The numbering refers to the same section number in the Regulations relating to the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Agder.
To section 5 Admission
Admission requirements
To be admitted to the PhD programme, the applicant must have an education that is the equivalent of a five-year master’s degree in Norway within one of the subject areas required by the current specialisation or have an education that is regarded by the faculty as equal.
The criterium for admission is normally at least grade B on the master’s thesis or 2,5 (laudabilis) on the second-degree level thesis. The applicant should normally be the sole author of the master’s thesis.
Admission decision
Based on the recommendation of the current Head of Department and the leader of the specialisation, the faculty processes and decides the application in accordance with the current regulations. The faculty appoints the supervisor(s).
Agreement period
Upon a justified application, the agreement concerning admission to the PhD programme may be extended; see PhD regulations section 5.4. The agreement may normally be extended for a maximum of two years. This is in addition to possible statutory absences.
To section 6 The PhD contract
Any significant changes to the content of this agreement must be approved by the faculty and the current contractual document must be signed by the PhD agreement parties.
To section 7 Supervision
The faculty appoints the supervisor(s) upon recommendation from the department and the specialisation with which the research fellow will be affiliated. The Head of Department, the leader of the specialisation and the supervisor(s) have a collective responsibility for the follow-up of the PhD candidates. The PhD programme leader and the PhD programme committee have the overall responsibility.
PhD candidates who are employed as research fellows at the University of Agder have the same duty of residence as other scientific employees. Exceptions may be made for PhD candidates who are admitted to the programme but are employed and paid by other institutions.
To section 8 The PhD programme
The purpose of the doctoral work is to continue the professional and academic training of the master’s degree programme/second-degree programme/programme of professional study and to bring the candidate to the forefront of research in the field. Primarily, this is to take place through the work with the thesis, but also through active participation in the course- and training component.
On the one hand, the purpose of the training is to function as support for the work with the thesis, especially regarding insight into basic problems and issues of theory and method. On the other, the purpose is to provide the candidates with broader scholarly perspectives as a preparation for further academic work.
The responsibility for the teaching lies with the Faculty of Humanities and Education, and the aim is to set up a programme that is adapted to the individual candidate in the best possible way. National and international researcher courses at the PhD level provided by recognised academic environments may be included in the course - and training component.
The scope of the course- and training component is 30 credits (one semester of work). A more detailed description of contents, documentation requirements and other requirements may be found in the programme description of the PhD programme. The current leader of the specialisation processes applications for recognition of scholarly dissemination/research dissemination and external courses as part of the course- and training component and will give the final approval for the course—and training component of the individual candidate.
In addition to completing the course- and training component, the PhD candidate is obliged to
- Complete the midway seminar
- Complete the final seminar
- Participate actively in the specialisation’s presentation seminars
It is also expected that the candidate acquires experience from international research environments, for instance from presenting papers at internal conferences outside of Norway, from stays abroad or through active participation in international research networks/-projects.
To section 10 The PhD thesis
A thesis may be either a monograph or a collection of articles; see also subsection 10.1 in the PhD regulations.
An article-based thesis should normally comprise at least three articles plus a text that links these articles together. At least one article should be accepted for publication in a recognised scientific channel of publication, primarily an international periodical. If the thesis is produced as a result of co-authorship, a higher number of articles may be required.
In the case of co-authorship, the independent contribution of the candidate should be clarified through written statements from the co-authors. The candidate must be the sole author of at least one of the articles in the thesis and must also be the sole author of the framing texts.
The thesis should normally be written in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, or English. If the candidate wishes to use another language, special permission must be applied for early in the PhD programme.
To section 13 Submission
The application for having the thesis assessed must be sent to the faculty in accordance with current regulations.
To section 14 Appointment of an Assessment Committee
The faculty appoints the assessment committee upon a proposal from the Head of Department and the leader of the specialisation.
To section 16 Faculty procedures related to the assessment committee’s report
The recommendations of the assessment committee are processed by the Dean on the authority of the Faculty Board.
To section 18 The doctoral examinations
If the assessment committee or the candidate wish that the trial lecture and/or the public defence (disputation) should be completed in another language than that of the thesis, a reasoned application should be sent to the faculty in good time before the doctoral examinations.
Adopted by the University Board at the University of Agder under the Regulations relating to the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Agder.