Educational component

Completing the educational component

The educational component can be taken on a rolling basis, but most of it should be taken during the first year of the admission period. It consists of a compulsory 10-credit component and an elective 20-credit component. The total requirement for the training component is 30 ECTS credits.

Compulsory component

The compulsory part of the educational component consists of 10 credits.

Candidates working on research projects involving animal testing are required to attend a mandatory course in laboratory animal science based upon FELASA C requirements.

Elective component

The elective component consists of 20 credits.

• A minimum of 15 credits must consist of PhD courses at a Norwegian or international educational institution:
  • Courses in the educational component must be subject-specific.
  • Courses to be recognized as part of the educational component must not have been completed more than two years prior to the date of admission to the PhD programme.
  • No duplicate ECTS credits are awarded for the same content covered in multiple courses.
  • Writing courses (e.g., BIOS9500 – Scientific Writing) or language courses are not approved as part of the educational component.
  • One (1) medical specialisation is approved as a PhD course equivalent to 5 ECTS credits.
    • Individual courses forming part of specialisation are not approved, see § 8 of the Supplementary rules pertaining to the Regulations.

• Up to 5 ECTS credits may be obtained through activities other than PhD courses. These activities must be completed while you are formally enrolled to the PhD programme. They cannot be pre-approved, and any activities completed before or after enrolment will not count toward the educational component. Special syllabus completed at other faculties or institutions cannot be included in the educational component.

  Other activities

• Research courses and workshops are approved in accordance with the ECTS grading scale. Minimum duration is 25 working hours. Programme and literature along with proof of participation must be documented. Maximum 3 credits.
• Participation in a national or international conference with a presentation (oral or poster presentation):
  • National conference: 1 ECTS credit per conference. Maximum 3 ECTS credits.
  • International conference: 2 ECTS credits per conference. Maximum 4 ECTS credits.
  • The presentations must be on different individual subjects.
  • To have a presentation approved, you must submit:
    1. Abstract of the presentation
    2. Front page of the conference program with the conference name and date
    3. Page with the title of your presentation or confirmation from the organizer that you presented at the conference.
• A popular scientific paper/chronicle written on the candidate’s subject area: 1 credit per paper, up to maximum 2 credits. Copy of paper(s) must be enclosed with application for approval of the educational component.
• Research period at an institution abroad: 1 credit per week. Minimum duration of stay is two weeks. Maximum 5 credits. A written report, Form for research period at an institution abroad (docx), must be submitted to postmottak@medisin.uio.no both before and after the stay. The plan for the stay (sections 1–3 of the form) must be approved by the principal supervisor and the Faculty before departure and confirmed by the external institution. The completed report after the stay (section 4) must also be submitted to the Faculty.

Approval of external courses

PhD-level courses from an accredited educational institution that award ECTS credits can be approved as part of the educational component.

You have to apply to have international or Norwegian PhD courses approved if the institutions providing the courses do not have ECTS-accredition. The following attachments must be enclosed with your application:

• Confirmation that the course is a PhD-level course.
• Confirmation of course duration (i.e. number of hours course lasted). If relevant, confirmation of number of hours of preparation before the course started/course literature and confirmation of exam (i.e. number of hours an exam lasted as well as any preparations before an exam).
• If relevant, confirmation of presentation - poster or oral presentation.
• Web address to the course.

External courses cannot be approved as part of the educational component if the required documentation is not submitted. External courses will not be pre-approved.

Credit points equal the ECTS grading scale (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System). 1 credit = 1 ECTS= 25-30 hours.

Courses taken at the Norwegian Medical Association

Courses offered by the Norwegian Medical Association (Den norske legeforening) are classified as continuing and further education courses and are not eligible for approval as part of the PhD programme’s educational component.

Using courses at Master’s level

One (1) master’s course, up to a maximum of 5 ECTS credits, may exceptionally be approved if the candidate has a specific need for supplementary knowledge related to an interdisciplinary task:

• You must apply for approval in advance. Your application should include a statement from your principal supervisor confirming that the course is relevant to your research project, § 8 of the Supplementary rules pertaining to the Regulations.
• The master’s course must be passed with a grade of B or higher.
• Courses that are already part of the candidate’s bachelor’s or master’s degree cannot be approved.
• Bachelor’s courses cannot be included in the training component. 

The Medical Student Research Programme

As a general rule, the requirements of the PhD Regulations and the Faculty’s Supplementary regulations apply.

Candidates who have completed the Medical Student Research Programme normally get their educational component approved as equivalent to the PhD programme’s educational component if the research done on the Medical Student Research Programme leads to a PhD project. 

Former students of the Medical Student Research Programme may still need to take additional courses if it is required for the learning outcomes of the PhD programme or is relevant to the topic or methodology of their research project. Additional courses may also be required if more than two years have passed since completing the programme’s educational component. The Faculty will assess this, usually during the PhD admission process.

How to apply for approval of the educational component

You must apply for approval of the educational component as soon as it is completed, in accordance with the Faculty’s rules, see § 8 of the Supplementary rules pertaining to the Regulations. The application for approval should be submitted once a total of 30 ECTS credits has been achieved and should be received no later than 6 months before submission of the thesis.

You will receive a formal letter of approval once the educational component has been approved. This letter must be attached when submitting your thesis for evaluation.

Application content

Application form for approval of the educational component (docx). List the courses you wish to have approved in order of priority. You will not be given credits beyond the requirement of 30 credits.

If you are applying for approval of other activities or external courses, you must provide documentation for each item, such as transcripts, certificates, or confirmations. Documentation is not required for PhD courses that are already registered in Studentweb at UiO.

The application should be sent by e-mail to postmottak@medisin.uio.no.