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This English translation is for information only. For all legal purposes the original document in Norwegian is the authoritative version.
Adopted by Rector by authority on 5 January 2011 pursuant to Act no. 15 of 1 April 2005 relating to universities and university colleges, §§ 3-3, and to Regulations of 16 December 2005 related to degrees and vocational training, protected titles and nominal length of study at universities and university colleges, § 2 nr. 11.
These regulations apply to the degree of Doctor Philosophiae (Dr.Philos.) and pertain to the right to apply for admission to the Dr. Philos. examination and the procedures for this examination.
The degree of Doctor Philosophiae (Dr.Philos.) is a non-supervised degree which may be conferred to persons who have completed at least five years of higher education, i.e. a master's programme or equivalent studies recognised by the faculty. The research and the doctoral thesis is completed without formal connection with the university.
The Dr.Philos. degree shall qualify the candidate for research activities and other work requiring high levels of scientific insight, methods and analytical thinking, in accordance with recognised scientific traditions and ethical principles.
The Dr. Philos. degree is conferred on the basis of:
the doctoral thesis
the doctoral examination
The doctoral examination consists of two trial lectures and the public defence of the thesis, also known as the disputation. One trial lecture is on a given topic, while the second is on a chosen topic.
The Dr. Philos. degree at the University of Oslo falls under the jurisdiction of the University Board who also establishes the regulatons concerning the degree.
The faculty makes decisions regarding whether the applicant has a thesis with a theme whithin the the faculty portfolio, if the thesis is worthy of being defended for the dr. philos. degree and if the doctoral examination may be approved.
The authority given to the faculty by these regulations may not be delegated to the department levels.
Applications for admission to the Dr. Philos. examination must be submitted to the relevant faculty depending on the thesis? topic. If the applicant is in doubt about which faculty should evaluate the thesis, the application may be addressed to the University Board. The following documentation must be attached to the application:
one copy of the thesis
documentation of the educational qualifications that forms the basis for the application
documentation of the equivalent qualifications, if relevant
summary of previous scientific work/papers (must be shown on request)
Norvegian residence permit, if applicable
non-Nordic citizens must in addition document the thesis? connection to Norway
An applicant who is a citizen in a Nordic country and who has completed at least five years of higher education, i.e. a master?s degree or equivalent, may apply for admission to the Dr. Philos. examination. Applicants who can prove equivalent qualifications in a discipline may be allowed to apply for admission to the doctoral degree examination upon decision made by the faculty. The applicant must document equvivalent qualifications.
An applicant who is not a citizen in a Nordic country, may apply for admission to the Dr. Philos. examination provided that the relevant faculty recommends the application and that the relevant academic community approves. The faculty may grant such admission if the applicant has a has residence permit in Norway, or if the thesis meets at least one of the following criteria:
treats topics or make use of material directly related to Norway
is closely related to Norwegian research within the discipline
has been carried out at a Norwegian university or research institute, or in close contact with Norwegian researchers
The faculty evaluates the applicant's qualifications and reaches a decision based on the documentation. The faculty may require that the applicant follow particular courses and/or pass a particular test before permission to have the thesis evaluated is given.
The thesis shall be an independent, scientific work that fulfils international standards regarding ethical requirements, academic standards, methodology and documentation.
The thesis shall contribute to the development of new scientific knowledge and must be of sufficiently high quality to merit publication as part of the scientific literature in the field.
The lack of a requirement for an educational component, equivalent to one semester, in the Dr. Philos. degree shall be compensated for by thesis work that is more extensive than what is required for the organized doctoral programmes.
A compilation of several shorter papers may be approved as a thesis provided that the papers are related and the relationship between them is clearly explained.
One thesis may be submitted for evaluation by several contributers provided that their individual contributions can be identified and the content of each candidate?s contribution is equivalent to one thesis.
If a written work is the product of a collaborative effort with other authors, the candidate shall adhere to those norms for co-authorship that are commonly accepted in the scientific field and the University of Oslo's guidelines for co-authorship.
Theses that include works by several authors shall be accompanied by a signed declaration describing the contributions made to each work by the candidate and each individual co-author.
As a general rule, it is not possible to leave an organized doctoral programme to present oneself for the Dr. Philos. degree. If the thesis in part or whole has been written within the frame of an organized doctoral programme at UiO or any other institution, the candidate must argue on what grounds this should be defended for the Dr. Philos. degree and not for an organized doctoral degree.
The faculty decides what languages may be used in a doctoral thesis.
The thesis shall be available to the public.
A work or a part of a work that has been approved as the basis for previous examinations or degrees is not eligible for evaluation. However, data, analyses or methods used in previous degrees may be used as a basis for the Dr. Philos. thesis.
A work or a part of a work that has been evaluated previously and found worthy or not worthy for defence for a doctoral degree at another Norwegian or foreign institution, is normally not eligible for evaluation, even if the thesis is rewritted.
A doctoral thesis can only be submitted for evaluation at one institution, cf. §§ 6 and 10. If, after submission to the University of Oslo, the thesis is also submitted for evaluation at another educational institution, the University of Oslo's evaluation procedures will be suspended.
When the faculty has granted the candidate admission to the Dr. Philos. examination, the following must be provided to the faculty:
five (5) copies of the thesis, bounded or stiched
documentation that the necessary permissions have been obtained
declarations by co-authors, when required in accordance with § 5.1
a declaration as to whether the doctoral thesis is being submitted for evaluation for the first or second time
a declaration that the doctoral thesis is not being submitted for evaluation to any other institution
a declaration that the doctoral thesis has not previously been evaluated at any other Norwegian or foreign instituion
A submitted thesis may not be withdrawn before a final decision has been reached as to whether it merits a public defence. After submission, the doctoral candidate can make corrections of a formal nature only, cf. § 8.3.
When the faculty has approved the application for thesis evaluation, the faculty shall appoint an expert adjudication committee of at least three members which shall evaluate the thesis, the trial lecture and the public defence. The rules on impartiality contained in § 6 of the Public Administration Act apply to the members of the committee.
Normally the committee should be appointed no more than six weeks after approval of the candidate's application for thesis evaluation.
The adjudication committee shall normally be composed such that:
both genders are represented
at least one of the members has no association with the University of Oslo
at least one of the members has no association with Norwegian institutions
all members have a doctoral degree or equivalent academic qualifications
Specific reasons must be supplied if these criteria are not complied with.
The basic academic unit shall propose the composition of the adjudication committee. The proposal must be substantiated and indicate how the committee as a whole covers the subject area(s) dealt with in the thesis. The candidate shall be informed of the proposed composition of the committee and is entitled to submit written comments no later than one week after the basic academic unit has forwarded the proposal to the faculty. The faculty itself decides whether such comments shall be taken into account.
The faculty appoints the secretary to the committee.
The faculty may, if required, appoint one substitute member to the adjudication committee. The appointed academic supervisors, as well as others who have contributed to the thesis, may not serve as members of the adjudication committee or as its secretary.
The adjudication committee may require access to the PhD candidate?s source material and additional information for the purposes of elaboration or clarification.
The adjudication committee delivers its recommendation as to whether the thesis is worthy of being defended for the PhD degree. The recommendation and any dissenting opinions must be substantiated.
The adjudication committee shall deliver its recommendation within three months of receiving the thesis.
The adjudication committee's recommendation shall be delivered to the faculty. The faculty presents the recommendation to the candidate, who is given a deadline of 10 working days to present written comments to the recommendation. If the candidate does not wish to comment, the candidate must inform the faculty of this as soon as possible in writing.
Any comments by the candidate shall be submitted to the faculty. The faculty itself makes the decision in the case in accordance with the provisions of § 9.
A submitted thesis may not be withdrawn before a final decision has been reached as to whether it merits a public defence.
The candidate may apply for permission to correct formal errors in the thesis after submission. The application must be accompanied by a complete overview of the relevant errors. An application to correct formal errors must be submitted no later than six (6) weeks before the date of the public defence.
The faculty decides, on the basis of the adjudication committee's recommendation, whether a doctoral thesis is worthy of a public defence.
If the committee delivers a unanimous recommendation, and the faculty endorses the unanimous recommendation, the faculty shall decide in accordance with the unanimous recommendation.
If the faculty finds that there are reasonable doubts as to whether the committee's unanimous recommendation should be endorsed, the faculty shall seek further clarification from the adjudication committee and/or appoint two new experts to give individual statements on the thesis. Such clarifications or individual reports must be presented to the candidate, who is given an opportunity to comment.
The faculty makes a decision on the case, on the basis of the committee's recommendation and the additional clarifications/reports.
If the committee delivers a split recommendation, and the faculty decides to endorse the majority's recommendation, the faculty shall decide in accordance with the majority of the adjudication committee. If the committee delivers a split recommendation and the faculty is considering the endorsement of the minority's recommendation, the faculty may seek further clarification from the adjudication committee and/or appoint two new experts to give individual statements on the thesis. Such clarification or individual reports must be presented to the candidate, who is given an opportunity to comment.
The faculty makes a decision on the case, on the basis of the committee's recommendation and the additional clarifications/reports.
A thesis that has not been found worthy of defence by the faculty itself, may be re-evaluated after extensive revision only six months after the faculty's decision. A thesis may only be re-evaluated once. As a general rule, re-evaluation of the thesis should be done by the same instituion that did the first evaluation.
When re-submitting a thesis, the candidate must provide notification that the work has been previousy evaluated and not found worthy of defence.
Once the thesis has been found worthy of defence, the candidate shall submit the thesis to the faculty in the standardised format and in accordance with the provisions stipulated by the faculty.
The thesis must be printed in accordance with the faculty's templates and its other provisions on the publication of doctoral theses.
The candidate must at the same time submit an abstract of the thesis in English, as well as an electronic, popular account in Norwegian.
The thesis must be made publicly available no later than two weeks before the date set for the public defence. The thesis must be made available in the form in which it was submitted for evaluation.
No restrictions may be placed on the public release, including the publication, of a Dr. Philos. thesis. A Dr. Philos. candidate who is employed by the University of Oslo when submitting the thesis, must follow the university's general rules of address and must supply the University of Oslo as the address if the thesis is a product of work done as a UiO employee. This rule also applies to work that was entirely or mainly completed as part of the Dr. Philos. thesis, but which is published after the disputation.
When the faculty has found the thesis to be worthy of defence defence, cf. § 9, the candidate shall deliver two (2) trial lectures.
The trial lectures is an independent part of the Dr. Philos. examination. The purpose is to test the candidate's ability to acquire knowledge of matters beyond the thesis topic, and to impart this knowledge in a lecture setting.
The candidate announces the title of the trial lecture of the chosen topic to the faculty one (1) month before the planned disputation date.
The title of the trial lecture on the given topic will be decided by the adjudication committee and announced to the candidate 10 working days before the trial lecture.
The trial lectures shall be delivered after the thesis has been submitted, but before the public defence, and must be evaluated by the adjudication committee. The trial lectures shall be delivered at the University of Oslo, and in the language of the thesis, unless the adjudication committee approves the use of another language.
The adjudication committee shall report to the faculty whether the trial lectures merit a pass. The committee's recommendation must be substantiated if the committee recommends a fail.
The trial lectures must be passed before the public defence may take place.
The public defence of the thesis shall normally take place within six (6) months of the faculty's decision to find the thesis worthy of defence.
The time and place of the public defence shall be announced at least 10 working days in advance.
The disputation shall be held at the University of Oslo.
The committee that originally evaluated the thesis shall also evaluate the public defence.
The public defence must be held in the language of the thesis unless the faculty, on the recommendation of the adjudication committee, approves the use of another language.
There shall normally be two ordinary opponents. The two ordinary opponents shall be members of the adjudication committee and are appointed by the faculty.
The public defence will be chaired by the Dean, or the Dean's proxy. The chair of the defence provides a brief account of the submission and the evaluation of the thesis, as well as of the trial lectures. Thereafter the Dr. Philos. candidate explains the purpose and results of the scientific investigation.
The first ordinary opponent opens the discussion, before the Dr. Philos. candidate is given the opportunity to defence the thesis. Once both opponents have concluded their arguments, members of the audience are given the opportunity to comment ex auditorio. Intent of ex auditorio opposition must be stated to the chair of the defence during the disputation and within a time limit set at the opening of the disputation. One of the opponents concludes the opposition, before the chair of the defence concludes the disputation.
The adjudication committee delivers its recommendation to the faculty as to whether the defence should be approved. The committee's recommendation must be substantiated if the committee does not recommend approval.
The defence must be approved before the degree can be conferred.
The faculty decides whether the doctoral examination shall be approved, on the basis of the adjudication committee's recommendations.
If the faculty does not approve a trial lecture, a new trial lecture must be delivered. A new trial lecture must address a new topic. A new trial lecture must be delivered within six months and should be evaluated, if possible, by the original committee.
If the faculty does not approve the public defence, the Dr. Philos. candidate may defend the thesis once more. A second defence may be held no earlier than six months after the date of the first defence and should be evaluated, if possible, by the original committee.
On the basis of the faculty's report that the trial lectures and the disputation are approved, the Rector shall confer the degree of Doctor Philosophiae of the University of Oslo to the candidate.
The doctoral diploma shall be issued by the University of Oslo.
The faculty shall issue a doctoral diploma supplement in the standardised format.
The diploma supplement shall always contain the following information:
Dates and titles of the trial lectures
Title of the thesis and the date of the public defence
The faculty and, if applicable, the basic academic unit where the doctoral degree has been approved
Rejection of an application for a thesis evaluation and decisions not to approve of a thesis, trial lectures or the defense may be appealed pursuant to the provisions of the Public Administration Act, §§ 28 et seq. A substantiated appeal must be submitted to the faculty.
The faculty may overturn or amend the decision should the appeal be found justified. If the faculty upholds its rejection, the appeal shall be forwarded to the Appeals Board [Den sentrale klagenemnd] of the University of Oslo for a final decision. The Appeals Board may review all aspects of the appealed decision.
If the faculty or the Appeals Board considers it justified, either individuals or a committee may be appointed to assess the evaluation and the criteria on which it was based, or to undertake a new or supplementary expert evaluation.
This regulation has immediate effect and the Regulations of 8 April 1997 regarding the degree of Doctor Philosophiae (Dr. Philos.) at the University of Oslo is hereby abolished.