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.
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).
Our students and staff are our most important resources. One prerequisite for us to succeed in our social responsibility is therefore that everyone is allowed to develop their potential.
For more information see here:Career and expertise development at UiT
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
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 model
JUR-8002 Rettsvitenskapens vitskapsteori / Philosophy of Science in Law
JUR-8003 Rettsvitskaplege metodar / Legal Science Methods
JUR-8005 Rettsvitskapens nasjonale og internasjonale perspektiv / International Legal Perspectives
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.
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 gabriela.sirbu@uit.no.
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 gabriela.sirbu@uit.no.
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 gabriela.sirbu@uit.no
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 by filling in the word document form you can download here Application for approval of special curiculum. After you fill in the word document and get all the signatures you need, you will have to upload it on this application form - only after that we will be able to sign you up for the course.
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: gabriela.sirbu@uit.no
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 gabriela.sirbu@uit.no.
Application for special curriculum
Special curriculums are approved by the Head of Department at the department responsible for the course by filling in the word document form you can download here Application for approval of special curiculum. After you fill in the word document and get all the signatures you need, you will have to upload it on this application form - only after that we will be able to sign you up for the course.
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.
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 e.g. that shows the period (and if so, percent of working time in the period).
The documentation is to be sent to: gabriela.sirbu@uit.no
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: gabriela.sirbu@uit.no
Grants
Regulations
Regulations:
Supplementary provisions for the degree PhD in Science at the Faculty of Science and Technology
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 orakel@uit.no 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 postmottak@uit.no
- 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: munin@ub.uit.no, 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 postmottak@uit.no.
- 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 gabriela.sirbu@uit.no.
Template for midterm evaluation
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
gabriela.sirbu@uit.no
All applications are to be sent to the faculty gabriela.sirbu@uit.no.
Visit our webpage for details on the regultations for PhD programmes at UiT: uit.no/regelverk
Here are the supplementary provision for PhD in Science: Supplementary provisions
Apply for admission here.
Upcoming meeting dates for the committee in 2024 are as follows:
- 1 February
- 14 March
- 11 April
- 16 May
- 29 August
- 3 Ocober
- 7 November
- 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.
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.
Appendices to the application
- Project description written in the template
- Milestone/Progress plan for the project
- Written assessment of the project’s feasibility within the normal time frame (written by the main supervisor)
- Data management plan
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 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
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:
| Apply for approval of element in the training component |
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):
| HEL-8040 Theory of science, research ethics and research design (7 ECTS) -Recommended to take as soon as possible |
| HEL-8045-NO Innovasjon og allmennrettet forskningskommunikasjon or HEL-8045-EN Innovation and public science communication (3 ECTS) - Recommended to take after the candidate during the second half of your PhD studies |
| A course on animal research is mandatory if you use animal experimentation in your project. The course must be completed during the first year of your PhD-studies. |
| For candidates conducting research in a labroatory setting, it is mandatory to complete relevant Health, Safety, and Environment course at UiT. The candidate, in consultation with the supervisor, will determine which courses are applicale. |
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 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
| HEL-8002 Logistic Regression and Statistical Analysis of Survival Data, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8020 Analyse av av registerdata i forskning, 2 ECTS |
| HEL-8030 Applied Linear Regression Analysis, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8031 Systematic Reviews, 2 ECTS |
| HEL-8040 Theory of Science, Research Ethics and Research Design, 7 ECTS |
| HEL-8044 Preklinisk avbilding i nuklærmedisin, 10 ECTS |
| HEL-8045-EN Innovation and public science communication, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8045-NO Innovasjon og allmennrettet forskningskommunikasjon, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8046 Judgement and Decision Making, 6 ECTS |
Autumn 2025
| FAR-8311 Avansert analytisk kjemi 2, 5 ECTS |
| FAR-8312 Avanansert praktisk analytisk kjemi 2, 5 ECTS |
| HEL-8013 Epidermiology- Deeper Understanding, 9 ECTS |
| HEL-8018 Introduction to Randomised Control Trials (RCT), 2 ECTS |
| HEL-8023 Genomics in Clinical and Biomedical Research, 5 ECTS |
| HEL-8026 Scientific Writing and Publishing in Health Sciences, 2 ECTS |
| HEL-8031 Systematic Reviews, 2 ECTS |
| HEL-8040 Theory of Science, Research Ethics and Research Design, 7 ECTS |
| HEL-8041 Funksjonshemmingsforskning, 5 ECTS |
| HEL-8042 Qualitative methodology and methods in health research, 5 ECTS |
| HEL-8045-EN Innovation and public science communication, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8045-NO Innovasjon og allmennrettet forskningskommunikasjon, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8047 Statistical models, conclusions and uncertainty for scientific data analysis, 7 ECTS |
| MBI-8005 Antimicobial Resistance, 3 ECTS |
| MBI-8008 Molecular and Clinical Aspects of Cancer- Block II, 10 ECTS |
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
|
You must register for each semester in StudentWeb. PhD candidates do not need to pay the semester fee. The deadline for registering for the autumn semester is September 1st and February 1st for the spring semester. It is important that you remember to register for the semester and for courses/ exams before the deadline has passed. |
Education plan
|
You add and enroll in courses that are part of yor training component in StudentWeb. When you are admitted to the PhD programme, we include the thesis, trial lecture and the mandatory courses in your education plan. |
Moving courses to different semester
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You have the option to rearrange items in the education plan if you wish you take a course in a different semester than originally planned. If you want to move a course from an earlier semester, you need to first click on "Show Previous Semesters" and select the relevant semester where the course is located. Then, press the button that says "Move Course". |
Elective courses
| You can also add and enroll in elective courses in the education plan. If there is a PhD course at UiT that you want to take but is not listed in the selection, you can search for the course code under "Active Courses" in StudentWeb. |
Register for courses
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Remember to enroll for both classes and examination on courses within the deadline, which us September 1st for the fall semester and February 1st for the spring semester. For courses with limited capacity, you will see the message "Admission in progress" after you have enrolled for classes. Complete the enrollment, and you will be notified after the deadline if you have been admitted to the course. HEL-8045 Innovation and public sciences communication is offered once per semester. Every spring semester the course language is English and every autumn it is Norwegian. The code HEL-8045-NO is for the Norwegian version, and HEL-8045-EN is for the English version. When enrolling for this course, you need to choose which language you want to take the course in. Research stays abroad, presentations and courses at other institutions will be added to your education plan after the activity/ course has been completed and approved. Apply here to get it added in your training component |
Cancellation of registration for examination
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The deadline for withdrawing from an examination or changing the examination date is April 15th in the spring semester, and November 1st in the fall semester. You can cancel your registration for examination via StudentWeb Note! It is important to remember that for regular exam scheduled before April 29th in the spring semester and before November 14th in the fall semester, you must withdraw at least 14 days before the exam date. If you do not withdraw from the exam and also do not appear for the exam, it will be considered that you have taken the exam. You are allowed to attempt the same exam a maximum of three times. It is not possible to cancel registration for re-scheduled examination, re-sit examination or early 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.
- Report on progress of the PhD project up until the midway assessment (2-4 pages)
- 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
- Hypothesis
- 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: konfliktradphd@helsefak.uit.no
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.
Mobility grant
Application Form: https://uit.no/phd#v-pills-706279
Application deadline for the mobility grant: 14.11.2025.
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 phd@helsefak.uit.no 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.
| You will find more information here |
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.
Language
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"
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Check out our guide for how to write the thesis summary. |
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:
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
| Submit your thesis here: Munin |
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 phd@helsefak.uit.no
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: munin@ub.uit.no
- 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 phd@helsefak.uit.no 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
You will receive the title of you trial lecture by e-mail 10 working days before the scheduled defence.
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
Dress code
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.
Lunch
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
| Apply for an external defense here |
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 phd@helsefak.uit.no.
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 phd@helsefak.uit.no
The following must be included in the application:
- The thesis
- 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: konfliktradphd@helsefak.uit.no
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
| Send the application here |
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
| Information about the opponents (name, title, e-mail adress etc.) |
| Reson for why each of the committee member is chosen / justify the composition of the commitee |
| If the committee fullfills the requirement set in the PhD regulations section 27. If it does not, you need to justify it |
Attachement that must be uploaded in the form
| Completed and signed "Declaration of impartiality" from each of the members of the committee. |
| If the defense shall be arranged with the opponents physically present, you must upload a confirmation from the Head of Department where they confirms that the department will be covering the travel cost. |
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.
You will find upcoming defenses here: Tavla
2024
| Date | Title + name | Thesis title | Department |
| 11.01.24 | Master in biomedicine Gustav Godtliebsen | Exploring mitochondrial quality control mechanisms and mitochondria-lipid droplet interactions in cardiac cell models | IKM |
| 18.01.24 | Master in child welfare Kirsten Buck Rustad | Decision-making in Norwegian child welfare services- The impact of case characteristics on decision-making from referral to concluded investigation | RKBU Nord |
| 18.01.24 | Master in physiotherapy Marcus Småvik Tutu Dasa | Energetics, energy availability and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) in female football players - Methodological perspectives and research implications | IHO |
| 26.01.24 | Master of Public Health Anna Teterina | Panoramic radiograph analyses for early detection of osteoporosis in the population of Northern Norway | IKO |
| 08.02.24 | Master phil. in Health Economics and Management Maria Hella Lindberg | Measuring socioeconomic position in studies of health inequalities | ISM |
| 09.02.24 | Master sci. Merete Stoflor | Microbial Adaptation - Responses to External Cues | IFA |
| 15.02.24 | Cand.Med Tonje Anita Melum | Aspects of brain health and pain tolerance in a general population | IMB |
| 15.03.24 | Dr.Med.Vet Ingelin Kyrrestad | Cytomegalovirus infection and dexamethasone effects in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells | IMB |
| 22.03.24 | Master Sci. Christopher Florian Holte | Novel insights into the fenestrated scavenger endothelium of the liver sinusoid | IMB |
| 04.04.24 | Master in Public Health Chi Quynh Vo | Educational inequality in population-based health studies | ISM |
| 04.04.24 | Cand.Med Sanda Krum-Hansen | A Systems Epidemiology Approach to Breast Cancer and Parity. The Norwegian Women and Cancer (NOWAC) Study | ISM |
| 11.04.24 | Cand.Med Karl Marius Brobak | Novel biomarkers in hypertension. | IKM |
| 11.04.04 | Cand.Med Sina Marion Wittlund | Mental Health, Work, Welfare and Vocational Rehabilitation. A Comprehensive Study of Young Adults in the Norwegian Welfare State | ISM |
| 16.04.24 | Master in Public Health Anders Pedersen Årnes | Relationships between physical activity and chronic pain: The role of endogenous pain sensitivity -A population-based perspective: The Tromsø Study |
ISM |
| 19.04.24 | Cand.Med Trym Thune Flygel | HIV Infected African Children: Gut microbiota in relation to chronic lung disease and long-term antibiotic treatment | IKM |
| 25.04.24 | Cand.Med Bente Johnsen | Trends for cognitive function and dementia in a general population; Risk factors, trajectories and incidence. | IKM |
| 26.04.24 | Cand.Sanitatis Nina Camilla Wergeland | Experiences with Capacity-based Mental Health Legislation in Norway: A qualitative interview study among patients who have come off a community treatment order, their health professionals and their family caregivers |
IHO |
2023
| Date | Title + name | Thesis tile | Institute | Link |
| 06.01.2023 | Master in psychology Jonas Linkas | “Inflammation and Sleep as Risk Factors for Psychological Distress During Adolescence. The influence of low-grade inflammation and sleep duration on psychological distress in girls and boys aged 15-18 years. The Fit Futures study”. |
IHO | Announcement |
| 20.01.23 | Dr. Med Jasmine Ma | "Child Mental Health in Nepal" | RKBU | Announcement |
| 10.02.23 | Cand.Psych Agnes Bohne | "Parental cognitive vulnerability during the perinatal period and its effect on mental health and the parent-infant relationship. Results from the NorBaby-study." | IPS | Announcement |
| 16.02.23 |
Cand. Rerum Anita Carin Gudmundsen |
"Towards interprofessional patient care: Health profession students exploring interprofessional collaboration in group meetings in joint clinical placement" | IHO | Announcement |
| 20.02.23 | Master i clinical nursing Amalie Nilsen Hagen | "Cardiovascular disease: risk assessment, total risk, and primary prevention in the general population. Insight from the Tromsø Study" | ISM | Announcement |
| 22.02.23 | Cand.Med Tobias Frischmuth | "Obesity-related venous thromboembolism" | IKM | Announcement |
| 28.02.23 | Master in social economics Jan Håkon Rudolfsen | "Regional Variation in Utilisation of Healthcare Services - A study on hospital care in Norway" | ISM | Announcement |
| 16.03.23 | Master in physical education and sports sciences Kim Arne Heitemann | "Physical acitivity and the structure and function of the left side of the heart" | IH | Announcement |
| 23.03.23 | Master in social economics Espen Berthung | "Three essays on health and labour market participation" | ISM | Announcement |
| 24.03.23 | Master of Science Mushtaq Talib Sahwi Al-Rubaye | "Exploring the genomes of the Norwegian vancomycin resistant enterococci" | IMB | Announcement |
| 30.03.23 | Master in dentistry Aksel Wikant | "Dental composites - The effects of matrix composition, suboptimal light curing and water exposure" | IKO | Announcement |
| 21.04.23 | Master in biology Nikoline Lander Rasmussen | "All road lead to lysosome: exploring the degradation of TNIP1 by selective autophagy" | IMB | Announcement |
| 26.04.23 | Master in biology Fredrik Håkonsholm | "Klebsiella pneumoniae in the marine environment" | IMB | Announcement |
| 05.05.23 | Master in public health Dolley Dixil Charles | "Persistent Organic Pollutants and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus - Adressing causality with repeated measurement using novel study designs" | ISM | Announcement |
| 11.05.23 | European Master in Health and Physical Activity Edvard Hamnvik Sagelv | "Physical acitivity, weight gain and risk of mortality in adults" | IH | Announcement |
| 02.06.23 | Master of sciences Diana Karina Diaz Canova | "Evalutionary genomics of cowpox virus and recombination in vitro between a naturally occuring cowpox virus and a vaccinia virus vectored influenza vaccine" | IMB | Announcement |
| 15.06.23 | Cand.Med Fridtjof B. Rinde | "D-dimer for diagnosis and risk assessment of first and reccurent venous thromboembolism | IKM | Announcement |
| 15.06.23 | Master in Health Sciences Marianne Sivertsen | "Stroke rehabilitation. A mixed method study evaluating a novel physiotherapy intervention and patients' experience" | IHO | Announcement |
| 16.06.23 | Master in pedagogy Catrine Buck Jensen | "The patient's role in undergraduate health stuedents' interprofessional clinical placements" | IHO | Announcement |
| 20.006.23 | Master in biomedicine Susannah von Hofsten | "Anticancer activity of amphipathic barbiturates" | IMB | Announcement |
| 20.06.23 | Master in psychology Efim Nemtcan | "Why do students leave? Student-related factors and attrion intentions" | IPS | Announcement |
| 22.06.23 |
Cand.Med Hallgeir Selven |
"Assessing new prognostic biomarkers in resected colon cancer patients" | IKM | Announcement |
| 26.06.23 |
Master in pharmacy Danijela Simonovic |
"Synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies of marine-derived antimicrobial peptides and small cyclic peptidomimetics" | IFA | Announcement |
| 30.06.23 |
Master in biomedicine Marthe Norreen-Thorsen |
Synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies of marine-derived antimicrobial peptides and small cyclic peptidomimetics" | IKM | Announcement |
| 17.08.23 | Master in musicology Soile Pävikki Hämäläinen (dr.philos) | " "I Sound" - yoik as embodied health knowledge" | Announcement | |
| 17.08.23 | M.Phil Sairah Lai Fa Chen | "A healthy lifestyle index and cacer: Using a multifactor lifestyle exposure to estimate cancer indicende and survival among Norwegian women" | ISM | Announcement |
| 25.08.23 | Cand.Scient Kristin Lode | "Cancer associated fibroblasts and their regulatory functions in the context of radiotheraphy" | IKM | Announcement |
| 15.09.23 | Cand.Med Elisabeth Myrseth | "Result after surgical treatment of rectal cancer in Norway" | IKM | Announcement |
| 15.09.23 | Master of Medical Science in Infection Biology Jónína Gudmundsdóttir | "Cancer drugs as drivers of antibiotic resistance" | IFA | Announcement |
| 21.09.23 | Cand.Psychol Dag Nordahl | "The transition to motherhood: Maternal well-being and mother-child bonding until four months postpartum" | IPS | Announcement |
| 22.09.23 | Cand.Scient Josephine Groot | "Neural mechanism of the wandering mind" | IPS | Announcement |
| 29.09.23 | Cand.Med Inger Therese Tønsberg Enoksen | "Novel serum biomarkers and their association with measured and estimated GFR decline in the general population" | IKM | Announcement |
| 03.10.23 | Master in public health Dana Catalina Mora (dr.philos) |
"Complementary and alternative medicine use for supportive care in childhood cancer - Prevalence of use, effectivness, safety and clinical practice" |
Announcement | |
| 12.10.23 | Cand.Med Hilde Risvoll |
"Health care professionals' caretaking of persons with dementia who use dietary supplements" |
ISM | Announcement |
| 13.10.23 |
Master sci. Fatema A. Rahman |
"Zinc binding and chelating compounds as inhibitors of bacterial metalloproteses and human matrix metalloproteases" | IMB | Announcement |
| 18.10.23 |
Master in socialantropology Frank Hansen |
"On the path to healing - A qualitative longitudinal study of colorectal cancer patients' accounts of trajectories to healing in Norway" | ISM | Announcement |
| 19.10.23 | Master in biomedicine Trude Victoria Mørtberg | "Prevention of Fetal/Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) by prohylatic monoclonal antibodies. In vitro and preclinical evaluation of HPA-1a-spesific antibodies" | IMB | Announcement |
| 20.10.23 | Cand.Psych. Ingrid Daae Rasmussen | “Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for patients with Alzheimer’s Disease- Exploring the influence of different stimulation parameters on treatment success” | IPS | Announcement |
| 24,10,23 | Master of Public Health Nikita Baiju | «Gene expression in blood and cancer risk factors - Investigating associations of blood gene expression with Smoking, BMI, and Menopause in the Norwegian Women and Cancer (NOWAC) postgenome cohort» | ISM | Announcement |
| 25.10.23 | Master Sci. Eike Struck | “The Endothelial Cell Response to Inflammation, the Functional Role of the Endothelial-enriched Protein KANK3 and the Adipose Tissue Transcriptome” | IKM | Announcement |
| 27.10.23 | Cand.Med Christian A. Kjellmo | «Assessment of LDL and HDL Subfractions and Metrics of HDL Function in High-Risk Patients of Cardiovascular Disease: Evaluation of Four Different Interventions» | IKM | Announcement |
| 09.11.23 | Master in Peace and Conflict Transformation Barbara Sophia Stein | «Integration and the Voluntary Sector: An Unfavourable Pairing, or the Perfect Match? - Exploring Integration Processes of Immigrants through and in the Voluntary Sector in Norway» | IVP | Announcement |
| 09.11.23 | Master Sci. Amir Rad | «HPV mRNA and HPV DNA Tests in Cervical Cancer Screening» | IKM | Announcement |
| 10.11.23 | Cand.Med Adrina Kalasho Kuzmiszyn | «Temperature-dependent effects of phosphodiesterase inhibitors for cardiovascular support in hypothermic patients - Effects on cellular elimination of cAMP and cGMP» | IMB | Announcement |
| 13.11.23 | Master Sci. Adrina Kalasho Kuzmiszyn | "Deciphering human cell type enriched transcriptomes across tissue types and the functional study of the endothelial enriched protein KANK3" | IKM | Announcement |
| 15.11.23 | Cand.Med Viktoria T. Isaksen | “Early Markers of Metabolic Dysregulation in Obese Individuals - Identification at Baseline and Effect of Modest Weight Loss” | IKM | Announcement |
| 17.11.23 | Cand.Med Camilla Andreasen | “Secondary Fracture Prevention and Forearm Fracture Epidemiology NoFRACT – The Norwegian Capture the Fracture Initiative” | IKM | Announcement |
| 23.11.23 | Master in psychology Marte Olsen | «Men's Underrepresentation in Communal Occupations: A Social-Developmental Approach» | IPS | Announcement |
| 24.11.23 | Master Sci. Giovanni Allaoui | «Blood biomarkers and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus - Repeated measurements of blood biomarkers in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus cases and controls; longitudinal assessments and associations.» | IMB | Announcement |
| 30.11.23 | Master in pedagogy Kjersti Bergum Kristensen | «Family focus in mental health and social services for adults: Supporting minor children of parents in challenging life situations» | RKBU | Announcement |
| 06.12.23 | Master in chemistry Lara Cioni | «Human Exposure to PFAS and Other Anthropogenic Organofluorine Chemicals in Tromsø between 1986 and 2015». | ISM | Announcement |
| 14.12.23 | Cand.Psyc Johan Jacob Espenes | “Dementia Disease Initiation: Demographically adjusted norms based on Scandinavian samples and comparison with published norms from North America” | IPS | Announcement |
| 21.12.23 | Cand.Med Sergei Valkov | «Prolonged Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Accidental Hypothermia: Physiological and pathophysiological effects of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in hypothermia regarding hemodynamics, oxygen transport and regional blood flow.» | IKM | Announcement |
2022
| Date | Title + name | Thesis title | Institute | Link |
| 22.01.22 | Cand.Med Melinda Berg Roaldsen | “Aspects on Recanalisation Therapies for Acute Ischaemic Stroke- Long-term survival after thrombolytic treatment with alteplase, edovascular thrombectomy for acute ischameic stroke and recanalisation for wake-up stroke” | IKM | Announcement |
| 25.02.22 | Master in public health Tatiana Unguryanu | “Evidence basis for injury prevention in Northwestern Russia: a study from the Population-based Shenkursk Injury” | ISM | Announcement |
| 11.03.22 | Cand. Med Jan Harald Nilsen | “Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Rewarming from Accidental Hypothermia” | IKM | Announcement |
| 18.03.22 | Cand.Psyc Benedicte Langseth-Eide | “Come togheter: Promoting Work and Well-being. A study in the framework of the JD-R model.” | IPS | Announcement |
| 25.03.22 | Master in medical biology Tracy Munthali Lunde | “Antibiotic Resistance in Oral Streptococci: The prevalence, diversity, stability, and fitness cost of Tn916 -Tn1545 family in oral streptococcal isolates” | IKO | Announcement |
| 31.03.22 | Cand. Med Einar Stikbakke | “Inflammation, hypertension, and microRNA and Prostate Cancer. The Prostate Cancer throughout life (PROCA-life) study” | IKM | Announcement |
| 01.04.22 | Cand. Med Dina Benedicte Berg Stensen | “Sex-steroids and social network in relation to Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage” | ISM | Announcement |
| 04.04.22 | Master in odontology Lars Martin Berg | “Treatment success with continuous positive airway pressure or mandibular advancement splint in non-severe obstructive sleep apnea: A randomized controlled clinical trial on sleep quality, health-related quality of life and clinical predictors of treatment success” | IKO | Announcement |
| 06.04.22 | Master in public health Ingvild Hersoug Nedberg | “Cesarean sections in Georgia and Norway - What contributes to too much, too little, or just right?” | ISM | Announcement |
| 08.04.22 | Cand. Scien Hagar Taman |
"Epigenetics in Inflammatory Bowel Disease - Contribution of DNA methylation to Ulcerative Colitis pathongenesis " |
IKM | Annoucement |
| 22.04.22 | Cand.Odont Andreas Jörn Schmalfuss | “Molar-Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH) Prevalence among 16-year-old adolescents: A case-control study of children with a low Apgar score at birth and a study on tooth formation and antibiotics in mice” | IKO | Announcement |
| 25.04.22 | Cand. Med Espen Benjaminsen | “Multiple sclerosis in Northern Norway, epidemiology and comorbidity” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 29.04.22 | Master Sci. Lorenz Göschl | “Discovery and detection of phase-II metabolites of exogenous steroids in anti-doping analysis” | IFA | Announcement |
| 12.05.22 | Cand. Psyc Marta Maria Gorecka | “A novel dual-task paradigm for evaluating the interplay between gait, cognition, and hearing loss in normal aging and MCI: Effects of Dichotic Listening during overground walking” | IPS | Annoucement |
| 20.05.22 | Cand. Psyc Tom Hilding Skoglund | “A short-form personality measure for military personnel selection: Psychometric investigation and perspectives on usage” | RKBU Nord | Annoucement |
| 25.05.22 | Cand. Psyc. Anna Dahl Myrvang | “Cerebral structural and functional changes in adolescent females with anorexia nervosa” | IPS | Annoucement |
| 03.06.22 | Cand. Med Thomas Sjöberg | “Optimising breast reconstruction. A clinical study on autologous breast reconstruction.” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 07.06.22 | Master in psychology Monica Isabel Olsen | “Physical performance, physical and perceived health, and the use of healthcare services in a population of adults with intellectual disability.” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 10.06.22 | Master Sci. Jennifer Cauzzo | “Microscopy Meets Nanomedicine: The Challenge of Liposomes Selecting, Understanding and Adapting Imaging Techniques to Localize and Characterize Nanocarriers “ | IFA | Annoucement |
| 10.06.22 | Cand. Med Anette Uhlving Larsen | “Vitamin D: Relations with Sleep and Bone Mineral Density. Insights from the Tromsø Study and randomized controlled trials “ | IKM | Annoucement |
| 17.06.22 | Cand. Med Didrik Kjønås | “Prediction of outcome in patients with severe aortic stenosis treated with transcatheter aortic valve implantation” | IKM | Announcement |
| 17.06.22 | Cand. Med Joakim Sejrup | “Risk Factors and Triggers of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients with Myocardial Infarction” | IKM | Announcement |
| 21.06.22 | Cand. Rerum.Polit Frank Olsen | “Geographic and socioeconomic variation in the utilisation of specialist health care services in Norway – Three selected health care services” | ISM | Announcement |
| 22.06.22 | Cand.Med.Vet Synne Simonsen Hansen | “Myocardial metabolic, structural and functional remodelling following nutritional and hormonal stress” | IMB | Announcement |
| 12.08.22 | Master in biology Eric Juskewitz | "Antimicrobial activity and mode of action - Examples from natural products, peptides, and peptidomimetics" | IMB | Announcement |
| 19.08.22 | Biotechnology Karolina Szafranska | "Novel screening methods for nanoscale changes in liver cell fenestrations elicited by pharmaceuticals" | IMB | Annoucement |
| 26.08.22 | Cand.Psyc Jeanette Schultz Johansen | Optimizing medication therapy in older hospitalized patients Identifying potentially inappropriate medications and testing an interdisciplinary intervention" |
IFA | Annoucement |
| 08.09.22 | Master in biomedicine Alicia Villatoro Gonzàlez | "The role of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in normal and malignant hematopoiesis" | IMB | Annoucement |
| 09.09.22 | Cand.Med Torvind Olav Næsheim | "Guanylate cyclase activators and stimulators. Potential cardiovascular therapeutics, with special focus on the right ventricle." | IKM | Annoucement |
| 15.09.22 | Cand.Psyc Nina Mørkved | “Childhood Trauma in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A comparison to substance abuse disorders, and relation to cognitive performance and antipsychotic treatment outcomes. | IPS | Annoucement |
| 16.09.22 | Master phil. med fa. Madhu Wagle Parajuli | “Oral health in pregnancy: changes in oral bacterial milieu related to cariogenic bacterial load, oxidative stress and nitric oxide levels in the saliva and their effect on pregnancy outcome” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 28.09.22 | Cand. Med Benjamin Storm | “Venous Air Embolism and Complement-driven Thromboinflammation. In vitro human whole blood studies and in vivo porcine studies on the effect of air emboli on the complement system, cytokine network, and the hemostasis” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 28.09.22 | MBChB Mona Dixon Gundersen | “Interleukin 33: a locally induced alarmin in the colonic mucosa of ulcerative colitis” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 30.09.22 | Cand. Med Kristina Fladseth | “Clinical characteristics, mortality and pain tolerance in stable versus acute presentation of coronary heart disease” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 04.10.22 |
Cand. Polit Marlene Bruun Lauridsen |
“Interpersonal competence in challenging encounters: Towards a paradigm shift in human services- Creating conditions for professional development through action research and trauma-informed restorative practice” |
IHO | Announcement |
| 04.10.22 | Cand.Med Kristina B. Slåtsve | “Prevalence, vascular complications, and level of health care treatment in individuals with type 2 and type 1 diabetes mellitus” | IKM | Announcement |
| 14.10.22 | Master in pharmacy Anup Shrestha | “The Regulation of Steroid Receptor Co-activator-3 Activity by p38MAPK-MK2 Signaling Pathway” | IFA | Announcement |
| 04.11.22 | Master in history Helle Jørgensen | “The impact of socioeconomic status on the risk and prognosis of venous thromboembolism” | IKM | Announcement |
| 07.11.22 | Master in health sciences Anja Davis Norbye | “Health anxiety as a continuous construct in the general population - measuring the distribution of health anxiety and the associations with healthcare use, physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors” | ISM | Annoucement |
| 08.11.22 | Cand. Med Martin B. Harbitz | "Exploring patient safety in rural general practice - a mixed-methods approach" | ISM | Annoucement |
| 11.11.22 | Master in pharmacy Lise M. Hemmingsen | “Advanced topical delivery systems for membrane-active antimicrobials. Exploring nature to improve antimicrobial wound therapy” | IFA | Annoucement |
| 11.11.22 | Cand, Med Cato Kjærvik | “Hip fractures in Norway – Inequity in treatment and outcomes” | ISM | Annoucement |
| 25.11.22 | Master of science Ellen Nierenberg | “Understanding the development of information literacy in higher education: Knowing, doing, and feeling | IPS | Announcement |
| 02.12.22 | Cand. Med Erlend Bugge | “Some systemic markers of inflammation in older adults with psychiatric disorders”. | IKM | Annoucement |
| 09.12.22 | Master sci. Amrinder Singh | “Falsifiable Network Models” | Announcement | |
| 13.12.22 | Master Anne Mette Nygaard | “Family care strategies in an unpredictable ICU environment ICU nurses’ and physicians’ interprofessional and individual strategies for critically ill ICU patients’ families – a qualitative study” | IHO | Announcement |
| 14.12.22 | Master in pharmacy Kjerstin Havnes | “Optimising drug therapy in older patients. Exploring different approaches across the patient pathway | IFA | Announcement |
| 15.12.22 | Cand. Med Line Tegner Stelander | “Alcohol and aging: A longitudinal study of alcohol habits and health effects due to alcohol consumption in old adulthood” | IKM | Announcement |
| 15.12.22 | Cand.Psyc Veronica Lorentzen | Providing a short and effective transdiagnostic treatment intervention and a valid outcome measure for adolescent with anxiety and depression. A randomized controlled trial of the SMART intervention and validation of the CORE-OM in adolescents aged 14 to 17 (Doctoral thesis).” | IPS | Announcement |
2021
| Date | Title + Name | Thesis Title | Institute | Link |
| 04.01.21 | Master in health sciences Nils Abel Aars | "Physical Activity and Body Composition in Norwegian Adolescents. Results from The Tromsø Study: Fit Futures" | ISM | Annoucement |
| 15.01.21 | Cand. Med Gøril Heide | "Human platelet antigen (HPA)-1a alloimmunization – Why only blame it on the platelets?" | IMB | Annoucement |
| 22.01.21 | Cand.Med Elin Storjord | "Acute intermittent porphyria. Inflammation, diet and biomarkers in acute intermittent porphyria” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 22.01.22 | Master Sci. Hong Mao | “Unraveling nanoscale alterations in liver cell fenestrations — Morphological studies via optical super-resolution microscopy approaches” | IMB | Annoucement |
| 05.02.21 | Master Sci. Bishnu Joshi | «Bacterial Extracellular vesicles and their cargo” | IMB | Annoucement |
| 08.02.21 | Master in health sciences Susanna Siri | “Cardiovascular risk factors and incidence of acute myocardial infarction and cerebral stroke in Sami and non-Sami populations — The SAMINOR Study” | ISM | Annoucement |
| 12.02.21 | Cand. Med Randolf Inge Hardersen | “Biocompatibility in low-density lipoprotein apheresis and plasma separation” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 26.02.21 | Master in sports physiotherapy Ane Sigirid Nygaard | «Chronic Pelvic Pain in women. Group based multimodal physical therapy” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 12.03.21 | Master in vocational pedagogy Trine Eriksen (dr.philos) | «Hvordan kan universitetet ivareta sitt samfunnsoppdrag: med eksempler fra sykepleierutdanningen i Finnmark» | Annoucement | |
| 12.03.21 | Master of business Meghan Bradway | “mHealth: opportunities and challenges for health intervention research” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 23.03.21 | Cand. Med Håkon Sandbukt Johnsen | «Biomarkers of major bleeding after incident venous thromboembolism” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 25.03.21 | Master Sci. Olena Iakunchykova | “A biomarker approach to explain high cardiovascular disease burden in Russia: insights from population-based studies in Russia and Norway” | ISM | Annoucement |
| 13.04.21 | Master in psychology Isabel Viola Kreis | “Metacognition and decision-making in schizophrenia: Exploring how aberrant processing and representation of uncertainty may explain cognitive-behavioral biases" | IPS | Annoucement |
| 19.04.21 | Cand.Med Karin Abeler | “Studies of sleep and seasonal variations in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain” | IPS | Annoucement |
| 23.04.21 | Master, unspesified, Margherita Flavigna | “The development journey of an artificial intestinal model prediciting oral drug absorption: the mucus-PVPA model” | IFA | Annoucement |
| 23.04.21 | Master in health sciences Jan-Thore Lockertsen | “We Ran a Hospital. The Norwegian Nurses efforts During the Korean War and the Impact of their Experiences on Norwegian Nursing and Theatre Nursing” | IHO | Annoucement |
| 03.05.21 | Master Sci. Marita Olsson | “Causes and Consequences of Gender Roles” | IPS | Annoucement |
| 11.05.21 | Dr.Med David Andreas Thomas Werner | “Development of a prognostic model for unfavorable outcome after lumbar microdiscectomy” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 14.05.21 | Dr.Med Priya Bhide | “The role of ovarian reserve markers in fertility and fertility treatment” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 20.05.21 | Cand.Med Inger Lund-Kordahl | «Studies on the Chain of Survival in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest." | IKM | Annoucement |
| 21.05.21 | Cand.Med Veronika Rypdal | "Prediction of unfavorable outcome in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and assessment of the long-term outcomes in JIA-associated uveitis – A prospective Nordic multicenter study of JIA from childhood to adulthood" | IKM | Annoucement |
| 21.05.21 | Master, unspesified, Jucal Garcia Garcia | "Exploring the roles of TRIM27 and TRIM32 in autophagy” | IMB | Annoucement |
| 28.05.21 | Master Sci. Ole-Andreas Nilsen | "The influence of lifestyle on peak bone mass in Norwegian boys and girls between 15-19 years of age. The Tromsø study, Fit Futures" | IHO | Annoucement |
| 28.05.21 | Master Sci. Samuel Kuttner | "Advancing Quantitative PET Imaging with Machine Learning" | IKM | |
| 04.06.21 | Andre Henriksen | “Continuous physical activity recording- Consumer-based activity trackers in epidemiological studies” | ISM | Annoucement |
| 10.06.21 | Master in psychology Thies Ludtke | “Identifying and treating predictors of psychotic symptoms - How findings from Experience Sampling research can help to improve the treatment of psychosis and the prediction of relapse" | IPS | Annoucement |
| 11.06.21 | Julia Kloos | “Horizontal transfer, selection and maintenance of antibiotic resistance determinants” | IFA | Annoucement |
| 11.06.21 | Cand.Med Nora Ness | “Immunological biomarkers in prostate cancer” | IMB | Annoucement |
| 17.06.21 | Master Sci. Kamilla Gjerland Haugland | “Hippocampal plasticity: Development of connectivity and growth hormone modulation of place cells and behavior” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 18.06.21 | Cand. Med Hanne Skille | “Combined effects of cancer and prothrombotic genotypes on the risk of venous thromboembolism” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 23.06.21 | Master Sci. Atena Miroslawska | “Renal sympathetic denervation, potential effects on blood pressure and glucose metabolism in patients with severe treatment resistant hypertension. The Re-Shape CV-risk study" | IKM | Annoucement |
| 20.08.21 | Master Sci. Sabin Bhandari | “Molecular profiling of the liver sinusoidal endothelial cell- a multi-omics approach” | IMB | Annoucement |
| 27.08.21 | Master in health sciences Irish Borch | «Student evalaution practice: A qualitative study on how student evaluation of teaching, courses and programmes are carried out and used” | Result | Annoucement |
| 03.09.21 | Cand.Med Dario Musso | “Peripheral nerve blocks for shoulder surgery – Periclavicular approaches in the pursuit of a diaphragm-sparing technique “ | IKM | Annoucement |
| 07.09.21 | Master Sci. Patty Hujgens | “Organization and orchestration of male rat sexual behaviour” | IPS | Annoucement |
| 17.09.21 | Master Sci. Kirsten Maria Jansen | "Modulation of Cardiometabolic Health by Dietary Supplementation with Calanus oil” | IMB | Annoucement |
| 01.10.21 | Master in odontology Hege Nermo | "Dental anxiety in adolescents and adults. Epidemiological studies based on the Tromsø Study 7 and Fit Futures 1 & 2" | IKO | Annoucement |
| 13.10.21 | Cand.Med Vilde Lehne Michalsen | "Metabolic syndrome, obesity and ethnicity- the SAMINOR study.” | ISM | Annoucement |
| 22.10.21 | Cand.Med Christian Børde Arkteg | "When is remission remission” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 22.10.21 | Cand.Med Linn Såve Nymo | “Wuthering heights: Outcomes from pancreatic surgery and trends in treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in Norway in a post-centralization era” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 22.10.21 | Master in biology Daria Popova | “Advanced methods in reproductive medicine: Application of optical nanoscopy, artificial intelligence-assisted quantitative phase microscopy and mitochondrial DNA copy numbers to assess human sperm cells” | IKM | Annoucement |
| 25.10.21 | Cand.Scient Markus Landrø | “Why is it safe- enough?” | IPS | Announcement |
| 05.11.21 | Master in biomedicine Cathrine C. Ramberg | “Temporal trends in intracerebral hemorrhage in a general population. Incidence, risk factors, case fatality and long-term mortality. The Tromsø Study” | IKM | Announcement |
| 12.11.21 | Cand.Med Maria Kristin Carlsson | “Temporal trends in intracerebral hemorrhage in a general population. Incidence, risk factors, case fatality and long-term mortality. The Tromsø Study | IKM | Announcement |
| 25.11.21 | Cand.Med Guri Anita Heiberg | "Rehabilitation pathways, satisfaction with functioning and wellbeing and experienced rehabilitation needs after stroke” | IKM | Announcement |
| 26.11.21 | Cand.Med Ragnhild Hellesnes | "Testicular cancer survivors in the cisplatin era: Metachronous contralateral testicular cancer, second cancer and causes of death” | IKM | Announcement |
| 26.11.21 | Master in exercise physiology Sigurd Pedersen | “Training and influence of maximal strength in football players – With specific emphasis on females” | IH | Announcement |
| 29.11.21 | Cand.Psyc Tom Johan Johnsen (dr.philos) | “The temporal development of cognitive behavioral therapy as treatment for unipolar depression. An evaluation based on three meta-analyses, focusing on time-trends, effect sizes, and associated moderators” | Announcement | |
| 03.12.21 | Master in statitics Lars Bakke Hindenes | "Circle of Willis variants and cerebrovascular health: Representations, prevalence’s, functions and related consequences Incomplete anatomy and changes to flow appear to induce more unfavorable health outcomes” |
IKM | Announcement |
| 03.12.21 | Master in biomedicine Anthimi Palara | "Mechanism and structural requirements for formation of p62 bodies and degradation of p62 by selective autophagy” | IMB | Announcement |
| 08.12.21 | Master in odontology Ann-Kristine Bongo | "Oral health among the indigenous Sámi population. A population-based study on periodontal health, dental caries, and oral health-related quality of life" | ISM | Announcement |
| 09.12.21 | Master in public health Marie Wasmuth Lundblad | “The obesity epidemic; population levels of visceral adipose tissue and trends in body composition. Insight from the Tromsø study” | ISM | Announcement |
| 15.12.21 | Master phil. Matthew B. Stephensen | "Shaping the Perception of Risk: Investigating a Paradigmatic Case of Applied Decision Making under Uncertainty” | IPS | Announcement |
| 16.12.21 | Master, unspesified, Sigurd Klemetsen Beldo | "Accelerometer-measured physical activity in Norwegian adolescents. Results from the Fit Futures Study” | IH | Announcement |
| 20.12.21 | Master in health sciences Erlend Hoftun Farbu | "Our climatic environment and pain Exposure to cold environment at work and the weather in daily life” | ISM | Announcement |
2020
|
Date |
Title + name | Thesis title | Department | Annoucement |
| 16.01.20 | Master in sociology Monika Dybdahl Jakobsen | "The self-management work of food hypersensitivity. A study using a population-based cross-sectional study design and qualitative interviews." | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 29.01.20 | Cand. Sanitatis Hilde Laholt | "Visual methods in health dialouge and public health work. An action research apporach to improve school nurses' work with adolescent" | IHO | Lenke til avhandling |
| 29.01.20 | Cand.med Esben Bjøri | "Triggers and risk factors of first and recurrent venous thromboembolism" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 31.01.20 | Cand.med Terje B. Holmlund | "Modeling remotely collected speech data: Applications for psychiatry" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 04.02.20 | Master of high performance sports training Ivan André Matias do Vale Baptista | "The variability of physical match demands in elite women's football | IH | Lenke til avhandling |
| 07.02.20 | Master in biotechnology Katrine Stange Overå | "TRIM proteins in autophagy: A study of TRIM32 and TRIM27" | IMB | Lenke til avhandling |
| 07.02.20 | Mater.Sci Line Holtet Evensen | "Physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and venous thromboembolism" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 20.02.20 | Master i molekylærbiologi Thaddaeus Mutugi Nthiga | "Role of CALCOCO1 in scaling down endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi by autophagy" | IMB | Lenke til avhandling |
| 28.02.20 | Master i psychology Connie Villemo Nilsen | "Abridged risk information: Effects of warning labels on snus packages" | IPS | Lenke til avhandling |
| 27.03.20 | Master of public health Sunday Oyeyemi | "Lifestyle factos and colorectal cancer: The Norwegian Women and Cancer Study" | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 01.04.20 | Cand.med. Juan Carlos Aviles Solis | "Identification and prevalence of adventitious lung sounds in a genereal adult population" | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 03.04.20 | Cand.med. Christian Widnes | "Sex differences in placental circulation" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 03.04.20 | Master i klinisk sykepleie Siv Jorunn Storli Olsen | "Coronary heart disease and cardiac rehabilitation. Participation rate, predictors and effects on symptoms of anxiety and depression, and employment status of patients following percutaneous coronary intervention- A nationalwide prosepective cohort study" | IHO | Lenke til avhandling |
| 03.04.20 | Master in biology Maria Pain | "Exploring the pangenome of Staphylococcus haemolyticus. Colonisation, hospital adaption, pathogenicity and novel species identification" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 16.04.20 | Cand.med. Sandra Goldbeck-Wood (dr.philos) | "When Bodies Speak and Words Act- poetry, psychosomatic illness and the lost art of medicine" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 17.04.20 | Cand.Med Peter Holger Johnsen | "THE EFFECT OF FAECAL MICROBIOTA TRANSPLANTATION IN IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROM. A double blind, randomized placebo controlled single centre study" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 17.04.20 | Master i biomedisin Rangita Dawadi | "Biochemical characterization of Matrix Mealloproteinase-9. Binding interactions with two small non-peptide inhibitors and the proteoglycan serglycin & Procession of serglycin" | IMB | Lenke til avhandling |
| 23.04.20 | Master i nevrologisk fysioterapi Synne Garder Pedersen | "Percieved quality of life and functioning after stroke in a region of North Norway and in a region of central Denmark. A mixed method study" | IHO | Lenke til avhandling |
| 12.05.20 | Cand.Polit. Maria Fredriksen Kvamme | "Suffering, agency and care in medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). An ethnographic study of the social course and reframing of MUS in Norwegian youth." | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 19.05.20 | Master in public health Anu Mirjam Piira | "The ATLET study: Can subjects with long-standing motor incomplete spinal cord injury learn to walk? A randomized clinical study" | IHO | Lenke til avhandling |
| 22.05.20 | Master in psychology Lizbett Flores-Garcia | "Substance Use Disorder patients with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Exploring differences in personality, substance use-related aspects and quality of life in a naturalistic follow-up study" | IPS | Lenke til avhandling |
| 25.05.20 | Master in Global Health Marisa da Silva | "Weight change and cancer" | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 25.05.20 | Cand.med Ilya Zykov | "Old antibiotics as alternative treatment options for urinary tract infections caused by ESBL-.AmpC- and carbapenemase-producin Escherichia coli" | IMB | Lenke til avhandling |
| 27.05.20 | Master i helsefag Ellen C. Arntzen | "The effects of and experences from participation in GroupCoreDIST- a new, individualized, group-based, physiotherapy intervention for ambulant individuals with multiple sclerosis" | IHO | Lenke til avhandling |
| 29.05.20 | Cand.med Øyvind Holsbø Hald | "Molecular aspects of high-risk neuroblastoma and novel therpautic opporunities" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 09.06.20 | Master of engieneering Antal Martinez | "Mathematical Models of Optimal Antibiotic Treatment" | IFA | Lenke til avhandling |
| 10.06.20 | Cand. Sanitatis Karina Sebergsen | "Competent help during acute psychosis. A qualitative interview study with patients admitted to acute psychiatric wards" | IHO | Lenke til avhandling |
| 12.06.20 | Cand.med Merethe Selnes Hansen | "Aspects of Lung Cancer by Sex" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 17.06.20 | Cand.psyk Kent Nordby | "Student procastination: Measurement, reduction and Environmental factors! | IPS | Lenke til avhandling |
| 19.06.20 | Cand.med Lotte Olsen | "Exploring and Targeting Novel Cancer Networks in Multidrug Resistant Neurblastoma" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 02.07.20 | Cand.Med Rune H. Hermansen | "Physical activity, cardiovascular risk factors, and mortality in etnic groups in the Artic region of Norway. Results from two population-based studies: The Finnmark 3 study 1987-1988 and SAMINOR 1 2003-2004" | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 21.08.20 | Master i psykologi Ida Marie Opdal | "Physical activity and mental distress among adolescents | IPS | Lenke til avhandling |
| 21.08.20 | Cand.Med Michael Stylidis | "Clinical characteristics, echocardiographic indices of heart failure and mortality in a general population" | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 27.08.20 | Cand.med Anna Bågenholm | "Trauma radiology in northern Norway" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 28.08.20 | Sivilingeniør Nya Mehnwolo Boayue | "Understanding the Neural and Behavioral Correlates of Mind Wandering Through Trancranial Direct Current Stimulation" | IPS | Lenke til avhandling |
| 04.09.20 | Master of Science Kashif Rasheed | "Merkel Cell Polyomavirus and Merkel Cell Carcinoma" |
IMB |
Lenke til avhandling |
| 11.09.20 | Cand.Med Ellinor Christin Haukland | "Adverse events as measure of patient safety in cancer care" | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 18.09.20 | Cand.Med Trygve Nissen | "Medical case reports: Some theoretical and empirical perspectives" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 24.09.20 | Master in health sciences Maria Bakland | "Patients' and therapists' experience with a new treatment for eating disorders, combining physical exercise and dietary therapy. An interview study" | IHO | Lenke til avhandling |
| 25.09.20 | Cand.med. Astrid Synnøve Buvik | "Telemedicine in remote orthopaedic consulation: A randomised controlled trial" | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 25.09.20 | Cand.med. Bjørn Holdø | "Surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women. The shift from Burch colposuspension to the retopubic tension-free vaginal tape procedure" | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 29.09.20 | Cand.psyk Silje Vagli Østbye | "Terrains of Uncertainty. Communicative Challenges of Medically Unexplained Illness in Youth" | IPS | Lenke til avhandling |
| 02.10.20 | University degree in Dental Surgery Paula Frid | "The Temporomandibular Joint in Juvenile Idiopatihic Arthritis, focusing on Quality of Life, Oral Microbiome and Intervention" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 08.10.20 | Cand.med Inger Heidi Bjerkli | "Prognostic indicators of survival for patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma in Norway. Outcomes in a retrospective, multicenter cohort, with special focus on oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma, 2005-2009" | IMB | Lenke til avhandling |
| 09.10.20 | Master sci. Josef Diab | "The Metabolome and Lipidome of Ulcerative Colitis" | IFA | Lenke til avhandling |
| 22.10.20 | Cand.med Hanne Skjerven Bersvendsen | "Sexual function and lifestyle behavior among lymphoma survivors after high dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell transplantation" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 12.11.20 | Master Sci. Adriana Maria Sanabria-Moreno | "A Shotgun-metagenomics approach for laboratory diagnostics in clinical microbiology" | IMB | Lenke til avhandling |
| 27.11.20 | Master Sci. Trond Isaksen | "Dietary intake of marine polyunsaturated fatty acids and incidence reccurence and mortality related to venous thromboembolism" | IKM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 04.12.20 | Cand.Polit Trine Kvitberg | "Artic food biographies. An ethnographic study of food and health in everyday life of elderly Arctic women" | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 11.12.20 | Master of Arts in Public Health Tinatin Manjavidze | "Perinatal mortality and its association with antenatal care utilization in the Republic of Georgia" | ISM | Lenke til avhandling |
| 17.12.20 | Jon Petter Anders Stoor | "Suicide among Sámi- Cultural meanings of suicide and interventions for suicide prevention in Nordic parts of Sápmi" | ISM | |
| 18.12.20 | Cand.Psyk Martin Kragnes Bystad | "Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation as a memory enchancer in healthy participants and patients with Alzheimer's disease" | IPS |
Questions regarding the PhD programme may be directed to phd@helsefak.uit.no
Contact us:
|
Senior Advisor Anine T. Andersen |
|
Senior Advisor Monica Karlsen Midway Assessment |
|
Senior Advisor Kenneth Webb Berg Vollan Admission |
|
Advisor Andrea Jennerwein Public defense |
|
Advisor Stian Løkken Myrvold Student Research Programme - Submission / Public Defenses - Educational Component - Coordination of PhD - Courses - Mobility Grant |
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
| HEL-8002 Logistic Regression and Statistical Analysis of Survival Data, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8020 Analyse av av registerdata i forskning, 2 ECTS |
| HEL-8030 Applied Linear Regression Analysis, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8031 Systematic Reviews, 2 ECTS |
| HEL-8040 Theory of Science, Research Ethics and Research Design, 7 ECTS |
| HEL-8044 Preklinisk avbilding i nuklærmedisin, 10 ECTS |
| HEL-8045-EN Innovation and public science communication, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8045-NO Innovasjon og allmennrettet forskningskommunikasjon, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8046 Judgement and Decision Making, 6 ECTS |
Autumn 2025
| FAR-8311 Avansert analytisk kjemi 2, 5 ECTS |
| FAR-8312 Avanansert praktisk analytisk kjemi 2, 5 ECTS |
| HEL-8013 Epidermiology- Deeper Understanding, 9 ECTS |
| HEL-8018 Introduction to Randomised Control Trials (RCT), 2 ECTS |
| HEL-8023 Genomics in Clinical and Biomedical Research, 5 ECTS |
| HEL-8026 Scientific Writing and Publishing in Health Sciences, 2 ECTS |
| HEL-8031 Systematic Reviews, 2 ECTS |
| HEL-8040 Theory of Science, Research Ethics and Research Design, 7 ECTS |
| HEL-8041 Funksjonshemmingsforskning, 5 ECTS |
| HEL-8042 Qualitative methodology and methods in health research, 5 ECTS |
| HEL-8045-EN Innovation and public science communication, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8045-NO Innovasjon og allmennrettet forskningskommunikasjon, 3 ECTS |
| HEL-8047 Statistical models, conclusions and uncertainty for scientific data analysis, 7 ECTS |
| MBI-8005 Antimicobial Resistance, 3 ECTS |
| MBI-8008 Molecular and Clinical Aspects of Cancer- Block II, 10 ECTS |
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.
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.
Grades
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
For research fellows employed in the position at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (or another unit at UiT), he/she must apply for final admission to the Ph.D. program in humanities and social sciences no later than 2 months after employment. An applicant employed by an external employer with an agreement to undertake research training at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education/UiT must submit a complete application for admission preferably before commencement, and no later than 2 months after employment.
The application with the project description and other documents is evaluated and approved by the Doctoral Degree Commitee at the faculty.
Application requirements
- 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.
Mentor
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
SVH-8005 Research Ethics (3 credits) - offered every spring term
Dissemination (3-5 credits)
HEL-8045-NO Innovasjon og allmennrettet forskningskommunikasjon (3 credits) – offered in Norwegian every fall term
HEL-8045-EN Innovation and public science communication (3 credits) – offered in English 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.
Supervision
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’.
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:
Monograph
- 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 munin@ub.uit.no.
Assessment of the dissertation
Schedule
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 personvernombud@uit.no
- 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.
Lunch:
- 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 80 for professors (currently NOK 446,40 per hour) and salary level 70 for associate professors (currently NOK 354,90 per hour).
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).
Hotels
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, self-certified sick-leave, home with sick children etc., and the use of statutory periods of leave or those negotiated under collective agreements (parental, compassionate, or other welfare-related leave), as well as roles as a temporary representative in the faculty board and department board, and roles as a student representative in the PhD committee, 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. University fellows who have received compensation with an extended employment contract and time for PhD studies for work with boards and roles as a temporary representative in the faculty board, department board, or PhD committee, will have the period for the completion grant reduced by the corresponding number of hours.
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 personal@uit.no) 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.
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 ElementsCloud.
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
Leader:
Vice Dean Professor Trine Kvidal-Røvik
Ordinary members:
Professor Unn-Doris K. Bæck, 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 Stine Willum Adrian, Department of Social Sciences (ISV)
Professor Rita Sørly, Department of Child Welfare and Social Work (IBS)
Professor emeriti 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.
Representatives for doctoral candidates who are employed in a fellowship position at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education will be compensated with 15 hours per semester (30 hours for one year) to fulfill their role in the PhD committee. The compensation is given as an extension of the employment contract. Separate rules apply for university fellows that qualifies for a completion grant (see the website for Completion grant for more information).
Secretary:
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 the overall responsibility for the organized research training at the faculty and promote the academic community's ownership of the PhD programme
- Set up a develoment plan for the PhD study i accordance with the UiT's quality system
- 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 employed at the faculty (processing any revised project description and plans related to the project, determining the admission period, and any completion of supervisors)
- Appoint supervisor(s) based on proposals of the relevant department/center
- Approve the training component of doctoral candidates in the doctoral programme
- Approve progress reports and department/center reports
- Approve significant changes to the doctoral agreement on admission to the research education
- Handle cases regarding the termination of an admission agreement (voluntary or forced termination)
- Delegate the processing of admission to subject spesific PhD courses to the administration (at department or faculty) or the UiT's central administrative service
- Process applications regarding approval to submit dissertation for the degrees of PhD and Dr.Philos.
- Appoint an evaluation committee to assess submitted dissertations for the PhD and Dr.Philos. degrees, based on recommendation from the relevant department/center
- Process the evaluation committee's preliminary and final recommendations after assessing dissertations submitted for the PhD and Dr.Philos.-degrees with conclusions on minor revisions of dissertations, rejected disertations, and recommendations given with dissent.
- 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
- Serve as the body for handling disputes unless otherwise determined
- Manage funds allocated to the committee
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.
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.
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
Printing, trial lecture and defence
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.
Advertised positions
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.
External applicants
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.
Requirements for admission
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. This means:
- 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 may qualify for admission.
In all cases, the master's degree must contain an independent master thesis.
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.
Grades
Grade requirements applies both to the master thesis as well as courses part of the master’s degree. The minimum requirements are:
- Grade B or better on the master’s thesis
- Average grade of B or better on courses that are part of the master’s degree, or the last two years in an integrated master's.
For candidates 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.
Application for admission to PhD studies
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.
Application requirements
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.
Project description requirements
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
When do I apply?
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.
Where do I send/submit the application?
The application with all required attachments shall be sent to the PhD administration (see Contact)
Handling and evaluation of the application
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:
Duty work
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 curriculum. For subject books or articles in science subjects, approx. 40 pages per credit and in social studies approx. 70 pages per credit.
- 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.
Supervision
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 UiT Info.
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.
Leave of absence
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.
Progress report
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 and at the latest 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.
Follow-up
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.
Mobility grant
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.
Language
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.
Abstract
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.
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.
Printing
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.
Trial lecture
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 days 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.
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 for Innovation, Industry Collaboration and PhD (leader): Petter Gullmark
- 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.
Admission
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
Study phase
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
Thesis
Use the following link: Thesis template
Completion
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:
- Email: ingjerd.nilsen@uit.no
- Phone number: 77 64 60 18
Application for admission, disputation:
- Email: lisbeth.nordoy@uit.no
- Phone number: 77 64 4586
Information for newly arrived students/employees:
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 (revidert 2024)
- Supplementary provisions to the regulations for the degree PhD – BFE-fak (revised 2024)
Ethical guidelines for supervision at UiT:
- Etiske retningslinjer for veiledning ved UiT Norges arktiske universitet
- Ethical guidelines for supervision at UiT the Arctic University of Norway
Guidelines for the evaluation of doctoral degrees at UiT:
- Veiledning om bedømmelse (sensur) av doktorgrader ved UiT
- Guidelines for the evaluation of doctoral degrees at 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
- Project description
- Timetable and progress plan
- Financing plan
- Data management plan
- Description of necessary infrastructure
- Description of supervision requirements in special cases, and suggested supervisors
- Plans for temporary research stays at other research institutions
- Dissemination plan
- 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 postmottak@ivt.uit.no.
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 postmottak@ivt.uit.no
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 here. 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
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:
Fall 2023
| Coursecode | Coursename |
| TEK-8002 | Principles of mathematical analysis |
| TEK-8101 | An introduction to homogenization |
| TEK-8502 | Applied spline theory |
| TEK-8503 | Advanced geometric modeling |
| TEK-8506 | Topics in computational fluid dynamics |
Spring 2024
| Coursecode | Coursename |
| TEK-8001 | Philosophy of science and ethics |
| TEK-8003 | A basic course in applied mathematics |
| TEK-8004 | Fundamentals of scientific computing |
| TEK-8015 | Multiphysics simulation |
| TEK-8102 | Nonlinear control theory |
| TEK-8103 | Algorithms in geometric modeling |
| TEK-8505 | Functional analysis |
Continuously
| Coursecode | Coursename |
| TEK-8831/8835/8840 | Special Curriculum in Engineering Science |
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
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: postmottak@ivt.uit.no
Right to study
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.
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: postmottak@ivt.uit.no
Supplementary regulations at the IVT faculty
See Supplementary regulations for the PhD degree at the IVT faculty
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).
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 postmottak@ivt.uit.no
- You will find the Munin portal for submitting your thesis here. Use your username and password at UiT. Contact orakel@uit.noif you need assistance.
- Please use UiT's templatesfor 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: munin@ub.uit.no, 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.
- 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 candidate's contribution(s) signed by the candidate and co-author's must be sent to postmottak@ivt.uit.no. (Form here: Declaration of authorship)
- 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 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:
- 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.
- 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 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 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.
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.
Vision
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)
The candidate can:
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.
Who can apply?
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 average grade of B (3.5) from a master’s degree (or last two years of an integrated master’s degree over 5 years) is required for admission. Applicants with an average grade of C (3.0) may be admitted after an individual assessment is made by the Programme Board if it is documented that the candidate is particularly suitable for doctoral education, and the Programme Board is unanimous in its admission decision.
Financing
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 two possible ways to finance PhD studies: 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 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.
The following must be included in the application:
- 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 mustbe 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-courseand 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
Courses
Courses
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 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:
| MFA-8020 | Advanced Maritime Operations | 5 ECTS, UiT |
| MFA-8030 | Maritime Technologies in Polar Waters | 10 ECTS, UiT |
| PN-ML9000 | Maritime Logistics and Port Operation Management | 5 ECTS, USN |
| PN-TA9000 | Task Analysis in Maritime Socio-technical Systems | 5 ECTS, USN |
| PN-DM9000 | Decision Making and Performance Assessment | 5 ECTS, USN |
| PN-SYS9000 | Systems Thinking | 7,5 ECTS, USN |
| TS8001 | Maritime Systems Design and Methods | 10 ECTS, NTNU |
| Individual special curriculum | 5-10 ECTS, all |
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.
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
Template for the candidate's self-report: 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
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
|
Inst. |
Name |
Position |
Fields of expertise
|
|
UiT |
|
Professor |
Maritime security |
|
UiT |
|
Professor |
Marine technology/Nautical science |
|
UiT |
|
Associate Professor, PhD-leader, chair of program board |
Maritime logistics/Nautical science |
|
UiT |
Associate Professor |
||
|
UiT |
|
Associate Professor |
Maritime Vessel Operations |
|
UiT |
Associate Professor II |
||
|
UiT |
|
Associate Professor |
Maritime safety management |
|
NTNU |
|
Associate Professor, |
Hydrography/Nautical science |
|
NTNU |
Associate Professor |
||
|
NTNU |
Associate Professor |
||
|
NTNU |
|
Associate Professor |
Human Factors |
|
NTNU |
|
Associate Professor |
Ship Design and Operation |
|
NTNU |
|
Head of Department |
Systems design |
|
NTNU |
Professor |
||
|
NTNU |
Professor |
||
|
NTNU |
|
Professor |
Ship machinery |
|
NTNU |
|
Professor |
Robotics and Cybernetics |
|
NTNU |
|
Associate Professor |
Marine technology |
|
NTNU |
Associate Professor |
||
|
NTNU |
Associate Professor | ||
|
NTNU |
Associate Professor | ||
|
USN |
Professor, |
Manufacturing and Supply Chain Systems, Maritime Logistics |
|
|
USN |
|
Professor |
Organization, Management and Innovation |
|
USN |
Professor |
||
|
USN |
|
Associate Professor |
|
|
USN |
Associate Professor |
||
|
USN |
|
Professor |
Maritime logistics |
|
USN |
|
Professor |
Maritime human factors |
|
USN |
Professor |
Oceanography |
|
|
USN |
|
Associate Professor |
Systems engineering |
|
USN |
Associate Professor |
||
|
USN |
|
Professor |
Optimization/Data mining |
|
USN |
|
Associate Professor |
Maritime human factors |
|
USN |
Associate Professor |
||
|
HVL |
Professor |
Mathematics and Informatics |
|
|
HVL |
|
Associate professor |
Computational fluid dynamics |
|
HVL |
|
Professor |
Maritime human factors |
|
HVL |
Professor |
||
|
HVL |
Associate Professor |
||
|
HVL |
Associate Professor |
PhD-students
Our first PhD student, Dr. Odd Sveinung Hareide, graduated on April 5h 2019.
|
Name |
Tentative thesis title
|
|
Brian Murray (UiT) (Graduated 2021) |
Predictive Collision Avoidance for Autonomous Surface Vessels.
|
|
Per Roald Leikanger (UiT) (Graduated 2022)
|
Decision support systems for advanced maritime operations.
|
|
Khanh Quang Bui (UiT) (Graduated)
|
Advanced Data Analytics for Ship Performance Monitoring in Autonomous Maritime Operations
|
|
Advanced Ship Predictor for Situation Awareness in Autonomous Ship Navigation |
|
|
Energy Efficiency and Emission Reduction Technology Integration Through Digital Twin in Shipping |
|
|
Performance and assessment in Maritime Training Simulators |
|
|
Decision Analyses of Human and Digital Navigators in Ship Encounters at Bridge Simulator Environment to Support Autonomous Shipping |
|
|
Application of Learning Analytics in Maritime Education and Training |
|
|
Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) for nautical simulation training and decision support. |
|
|
Selection and Assessment in Maritime Training Simulators. |
|
|
Raheleh Kari (NTNU) (Graduated 2023)
|
Human in the Loop for Remote Ship Operations
|
|
Tore Relling (NTNU) (Graduated 2020) |
Human-centred approach to the governmental role in autonomous operations.
|
|
Rami Zghyer (NTNU) (Graduated 2023)
|
Real-time simulation of nautical operations: the effect of ship dynamics and control design approaches in guidance, navigation and control of remotely operated vessels.
|
|
Erlend Erstad (NTNU) (Graduated 2024) |
Enhancing Operational Maritime Cyber Resilience |
|
Student engagement (SE) in maritime simulation-based training activities |
|
|
Andreas Solnørdal Madsen (NTNU) (Graduated 2024) |
Developing strategies for AI decision transparency in autonomous shipping |
|
|
Operations science reborn.
|
|
Tae-Eun Kim (USN) (Graduated 2020) |
Beyond Safety Management: Leadership for Safer Ship Operations.
|
|
Jørgen Ernstsen (USN) (Graduated 2020) |
Development of assessment tool for seafarers’ performance in Nautical Operations.
|
|
Marianne Kjørstad (USN) (Graduated 2022)
|
Technology with Empathy - Human Systems Engineering Innovation Framework.
|
|
Amit Sharma (USN) (Graduated 2023)
|
Computer assisted collaborative learning as an intervention in Maritime Education and Training.
|
|
Siv Engen (USN) (Graduated 2022)
|
System architecture and design in subsea industry.
|
|
Sathiya Kumar Renganayagalu (USN)
|
Wearable Virtual Reality for maritime professional training: technology, applications, methods and limitations.
|
|
Karen Czachorowski (USN) (Graduated 2022)
|
Blockchain Technology Applied to the Maritime Offshore Logistics and Operations – Oil and Gas Supply Chain and Logistics Digitalization
|
| Mehdi Poornikoo (USN) (Graduated 2024) |
Human Aspects in Autonomous Systems-Human-Autonomy Teaming in the maritime sector |
| Simen Hjellvik (USN) |
Immersive Technologies in Maritime Education |
| Veronica Jaramillo Jimenez (USN) | Big Data Analytics for Green Ships |
| Koen van der Merwe (USN) (Graduated 2024) | Designing for scalability – operator performance in shore-based control centres for autonomous shipping |
| Mari Auby Starup | Doctoral Research Fellow in Innovation in Maritime learning and assessment practices; focusing on social interactions in simulator-based learning practices |
| William Christer Gyldensten | Innovation in maritime learning and assessment practices (Cloud simulations) |
|
Vu Viet Dung (HVL) (Graduated 2022) |
Design for safety: developing user-centered interfaces for marine navigation systems. |
|
Hooshyar Azizpour (HVL) (Graduated 2023)
|
ARCEVAC - Maritime Evacuation in Polar Waters
|
|
|
ARCEVAC - Maritime Evacuation in Polar Waters.
|
|
Leif Ole Dreyer (HVL) (Graduated 2024)
|
Maritime Autonomy – Investigation of Suitable Safety Management Measures
|
|
Future skills and psychological capital for personnel in the maritime industry |
|
|
Maritime Safety Management - Evaluation of Quality and Effectiveness of Auditing Systems |
|
|
Exploring Maritime Situation Awareness in the Context of Cyber Events |
|
| Synergistic Maritime Simulation Curriculum | |
| Innovation, Regulation and Safety in the Maritime Green Shift |
Please contact your local PhD-coordinator for detailed procedures for submitting your PhD-thesis and further process at your home university.
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 orakel@uit.no 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: munin@ub.uit.no, 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 postmottak@nt.uit.no.
- 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 ag@andvord.no to get an estimate of the costs. When you receive information about the costs, you have to get a requisition (contact okonomi@nt.uit.no) 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
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
Reglement for ph.d.-studiet i nautiske operasjoner (new version, valid from 04.06.2024) (NORSK)
Reglement for ph.d.-studiet i nautiske operasjoner (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.04.06.2024) (ENGLISH)
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
UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Camilla Andreassen, local coordinator
camilla.andreassen@uit.no
University of South-Eastern Norway
Lene Vallestad, local coordinator
lene.vallestad@usn.no
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Eva Leirbæk, local coordinator
Eva.Leirbaek@hvl.no
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Torjus Levisen Johansen, local coordinator