis of the original committee recommendation. If the submission deadline is not kept, the first submission is considered completed – with rejection as the final outcome. The dissertation cannot then be submitted until 6 months have passed since the faculty made their decision.

It is only upon first submission that item 2 can occur.

Concerning item 3): When the candidate’s dissertation has not been approved, he/she cannot submit a new dissertation until 6 months have passed (cf. § 33). The PhD Programme Board sets the earliest date that new submissions can be made.

On the second submission, the candidate must state that the dissertation has been assessed previously without being found worthy of defence. An assessment committee will be reappointed. Continuity in the composition of the committee between first and second submission is desirable, but if the candidate wishes for a different committee to be appointed, this must be justified and reported to the faculty in writing.

If on the second submission the student also fails the dissertation, he/she will not be able to submit a new edited version for assessment (cf. section 33). When the committee’s recommendation is unanimously positive, the dissertation is worthy of defence of the doctoral degree without a formal hearing at the faculty level. In the event of a dissenting or unanimously negative assessment, the candidate will be given 10 working days to make written comments on the committee’s recommendation. Any comments are to be sent to the faculty, who then forward them to the committee. Thereafter, the case goes for further consideration at the PhD Programme Board.

It is not uncommon for a dissertation to be rejected. This does not mean that ‘the race is over’, although it can be a difficult message to receive. The committee’s critical comments are guidelines for the student’s preparation of the dissertation for later submission. If the student’s dissertation is not approved in one of the two variants, it is important for the student to have a detailed conversation with the supervisor(s) in order to plan the work further with a view to submission.

Printing of dissertation

Upon positive recommendation, the student is instructed by the faculty to contact the UiT’s Print Office in order to print copies of the dissertation for the defence. The faculty will order 35 copies of the dissertation. The expenses are covered by the faculty. 3 copies of the 35 will be sent to the National Library of Norway and 1 copy will be made availabel to the public to borrow at the UiT library. The other copies are presented during the trial lecture and defence. The candidate is not permitted to reserve a number of the copies for his/her own use. Additional copies of the dissertation for personal use can be ordered by the candidate on the Print Office’s webpage for a fee.

Images and illustrations where colour is important for understanding/reproducing the academic content will be printed in colour. It must be stipulated which pages you wish to be printed in colour in dialog with the staff at the Print Office. Headings and similar will not be printed in colour. More information on printing and templates on the front page can be found on the print shop’s website or here . Questions should be addressed directly to the Print Office.

As soon as the committee has given their positive recommendation, the faculty will complete the submission of the dissertation in Munin. If it is marked for the dissertation to be made available in Munin, the University Library will publish the dissertation on Munin’s front page and the public will have access to it prior to the defence.

Trial lecture and public defence of dissertation

The assessment committee gives suggestions for the date for the defence of the dissertation, the title of the trial lecture, and who will assume the roles of first and second opponents respectively. The department/centre notifies who will be the chair of the defence. The candidate will receive a copy of this notification, together with information on printing of the dissertation and delivery of the trial lecture. This is administered by the faculty. The arrangement of the defence of the dissertation takes place at the department/centre level, where an administrative contact person is appointed to take care of the planning and practical execution of the defence. The trial lecture on assigned topic and the public defence of the candidate’s dissertation, are arranged on the same date.

The department/centre organizes the defence of the dissertation. When it is clear that a defence will take place, an administrative contact person is appointed at the department/centre to plan and assume the practical work towards the public defence.

The head of the department/centre normally chairs the defences of dissertation. If the he/she is not able to do so, he/she delegates this to an experienced researcher at the department/centre.

Defence Procession: The chair of the defence leads the procession into the room once the audience has arrived. Then follows the doctoral student, the first opponent, second opponent and third opponent/chair of the committee. It is expected that all stand as the procession enters. Please inform your family and friends in advance. When the procession enters the hall, the doctoral student and the committee sit in reserved seats, while the chair of the defence holds an introduction with an account of the submission and assessment of the dissertation and the trial lecture.

The assigned topic for the trial lecture will be forwarded on email to the candidate 10 working days prior to the date for the defence. The duration of the lecture should be of 45 minutes length. After the lecture the Committee withdraws to assess whether the Candidate have ‘Passed’/’Not passed’ the trial lecture. If ‘Passed’, the exam continues with the defence of the doctoral dissertation.

First the doctoral student gives an account of the aim and the result of the scientific investigation. This presentation should have a duration of approximately 15 minutes (item 35 of the supplementary rules).

The chair of the defence shows the doctoral student and his opponents to their places during the defence. During the defence, the opponent and the doctoral student are usually turned halfway towards each other.

The first ordinary opponent then initiates the discussion. The faculty has provided an indicative time of up to 1.5 hours for the discussion (item 35). The second opponent ends the defence; the length of this discussion is recommended to be up to 1 hour (item 35). When it comes to the content of the contributions of the two opponents, they will have agreed between themselves who will address what in the defence. The committee’s recommendation may give hints on relevant topics for the defence.

Other attendees who wish to oppose ex auditorio must report this to the chair of the defence during the defence. This occurs within the time that the chair has appointed and announced at the opening of the defence.

The department/centre invites the chair of the defence, the committee, supervisors, doctoral student and possibly his/her immediate family for lunch.

Attire during trial lecture and defence: Formal.

Doctoral dinner

The dinner that the doctoral student provides for selected guests is not mandatory, but is a normal end to the celebrations. Over the years, it has become less formal. For those who wish to retain this form, the following information may be provided: The chair of the defence should be invited along with the committee. Normally, the person chairing the defence initiates the speeches. Then follows the third opponent (head of the committee) who gives his/her traditional speech. If (other) institutional heads (other than the chair of the defence) are represented, they should follow after the third opponent. Next follow the supervisors. Then the floor is open.

Streaming and recording of trial lecture and defence

The trial lecture and defence will be streamed and recorded, and the recording will be available online for one month. According to the Personal Data Act, the processing of personal data will require a basis for the processing, and in this case, it will be GDPR art. 6 no. 1, letter e).

More about the processing of personal data:

• Data controller is UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and if and if you have any questions, you can contact the faculty's PhD team.
• UiT has its own Data Protection Officer , who can be contacted at  [email protected]
• The purpose of streaming and the recording of the defence is public dissemination of research.
• Processing basis for this activity is GDPR art. 6 no. 1, letter e) , cf. Act relating to universities and university colleges § 1-3, letter c). Streaming and recording of UiT's dissertations will help to spread and communicate research and professional development work, and is an important part of UiT's social mission.
• Recipients of the relevant personal data related to streaming/recording of video and audio (ie what appears on the video stream/recording) are everyone who follows this via the internet. UiT uses Panopto as a video solution, and the data processor in this context is then Panopto, which will have the material stored with it until UiT deletes it. UiT has the necessary data processor agreement with Panopto
• The recording will be stored for one month from the defense date.
• You can ask UiT for access to the personal data that is processed about you (the video recording), and you also have the right to demand correction and deletion. There is no unconditional right to deletion, but you can always demand it and if the conditions are met, the recording will be deleted (see GDPR art. 17 ).
• If you believe that UiT does not comply with our obligations under the data protection regulation, you have the right to complain to the Data Protection Authority, which is the supervisory authority for this legislation (see datatilsynet.no for contact information).

Information for the leader of the committee

The leader of the committee is fully involved in the evaluation of the dissertation, the trial lecture and the public defence. If one of the opponents is prevented from attending the public defence, the leader of the committee must fill the role of the second opponent.

The tasks of the leader of the committee

Before the public defence, the leader of the committee must:

• contact the opponents and decide on a date for the defence that is suitable for the committee. This must be done as soon as the Faculty has appointed the committee.
• inform the Faculty about the proposed date of the public defence. As a general rule, the two opponents should participate on a digital platform, but they can participate physically if they wish.
• ensure that the evaluation work is coordinated to meet the deadline for submitting the evaluation of the dissertation, which is four weeks before the stipulated date of the public defence. The public defence will normally take place within three months after appointment of the committee.
• Travel and accommodation arrangements is generally done by the committee members individually.  Opponents submit their travel invoice, receipts and honorarium form to the contact person in the Research, Education and Communication Section after completion of the public defence.
• ensure that the title of the trial lecture is submitted to the Faculty at least four weeks before the public defence.
• inform the Faculty if the time of the trial lecture and public defence deviates from the normal procedure (normally held at 10:15 and 12:15 on the same day)
• compile the evaluation report and send it to the contact person at the Faculty. Also see the  "guidelines for evaluation of doctoral degrees at the University of Tromsø" .
• the department finds a suitable date and time for a technical test before a digital defence, and the leader of the committee should participate.
• receive the opponents and show them the location of the trial lecture and public defence.

Trial lecture:

• The leader of the defence coordinates the procession before entering the room.
• The leader of the defence introduces the candidate and committee before requesting the candidate to give the trial lecture.
• The trial lecture and public defence normally take place on the same day in one of the large auditoriums at the faculty. The trial lecture is at 10:15 and the public defence at 12:15, unless otherwise agreed upon.
• The committee decides whether the trial lecture is pass or fail. The trial lecture must be passed to proceed with the public defence.
• After the trial lecture, lunch is served in the MH cafeteria (or in The Dental building if the trial lecture is held there) for the committee, the leader of the defence, supervisors and the candidate. Unless otherwise agreed upon, the lunch is from 11:00 to 12:00.

Public defence:

• The leader of the defence coordinates the procession before entering the public defence room.
• The leader of the defence briefly explains the submission and evaluation processes, and announces that the trial lecture is passed, before asking the candidate to present the dissertation. The candidate's presentation of the dissertation should not exceed 45 minutes.
• The leader of the defence introduces the opponents, and the first opponent initiates the discussion.
• The public defence should not exceed three hours in total.
• After the public defence, the committee must sign the preliminary diploma and the evaluation.

Information for the opponents

Find tentative date for the defense

The committee's first task is to find a tentative date for the defence.

The leader of the committee is responsible for scheduling a defence date suitable for the candidate, the supervisors, the committee and the faculty. We kindly ask the committee to submit the evaluation no later than four weeks, and the topic for trial lecture no later than three weeks, prior to the defence date.

The assessment

The deadline for submitting the assessment is four weeks before the public defense. The committee evaluate the doctoral thesis according to the following regulations:

• Guidelines for the evaluation of candidates of Norwegian doctoral degrees 
• PhD regulations

You received these documents by email together with the thesis.

Remuneration

Members of the committee who are not employed by UiT – The Arctic University of Norway will be reimbursed according to fixed rates. The framework is 30 hours for the assessment work with the addition of 20 hours for the first opponent, and 15 hours for the second opponent. Remuneration is at salary level 79 for professors and salary level 67 for associate professors.

We do not have the opportunity to pay fees for assessments to sole proprietorships, cf. guidelines for entering into contracts and paying fees to self-employed persons.

Travel arrangements

The department/centre must approve any travel and accommodation expenses. The leader of the committee must clarify this with the department/centre and communicate this to the two external members of the committee. We recommend that you wait to book your trip until you agree on a positive assessment. The opponents pay for travel and accommodation themselves, and after the defense, they apply for reimbursement of the expenses. The trip must be booked in the cheapest way (economy class).

The department/centre can cover up 2 hotel nights with standard rooms.

The university currently has agreements with Scandic, Choice and Thon hotels. Please inform the hotel that you work for the university when you book the room to get the negotiated price. Keep all original receipts.

Completion grant

Who is covered by the completion grant scheme? The scheme applies to all PhD candidates with a 3-year appointment at institutes/centres within the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (HSL-fak), and entails the offer of extended employment with a completion grant following submission of the doctoral dissertation.

All PhD candidates who are appointed on a 3-year employment contract and submit their doctoral dissertation for appraisal, together with a written recommendation from their supervisor, within either 3 years or with minor delays of study and within 3 ½ years counting from the start date, will respectively be offered a 12- or 6-month completion grant.

The scheme covers PhD candidates for whom the HSL-fak, as their employer, has responsibility. The scheme does not cover PhD candidates appointed on 4-year employment contracts with 25% of their time set aside for compulsory work. The scheme may include NFR PhD candidates if the position was advertised with the possibility of an extension of a completion grant and the institute/centre covers the costs of a 12 or 6-month completion grant beyond the specific budget limits. The scheme does not apply to dr.philos. candidates.

Completion period

The limits of 3 years or 3 ½ years are fixed. In order to be offered a 12-month completion grant, the dissertation must be submitted for assessment no later than 3 years after the date of appointment. This means that a PhD candidate who submits after 3 years + 1 week will be offered a 6-month grant. Accordingly, a PhD candidate who submits after 3 ½ years + 1 week will not be offered a completion grant. Any leave of absence or reduction in working hours undertaken in order to perform teaching work or other work either at or outside the institute/centre during the period of candidature will count towards the total period. If PhD candidates wish to prioritise such a grant, they themselves must ensure that such leaves of absence do not affect their eligibility to be awarded a completion grant by the faculty. If, for example, a PhD candidate undertakes teaching work of up to half a year total duration, he/she will still be eligible to receive a half-year completion grant, provided that he/she submits within the 3 ½-year limit.

However, periods of sick leave (14 consecutive days or longer) and the use of statutory periods of leave or those negotiated under collective agreements (parental, compassionate, or other welfare-related leave) will be deducted from the total time from commencement of the candidature, and will therefore have no effect on the individual’s eligibility to be offered the completion grant. This also applies in the event of a reduction in working hours due to childcare and or caring for immediate relatives. The completion grant is awarded for a period of 6 or 12 months. Grants are not awarded for periods shorter than 6 months, longer than 12 months, or for 7–11 months.

Those who wish to apply for a completion grant and believe they will be able to submit the dissertation within the stipulated time limit must notify their institute/centre in writing, via the head of institute, no later than 6 months before the planned submission.

Training for teaching in higer education

As far as is practicable, recipients of 12-month grants shall complete a course in Teaching in Higher Education – Foundation Skills [Norwegian: Universitetspedagogisk basiskompetanse], which satisfies the requirements for qualification and documentation in higher education (UNIPED-100 Teaching in Higher Education – Foundation Skills, or equivalent course. Total 200 hours). As far as is possible, recipients of the 6-month grants shall complete the course Teaching in Higher Education for Research Fellows [Norwegian: Universitetspedagogikk for stipendiater] (Total 60 hours).

Planning for the completion grant

The institute/centre heads are obliged to stay informed about the progress of their candidates’ studies with a view to being able to include the recipients of completion grants in their plans. Below are examples of other duties that may form part of the scheme: • teaching internship alongside another lecturer • substitute teaching positions • participation in grading of examinations • preparation of teaching programmes and other academically relevant project work • preparation and implementation of assessment systems and other quality assurance work • participation in the planning and conducting of professional seminars and conferences • participation in the design of relevant research projects and/or applications for external funding • design of postdoctoral projects or other research projects • research work as an extension of the doctoral dissertation, e.g. writing scientific articles • popularising one’s own research or other work involving dissemination

It may be possible to tie the PhD candidates to professionally relevant work at other units.

The detailed content of each individual’s completion grant shall be agreed with the head of institute/centre. Here, consideration must be taken of which competence-enhancing measures the individual unit can offer, as well as which measures are of particular relevance to the candidate. Normally the main body of the work will be linked to tasks that raise the candidate’s pedagogical competence. When the PhD period ends, the head of institute/centre must certify which competence-enhancing tasks the candidate has completed. The faculty assumes that this will be meritorious and academically relevant work, and a written agreement on the content of the work must be entered into at the start of the agreement period.

As a general rule, the recipient of the completion grant must take up the position immediately following the submission of the dissertation.

Before submitting your dissertation

The PhD candidate: If he/she has undertaken a leave of absence or reduction in working hours for other work during the original period of employment, or sick leave, maternity leave, compassionate leave or other welfare-related leave (for 14 consecutive days or longer), the PhD candidate should request the Section for Personnel and Organisation (SPOR) by email (addressed to [email protected]) to calculate a new end date for the position in good time before the date of submission. These periods will either count towards or be deducted from the total period used as a basis for calculating whether the candidate is eligible to receive a completion grant. It is the responsibility of the PhD candidate to check that the information is correct/updated in PagaWeb.

The PhD candidate sets the date for submission and notifies their supervisor and the institute/centre management of the date.

The institute/centre: Before a dissertation is submitted for appraisal – and no later than 2 weeks before the expected submission – the institute/centre shall notify the Section for Research, Education and Dissemination (FUFHSL) of the name of the candidate and their submission date, and send:

• a) the research fellow’s work agreement (on a separate form)
• b) the supervisor’s written recommendation.

The supervisor’s recommendation shall state that he/she has read the completed dissertation manuscript, stating where relevant that the dissertation script has been sent to the final reader, and considers the script to be ready for appraisal.

Implementation of the completion period

FUFHSL: The faculty checks the start and submission date and any leave that is to be counted towards or deducted from the total period, and decides whether the PhD candidate is qualified for a 12-month or 6-month completion grant, or is not qualified to receive a completion grant according to the rules. The faculty fills out and submits an order form in ePhorte for SPOR on behalf of the recipient of the completion grant. The supervisor’s recommendation and the agreement on the PhD candidate’s new work duties must be included as an attachment to the employment agreement.

SPOR: Sets up an employment contract for the period of the completion grant. The agreement on the PhD candidate’s work tasks will be included as an attachment. This contract takes effect from the day after the date of submission of the dissertation. Salaries are continued as normal for PhD candidates according to the state salary scale 1017.

After the implementation period

The institute/centre: When the completion grant period ends, the head of institute/centre must certify which competence-enhancing tasks the candidate has completed.

After the dissertation, the candidate is entitled to an increase in salary if the person in question is still employed at HSL-fak, i.e. doctoral increment, cf. circular V-44 1987 and circular of 16 December 1987 from the Ministry of Culture and Science. The institute/centre notifies SPOR when the defence of the dissertation has been completed.

Regulations relating to the Philosophiae doctor (PhD) degree and Philosophiae doctor (PhD) degree in artistic research and development at the University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) (English)

Supplementary regulations - PhD programme in Humanities and Social Sciences (English)

• Ethical guidelines for supervision at UiT the Arctic University of Norway

Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities

• Guidelines for the evaluation of doctoral degrees at UiT

Principles and guidelines for management of research data at UiT

Chair of the PhD Programme Board:  Vice-Dean Research Trine Kvidal-Røvik

Administrative contact persons

PhD Team Coordinator Senior Adviser  Mayvi B. Johansen 

Senior adviser Hilde-Gunn Londal

Adviser Martin-Arne Andersen

Adviser Lena Bogstrand

The PhD Committee is the Programme Board for the PhD Programme in Humanities and Social Sciences.

The committee normally holds five to six meetings a year. An overview of meeting dates, meeting notices and minutes is published in Møteportalen|UiT

Important matters handled by the committee are admission to the PhD study, approval of PhD courses, the quality of the PhD study, the awarding of transition grants and stays abroad scholarships, and more.

The PhD Committee 2022-2025

Vice Dean Professor Trine Kvidal-Røvik

Ordinary members:

Professor Mariann Solberg, Department of Education (ILP)

Professor Charlotte Damm, Department of Archaeology, History, relogious Studies and Theology (AHR)

Professor Andrei Rogatchevski, Department of Language and Culture (ISK)

Deputy members:

Professor Unn-Doris K. Bæck, Department of Education (ILP)

Professor Rita Sørly, Department of Child Welfare and Social Work (IBS)

Professor Gry Paulgaard, Department of Education (ILP)

Representatives of the doctoral candidates:

Stipendiat Lena Fjellvang Osima, Department of Social Sciences (ISV). Has the right to speak, propose and vote.

Stipendiat Mats Johannessen Hoel, Department of Social Sciences (ISV). Has proposal and voting rights.

Senior adviser Mayvi B. Johansen

The PhD committee's tasks and mandate

The committee must give advice and recommendations concerning the faculty's research training.

In connection with admission, training and quality assurance, the committee must:

• Have overall responsibility for research training
• Process applications for admission to the PhD program from fellows at other units at UiT and applicants without a fellow position at UiT
• Complete the admission of fellows appointed at the faculty (processing of any revised project description, education plan, determination of the admission period and possible addition of a supervisor)
• Appoint supervisor(s) on the proposal of the relevant department
• Approve significant changes to the agreement on admission to the research programme
• Approve the forced termination of research training and termination of a concluded PhD agreement in the event of the candidate's breach of the obligations under the agreement
• Approve the PhD candidate's training component of the doctoral study
• Approve progress reports
• Appoint an assessment committee to assess submitted dissertations, following a recommendation from the relevant department
• Approve the creation of PhD courses at the faculty and have overall coordinating responsibility for the faculty offering PhD courses
• Handle matters regarding new study plans and study plan changes for the individual subject areas

Introduction

This manual provides an overview of the various aspects of being a PhD student at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Teacher Education (initialized as “HSL-fak” in Norwegian). It is aimed especially at those students who have recently been admitted, but is also suitable as a reference guide for all PhD students and supervisors. Here you will find information on the many aspects of being a PhD student. We also stress the importance of both the student and the supervisor familiarizing themselves with the regulations and becoming acquainted with their rights and obligations.

Most issues related to the doctoral programmes are governed by the regulations for the degree of philosophiae doctor (PhD) at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the faculty’s supplementary rules to the regulations that are applicable to the PhD programme in the humanities and social sciences. A PhD student who is employed in a PhD position is also obliged to familiarise him or herself with the staff regulations. 

Being a PhD student

Upon admission to the PhD programme, the student is incorporated into a research community, with the requirements and expectations that apply in such a community. The goal of all research, including the work on the dissertation, is to make an independent contribution to research in your particular field of study. The basis for this is created through an educational component and by communicating and discussing findings and challenges in an academic environment, primarily with one’s appointed supervisors. The student is also subject to a formal obligation to report progress in the form of annual reports to the department/centre, and the faculty.

The department/centre and faculty are obliged to facilitate the conditions for the progress of the doctoral project and for the completion of the required training. However, students also have an independent responsibility to keep pace with what is happening in their academic field and to take an active part in relevant activities. It is especially important that PhD students try to create networks between themselves and orient themselves towards relevant people and environments within and across the discipline/department/centre. This kind of network is a vital resource both for the completion of the doctoral project and for a possible further career as a researcher.

On the one hand, a PhD student is subject to a study programme and the regulations that apply to that programme. In other words, the student is in an educational or training role and will therefore not immediately achieve the status equal to a researcher in an established research community. The student must develop that status over time through efforts in research work and participation in training.

On the other hand, the student is also a colleague in a research group. By being admitted to the PhD programme, the student has been granted academic recognition for representing research expertise in a certain field, although it remains to be “proven” that the project can be completed and that the student is able to unlock the knowledge as expected.

This is an ambiguity that the student must deal with and with which it is important to have a conscious relationship. In some cases, the role as student will come into focus, for example in questions regarding progress in the dissertation work and in the completion of the courses/seminars required in the educational component. In other cases, the role of colleague will become most important, for example when the student presents his/her research project within the academic environment, at conferences, and in the form of publications.

Another ambiguity associated with these two roles is that despite the flexibility inherent in the student role, the student as staff member and employee must adhere to the rules that apply in the workplace, both in terms of attendance at the place of work, vacation periods, illness, etc.

PhD students employed in doctoral positions at the faculty will normally have academic ties to the department/centre at which the position is offered; this same unit also has personal responsibility for the PhD candidate. Most often, the student will have one or both of their supervisors here. However, ties with and participation in research group(s) can take place across units.

PhD students with external employers, or candidates appointed at other UiT units, will be admitted to an academic environment at one of the departments/centres based on the academic nature of the doctoral project and the unit to which the supervisor belongs.

PhD students’ ties to the department/centre and the faculty can vary widely. Some are university fellows with 75 % of their time for their studies and 25 % obligatory duties (4-year appointment). Others are fellows with all their time for their studies and without any obligatory duties (3-year appointment). In these cases, UiT is an employer and the student is appointed at the department/centre. However, certain candidates are employed at institutions other than UiT. For these candidates, it can be difficult to integrate into the department’s/centre’s academic environment. The departments/centers are responsible for integrating all their PhD students into the academic environment/academic activities, even though for periods they may not be able to be physically present in the academic environment on a daily basis due to the conditions of their employment.

The HSL faculty has seven departments and four centers. These are:

• Department of Social Sciences (ISV)
• Department of Philosophy (IFF)
• Department of Archaeology, History, Religious Studies and Theology (AHR)
• Department of Language and Culture (ISK)
• Department of Education (ILP)
• Department of Tourism and Northern Studies (IRN)
• Department of Child Welfare and Social Work (IBS)
• Centre for Peace Studies (CPS)
• Centre for Sami Studies (SESAM)
• Centre for Women’s and Gender Research (SKK)
• The Barents Department (BAI)

In addition, various academic communities at the faculty participate in local, national and Nordic research schools. Information regarding research schools can be found on the faculty’s website.

The faculty’s Research, Education and Communication Section (FUFHSL) and the PhD Programme Board are some of the most important bodies when it comes to questions about your rights and obligations as a PhD student. 

The PhD programme board

The PhD Programme Board is the board for the PhD programme in the humanities and social sciences at HSL faculty. The PhD Programme Board is composed of the following: chair, three ordinary members (and three deputy members), and one student representative (as well as one deputy member for the student representative). The chair is the Vice Dean of Research. The ordinary members are appointed by the dean from among those permanent scholarly staff with a doctorate background and with an interest in the doctoral training programme. To the extent that it is possible, the widest possible representation from the departments/centres has been sought. The members sit for 4 years at a time and follow the same period of incumbency as the faculty board. The PhD students make their own choice of student representative and deputy for the PhD Programme Board. These are chosen for one academic year (1 August–31 July). An overview of the members of the PhD Programme Board can be found here (in Norwegian).

The PhD Programme Board has the following authority and duties (cf. regulations for the faculty adopted June 2014):

• The Board shall provide advice and recommendations concerning the faculty’s research training programme. • In connection with admission, training and quality assurance, the Board shall:

•  Have overall responsibility for the research training programme
• Process applications for admission to PhD programme from fellows at other UiT units and applicants from persons without a position as fellow at UiT
•  Complete the admission of fellows appointed by the faculty (processing of anyrevised project description, educational plan, stipulation of the period of admission, and possible supplementation of supervisors)
• Appoint supervisor(s) on the proposal of the relevant department/centre
• Approve fundamental changes to the agreement on admission to the research training programme
• Approve the mandatory termination of the doctoral education and the cancellation of the PhD agreement in the event of the student’s breach of obligations under the agreement
• Approve the students’ instructional component in the PhD study
• Appoint an assessment committee to evaluate submitted dissertations on the recommendation of the relevant department/centre
• Approve the creation of PhD courses at the faculty and have overall responsibility for coordination for the faculty offering PhD courses
• Handle issues regarding new curricula and changes to the curriculum for the individual subject areas

Start of the PhD Studies

The appointment committee or the PhD Programme Board undertake admission to the PhD study. This is done on the basis of a professional assessment at the individual department/centre.

Project description and individual education plan

Revised project description: Occasionally there is a requirement for the PhD student to submit a revised project description prior to final admission to the PhD programme. In such cases, the revised project description is submitted to the faculty. The faculty will process the matter further and forward it to the applicable unit for academic assessment. The department/centre recommends admission/non-admission, proposes supervisors, and decides what the distribution between the respective supervisors (minimum two) should be.

Educational plan: All PhD students have to fill in a form for an individual education plan that is then sent to the faculty. It ought to show plans for both compulsory education (the instruction component) and for the PhD project and dissertation work.

The instruction component counts for 30 credits, which corresponds to 6 months of study (1 study point counts as approximately 25–30 work hours). The requirements for the compulsory educational component are:

• Scientific theory and research ethics. Total 10 credits. • Dissemination. Total 5 credits. • Subject-specific theory and method/Professional approaches and positions. Total 15 credits.

The courses in the training section are intended to provide a professional foundation for the further work on the PhD project and dissertation and are therefore recommended to be taken early in the study. We recommend that the educational component be completed within the first two or three semesters of study. It may therefore make sense to investigate which possibilities exist for relevant courses and conferences at UiT and at other educational institutions at home and abroad as early as during the application process. The UiT online course catalogue contains more information about which courses are being arranged for upcoming semesters. The faculty collaborates with other universities on a national research seminar portal for social sciences where an overview of the institutions’ PhD courses in social sciences is provided. See here.

The educational plan should register activities and milestones (in the form of keywords), semester by semester, until submission and public defense of the dissertation in your final semester of study. This may, for example be; a literature review, submission of the project to the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD) for approval, data collection/fieldwork, development of the interview guide, sorting or summarizing of data material, in which semester any prospective first, second or third articles will be started and completed, and in which semester mid-way evaluation should be completed (in 3rd or 4th semester for students on 3-year appointment agreements, and in 4th or 5th semester for students on 4-year appointment agreements). Mid-way evaluation is compulsory for all PhD students with admission in the autumn of 2018 and later. If a research visit to a host institution abroad are planned, this should also be included in the plan. If the student is employed in a fellowship position with compulsory duties, the agreed selection of compulsory duties should also be included in the plan. Compulsory duties must be coordinated with the education plan for the PhD study so that planned research activities in the work on the PhD project or PhD courses do not have to be postponed, leading to delayed study progression. The plan and selection of compulsory duties is agreed with the institutional management in consultation with the supervisor. For PhD students with an external employer, the plan must state for which periods the student will have his or her place of work in the academic environment at the HSL faculty. During the admission period, there is a requirement to stay for a total of 12 months at the institution granting the degree.

PhD agreement concerning admission

When the educational plan and project description are approved, the faculty will send you a PhD agreement consisting of two parts (parts A and B). However, PhD students who are not employed at UiT will receive an agreement consisting of 3 parts (parts A, B and C). The agreement should be entered into as follows:

Part A: Everyone who is being admitted to a doctoral programme should complete a general part. This includes the PhD student’s individual education plan. The contractual parties to Part A are the student and the faculty.

Part B: All students who are being admitted to a doctoral programme should complete the agreement on academic supervision in the doctoral programme. The contractual parties to Part B are student and supervisors. All formally appointed supervisors should be included in the agreement. Any changes to the supervision agreement must be written in Part B, item 3.

Part C: Those students who have a place of work at another institution must in addition fill out an agreement between student, employer/external institution and the university on the completion of the doctoral study. The agreement can also be used if a student has a job at a different department/centre or faculty at the university than the HSL faculty where he/she is affiliated with under Part A of the admission agreement.

Each student is responsible for ensuring that the agreement are signed and returned to the faculty within a specified deadline. After the PhD agreement has been returned and signed by the faculty, the admission process is considered complete.

Admission period and study rights

Students are admitted to the PhD programme for a given period, usually 3 or 4 years, and with a set date of completion. If the student does not complete the dissertation by the end of the admission period, he/she may request the retention of his/her study rights for 2 years beyond the original admission period (cf. section 12 of the PhD regulations), for a total of 6 years.

The total admission period of 6 years includes any extension of the admission period as consequence of valid leave (e.g. maternity leave, sick leave or similar). Note that the student may be required to provide funding for the excess period. If the student is granted sick leave, the medical certificate must be delivered to the nearest head (department’s head/office manager) who is responsible for following up those on sick leave. PhD students who are not employed in a PhD position at UiT must arrange this with their own employer. External employers must notify the faculty of any extensions granted to the fellowship position as a result of valid leave so that the faculty can extend the period of admission with a corresponding new date of completion.

The student has the right to extend the scholarship period if he/she can demonstrate 14 days or more of continuous sick leave. The student must apply for an extension based on the sick leave him/herself. Applications are addressed to your own department/centre. A new date of completion will then be calculated and notified to the faculty. In such cases, the right to study on the PhD programme will be set equal to the date of completion in the PhD position.

If the dissertation is not completed before the right to study ends (original admission period of 3 or 4 years + 2 years extension according to section 12), the student may apply for an additional extended right to study if he/she plans to submit the dissertation within a reasonable period of time (6 months) (cf. item 12 in the supplementary rules). Such applications must be sent to the faculty (before the period of study expires) and must contain a reason for the delay, as well as a progress plan for the completion of the dissertation. The application should be prepared in collaboration with the supervisor.

If the faculty does not receive an application for an extension of the right to study, it will expire. However, termination of the right to study is usually no obstacle to submitting the dissertation at a later stage and applying to have it assessed for the PhD degree. However, this possibility assumes that the educational component was completed and approved before the term of study expired. Please note that the elements in the instruction component is considered outdated 7-8 years after the courses was completed. In previous cases where a former student has applied to have their dissertation evaluated for the PhD degree, the faculty have granted permission to applicants that had elements in their instruction component that was close to 10 years since completing the courses. The option for former PhD student that has not been found qualified to have their doctoral dissertation evaluated for the PhD degree, can apply and present themselves for the degree doctor philosophiae (dr.philos.)

Upon termination of the right to study for the PhD degree, the IT user account as a student at UiT will be terminated. He/she can no longer request supervision; access to office facilities and databases at the University Library, for example, is blocked. If access to the bases is still desired, the department/centre can be contacted and alternative user access can be requested.

Instruction component and courses

The aim of the instructional component is to further develop the scientific competence acquired by the PhD student throughout the course of previous studies. It will provide knowledge and skills beyond the work on the dissertation and will underpin the dissertation work. We recommend that the requirements and choice of courses/seminars/conferences be discussed with supervisors and/or the academic environment. Information on requirements for the instruction component can be found in the supplementary rules of the faculty, item 15.

The HSL faculty offers common courses for PhD students that cover the requirements for the compulsory components of the instruction component in scientific theory, research ethics and dissemination. Courses in these subjects are offered annually, either in the autumn or spring semesters, while an optional course in research method is offered every other year. The departments/centers are responsible for offering subject-specific topics in theory and method or in special topics and positions. Some of these go into fixed rolling plans, while others are arranged only as one-off courses.

The documentation requirements in order to gain approval for PhD courses (which are prescribed with credits) in the instruction component are:

• Local, national or international PhD courses (doctoral degree courses) arranged with credits are usually approved with the stated number of credits. • Approved participation/papers/examinations must be documented with a transcript of grades, course certificates or similar.

Documentation requirements in order to have conference attendance assessed as credits are:

• It should be a scientific or academic conference. This means that the theme of the conference is scientific, and that the speakers are researchers. The content of the conference must be relevant to the educational component into which the credits are to be accommodated: subject-specific theory and method/academic approaches and positions. • Model 1: In order to grant 3 credits, the conference must extend over 2 days, and the PhD student must have presented at least 15 minutes. The extent of work must be 90 working hours. • Model 2: In order to grant 5 credits, the conference must have a minimum duration of 2 days, and the PhD student must have had a presentation of at least 20 minutes. The extent of work must be 150 hours. • Documentation regarding attendance and presentations must be attached: the list of attendees and the conference programme, for example. The student’s presentation must be documented in the form of a text manuscript or equivalent. • Participation at conferences of shorter durations, or participating without presenting, will not be approved with credits in the instruction component • It is only possible to have one conference attendance approved during the educational component.

The educational component must be approved before the dissertation can be submitted for assessment. The student completes and sends the form for approval of the educational component to the faculty, in which it is requested to have the entire educational component approved. The PhD Programme Board approves the educational component.

Requirements for approval of the instructional component are:

• At a minimum, the application must contain the approval of parts of the educational component (theory, method, scientific theory/ethics and/or dissemination), preferably the entire educational component. • In cases where there is doubt as to whether the course or conference can be approved, separate applications for approval of the course/conference should be sent. • The student must state which course/conferences he/she wishes to fit into the various sections of the educational component. • There should be no direct content overlap between courses and/or participation at conference.

In practice, the approval occurs like this:

• The faculty is the case manager for the applications. • The chair of the PhD Programme Board (Vice Dean of Research) approves the entire educational component. The Board is informed through the sending of copies. • The faculty draws up a response letter to the student. • Complaints are dealt with by the PhD Programme Board.

Compulsory courses offered annually by the HSL Faculty:

• SVF-8038 Research Ethics, spring (3 credits)
• SVF-8054 Theory of Science, autumn (7 credits)
• Research dissemination (5 credits). One of the two following courses:
• SVH-8001 Research dissemination, autumn (language of instruction is English)
• SVH-8002 Forskningsformidling, spring (language of instruction is Norwegian)

Optional courses:

•  SVF-8040 Qualitative Research, offered every other year, usually spring (5 credits)
• GEN-8001 Take Control of your PhD Journey, usually spring and autumn (2 credits)

The High North Academy (HNA) is a unit of the university that organizes intensive, non subject-specific PhD courses in which participants can often use their own data and results. Many of the courses HNA offers are considered generic or ‘transferable skills’ and will not be eligible for credits in the instructional component. You can find a link to HNA here .

All PhD courses offered at the university can be found in the online course and seminar catalogue .

A national research seminar portal for social sciences has also been developed, in which universities in Norway publish overviews of the PhD courses they offer. You can find a link to the portal here .

Supervision and dissertation

In connection with the admission, the appointing committee or the PhD Programme Board formally appoints supervisors. The department/centre is responsible for ensuring that the appointed supervisors have expertise and available capacity to supervise. In accordance with the faculty’s supplementary regulation to the UiT’s regulations concerning the PhD degree, there must be a minimum of two supervisors. The main supervisor should normally be employed at UiT, have doctoral degree himself/herself and be an active researcher within the field of the student’s PhD project. He/she should also have prior experience in supervision of PhD student and/or formal training in research supervision.

Upon admission, a formal agreement (part B of the PhD agreement) is entered into between you and the supervisors, which is mutually binding. In addition, UiT has Ethical guidelines for supervision. These can be found here .

PhD students can receive a total of 240 hours of supervision, including the time the supervisors need for preparation and follow-up work (for example, to read chapter drafts, etc.). This equates to 40 hours per semester over 3 years, or 30 hours per semester over 4 years.

At the start of the PhD studies, the student and the supervisor will put together a plan for the work on the dissertation and the instructional component. This will be the student’s individual education plan against which progress throughout the studies is measured. The education plan is discussed in more detail in section 3.1.

The academic dialogue with supervisors is central to the work on the dissertation. This collaboration should start as soon as the formal admission is in place. The supervisor’s foremost task is to assist you in the work on the dissertation. This includes far more than reading through finished chapters or articles. Students’ needs will often be individual and varied. The supervisor can be regarded as a professional mentor who also assists the student in establishing a professional network, getting to know an international research environment, discussing work routines, and more.

Initially, the guidance will often be about developing the work plan for the project, as well as discussing the framework for the supervision. During this phase, it is important that the student and the supervisors become acquainted with each other, so that a positive basis for the cooperation will be established in the future. Further in the study, discussions about the dissertation itself will become increasingly central. Most people experience problems to a greater or lesser degree along the way, both professionally and personally. If the student has established a mutual relationship of trust with his or her supervisors early in the course, it will be easier to contact them if problems should arise. The supervisors are there, not least to help in academically challenging situations. If the problems are of a more personal nature a PhD student employed at UiT, can make an appointment with the employees’ health service, HEMIS . In such situation it may be helpful to contact the supervisors to discuss possible revisions to the studies work plan.

If the PhD student and/or supervisor feels that the relationship is not working as desired, that there is a need for other competence in the supervision, or that for other reasons a change of supervisor is desired, this should be a simple decision. A simple application with reasons for changing the supervisor is sent to the department/centre. You can seek advice from the Head of Department/Deputy Chair/PhD Coordinator or the Section for Research, Education and Communication.

Mid-way evaluation

Midway through the study, the PhD student and supervisor(s) will receive an assessment of the progression of the studies from an evaluation panel. The department/centre is responsible for the completion of the mid-way evaluation, which will normally be arranged as an open or closed seminar based on the student’s written material and an oral presentation and an evaluation panel. Here, the student and the supervisor will receive constructive academic feedback that they can take with them in the further work on the dissertation.

The system of mid-way evaluation is common to all faculty units and mandatory for all PhD students who are admitted to the programme in the autumn of 2018 and later.

More information about the mid-way evaluation can be found in the faculty’s supplementary rules to the PhD regulations ( item 22 Quality assurance and reporting ).

A doctoral degree consists of many important processes related to courses, other training, teaching and working in a research college and creating a network of your own. The work on the dissertation is nevertheless the core of the doctoral study and should be the focus from the start. The other aspects of the study, such as the instructional component, should be an aid to the work on the dissertation. Placing the dissertation at the core is important both in terms of formal and equitable considerations. It is through the submission, assessment and defence of a dissertation that a doctorate is granted. For the individual, the dissertation is important because the insight gained through it will set the terms for how one will later work and think as a researcher. The dissertation is also a research project with importance for one’s future career.

The academic requirements for the dissertation

The PhD degree is the highest degree that can be obtained at a Norwegian university and thus there are also strict requirements for passing. Item 19 of the PhD regulations for UiT states:

Progress reporting

All PhD students and their supervisors are required to submit a report on the progress of the PhD education each year. The PhD students will respond to the report via Studentweb (for the previous year) as part of the semester registration in the spring semester (within 1 February). The supervisors are sent questionnaires from the faculty via email to be answered for each student they supervise. The questions about progress are based on the individual education plan (plan for the work on the dissertation and plan for the instructional component) that the student has delivered at admission and which is included in the PhD agreement. Information provided in the report is treated confidentially.

It is considered a violation of the reporting obligation if the student does not submit the annual progress report. The consequence of a failure to report may result in the annulment of the PhD agreement on admission (cf. section 25 of the PhD regulations).

As part of the quality assurance system at UiT, the faculty sends a copy of the progress reports to the departments/centers, where they are entered as a background document for the annual research conversation the management will have with the PhD student. The departments/centers then report back to the faculty about the progress of the PhD studies, any measures the department/centre has initiated or plans to initiate, and any measures the departments/centers wish the faculty to follow up. The department/centre reports are processed by the PhD Programme Board.

From submission to assessment

It is the student who decides when the submission will take place. The supervisors cannot be held responsible for the content or outcome of the assessment committee’s recommendation. The faculty accepts the submission of doctoral dissertations throughout the year. UiT has an electronic submission portal, “Munin – Open research archive”, for all master’s and doctoral dissertations, which is part of the University Library. Munin is the university’s open research archive for academic and research-related material. All PhD students must submit the dissertation via Munin. There is a requirement for open access to the dissertation for all candidates who submit their dissertation after 1 January 2019 (cf. the PhD regulations section 21). There is no deadline for doctoral dissertations. The student delivers the dissertation at his/her own discretion, but the working hours for support staff are 0800–1545 (summertime 0800– 1500). However, you can save the completed submission at any time and finish it later. It will not be registered until it is completed on the submission screen. The dissertation itself must be submitted by uploading a PDF file (one file composed of all the dissertation’ parts.) An electronic form must also be completed. When the student completes the submission, the faculty will be notified automatically by email. The submission is reviewed and, if everything is in place, approved. The dissertation should be delivered as a PDF file prepared for double-sided printing. The front page must follow the standard template. The dissertation should be printed on 17 x 24 cm paper with surrounding cover. It is recommended to use 13-point as the font size (e.g.. Times New Roman) on the original document, as in practice this gives about 12 points of print on the finished book-print (17 x 24 cm is scaled down about 20% from the original A4 edition). We recommend 25 mm of margin on each side. The template for the cover can be found here (webpage in Norwegian, frontpage in English). Questions about printing should be addressed directly to the UiTs Print Office.

Publication of dissertation in Munin

The university’s digital knowledge archive aims to make visible quality-assessed research work via open and free publication on the internet. The dissertation is stored in Munin and will be available in the future to you and others via a permanent URL. This makes it very easy for you to refer to the dissertation in applications and references. The contents of Munin will be searchable and easily retrievable both locally, nationally and internationally. This is ensured by the University Library through collaboration with archives at other institutions. The dissertation is also registered as an electronic document in the library base Oria. Dissertation to be published in Munin must be related to doctoral degrees awarded at UiT. The dissertation must not contain material that is contrary to confidentiality, privacy or copyright. If the dissertation is to be made available in Munin, the student must also obtain permission to use, for example, illustrations or other objects to which others own the rights. As previously mentioned, in the case of article-based dissertations, the consent of any coauthors must also be obtained. The dissertation becomes available in Munin only after it has been approved by the assessment committee. At the same time as the dissertation is delivered via the portal, some questions must be answered about publishing: whether all or only parts of the dissertation should be published, about permission for publication, etc. Check the formal requirements regarding publication in the UiT’s Regulations concerning the PhD degree, Section 21 . There is also a field in the electronic form where an abstract should be placed. The Munin group at the University Library that administers this will contact you if they need more information. If the dissertation consists, in whole or in part, of published material, the Munin group, in collaboration with the student, will investigate what restrictions the publisher may have against making it available in Munin.

The text (up to 200–300 words) written in the “abstract” field is used in dissemination work by UiT and should be written in both Norwegian and English. The text (up to 1000 characters) to be written in the “Popularized summary” field should be in Norwegian or English and is used in a brochure that the UiT produces every year about completed doctoral dissertations at UiT. If you have questions about procedures, guidelines or other issues related to publishing a dissertation in Munin, please contact [email protected].

Corrections that can be made in the submitted dissertation - List of errata

A submitted dissertation cannot be withdrawn until it is finally decided whether the doctorate is worthy of being defended. However, formal errors can be corrected in the dissertation after submission. The candidate will receive an email with information and deadline for the opportunity to submit an errata list. An errata list is a summary list of specific corrections of formal errors (layout, correction of printing errors, pure language errors, etc.) that you wish to make in the dissertation before the defence. In practice, correcting formal errors means making the text meaningful or linguistically correct, not clarifying/changing the meaning of the text. A list of errata should not be long. It is not necessary to list which words have been corrected. Instead, reference can be made to which pages have been corrected. It is only possible to deliver a list of errata once. If approved, the candidate will be given the opportunity to upload an updated version of the dissertation included the correction. This is then considered the final version of the dissertation which will then be printed for the final exam (the defence of the tehsis).

The assessment committee's recommendation

It is not uncommon for a dissertation to be rejected. This does not mean that ‘the race is over’, although it can be a difficult message to receive. The committee’s critical comments are guidelines for the student’s preparation of the dissertation for later submission. If the student’s dissertation is not approved in one of the two variants, it is important for the student to have a detailed conversation with the supervisor(s) in order to plan the work further with a view to submission.

The assessment committee gives suggestions for the date for the defence of the dissertation, the title of the trial lecture, and who will assume the roles of first and second opponents respectively. The department/centre notifies who will be the chair of the defence. The candidate will receive a copy of this notification, together with information on printing of the dissertation and delivery of the trial lecture. This is administered by the faculty. The arrangement of the defence of the dissertation takes place at the department/centre level, where an administrative contact person is appointed to take care of the planning and practical execution of the defence. Essentially, the trial lecture and defence will be held on the same day. The faculty deviates from this only where very special circumstances dictate.

Printing, trial lecture and defence

Upon positive recommendation, the student is instructed by the faculty to contact the UiT’s Print Office in order to print copies of the dissertation for the defence. The faculty will order 37 copies of the dissertation. The expenses are covered by the faculty. Seven copies of the 37 will be sent to the National Library of Norway. The others are presented during the trial lecture and defence. The candidate is not permitted to reserve a number of the copies for his/her own use. Additional copies of the dissertation for personal use can be ordered by the candidate on the Print Office’s webpage for a fee.

Images and illustrations where colour is important for understanding/reproducing the academic content will be printed in colour. It must be stipulated which pages you wish to be printed in colour in dialog with the staff at the Print Office. Headings and similar will not be printed in colour. More information on printing and templates on the front page can be found on the print shop’s website. Questions should be addressed directly to the Print Office.

As soon as the committee has given their positive recommendation, the faculty will complete the submission of the dissertation in Munin. If it is marked for the dissertation to be made available in Munin, the University Library will publish the dissertation on Munin’s frontpage and the public will have access to it prior to the defence.

The committee determines the date of the defence of the dissertation and the title/theme of the trial lecture. The objective is to test the candidate’s ability to acquire knowledge beyond the dissertation topic, and his/her ability to convey this. The topic of the trial lecture should not be directly related to the topic of the dissertation.

The candidate will be given the trial lecture text 10 working days before the trial lecture is held. It is sent by email from the faculty administration.

There should be no contact between the candidate and the members of the assessment committee during the period from the appointment of the committee until the trial lecture and defence. The candidate may need to discuss the recommendation and its interpretation with supervisors. It is therefore up to the candidate to interpret the given text him/herself and choose the approach based on the room for interpretation allowed by the title. In exceptional cases, if the candidate is particularly uncertain about something, he/she may ask the head of the committee if there is anything in particular the committee is seeking to discuss. In the trial lecture, the candidate should not spend time presenting/repeating findings/reasoning from the dissertation – this is done at the start of the defence (cf. section 35 of the PhD regulations and item 35 of the faculty’s supplementary rules).

Defence of the dissertation

Defence Procession: The chair of the defence leads the procession into the room once the audience has arrived. Then follows the doctoral student, the first opponent, second opponent and third opponent/chair of the committee. It is expected that all stand as the procession enters. Please inform your family and friends in advance. When the procession enters the hall, the doctoral student and the committee sit in reserved seats, while the chair of the defence holds an introduction with an account of the submission and assessment of the dissertation and the trial lecture.

The doctoral student gives an account of the aim and the result of the scientific investigation. This presentation should have a duration of approximately 15 minutes (item 35 of the supplementary rules).

The dinner that the doctoral student provides for selected guests is not mandatory, but is a normal end to the celebrations. Over the years, it has become less formal. For those who wish to retain this form, the following information may be provided: The chair of the defence should be invited along with the committee. Normally, the person chairing the defence  initiates the speeches. Then follows the third opponent (head of the committee) who gives his/her traditional speech. If (other) institutional heads (other than the chair of the defence) are represented, they should follow after the third opponent. Next follow the supervisors. Then the floor is open.

Tax deduction for cost relating to doctorate

The Norwegian Tax Administration give you the right to deduct expenses related to printing the dissertation, travel and the doctoral dinner.

Read more on the tax administration’s website

Practical information

Occasionally, there are issues of such a nature that it may put the PhD student’s ability to complete the PhD programme in doubt, possibly leading to significant delays. In such situations, the PhD student is able to seek advice from the head of department/centre, deputy head, office manager, PhD coordinator or others at his/her department/centre, or at the Research, Education and Communication Section at the Faculty. It is important to get in touch before an issue becomes too great. PhD students employed in doctoral positions at UiT can use the institution’s health service, Hemis. They have offices both in Tromsø and Alta.

Salary level / pay grade

Doctoral Research fellows (those who have received regular doctoral scholarships from the university, the research council or others with UiT as employer) are normally paid according to the State’s regulatory code 1017, starting salary LR 54 (currently NOK 479 200 a year in 2019). Contact the Financial and Organization Division or the head of the department/centre for questions about the salary level.

Grants / operating funds

In terms of project grants/ working funds (costs for data collection, shorter fieldwork, courses/seminars, conferences, journals, books, etc.), those who have been appointed as doctoral fellows will normally be granted an annual sum with which operate from the institution awarding the scholarship. Annual operating funds for university scholarships appointed at the HSL faculty with their place of work at the Tromsø campus amount to NOK 25,000 a year. For scholars with a place of work beyond the Tromsø campus, operating funds amount to NOK 30,000 a year. The higher rate is justified by the need for trips to the Tromsø campus for PhD course and supervision.

The departments/centres that appoint fellows with projects that are particularly costly when it comes to field method/work shall allocate funds for this from their own budgets. Contact your office manager at your department/centre for more information.

Contact your office manager at your department/centre for information on your duty work. The faculty has implemented supplementary rules for the work of fellows. You can find the UiT’s regulations for fellows duty work in the HR portal here .

Relocation/staying in Tromsø

Those who have been awarded a scholarship/position at the university will receive a letter with different information, employment agreements, etc. Appointment in a fellowship position implies a duty to be present at the place of work, whether that is in Tromsø, Alta, Harstad or Narvik. For those who are not already resident in the place of work, acceptance of a fellowship position entails relocation. When applying for a job, you should have received information on, among other things, relocation expenses, housing and so on. You will find information about housing for rent on this webpage in the HR portal (requires log on): https://cp.compendia.no/uit/employee-handbook/210086

Transitional scholarship

Transitional grants are announced once or twice a year and are intended for skilled researchers who wish to pursue a scientific career. Those eligible to apply will be those who recently have completed the PhD degree or submitted their dissertation for assessment in the period that has elapsed since the previous invitation to apply. Scholarships are awarded for a duration of up to 3 months. The condition for being awarded a transitional scholarship is a PhD degree by defence and in a position to accept the scholarship before the end of the calendar year in which the award is granted. Invitations to apply for transitional scholarship are announced on UiT’s Tavla and sent via email to the qualified candidates.

Stays abroad

For university scholarships at the faculty, it is possible to apply for funding to cover additional costs for research stays at a foreign host institution for 3–10 months in duration. The scheme is announced once a year, normally with a 1 October application deadline. The scheme is an offering to PhD students in their 2nd or 3rd year of study. The funds cannot be used for data collection/field work. PhD students funded by the Research Council of Norway (NFR) cannot apply to the HSL faculty, but can apply for a similar scheme for foreign scholarships at NFR. The faculty’s support scheme with foreign scholarships is announced on UiT’s Tavla and sent via email.

Relevant contact information

Print Office : [email protected]

Munin – Open Research Archive: [email protected]

Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and education

The employees’ health service, HEMIS

ToDoS – Doctoral Students at UiT The Arctic University of Norway: http://todos.uit.no/

Background documents

Regulations concerning the degree of Philosophiae Doctor at the University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (UiT)

The HSL Faculty’s supplementary regulation to the PhD regulations/the PhD programme in Humanities and Social Sciences

Study phase

• Doctoral Degree Committee
• All links and files
• Regulations for PhD candiates

How to become a PhD candidate

In order to become a PhD candidate at the BFE-faculty you have to either apply to a position that is advertised, or be employed at an external institution that will fund the PhD project. 

The faculty hires  arund 25 PhD candidates every year. The positions are advertised through  Jobbnorge and UiT's webpage .

Desired educational background, qualifications, application deadline and topic of the PhD projects are specified in the advertisment. Working conditions, application requirements including mandatory attachments and procedures are also specified in the advertisment.

Applicants that are employed shall submit an application for admission to PhD studies within two months after commencement of their work contract. See more in subsection 6.1.3.

Candidates employed at external institutions can to apply for admission to PhD studies at the faculty. Requirements for these applicants are among other tings:

• That funding of the project (salary/scholarship and operating costs) is on par with university PhD funding.
• That at least 50 % of the time is used on the PhD project.
• The main supervisor is employed at UiT, and 80 hours of their supervisory time must be covered by the external institution (if more than one supervisor is employed at university, these hours shall be divided among them in the most satisfactory way).

An agreement between the external institution and the BFE-faculty has to be signed and enclosed when applying for admission. The same requirements  apply for external candidates with regard to the project desription and other mandatory application attachments.

Business and public sector doctoral degrees

The faculty will gladly collaborate with the business and public sectors in order to supply a doctoral educaiton to their employees. For this education there are special requirements defined by the Research Council of Norway, as well as the faculty's guidelines.

Self-funding

Due to the high costs, very few self-funded candiates are admitted to organized PhD programmes because strict funding requirements apply. Dr. Philos. could be an option to pursue.

Questions and answers

• When is the application deadline?
• Available PhD positions are advertised throughout the year and application deadlines are given in the advertisement.
• What are the formal requirements in order to be admitted to a PhD programme?
• Requirements are listed below in subsection 6.1.2
• Which documents should I enclose when applying for a position?
• The job advertisement describes which documents to enclose. Missing out on some documents may lead to disqualification.
• What do I do if I have not received the master’s diploma yet?
• Enclose a transcript of grades or some other verification that you have completed your study.
• Who will become my supervisors?
• The project is usually initiated by a professor/researcher and she/he will usually become the main supervisor. Co-supervisors are recruited within the first weeks of employment, generally by a dialogue between the candidate and the main supervisor. 

Section 8 of the PhD regulations and the faculty regulations describe formal requirements in order to be admitted to PhD programmes. To be admitted, the candidate must have sufficient university education, good grades and be able to document adequate proficiency in English. In addition, there is a requirement for sufficient funding.

Length of study

Admission to the PhD programmes requires that the candidate has at least 5 years of university education, comparable to 300 ECTS.

• 3-year bachelor degree (180 ECTS) and 2-year master degree (120 ECTS)
• 5-year integrated master’s degree (300 ECTS)
• Other educations that are evaluated to be of equal extent and length

Experience-based master's degree

Experience based master's degree of 120ECTS may be the basis for admission, but this presupposes that the master's thesis is of sufficiently high quality.

Applicants who have completed a Norwegian experience-based master's degree of 90 credits can qualify for admission at 30 credits extension of the master's degree as follow:

• Written thesis (individual work) with a scope of 30 credits with a final exam.
• A scientific article/manuscript that has either been published, accepted or submitted to a scientifically recognized journal. The work will be assessed by the DC.
• Ordinary subjects at master's degree level.

Evaluation and approval of foreign educations

Candidates with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equivalent to higher Norwegian education. The faculty uses national guidelines according to Nokut’s country database and the GSU-list. Applicants from certain countries will have to document additional higher education in order to be admitted. Depending on which country, one or two additional years of university education may be required, e.g. 4 years bachelor degree and 2 years master’s degree.

Applicants who have completed higher education abroad shall be considered in line with Section 3-5 (3) of the University and University Colleges Act. For an abroad master's degree to be approved:

• The extent of the master's degree must correspond to at least 75 credits.
• It must include independent work of at least 20 credits. If the independent work is less than this, a separate assessment must be made.

Grade requirements applies both to the master thesis as well as courses part of the master’s degree. The minimum requirements are:

• Grade C or better on the master’s thesis
• Grade C or better on courses that are part of the master’s degree, or the last two years in an integrated master's.

A grade lower than C in one course may be compensated by a higher grade than C in another course. If the applicant has two subjects with the grade D or lower, the person concerned is not qualified for admission.

For students with foreign education where the grading system differ from the Norwegian, an approximate assessment will be carried out.   

English language proficiency

Documentation of sufficient English Language proficiency is required in order to be admitted to PhD studies. Requirements are either fulfilled by formal education or by obtaining a high enough score on an international recognized test.

Applicants from Nordic countries, English speaking countries and some other countries are exempted from providing a test. The GSU-list  informs of which countries are exempted from English tests. In addition, if the master’s thesis has been written in English and English has been used as the language of instruction in the master’s programme, English tests are not generally required.

A detailed list of various criteria to qualify for English language proficiency can be found here .

Funding of PhD

Admission to organized PhD programmess at UiT requires sufficient funding. For PhD canddiates employed at UiT all financial aspects are usually taken care of. UiT funded PhDs are either funded by UiT or externally funded by projects (NFR, EU and other funding institutions). A budget must be included in the application for final admission in order to show the use of the funding.

External PhDs, i.e. fellows with a different employer than UiT, are asked to provide documentation that the PhD is adequately funded. The PhD regulations states that the funding should be similar to costs of UiT funded PhDs. Funding shall cover salary costs, operating costs and overhead to the faculty.

UiT and the faculty has some requirements in order to make the application for admission complete.  For UiT employed research fellows, a temporary admission to PhD studies has been granted when being employed, but an application for admission has to be submitted within two months after commencement of the work contract.

The application with the project description and other documents is evaluated and approved by the Doctoral Degree Committee of the faculty. The application must be sent to the PhD-administration (see the Contact tab) before it can be approved by the Doctoral Degree Committee.

A complete application for admission consists of the following documents. Some applicants may be required to amend additional documents.

• Project description . Formal requirements are listed below.
• Certified copies of the masters and bachelors diploma and/or the education that qualify the candidate for admission to PhD studies.
• Certificate of English proficiency , for those that need it (see Requirements for admission)
• Agreements . Standard agreement forms shall be used. Agreement C is only relevant for external PhD candidates, i.e. employed at another institution. Before submission the agreements shall be signed by:
• Agreement A: Leader of the Doctoral Degree Committtee (DC), head of the department and the doctoral candidate. The PhD administration will provide the signature from the leader of the Doctoral Degree Committee.
• Agreement B: Head of the department, supervisors and the doctoral candidate.
• Agreement C: The dean of faculty, faculty director and a representative from the external institution that can enter such agreements, e.g. research director, director. The dean's signature will be obtained by the PhD adm when the application has been accepted.

If you would like a review of what should be included in the project description before you deliver your application, you can contact the PhD administration (see the Contact tab). Please arrange a meeting in advance.

The project description shall be written in collaboration and in agreement with the supervisors. According to BFE supplementary regulations, the presentation of the research project shall be 5-7 pages. Use the BFE template for the project description. Both PhD candidate and all supervisors must sign the project description.

Find the BFE template here:  project description template  

For PhD candidates employed at the university, the application for admission shall be submitted and be approved within two months after commencement of the employment contract. A delayed application for admission may deny candidates admission to some PhD courses.

PhD candidates employed at external institutions are advised to apply for admission as soon as the project has started. If there is less than one year until the project is to be finished, regulations state that admission to the organized PhD-programs shall be denied.

The application with all required attachments shall be sent to the PhD administration (see Contact)

The application is processed by the faculty administration and forwarded to the Doctoral Degree Committee.

• The application is submitted to the PhD administration at the BFE faculty (see Contact)
• The department looks through the application and advice the applicant on various aspects pertaining to the application, i.e. missing information, formal errors.
• The Doctoral Degree Committee at the BFE-faculty is the admissions committee and formally approves admission if the application is found satisfactory.
• The applicant is informed of the decision of the committee and receives an official letter of admission. Comments and required amendments and/or changes to the project description is conveyed.

Free doctoral degree: Dr. philos.

The degree Dr. philos. (doctor philosophiae) is an alternative for you who want  to take a doctoral degree on your own without following the organized plan of a doctoral education. The thesis is written without any formal supervision and without following a formal instructional programme.

If the thesis fits within one of the academic areas at the BFE faculty, you apply to us in order to be promoted. With the application you must include five copies of the final thesis, a copy of the diplomas showing the completed exams and academic grades; as well as a written declaration that the thesis, or parts of it, are not, or have been, submitted for assessment at another institution. You must also attach a  co-author statement , copy of acknowledgements and copy of the front page of each article that is part of the thesis.

Once the application has been approved you will be registed as a doctoral candidate, and an evalution committee will be appointed.

Once you are registered as a doctoral candidate, you get a user account at UiT and you ought to submit your thesis through the university's submission portal Munin .

The Dr. philos. degree is awarded on the base of:

• an approved academic thesis
• an approved trial lecture over an assigned topic
• a satisfactory public defence of the thesis (disputation)

 More detailed information on what rules apply to the awarding of Dr. philos at UiT can be found  here  (translation of the legal binding  dr. philos.-forskriften , in Norwegian).

The first meeting

The department where you are enrolled will before the first day of commencement invite you to two separate meetings:

• An info meeting for new employees with the department administration.
• A meeting with the supervisors with a main focus to discuss the project and clarify expectations.

Below, you'll find further information about the content in these meetings:

• Reception of PhD candidates at the department
• Form for claryfying expectations between candidate and supervisors

Duty work comprises 25% of a PhD position for those students who are internally employed and funded by the university for 4 years.

The content of the duty work shall be agreed upon by the supervisor(s) and the institute leader. It usually consists of teaching and supervising students, but may also consist of other work.

BFE fak has a Team for PhD candidates, and within it a channel for teaching duties. You register your duty work in the  folder  there. In the first tab in the excel sheet you can find the rules for what the duty work can consist of and the work load for each type of work. If you have queations to what you can get approved as duty work, it will be the department where you are emplyoed who decides this.

PhD candiates with duty work are suggested to take the course  Teaching and learning in higher education  arranged by RESULT.

Instructional component

The PhD programme consists of two parts where the thesis comprises 150 study points and the instructional component comprises 30 study points, in total 180 study points.  What can be allowed in the instructional component is regulated through UiT's PhD regulations and BFE-fak's supplementary provisions to these. Below you find the rules you need to act in accordance with to get your instructional component approved.

Course Level and other requirements

Courses in the instructional component must be on PhD level (8000-level) and the instructional component must contain training in philosophy of science and ethics and communication. At BFE we recommend that you take SVF-8600 Philosophy of science and ethics , as soon as possible during your PhD period since you will have use for what you learn later in your doctoral degree.

If you for some reason are prevented to take SVF-8600, other alternatives are HEL-8040 Theory of science, research ethics and research design at the Health Faculty or SVF-8054 Theory of Science  + SVF-8038 Research Ethics at HSL-fak. Please note that you need to take both SVF-8054 and SVF-8038 to fulfil the mandatory training in theory of science and research ethics. 

Lectures at a conference, posters, participation in a seminar with a separate academic paper, a contribution to popular science or a PhD course in communication will cover the requirement for instruction in communication.

The instructional component comprises 30 credits, and at least 20 must be taken after admission. Courses and other activities in the instructional component should not be older than two years at the moment of admission.

Courses that are to be included in the instructional component must normally be either ordinary courses at the institution or special curriculum courses. The courses must have an evaluation using pass/fail or a graded scale (A-F). Courses in the latter category must be completed with the grade C or better for them to be approved as part of the instructional component.

The content of the training component must be such that, together with the thesis, it provides the necessary professional breadth and depth.

Special curriculum

The special curriculum in the instruction section can amount to a maximum of 15 credits, but it is not recommended to have more than 10. The special curriculum can consist of the following:

• Literature-based syllabus ≤ 3 credits is assessed with an oral exam.
• Literature-based syllabus 4 - 6 credits assessed with essay (4000 words) and oral exam.
• Literature-based syllabus 7 -15 credits are assessed with an essay (4000 words), a lecture preferably according to the title of the special syllabus (30 min) and an oral exam.
• Lectures at scientific conferences are approved with 3 credits. The lecture must be documented with a copy of the lecture and programme from the conference.
• Preparation and presentation of poster at scientific conferences is approved with 2 points. Posters are documented with a copy of the poster and programme from the conference.
• Popular science contribution, e.g., researcher blog, debate post, lecture at researcher grand prix/Saturday university and the like, can give up to 3 credits.
• Other relevant academic activity if this is recommended by the supervisor.

Lectures and posters can give a maximum of 5 credits, and you can only get one lecture and one poster approved.

Please note that the special curriculum is only available for PhD candidates enrolled to PhD programmes at BFE-fak.

Research courses

National and international research courses evaluated by the relevant professional environment with regard to level and scope can be approved in the instruction section. Applications for approval of research courses are addressed to the PhD administration. Approval requires:

• Supervisor's confirmation that the course is relevant.
• Documentation of teaching plans. Here, it must be stated which level the course is at. If the scope of the course is not specified in ECTS, it must be attached:
• an overview of how many hours have been spent completing the course. One credit corresponds to 25-30 working hours
• documentation of the completion and passing of a knowledge test such as e.g. exam, essay, poster, lecture or similar.

Changes in the instructional component

Changes to the training component must be recommended by the supervisors and approved by the PhD administration. In cases of doubt, the matter is processed by DC.

Final approval of the instructional component

Before you submit your thesis for evaluation, you need a final approval of your instructional component. Although you got an instructional component plan approved at the time you were admitted to the programme, and you have accomplished all the courses according to this plan, you still need to apply for a final approval as soon as you have passed all courses. You do this simply by addressing an application to the PhD administration where you list which courses you want approved well in time of submission. Quite often there has been changes in the instructional component during the PhD period and if so, you may apply for a change and the final approval at the same time.

As a PhD candidate you will receive individual and regularly supervision during your work with the PhD thesis. When you are admitted to a PhD programme, a main supervisor and one or more co-supervisors will be appointed. If you want to adjust your supervisor team after admission, you need to direct an application about that to the PhD administration. Below you will find information about which rules apply to the composition of the supervisor team and a definition of the supervisor responsibility.

Numbers of supervisors and distribution of supervision

For the PhD programmes at the BFE Faculty, the appointment of three supervisors for each PhD student is recommended. A minimum requirement is two supervisors. One supervisor is appointed as main supervisor and the others as co-supervisors. Even if the day-to-day supervision of the candidate is taken care of by an external co-supervisor, it is the main supervisor at BFE fak who has the overall scholarly responsibility.

The main supervisor should furthermore have the administrative responsibility for the research education for the PhD candidate in question. Co-supervisors are professionals who offer supervision and share the scholarly responsibility for the PhD candidate. Supervisors arrange between themselves how to distribute the academic supervision.

Amount of supervision

All supervisors are obliged to keep in touch with the candidate and must keep informed of the candidate's progress. Deviations from the progress plan must be reported to the head of department. The main supervisor must have contact with the PhD candidate at least once a month.

The PhD candidate can expect approx. 40 contact hours (direct supervision, possibly together with other candidates) with the supervisors per year.

Supervisor responsibilities

• Give advice on formulating and delimiting the theme and issue.
• Keep informed about the progress of the candidate's work and assess it in relation to the timetable.
• Approve the funding plan and ensure that it is followed.
• Ensure that the progress plan is concrete and realistic.
• Discuss and evaluate hypotheses and methods.
• Provide help with orientation in specialist literature and data bases.
• Discuss and give advice on how the thesis should be presented.
• Give the PhD candidate a professional group affiliation and help introduce the candidate into relevant professional environments.
• Discuss results and their interpretation.
• Give the candidate an introduction to the research ethics principles. The guidelines are handed out to both supervisor and candidate when an agreement has been concluded. The guidelines can also be downloaded from UiT's website.
• Guide the candidate in the preparation of the thesis so that it is at a level equivalent to that found in international scientific publications.
• Ensure that the midway evaluation is carried out.

Changing supervisor

There is an opportunity to change supervisors if the collaboration between PhD candidate and supervisor does not work or there is a need to change / appoint an extra supervisor of other reasons. A new composition has to be approved by the PhD administration.

If a disagreement arises between supervisor and candidate, and it cannot be resolved between the parties, the head of department must guide the parties. If the matter cannot be resolved, the matter must be referred to the conflict board at the BFE faculty.

PhD courses at BFE-fak

BFE-fak offers several doctoral courses (8000 courses) that are open for PhD candidates from UiT and other universities. Which courses that could be relevant in your instruction component, have to be discussed with your supervisor. Maybe there are more relevant courses at other departments or at other universities? Below you will find information on how to register for classes and exams, registering deadlines and how you get a transcript of records.

How to apply for a seat on a PhD course at BFE-fak

PhD candidates enrolled at UiT the Arctic University of Norway register for classes in  StudentWeb . Please note that you are not guaranteed a seat if the admission is restricted. On these courses you will get a message whether you've got a seat or not after the deadline for registering has expired.

Other applicants, as PhD candidates enrolled at other universities, employees at UiT or others, have to apply as a singular course student in  Søknadsweb . If a study right has been granted by UiT, you register to classes and exam within the same deadlines as programme students. Deadline for applying in Søknadsweb is 1 June for autumn courses and 1 December for spring courses.

Singular course students  

Singular course students have to upload documentation of their status as PhD candidates, or in case you are not a PhD candidate - your educational background. Confirmation of PhD candiate status should be from your home university administration.  Confirmation from your supervisor or copy of award letter is not considered as valid documentation.

Those who can document that they are registered as PhD candidates are exempted from paying the semester fee.

Deadlines for registering to classes

Deadlines for registering to classes varies between courses, but you'll find further information about the prevailing deadline in the course description in  UiTs course catalogue .

Deadlines for registering to exam

Deadlines for registering to exam is normally 1 February in the spring semester and 1 September in the autumn semester if other information is not given.

Who can get admission to the 8000 courses?

The following applicants get admission to 8000 courses, in order of priority:

• Candidates admitted to a PhD programme at UiT
• Participants in the Associate Professor Program that fulfil the educational requirements
• PhD candidates from other universities. A confirmation letter from the home university administration must be enclosed.
• People who have a minimum master's degree or equivalent, who have not been admitted to a PhD programme. Confirmation of completed Master degree (diploma) must be enclosed.

If there are more applicants than available places, applicants will be given priority from the category 1 to 4. Please note that some courses may have additional admission requirements and / or priority keys. This would then be outlined in the course description.

Transcript of records

Transcripts can be ordered via  StudentWeb . The transcript will be sent by mail to your registered term address, so make sure to check/update your semester address before ordering the transcript. You may also get your transcript by contacting the  UiT infosenter .

Leave of absence and right of study

As a PhD candidate you are both a student and an employee. As a student you will be allocated a study right that provides you the right to take PhD courses, receive supervision, to have office accommodation and more. This is important to have in mind if you for some reasons get delayed and do not manage to finish before the conditions of employment is terminated. To keep track with your study right, it is important that you inform the PhD adm about your leaves of absence and eventually need for study right prolongation.

Right to study

The PhD programme has a nominal duration of three years of full-time studies (180 credits). The PhD candidate is granted a study right in accordence with the lenght of employment. If the position contains duty work or at statutory leaves, the study right is extended accordingly.

Upon expiration of the term of the agreement, the parties’ rights and obligations under the PhD agreement shall cease. This means that the candidate’s admission to the programme will lapse, including the right to academic supervision and access to UiT’s infrastructure.

Candidates will retain admission to the programme for up to one year beyond the stipulated term.

Provided that the head of department has been informed about deviations in the time schedule and the PhD candidate is unable to complete the education within the extra year, the candidate may apply for a further extensiont. The application must contain an explanation for the delay and a schedule for completing the degree. Both candidate and supervisors must sign the application.

A PhD candidate who gives birth to a child, is entitled to maternity leave during the pregnancy and to care for their child (parental leave), cf. section 4-5 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges. Leave of absence is also granted for PhD candidates who serve compulsory military service.

PhD candidates are automatically granted equivalent leaves from their studies when they are grantes leaves from their position.

The candidate must inform the PhD adm about any granted leaves, so that the study right can be extended accordingly.

Also, the candidate must inform the PhD adm about termination of the employment if this happens before the employment contract expires.

Reporting and follow-up

If things do not proceed quite as planned with your PhD work, it is important to do something about it as soon as possible so you do not loose valuable time.  To intercept problems that might have arisen, you therefore need to submit annual progress reports.

The progress report is submitted every autumn to the department you are affiliated to. A form will be sent from the PhD administrtion, but you reply to the contact person given in the emission. If your report reveal substantial deviations, attempts to solve the problems shall be initiated.

You do not need to submit a progress report the same year you carry out the midway evaluation.

Both the PhD candidate and the supervisor are obliged to report any substantial deviation from the progress plan to the department. The responsibility to follow up any problems that appears in the report is at the department, but you may also contact the PhD adm.

Appraisal interview

If you are employed at UiT, you will be given the opportunity to talk to the head of department, or another person that the head of department has appointed, once a year. Whether you want this, is up to you to decide.

Midway Evaluation at BFE-fak

When the PhD candidate has reached about halfway in the course of their PhD studies and at he lates within two years of commencement, the work and progression shall be evaluated by scientists/researchers outside the supervisor team. The midway evaluation is an opportunity to get constructive feedback on the work that has been carried out so far and get advice for the work ahead. The primary goal is to inspire the candidate to a refreshed initiative to carry on with the doctoral degree.

Evaluation Committee

It is recommended that the evaluation committee consists of three members, but the minimum requirement is two members. The members can be scientists/researchers recruited from the research group or the department or even from external institutions, but not from the supervisor team.

When and how the midway evaluation is carried out

• The midway evaluation takes place about halfway in the course of their PhD studies at he lates within two years of commencement.
• It is the main supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that the evaluation is carried out.
• The PhD candidates gives an oral presentation of his / hers work so far and it can be held at seminars, workshops, meetings and similar.
• Before the presentation, the PhD student submits a short written report to the committee summarizing the project status. Potential manuscripts and the last version of the project description should be enclosed.
• After the oral presentation, a separate dialoge between the the evaluation committee and candidate takes place. Academic supervisor(s) can participate as observer(s).

Presentation content

In the presentation, the PhD candidate informs about the current status of the project and other circumstances that might be of significance for completing the doctoral degree. This might be:

• An overview of planned, accepted and published publications.
• Project status and further plans regarding data collection, methods, analyses, publications etc.
• Time schedule related to time of commencement and employment period.
• Project development compared to original project description.
• Reasons for scientific deviations to original project.
• Reasons for deviations to original time schedule. In that case an updated time schedule for data collection, data analyses, writing articles, publishing, writing thesis together, thesis submission must be presented.
• Instructional component and current plan for completing it.
• Potential research stays at external institutions.
• Description of career plan and individual and scientific learning outcomes in relation to it.

Content of the evaluation report

After the dialogue between candidate and evaluators has taken place, the evaluators gives a written report on the following form: Midway evaluation form

The report shall:

• Give an evaluation of the work carried out so far, and it shall conclude whether research methods, thematic, ethical aspects, economy, supervision and progress is satisfactory or not.
• Give specific advice for the work ahead and information on what is required to complete the project.

The main supervisor sends the evaluation report to the candidate, head of department, all supervisors, head of office and PhD adm. If all conditions are found to be satisfactory, the department informs the candidate and the supervisor about this. If the evaluation committee does not find the conditions satisfactory, the department will undertake necessary actions.

To cover potential travelling costs or honorarium, the PhD candidate's or the supervisor's annuum needs be charged.

The Faculty of Bioscience, Fisheries and Economics advertises scholarships for research stays abroad twice a year. The grant is aimed exclusively at PhD candidates funded by UiT or funding agencies that do not give support to stays abroad. During the last years the framework has been of 600 000 NOK per year. 

The scholarship is estimated for research stays abroad of 2 to 6 months duration. The grant will cover extra personal costs, as travel expenses, as well as establishment costs related to the stay.The Norwegian Counceling Center's rates  are applied for the calculation of the scholarship amount. The are also a series of  Supplementary provisions for the award of scholarships for research stay by BFE-faculty . Contact the PhD advisor (see the Contact tab) for questions related to scholarships for research stays abroad.

Next application deadline: Because the faculty is in a poor economic situation at the moment, unfortunately no grant will  be distributed in 2023 .

Who can apply?

This support is awarded for one research stay abroad during the doctoral program. No support is given for home trips during the research stay. It is recommended to do the research stay during the second or third year. The scholarship is aimed at the following groups of doctoral candidates, in order of priority:

• Doctoral candidates funded by UiT
• Doctoral candidates funded by organizations that do not give support for stays abroad.

Applicants must be affiliated to UiT and enrolled to a PhD programme at BFE-faculty. This support scheme does not apply to doctoral candidates paid by the Norwegian Research Council or by another funding organization with possibilities of support for stays aboroad.

The following documentation is required for the application

Use the following form  for your application. Include the following in the applicaton:

• Purpose of the stay and relevance for your doctoral project
• Plan for the stay
• Budget and funding plan

In addition to the application form, the following document must be included:

• Invitation for the foreign host institution
• Recommendation from your main supervisor

Send the application form with attachments to the PhD adm (see the Contact tab).

Application processing

Applications will be processed by the Doctoral Degree Committee, and an answer to the application will usually be given 2-4 weeks after the application deadline. The Doctoral Degree Committee has the right to decline and/or reduce the scholarship amount if the desired funding exceeds the available funds.

Useful information about stays abroad

UiT has a  website with useful and relevant information  (mostly in Norwegian) that employees must refer to when staying abroad.  Here you also find the form that shall be used in relation to cash advances and settlements.

Up to 90% of the awarded amount can bi given as cash advance. Please use the  cash advance form .

Report and economic settlement

The settlement form  must be used to calculate the cost of the stay abroad. Do not use the travel subsitence claim form. 

When the stay has come to and end, the scholarship recipients are obliged to send a short scientific report to the PhD adm(see the Contact tab). Describe the scientific result of the stay and whether there are plans about prolonging the collaboration with the host institution. Include the duration of the stay and name of the host institution. Please use this  Report form .

Requirements on the doctoral thesis

The PhD thesis shall be an independent piece of academic research that meets international standards of ethics, scholarship and methods in its field. At the BFE faculty more specific requirements are formulated as well, and these are outlined in the supplementary provisions which you find cited below.

PhD theses at the BFE Faculty must normally be written in English or Norwegian. If the PhD candidate wishes to write in another language, an application for this must be addressed to the DC.

Scientific quality

The thesis must be of good scientific quality with clear and concise issues. Materials and methods must be adequate and appropriate. It is required that the results provide good and verifiable documentation. The use of figures, tables and illustrations must be appropriate, and the conclusions must be durable. The source material must be appropriate with regard to critical selection and assessment. Literature references must be correct. Text must be presented clearly, concisely and be linguistically satisfactory.

Scope of work

The scope of the thesis must be such that the degree can be obtained through research effort equivalent to 2.5 full-time equivalents. Regardless of form, the thesis must be at a level that can be accepted in peer-reviewed international journals. The thesis can consist of a monograph or a compilation of several smaller scientific works (articles). Normally, the collection of articles for the PhD degree will consist of three articles, plus a cover article/summary (kappa in Norwegian).

For dissertations in the form of collections of articles, at least one article should be published, or accepted for publication. The articles can have several authors. The doctoral candidate must normally be the first author of at least two articles and must be the sole author of the cover article (kappa).

In some cases, the scope, quality and the candidate's contribution to individual works may lead to fewer articles in the thesis. If fewer than three articles are included, the main supervisor in the academic supervision committee must justify why fewer articles are included with regard to the work's quality, scope and the candidate's contribution. The explanation must be attached to the submission.

Introduction / summary part (kappa)

In addition to the individual articles, the thesis should contain a presentation of the results and a detailed discussion. This collective presentation must be an independent scientific and up-to-date document in which the candidate has the opportunity to expand on and, if necessary, correct and/or adjust aspects written in the articles. It should demonstrate scientific perspective and maturity as well as an ability to comprehend advanced scientific issues.

The BFE faculty has made guidelines for how to write the thesis summary. You can download the guidelines  here.

The thesis must also contain an abstract of approx. 200-300 words in both Norwegian and English.

Assignment template

The front cover of the doctoral thesis must be designed in accordance with a template prepared by UiT the Arctic University of Norway. On this web page, an assignment template for the whole assignment is found as well.

Before submission

As well as the procedure (which is described in the following points), it is useful to know the different responsibility areas connected to submission, evaluation and defense of the PhD-thesis. You find a thorough explanation in  "Guidelines and advice for successful administration of PhD defense" .

Before you submit your PhD thesis in Munin:

• Your final course plan has to be approved by the PhD adm.

At the time of submission:

• A proposal for an Evaluation Committee shall excist. The department suggests a committee, and the proposal needs to be signed by the head of the department, before it is sent to the PhD adm.

When the thesis is submitted in Munin, and a signed proposal excists, the committee will be appointed by the Doctoral Degree Committee (DU).

Submission of PhD thesis at the BFE Faculty

When submitting your PhD thesis, there are a few things you need to pay attention to. Below you will find information on how to proceed when submitting and later printing your thesis. You will also find information about the possibility to correct formal errors you discover after submission.

Please note that you need a final approval of your instructional component before you are allowed to submit your thesis. If you have not done so yet, please write a short application containing a list of the courses you want to get approved and send it to the PhD adm (see the Contact tab). If there has been a change in your instructional component since last time you had it approved you also need a recommendation about the new instructional component from your supervisor.

Doctoral theses have to be submitted through UiT's dissemination portal, Munin . Please, follow the procedure described here:  Procedure for submission of doctoral theses in Munin

NB! Submission through Munin is demanded, which means the thesis will not be sent to the committee before it is submitted in Munin.

When the thesis is submitted in Munin, you still need to send the following documents by email to the PhD adm (see the Contact tab):

• Recommendation from your supervisor that your thesis is ready to be evaluated
• A copy of the “Acknowledgements”
• A copy of the front page of each article in the doctoral thesis
• Co-author statements
• Latest version of the project description updated in connection with the mid-term evaluation

Withdrawal and correction of errors

A submitted thesis cannot be withdrawed before it is finally decided whether it is found worthy to be defended. However, you may apply to get formal errors corrected after submission. In that case a complete list of all errors (errata) you want to correct must be enclosed. The application must be delivered four weeks before the committee's evaluation deadline and you are only allowed to apply once.

As soon as the thesis is found worthy of public defense, you can initiate the printing:

• Please use the university's template for front page
• You must arrange the printing of the thesis yourself. You order printing from The University Print Centre .
• You will need an ISBN number and some other additional information and you will get this sent to you from the PhD adm as soon as your thesis is approved and ready for printing.
• Normally the department will pay for 10-30 copies.
• Of the printed thesis, 5 copies must be delivered to the BFE Faculty for distribution to the libraries.

Evaluation of the thesis

When you submit your thesis ,an evaluation committee proposal from the department shall exist. It is your supervisor's responsibility to find a committee for you. The committee consists of three members; 1 opponent, 2 opponent and an internal member . The internal member is usually the leader of the committee. You will get the opportunity to comment on the composition before it is appointed.

The committee is given a deadline within three months to write an evaluation report. The report will conclude about:

• the thesis is found worthy of defense as it is
• the thesis has minor defects which must be corrected before the thesis is found worthy of defense. The extent of these defects should not be more significant than they can be revised within three months. The revised version of the thesis will be evaluated by the original committee, and a new deadline will be set for the final evaluation report.
• the thesis has so significant defects that it cannot be recommended to defend it. In that case, the thesis can be re-submitted for a new evaluation, but only once and not before six months after the decision is made.

The report will be sent to you, and you will get the opportunity to make comments on it before the faculty makes a decision whether the recommendation is approved or not. You will be informed as soon as the decision is made.

When your thesis is approved and made public (in Munin), you are ready for the doctoral trial. The trial consists of two parts: the trial lecture and the disputation. The trial lecture is a separate part of the doctoral trial and shall test your ability to acquire new knowledge beyond the topic of the thesis as well as the ability to disseminate this knowledge in a 45 min lecture. It is usually held on the same day, or the day prior to the defense.

The evaluation committee will appoint the topic of the trial lecture and the topic is forwarded to you 10 working ahead of the date for the trial lecture.

Requirements and expectations

The topic shall be different than the topic of the thesis and the lecture ought to be at a level where it can be followed and understood by bachelor students within the field of study.

Evaluation and approval   

Both the scientific content and the ability to disseminate this information form the basis for evaluation of the lecture. It is evaluated by the Doctoral evaluation committee which make a recommendation to the faculty. The faculty decides whether the trial lecture can be approved or not. If the lecture is not approved, a new trial lecture with a different topic must be held as soon as possible and at the latest within six months.  

Disputation: Public defense of the thesis

Public defense implies that everyone has the opportunity to follow the defense and ask questions concerning the work with the thesis.

Annoncement

Time and place for the defense is announced  apporox. 10 working days before it takes place. If nothing else is agreed upon on beforehand, the disputation is  held i the same language as the thesis.

The defense

The defense is chaired by the committee leader or someone else appointed by the dean. First you are given 45 minutes to present your work. This is followed by the defense where the first opponents starts and the second opponent ends the discussion.  People present have the opportunity to comment ex auditorio only if they have contacted the chair during the defense recess.

The printed theses will be distributed amongst people present in the auditorium. If you want to save some copies for yourself, please give notice to the faculty administration.

Evaluation and approval

The evaluation committee will forward their evaluation to the faculty. If the faculty does not approve the defense, the disputation can be held once more. A new defense should be held as soon as possible and within six months at the latest.

After the defence

After the defense is finished, a small celebration is organized for the new doctor at the entree. In general this is organized by the closest colleagues, but it is the main supervisor who has to ensure that this actually takes place. Soda and snacks are covered by the department. Please contact the head of administration at your department or the PhD adm for more information about this.

In addition, there is  a tradition to arrange a dinner together with the supervisors, opponents, family and collegueas. This is organized by the candidate's group, and it is not covered by the faculty. Anyway, it may be useful to know that you can get tax deduction for the costs associated to the dinner .

Area of authority

The Doctoral Degree Committee (DU) at the BFE faculty acts as the programme council for the PhD programmes at the faculty. DU is responsible for the academic managment and the programme as a whole and process cases regulated by the PhD regulations, Dr. philos.-regulations and the BFE faculty's supplementary provisons to the PhD regulation.

Composition

The Doctoral Degree Committee is comprised by a leader (appointed by the faculty's dean) and six members with personal deputies: three from the scientific staff in a permanent position, as well as three representatives from the PhD candidates.

Current composition:

• Vice-dean of research (leader):  Roy Ambli Dalmo
• Representatives of the permanent scientific staff, one per department:
• Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB):  Stefano Peruzzi  - Deputy:  Jacques Godfroid
• School of Business and Economics:  Andrea Mannberg  - Deputy:  Nils Magne Larsen
• The Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NFH):  Eva-Stina Edholm  - Deputy:  Melania Borit
• Representantives of the PhD candidates, one per department:
• Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB):  Andreas Jørgensen  - Deputy: Abby Chapman
• School of Business and Economics: Sigurd Birk Hansen  - Deputy: Sara Lisa Arnesen
• The Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NFH): Marie Kristin Mikkelborg  - Deputy: Ingeborg Giæver

Appointment

The Faculty Board appoints members and deputies for the Doctoral Degree Committee following the department's suggestions. If the departments cannot suggest any PhD representatives, these can be suggested in a general meeting with the PhD students. The term of office for scientific staff members is three years. Representatives of the PhD candidates are selected for one year at a time.

Case processing

The PhD adm has secretarial responsibilities for the Doctoral Degree Committee. The Doctoral Degree Committee is quorate when at least two scientific and two PhD representatives are present.

Decision-making authority

The Doctoral Degree Committee (DU) has responsibility and decision-making authority in the following cases:

• Admission to the PhD programmes
• Approval of individual training component
• Appointment and changes of academic supervisors
• Appointment of evaluation committee for assessment of doctoral theses
• Distribution of mobility grants for PhD candidates
• Approval of the PhD evaluation report when the decision is not unanimous or when the thesis is recommended revised or rejected. DU has delegated this authority to the leader of DU.
• Change in and final approval of instructional component. DU delegates case management to the administration in uncomplicated cases. In cases with uncertainties, the cases are managed witin DU.
• Cange in supervisory committee. DU delegates case management to the administration in uncomplicated cases. In cases with uncertainties, the cases are managed witin DU.

Advertised positions:  Jobbnorge   and UiT's website .

For applicants with a foreign educational background:  Nokut's GSU list  og  country database

Engelskkunskap:  English proficiency

Admission - Agreement form:  Bokmål , Nynorsk (under utabeiding),  English

Admission - Project description: Template for project description

Find courses at UiT:  Course catalogue

RESULT:  University pedagogy for PhD candidates

At the first meeting: Reception of PhD candidates  –  Form for claryfying expectations

Register duty work:  Teams folder

Mid-term evaluation: Form for Evaluation committee to fill in

Mobility grant:  Application form  –  Rates  –  Supplementary provisions for the award of scholarships for research stay by BFE-faculty  –  Relevant information for stays abroad (only in norwegian)  –   Cash advance form  –  Settlement form  –  Report form

Use the following link:  Thesis template

Responsibility areas connected to submission, evaluation and defense of doctoral thesis:  Guidelines for successful administration of PhD Defense

Proposal for evaluation committee:  Proposal

Submission portal:  Munin

Procedure for submission in Munin:  Procedure

For co-authors:  Co-authors' statements

For printing:  University's template

General questions, progress report, mid-term evaluation, disputation:

Ingjerd G. Nilsen

- Email:  [email protected]

- Phone number: 77 64 60 18

Application for admission, disputation:

Lisbeth Stina Nordøy

- Email: [email protected] 

- Phone number: 77 64 4586

Information for newly arrived students/employees:

From admission to arrival  

Checklist for new students

Please, note that most of this information is directed to bachelor and master students, but some of may also be useful for PhD's.

Research fellows employed at UIT will also find usuful information on the webpage for international staff: Foreign employees and guests

Do you have any special needs during your stay at UiT? Please check: Studying with disability

Is there something that does not work with the project?

If something is not working according to plan, the first step is to contact your main supervisor or someone else in the supervisory committee.

If this does not solve the problem, or is not possible for some reason, the next step is to contact the Department leader and orientate her / him about the situation.

If you are in doubt you may contact the faculty administration, and they will assist you in the process.

The faculty has also a Conflict Council, and a routine for managing conflicts .

Do you have any problems while at UiT?

Depending on the nature of the problem, you may seek information on the following web pages:

• HEMIS  which is the occupational health service at UiT (only in Norwegian). There you can, among other things, be offered a psychologist, coach and doctor.
• Si ifra! which is UiT's portal if you are exposed to harassment, extremism, etc. (only in Norwegian)
• Emergency contact info , where you'll find necessary emergency numbers for accidents  and crises

Other links

TODOS  is an interest organization that works to improve the general welfare of all PhD candidates and postdocs at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. TODOS is a neutral organization. It is not a union, nor is it linked to any union organization, political opinion, or religious belief. TODOS is here to help, assist, guide and educate you throughout your journey as PhD or postdoc. We focus on two important aspects: a good academic working environment and a thriving social life.

Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD ) at UiT:

• Forskrift om graden philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) ved UiT (Lovdata)
• Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at UiT

BFE-faculty's supplementary provisions to the regulations for PhD degree:

• Utfyllende bestemmelser til forskrift for graden ph.d. - BFE-fak (oppdatert 2019)
• Supplementary provisions to the regulations for the degree PhD – BFE-fak (updated 2019)

Ethical guidelines for supervision at UiT:

• Etiske retningslinjer for veiledning ved UiT Norges arktiske universitet

Guidelines for the evaluation of doctoral degrees at UiT:

• Veiledning om bedømmelse (sensur) av doktorgrader ved UiT

Regulation for the degree Dr. Philos at ved UiT:

• Forskrift for graden dr.philos. ved UiT (Lovdata)
• English translation of the dr.philos regulations at UiT

The Arctic Universisity Museum of Norway and Academy of Fine Arts does not offer a ph.d.-program. Fellows that are hired at the Arctic Universisity Museum of Norway and Academy of Fine Arts must apply for admission at a ph.d-program at an other Faculty.

PhD-program in Engineering Science 

To be admitted to a PhD program at UiT Norway's Arctic University, you must be formally qualified for admission, (see admission requirements).

 If you get a PhD position, you will also get temporary admission to a PhD program, and this page will give you more information on how to get final admission to a PhD program. However, once you have started in the position and no later than two months after starting, the complete application must be submitted to the faculty.

The application must include the following:

• Preliminary title of the thesis
• Timetable and progress plan
• Description of necessary infrastructure
• Description of supervision requirements in special cases, and suggested supervisors
• Documentation of academic background which forms the basis for admission
• Information about any intellectual property rights

The application must be written in accordance with the application template, and sent to the Faculty via [email protected] .

Application template

The project description must be developed in collaboration with the main supervisor, and contain description of research topic, main problems, and choice of methods. The candidate shall provide a sketch of the project description with the application, and a complete project description shall be submitted within six months after admission.

The mandatory courses for the doctoral program in engineering science must contain courses corresponding to 30 credits, consisting of 5 credits in Philosophy of science and ethics (TEK-8001), as well as 25 credits in mathematical-technological subjects. All the elements in the instruction component must be at PhD level. For more detailed information on admission requirements and the course components, see PhD regulations .

The application is to be submitted to [email protected]

Courses at PhD level at the Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology

PhD students at UiT The Arctic University of Norway must register for the faculty's 8000 courses via StudentWeb . User manual in how to register for the semester and to register for courses in StudentWeb can be found her e. Please note that you are not guaranteed a place on restricted topics. On such topics, you will be notified if you have been offered a place after the registration deadline has expired.

PhD students from other universities, applicants with a master's degree or equivalent and participants in the first lecturer program must apply for admission to 8000 courses via SøknadsWeb .

External students must document their admission basis.

External students must remember to upload documentation of education and any status as a PhD student in SøknadsWeb. Confirmation of student status can be obtained from your own study administration. You can possibly upload a picture of your Studentweb, which states the agreement period and that you are active the current semester.

Who can apply for admission to 8000 courses? The following students can apply for admission to 8000 courses, in order of priority:

• Ph.d.-students at UiT The Arctic University of Norway
• Participants in the first lecturer program at UiT
• PhD students at other universities
• Peoples who have a minimum master's degree or equivalent, but who are not admitted to a PhD program.

If there are more applicants than a place on the course, students will be given priority from category 1-4. Please note that some courses may have additional admission requirements and / or priority keys. In that case, this will be stated in the course description of the individual course.

Grade printing

Grade print is ordered in StudentWeb. You can find this under the menu item "Orders/Bestillinger" in the left menu in StudentWeb. The transcripts are sent per. mail to your registered semester address, you must therefore check / update the semester address before you order a transcript

Special syllabus

Guidelines for special syllabus in the PhD program and form for application for approval of special syllabus .

Overview of courses at PhD level at the Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology

This is an overview of all PhD courses at the Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology. Most courses are given irregularly. For a more detailed description of the course and information about when the course is taking place, see UiTs emnekatalog . Overview:

Spring 2024

Continuously

Mid-term evaluation and progress reporting in doctoral studies in engineering

One component of the education that helps doctoral students, supervisors and the faculty to follow up the progress of the project is the mid-term evaluation. The mid-term evaluation must be completed within two years of the study, and should as a general rule be completed at the end of the second year. The mid-term evaluation is followed by annual progress reporting. (Cf. UiT's PhD regulations § 22, IVT fax supplementary provisions section 2 and study plan for PhD engineering.) Mid-term evaluation Deadline for mid-term evaluation is the end of year two of the study.

• Mid-term evaluation routines:  Guidelines for mid-term evaluation
• Form for mid-term evaluation:   english

Annual progress reporting every year for both ph.d.-candidate and supervisor.

• Ph.d.-candidates and supervisors will receive a link to an online form separately each year at a given date

The documentation is to be sent to:  [email protected]

In the event that the candidate does not complete the PhD study within two years over and above the nominal length of study (normally equal to the employment period), the candidate have to apply to the Committee for Research Training for an extended right to study. Such an application must include the grounds for the delay and a plan for completing the program, and must be signed by the PhD student and his/her supervisors.

The application is to be sent to:  [email protected]

Supplementary regulations at the IVT faculty

See  Supplementary regulations for the PhD degree at the IVT faculty

• Approval of special curriculum:  English ,  Norwegian
• Final approval of the individual study plan:  English
• Proposition for commitee for the evaluation of dissertation:  Norwegian
• Declaration of authorship: English

The thesis must be delivered as one complete file that includes a front page designed in accordance with the template from UiT. (Check information about templates here) . If the thesis is approved for defense, the candidate is responsible for reprinting 15 copies. Five of these must be delivered to the Faculty of Engineering and Technology.

It is possible to use UiT's printing house " Trykkeriet ved fellestjenesten grafiske tjenester " for reprinting for a fee. Check information about this here (PS. English information on the second half part of the document and, you must log on to the intranet).

See Supplementary provisions for the degree Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) in Engineering Science at the Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology, UiT

Munin is UiT's open access archive for academic and research related material. The university offers all students the opportunity to publish their doctoral thesis or parts of it in this archive. Whether you want your thesis published in Munin or not, all doctorial theses at the Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology are to be submitted electronically through the Munin portal.

There is no deadline for submitting your thesis. You can save and exit the portal during the submission process and continue later on. Your application for evaluation will not be registered before you complete the submission.

This is a checklist of what you have to remember when submitting your thesis:       

• You should apply to have your instruction component finally approved in advance of submission. The application form is found here .  Send the application to  [email protected]
• You will find the Munin portal for submitting your thesis  here . Use your username and password at UiT. Contact  [email protected] if you need assistance.
• Please use UiT's templates for front pages. The front page must include both the name of the Faculty and the Department.
• The thesis should be submitted as  one  pdf file. If you need assistance with this, contact the Munin staff at:  [email protected] , or phone 776 46255/ 776 44950. You have the sole responsibility for making sure the pdf file you submit in Munin is complete. When you have submitted your application for evaluation there will be no access to change the pdf. 
• You have to submit a popular scientific summary of your thesis through Munin. The summary has to be written in English and Norwegian. 
• For co-authored works, a statement describing the nature of the candidate's contribution(s) signed by the candidate and co-author's must be sent to [email protected] . (Form here: Declaration of authorship )

After this the administration at Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology will send the thesis to the evaluation committee.

You will receive notice if the thesis is worthy of public defense and the committee’s evaluation report approximately 24 days prior to the public defense.

If the thesis is found worthy of public defense, there are some practical things regarding printing, trial lecture and public defense that have to be prepared:

• Withdrawal and correction of errors: A submitted thesis cannot be withdrawed before it is finally decided whether it is found worthy to be defended. However, you may apply to get formal errors corrected after submission. In that case a complete list of all errors (errata) you want to correct must be enclosed. The application must be delivered four weeks before the committee's evaluation deadline and you are only allowed to apply once.
• You have to arrange to have 15 copies printed. UiT has an agreement with Andvord Grafisk AS. The department will cover 4200 NOK of the costs. You have to send your thesis to UiT's printing house " Trykkeriet ved fellestjenesten grafiske tjenester " to get an estimate of the costs. Check information under the header "Thesis". When you receive information about the costs, you have to get a requisition (please contact the institute administration) and return this to Trykkeriet ved fellestjenesten grafiske tjenester ".
• 8 printed copies have to be delivered to the institute administration for distribution to the libraries. The thesis will be published in Munin after the public defense, unless you reserved against publication when submitting your thesis in Munin. The thesis will not be published if the evaluation committee finds the thesis not worthy of defense. Munin follows the rules and agreements with journals concerning publishing articles. They will make sure there will be no conflicts of interest with journals or publishers. When submitting you can also stress parts of the thesis that cannot be openly available in Munin.
• The trial lecture and public defense should normally be held in the language in which the thesis is written.

If you have other questions concerning the practical circumstances regarding submission and public defense, please contact us.

Aleksander Pedersen

[email protected]

National Joint PhD Program in Nautical Operations/ Doktorgradsprogrammet (PhD) i nautiske operasjoner: fellesgrad

Nautical operations consist of two areas, broadly speaking. Nautical studies include navigation, maneuvering and transport of floating craft, and operations, indicating that the PhD program will focus on applied research to support, improve and develop the activities undertaken. The operational perspective  includes strategic, tactical and operational aspects. Strategic levels include the choice of type and size of a ship fleet. Tactical aspects concern the design of individual ships and the selection of equipment and staff. The operational aspects include planning, implementation and evaluation of nautical operations.

Implementation of contemporary complex nautical operations requires interdisciplinary and highly differentiated competencies, including research expertise, for the safe and efficient planning, implementation and evaluation of nautical operations. The National Joint PhD Program in Nautical Operations will educate qualified candidates for research, teaching, dissemination, innovation and other activities requiring scientific insight and operational maritime focus.

The program has the following vision: to create an internationally recognized national PhD degree in nautical operations. The program will approach this vision through pursuing the following aims:

• Strengthen the multidisciplinary national expertise in nautical operations. This is achieved through close collaboration between four higher education institutions offering professional maritime education in Norway.
• The PhD Program in Nautical Operations is the preferred PhD-program in the field and attracts excellent applicants nationally and internationally.
• Individuals graduating from the program are in demand both nationally and internationally because they have a strong and relevant research-based expertise and the ability to innovate and adapt.
• Increase value creation and innovation through close cooperation between academia, maritime industry and the public sector.
• The multidisciplinary national competence in nautical operations constitutes an internationally recognised professional environment that sets terms for knowledge development in the field.

The National Joint PhD Program in Nautical Operations is a joint degree between the four higher education institutions offering professional maritime education in Norway:

• University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway (UiT)
• University of South-Eastern Norway (USN)
• Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL)
• Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

The partner institutions each have specific and complementary areas of research in nautical operations and contribute with their particular expertise to the various components of the PhD program. UiT The Arctic University of Norway has the overall coordination responsibility for the program, however, each partner university has an administrative contact person providing necessary support to the students.

The PhD-program will consist of:

• An educational component  (30 ECTS). This is composed of subjects at PhD-level divided into a compulsory part (15 ECTS) and a self-chosen part (15 ECTS). The core areas of the educational component have two compulsory and eight elective subjects. The core areas build on key themes of the maritime Bachelor- and Master-programs at the four institutions.
• A research component (150 ECTS). The dissertation is an independent research project or research and development project that meets international standards in terms of professional level, methodology and ethical considerations in the field of nautical operations. The dissertation must contribute to the development of new academic knowledge and be at a level suitable for international publication.

The program must normally be completed within three years (full-time work), or within four years if an extra year is granted for teaching and supervision work. A different schedule may be negotiated upon admission, but must have a study effort of at least 50%. The language of teaching and examination is English.

Learning outcome

Learning outcomes of the PhD program

Upon completion of the doctoral program, the candidate will have achieved the following overarching learning outcomes:

Knowledge (K1-K5)

The candidate:

K1  is at the knowledge forefront of national and international research on nautical operations and their importance for efficiency and safety, 

K2  can contribute to theory or technology development in nautical operations and to generate new knowledge, methods and/or practices relevant to nautical operations,

K3  has a thorough knowledge of scientific theory that is relevant to the candidate's research field,

K4  can assess the appropriateness of different research methodologies and methods for data generation and analysis related to nautical operations, 

K5  has thorough knowledge of maritime stakeholders and their interrelations. 

Skills (F1-F4)

The candidate can:

F1   formulate scientifically founded research problems stemming from current research in order to plan and carry out research on nautical operations at an international level,

F2   carry out research on nautical operations to generate new knowledge,

F3   generate, process and analyse empirical data to present research findings in a way that qualifies for international peer-reviewed publication, 

F4   identify and analyse the need for knowledge, development and change of technology, decision making processes and operational decisions.

General Competence (G1-G5)

G1  identify relevant new ethical challenges and problems in one's own research and practice research with professional integrity, 

G2  disseminate research and development findings via national and international publications and conference presentations, 

G3  participate in professional maritime networks with other researchers, both nationally and internationally, 

G4  manage complex multidisciplinary assignments and projects, 

G5  contribute to creativity and innovation within one's field of research in collaboration with other stakeholders in the maritime industry.

Applicants must have an operational maritime educational and vocational background or other professional education relevant to nautical operations. Applicants must have completed education at Bachelor and Master-levels.

Job opportunities

Candidates will be eligible for positions within the national and international maritime industry in sectors such as:

• Maritime sector supply industry
• Shipping companies
• Government bodies and public institutions with maritime activities
• Consultancies
• Higher education sector with maritime professional education
• Offshore and energy companies
• Ports and land-based services for the maritime industry
• Training and educational centers for maritime personnel

Admission to the PhD program in nautical operations requires a completed relevant Master's degree, based on a 180 ECTS Bachelor's degree, or an integrated Master's degree.  Examples of fields of study that qualify for admission include maritime management, nautical studies, occupational and organisational psychology, fire and safety, meteorology and oceanography, marine engineering and more. A weighted grade average for the Master's degree equal to B or better is normally required for admission. The candidate must also have a grade of B or better on the Master's thesis. Exceptions to these admission rules can be considered if the candidate can document particular suitability for a PhD-education.

The PhD program in nautical operations is a 3 year full-time study. Admission to the program requires that you have funding for the entire period. Public universities in Norway do not charge student tuition fees.

There are three possible ways to finance PhD studies: self-financing, financing by employer or financing by the Norwegian Ministry for Education and Research. In case of funding from your employer, we recommend exploring the Research Council of Norway’s Industrial Ph.D. scheme . This scheme exists specifically for companies with employees seeking to pursue a PhD-degree. Your company can submit the application to the Research Council of Norway (NFR) at any time. If granted, companies receive an annual grant equal to maximum 50 per cent of the applicable rate for doctoral research fellowships for a three-year period. The candidate must be an employee of the company and be formally admitted to an ordinary doctoral degree program.

For self-financed PhD students, different financing requirements apply at the four cooperating institutions in the joint PhD-program. Common requirements are; (1) the candidate must cover all the expenses for general operating costs, overhead-costs, costs for travel and costs for use of the institution's infrastructure (such as offices, equipment or laboratories). (2) Self-financed candidates must document (by bank statement) the ability to cover subsistence costs of around 20 000 NOK/month for the entire duration of the program. (3) A financing contract must be established between the self-financing candidate and the home institution before the applicant can be admitted to the PhD program.

For positions funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, the admission process is  two-fold . Firstly, the candidate needs to apply for an advertised PhD student-position at www.jobbnorge.no . The hired candidate can apply for admission to the PhD program.

Admission requirements are the same for all candidates regardless of source of funding.

Application

A complete application for admission comprises the  Application form for admission to the Joint PhD program in Nautical Operations and necessary attachments.

• Documentation of relevant educational background that will qualify for admission into the PhD program (diplomas and transcripts of records)
• A project description, including topic, research questions and choice of theory and research methodology. The project description must be written in close collaboration with the main supervisor and be signed by all supervisors. 
• A progress plan for completion of the program. The progress plan must include which semester you are planning to take your compulsory mid-term evaluation. Typically, the mid-term evaluation is conducted in the 3rd semester (for 3-yearcontracts) or in the 4th semester (for 4-year contracts). 
• A financing plan.
• A supervisor team (the candidate must contact supervisors in advance of applying and have an agreement on project description and supervision plans; profiles and contact details of senior academic staff at all four cooperating institutions in the joint program can be found  under the Network-tab)
• A plan for compulsory duties and possibly a research stay at another institution in Norway or abroad
• A plan for the educational component:
• All courses  must be at PhD-level to be approved in the educational component.
• The plan must contain a list of all courses (totalling 30 ECTS) that will be included in the educational component of the program. Two compulsory courses comprising 15 ECTS ( HTOI-course and the  philosophy of science and ethics course ) must be included.
• The remaining 15 ECTS of coursework can be chosen freely. It is recommended to first consider the course catalogue of elective courses  that has been developed specifically for this program.  
• In subject areas where no established PhD courses exist, an individual special curriculum of 5-10 ECTS can be approved. If you intend to include an individual special curriculum in your educational component, you must specify the field of study in your application.
• A scientific dissemination plan 
• Information about any intellectual property rights restrictions (IPR) that may apply to the project.
• A statement on possible legal and ethical issues in the project and how these can be addressed.
• A description of possible special infrastructure needed for the completion of the program.
• If you are submitting articles as part of your application for admission and you have written those together with someone, please also provide a declaration of co-authorship: doc

The program coursework consists of PhD-level courses divided into a compulsory (15 ECTS) and an elective part (15 ECTS). Since the PhD Program in Nautical Operations is a joint effort between UiT, NTNU, HVL and USN, all PhD students are registered in the student systems (FS) of all four cooperating institutions. Therefore, our PhD students can register for PhD courses at all institutions through the  Studentwebs  of all the respective institutions. If you wish to register for PhD courses at other higher education institutions in Norway or abroad, you need to carefully follow the relevant course pages with instructions and deadlines for external applicants.

Compulsory courses (15 ECTS). There are two compulsory courses in the program:

• Philosophy of science (5 ECTS) 
• MFA-8010 Maritime HTOI (Human-Technology-Organisation-Innovation) (10 ECTS)

Philosophy of Science  will give doctoral students in-depth knowledge of science, research and ethics, including issues of scientific fraud and plagiarism. Variants of the course can be taken at any relevant PhD program in Norway (SVF-8600 or HEL-8010 at UiT, PHI-401 at NMBU, PHDTHET or PHDLMSC at USN, or PHD102_1 at UiS). Exact course and location must be approved as part of the educational component in the application for admission. For PhD students admitted to USN PHDTHET is mandatory. PhD students admitted to UiT, HVL and NTNU can choose among the courses listed above.  

MFA-8010 Maritime HTOI  will provide students with state-of-the-art knowledge of the maritime industry with particular focus on human, technology, organization and innovation in the maritime domain. The course will provide students with a common knowledge platform in the areas of significance for nautical operations. The course is highly interdisciplinary, covering social science, maritime professions and engineering and emphasizes how innovations in technology, practice, organization and regulations affect nautical operations.

Elective courses (15 ECTS). Currently, there are 10 elective courses in the program. The courses will only run if enough students sign up, so you must clarify in advance with the course responsible when the courses will be running:

The individual special curriculum can be chosen, usually in collaboration with the main supervisor, to cover an area in your research field relevant for your PhD-project, where you are unable to find formal PhD courses offered.

Procedure for submitting an application for individual special curriculum : doc          

Application form for individual special curriculum : doc

Annual progress report

The candidate must report annually on progress in the PhD-program. This includes the professional interactions with the supervisors and challenges that might be affecting the progress of the project. The main supervisor must also submit a separate report on the progression of the candidate and the professional interactions between the candidate and the entire supervisory team The deadline to report for the past year, is February 1st each year.

  Annual progress report form for PhD-candidates:   doc   

  Annual progress report form for supervisors: doc

Mid-term evaluation

In the 3rd semester (for 3-year contracts) or in the 4th semester (for 4-year contracts), the candidate must present a comprehensive update on the PhD-program progression. This will be evaluated by a committee to ensure satisfactory progress.      

  Template for PhD-plan (must be updated at this point): doc

  Mid-term assessment report form : doc

Changes and leave of absence

Application for approval of changes to the supervisory team :

If you need to change the composition of your supervisory team from what was indicated in the application for admission for some reason, please apply for approval of these changes using the following form:

  Application for changes to supervisory team: doc

Application for approval of changes to the educational component:

If changes in your PhD-studies requires changing one or more of the initially planned courses, please apply for approval of these changes using the following form:

  Application for changes to educational plan :  pdf

Other forms for changes to the PhD-program progression:

  Application for leave of absence from the program :  pdf

  Application for extension of the PhD contract : pdf

Reglement for ph.d.-studiet i nautiske operasjoner (new version, valid from 01.06.2023)  (NORSK)

Reglement for ph.d.-studiet i nautiske operasjoner (old version, valid until 31.05.2023) (NORSK)

Regulations for PhD in Nautical Operations (new version, valid from 01.06.2023) (ENGLISH)

Regulations for PhD in Nautical Operations (old version, valid until 31.05.2023) (ENGLISH)

Appendix 1 – Requirements for proficiency in English for the PhD Program in Nautical Operations

Quality assurance system

Quality Assurance System for the PhD Programme in Nautical Operations (ENGLISH)

Kvalitetssikringssystemet for Ph.d.-studiet i nautiske operasjoner (NORSK)

  Norwegian Maritime Days (NMD)

Norwegian Maritime Days is the annual symposium at which all the PhD students, academic staff from all the four cooperating institutions in the joint degree and academic/industrial partners gather for presentations and networking.

Program faculty members

Phd-students.

Our first PhD student, Dr. Odd Sveinung Hareide, graduated on April 5h 2019.

Please contact your local PhD-coordinator for detailed procedures for submitting your PhD-thesis and further process at your home university.

Template for the PhD-thesis.

Thesis submission checklist for students at UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Munin is UiT's open access archive for academic and research related material. UiT offers all students the opportunity to publish their doctoral thesis or parts of it in this archive. Whether you want your thesis published in Munin or not, all doctorial theses at the Faculty of Science and Technology are to be submitted electronically through the Munin portal. There is no deadline for submitting your thesis. You can save and exit the portal during the submission process and continue later on. Your application for evaluation will not be registered before you complete the submission.   This is a checklist of what you have to remember when submitting your thesis:                        

• You should apply to have your instruction component finally approved in advance of submission.
• You will find the Munin portal for submitting your thesis here. Use your username and password at UiT. Contact [email protected] if you need assistance.
• Please use UiT's templates for front pages. The front page must include both the name of the Faculty and the Department.
• The thesis should be submitted as one .pdf file. If you need assistance with this, contact the Munin staff at: [email protected], or phone 776 46255/776 44950. You have the sole responsibility for making sure the pdf file you submit in Munin is complete. When you have submitted your application for evaluation there will be no access to change the pdf.
• You have to submit a popular scientific summary of your thesis through Munin. The summary has to be written in English.
• For co-authored works, a statement describing the nature of the student's contribution(s) signed by the student and the main supervisor must be sent to [email protected].
• The department that you are affiliated with has to suggest an evaluation committee and a tentative date for the public defence.
• Your will receive a letter from the program board/faculty administration regarding the evaluation committee, and you will be given the opportunity to give written comments on the proposal within five days of receiving notice.

After this the administration will send the thesis to the evaluation committee.

You will receive notive if the thesis is worthy of public defence and the committee´s evaluation report approximately 24 days prior to the public defence.

If the thesis is found worthy of public defence, there are some practical things regarding printing, trial lecture and public defence that have to be prepared:  

•Together with the letter from the faculty administration, you will receive two ISBN numbers for your thesis. One is for the printed version (this number has to be printed on the back page of your thesis), and one for the electronic version in Munin.   • You have to arrange to have 50 copies printed. UiT has an agreement with Andvord Grafisk AS. The department will cover 4200 NOK of the costs. You have to send your thesis to [email protected] to get an estimate of the costs. When you receive information about the costs, you have to get a requisition (contact [email protected]) and return this to Andvord.   • 8 printed copies have to be delivered to the faculty administration for distribution to the libraries.The thesis will be published in Munin after the public defence, unless you reserved against publication when submitting your thesis in Munin. The thesis will not be published if the evaluation committee finds the thesis not worthy of defence. Munin follows the rules and agreements with journals concerning publishing articles. They will make sure there will be no conflicts of interest with journals or publishers. When submitting you can also stress parts of the thesis that can not be openly available in Munin.   • A submitted thesis may not be withdrawn before the evaluation committee has determined whether or not it is worthy of public defence. The candidate may nonetheless apply to the faculty for permission to correct formalities in the submitted thesis ("errata"). The application must specify in full all errata to be corrected. The application is to be submitted no later than four (4) weeks before the committee’s deadline for returning their recommendation (which is 24 days). Thus, the errata must be applied for 7 weeks and 3 days before the defence. It is only possible to apply once.   • The title of the trial lecture will be sent to you two weeks (10 working days) before the lecture takes place. The trial lecture should last no longer than 45 minutes.   • The trial lecture and public defence should normally be held in the language in which the thesis is written.

 If you have other questions concerning the practical circumstances regarding submission and public defence, please contact us.

Forms you or your supervisor may need in the thesis submission process

Proposal of evaluation committee and chair of defense (committee proposal)

You main supervisor will propose members for the PhD thesis evaluation committee to the program board.

            Proposed PhD-thesis evaluation committee form : doc

Application for final approval of the educational component

When you have completed all the coursework and well ahead of submission of your thesis, you must file an application for final approval of the educational component.

            Application for approval of educational component: doc

Application for evaluation of PhD thesis

When you are submitting your PhD thesis, the following application form must be filed:

            Application for evaluation of PhD-thesis: doc

Declarations of co-authorship

If your PhD thesis consists of articles co-authored with others, a declaration of co-authorship contributions must also be filed.

            Declaration of co-authorship : doc

Agreement to serve on evaluation committee and declarations of impartiality

All the members of the PhD thesis evaluation committee must fill out declarations of impartiality as part of the nomination and agreement to serve on the committee.

            Declaration and agreement form: pdf

UiT The Arctic University of Norway Camilla Andreassen, local coordinator [email protected]

University of South-Eastern Norway Lene Vallestad, local coordinator [email protected]

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Eva Leirbæk, local coordinator [email protected]

Norwegian University of Science and Technology Synnøve Sunde, local coordinator

[email protected]

Doctoral degree (PhD)

After completing the master's degree it is possible to continue with a doctoral degree (PhD degree). The doctoral education has a nominal length of three years and takes place within the framework of an organized programme.

The doctoral education consists of a dissertation and an educational component. The educational component comprises at least 30 credits of the programme. Within the programme there are opportunities for study abroad periods, interdisciplinary collaboration and participation in research schools.

By the end of the doctoral education, the PhD degree is awarded based on the following:

1. Satisfactory completion of the educational component. 2. An approved scientific dissertation. 3. Satisfactory performance on the PhD examination.

The PhD examination consists of a trial lecture and public defence of the dissertation.

Go to Doctoral degree and career opportunities

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