Adopted by the Board of the University of Oslo on 22 June 2010 pursuant to Act no. 15 of 1 April 2005 relating to universities and university colleges, § 3-3, § 3.9 and § 4-13, and last amended on 24 June 2022.
PART I INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Applicability of regulations
These regulations apply to the doctoral education culminating in the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD). The regulations pertain to admission to, participation in and completion of the PhD education.
§ 2 The scope, content and objectives of the PhD education
The PhD education is organised in programmes with a stipulated length of three years' full-time study. The programmes include an educational component of at least 30 credits.
The PhD education at the University of Oslo shall educate independent researchers of high international standard, in accordance with recognised scientific and ethical principles. The programmes shall qualify candidates for research and other work requiring high levels of scientific insight and analytical thinking. The PhD degree is conferred on the basis of:
- completion of the programme's educational component
- the doctoral thesis
- the doctoral examination
The doctoral examination consists of the trial lecture and the public defence of the thesis, also known as the disputation.
§ 3 Responsibility for the PhD education
The university board has the overall responsibility for PhD education at the University of Oslo. The university board establishes and discontinues programmes for the PhD education at the each faculty.
The rector may stipulate rules regarding the content and format of programme descriptions. The faculty itself stipulates and amends the programme description for each PhD programme. 'The faculty itself' refers to bodies at faculty level.
The faculty itself may stipulate supplementary regulations to this document, particularly concerning admission requirements, decisions regarding admission and admission period.
The faculty itself makes decisions regarding admission to PhD programmes, whether a submitted thesis is worthy of defence and whether a doctoral examination can be approved.
PhD candidates participating in inter-faculty education must be enrolled in the PhD programme at one host faculty.
§ 4 Quality assurance
The PhD education is regulated by the quality assurance system for educational activities at the University of Oslo. The faculties shall ensure the quality of the PhD education in accordance with this system.
PART II ADMISSIONS
§ 5 Admissions
§ 5.1 Admission requirements
To be admitted to the PhD programmes at the University of Oslo, an applicant must have a five year master's degree or equivalent studies that have been recognised by the faculty as forming a sufficient basis for admission. The faculties may stipulate additional admission requirements.
The faculty itself stipulates which documentation should follow the application.
Applications for admission to a PhD programme must be submitted to the faculty on the prescribed form.
§ 5.2 Decisions regarding admission
Decisions regarding admissions are made by the faculty itself. The decision is based on an overall assessment of the application. The faculty may rank qualified applicants when the number of applicants exceeds the programme capacity.
Admission shall be denied if:
- agreements with external third parties will prevent the public release and public defence of the thesis
- the applicant will not be able to fulfil the requirement that at least one year of the doctoral programme shall be carried out after admission, cf. § 5.3.
The faculty itself may stipulate additional conditions for admission.
The decision regarding admission shall specify the admission period and the name of at least one academic supervisor.
§ 5.3 Admission period
The PhD education has a stipulated length of three years' full-time study. A proposed schedule of more than six years will not be accepted. The faculties may stipulate stricter progress requirements.
An application for admission to a PhD programme must normally be submitted within three months of the start of the research project which leads to the PhD degree. If less than one year's full-time work at the project remains, the application shall be rejected, cf. § 5.2.
In case of statutory leaves of absence, the admission period is extended accordingly.
A candidate may apply for an extension of the admission period on other grounds. The application must include a statement confirming what work has been completed so far and what work remains to be undertaken. The application may be approved if the faculty determines that completion of the project is feasible within the extended period. The supervisor and the basic unit must provide confirmation of supervision during the extended period.
The faculty may impose further conditions when approving the extension.
Following expiry of the admission period, the parties' right and duties under the doctoral contract cease to exist, such that the doctoral candidate loses entitlement to supervision, course participation and access to university infrastructure. The candidate may, however, apply to the faculty for permission to submit the thesis for evaluation for the PhD degree.
§ 5.4 Premature termination
The candidate and the institution may agree to terminate the PhD education before the agreed time of completion (voluntary termination). In the event of voluntary termination, the parties shall enter into a written agreement regulating issues such as employment, funding, rights to research results etc.
In the case of voluntary termination due to the candidate's desire to change project or transfer to a different programme, the candidate must reapply for admission on the basis of the new project.
The faculty itself may terminate the PhD education (involuntary termination) in the event of scientific misconduct cf. the Act on ethics and integrity in research § 8, second paragraph, and the Act relating to universities and university colleges § 4.13, first paragraph.
The faculty itself may terminate the PhD education (involuntary termination) if a candidate to a significant extent does not fulfil his or her obligations of the doctoral contract, cf. the Act relating to universities and university colleges § 4.13, second paragraph.
PhD candidates who are employed by the University of Oslo may be dismissed from their employment where reasonable grounds exist that affect the situation of either the institution or the employee, cf. the Act relating to civil servants, §§ 9 and 10, or where dismissal takes place pursuant to § 15 of the Act.
§ 6 The PhD agreement
Admission to one of the university's PhD programmes is formalised in a written agreement signed by the PhD candidate, the supervisor, the basic unit and the faculty. The contract governs the parties' rights and obligations during the admission period. An academic supervisor who is appointed after the candidate's admission must sign the contract immediately after the appointment. At least one supervisor must be appointed at the time of admission, cf. § 7.2.
Where a PhD candidate receives financial support from an external party in the form of funding, employment or other contributions, a separate agreement between the candidate, the university and the external party must be entered into. This agreement shall normally be attached to the admission agreement.
If the PhD candidate is to be affiliated with foreign institutions, a separate cooperation agreement must be entered into in accordance with the university's guidelines for such cooperation. This agreement shall normally be attached to the admission agreement.
If the PhD candidate is to be affiliated with more than one faculty, a separate cooperation agreement must be entered into in accordance with the university's guidelines for such cooperation. This agreement shall normally be attached to the admission agreement.
PART III CONDUCTING THE PROGRAMME
§ 7 Academic supervision
§ 7.1 Content of the academic supervision
Work on a doctoral thesis shall be conducted under individual supervision. The faculty, the basic organisational unit and the supervisors shall collectively ensure that the candidate participates in an active research environment.
The candidate and the supervisors shall maintain regular contact.
The supervisors have a duty to keep themselves informed of the progress of the candidate's work and to assess the work in relation to the time frame of the project description.
The supervisors have a duty to follow up on academic matters which may cause delay in the research education, ensuring that it may be completed within the stipulated time frame.
The supervisors shall advise on the formulation and definition of the topic and problem statements; discuss and assess hypotheses and research methods; discuss results and their interpretation; discuss the form and presentation of the thesis, including its structure, linguistic form, documentation etc.; and guide the candidate towards scientific literature and data in libraries, archives etc. The supervisors shall also advice on matters of research ethics pertaining to the thesis.
§ 7.2 Appointment of academic supervisors
As a general rule, a candidate shall have two supervisors. The supervisors are appointed by the faculty itself, and at least one of the supervisors must be appointed at the time of admission. All supervisors must possess a doctoral degree or equivalent competence in the relevant field.
The principal supervisor has the main academic responsibility for the candidate. The principal supervisor shall normally be employed at the faculty to which the candidate has been admitted, or at another unit at the university approved by the faculty.
The faculty itself may appoint an external principal supervisor. In such cases, a co-supervisor employed at the University of Oslo shall be appointed.
Co-supervisors are experts who supervise, and share academic responsibility for, the candidate.
The rules on impartiality contained in § 6 of the Public Administration Act apply to the supervisors.
§ 8 The educational component
The educational component shall, together with the thesis work, provide an education of a high academic standard and include the completion of a scientific research project; training in the dissemination of academic knowledge; and an introduction to research ethics, the philosophy of science and scientific methods.
The educational component shall correspond to at least 30 credits, of which at least 20 must be obtained after admission. Credits that are to be recognized as part of the educational component may not have been completed more than two years prior to the date of admission.
The faculty itself may recognize courses and other academic activities undertaken outside the University of Oslo as part of the educational component.
The faculty itself decides which elements may be included in the educational component, documentation requirements and priority rules for admission to courses at the PhD level offered by the faculty.
Examinations during the educational component are governed by the provisions concerning examinations in the act relating to universities and university colleges and the regulations concerning studies and examinations at the University of Osl