Application deadline

PhD students at UiT The Arctic University of Norway go directly to Studentweb to register for class and exam by 1 September.

Other applicants: Application deadline is 1st June.

Application code: 9301 in Søknadsweb.

Course dates fall semester 2020: 20.-23. October.

Type of course

Admission requirements

PhD students and participants in the ‘Associate Professor Programme’ at UiT who have completed a master's degree can apply for admission. Valid documentation is a confirmation from your educational institution stating that you are registered PhD students. Participants in the ‘Associate Professor Programme’ must document that they hold a Master's degree of five years or 3 +3 years (or equivalent) to be qualified applicants.

The course has 30 seats. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available on the PhD course, applicants will be ranked from category 1 to 4.

Category 1: People admitted to the PhD programme at the UiT in the humanities and social sciences, health sciences or economics.

Category 2: Participants in the ‘Associate Professor Programme’ that meet the educational requirement. 

Category 3: PhD students in humanities and social sciences, health sciences or economics from other institutions. 

Category 4: People with a minimum of a master's degree (or equivalent) in the humanities or social sciences, health sciences or economics. If there are more than 30 PhD students from the HSL Faculty, a priority is given to those who are progressed further in their PhD programme. If this is equal, admission will be decided by lottery. The minimum number of participants for the course to be offered is: 5.

Course content

The course offer theoretical perspectives of understanding social inequality in health.

The last 250 years have manifested an increased life expectancy in large parts of the world's population. Research over the past two decades demonstrates a broad consensus that this increase has a social disadvantage, where people with short education and low incomes have poorer health and die earlier than people with long education and high incomes. Despite considerable knowledge, today's public health remains socially skewed.

This course aims to bring in theoretical perspectives of research on health inequalities from different academic disciplines. A focal point of departure is that the conceptual understanding of the terms 'social', 'inequality' and 'health' varies between disciplines. An interdisciplinary approach could contribute to an increased understanding of the complexity of human behavior over time and place.

Objectives of the course

The students have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge and understanding

The student has:

• Wide knowledge of various theories regarding health inequalities.

Skills

The student is able to:

• Explain key theoretical perspectives for conceptualizing social inequality in health.
• Reflect on one's chosen theoretical perspective for research on social inequality in health.
• Express themselves in writing and orally about theoretical perspectives on social inequality in health related to their PhD work.
• Provide constructive feedback on academic texts.

Competence

• Acquire advanced knowledge and insight into theories regarding health inequalities.
• Be able to critically evaluate and reflect on the theoretical perspectives presented.

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

The course is offered every second year.

It consists of four days of intensive classes, a total of 40 hours. Lectures and seminars in smaller groups. After the classes, the students are required to deliver a 2-3 page paper proposal within 10 work days. The students receive feedback on the paper proposals relatively shortly afterwards.

Assessment

The following coursework requirement must be completed and approved in order to take the final exam:

A 2-3 page paper proposal.

The exam will consist of:

A research paper limited to 4000 words on the chosen topic presented in the paper proposal.

The exam will be assessed on a Pass/Fail basis.

Retake is offered in the beginning of the following semester in cases of Fail. Deferred examination is offered in the beginning of the following semester if the student is unable to take the final exam due to illness or other exceptional circumstances. Registration deadline for retake is January 15 for autumn semester exams and August 15 for spring semester exams.

All courses will be evaluated once during the period of the study program. The board of the program decides which courses will be evaluated by students and teacher each year.