The PhD education
The education shall qualify candidates for research and other work requiring high levels of scientific insight and analytical thinking. The PhD degree is conferred on the basis of:
- completion of the programme's educational component
- the doctoral thesis
- the doctoral examination
The PhD examination consists of a trial lecture and a public defence of the thesis, also known as disputation.
The educational component
The educational component is compulsory for all candidates on the PhD programme, and corresponds to 30 credits. It can be carried out throughout the admission period, but the bulk of it should be completed during the first year.
It consists of a compulsory part of 10 credits and an elective part of 20 credits.
The educational component must be approved before you can apply for thesis evaluation.
The doctoral thesis
The thesis shall be an independent, scientific work that meets international standards with regard to ethical requirements, academic standards and methodology. More about thesis requirements can be found in the rules and regulations.
The PhD examination
The PhD examination consists of a trial lecture and a public defence of the thesis (disputation). The trial lecture must be passed before the public defence may take place.
Internal and external PhD candidates
PhD candidates employed by the University of Oslo must sign a separate employment contract with the university. These candidates are internal PhD candidates.
PhD candidates who receive support from an external party in the form of funding, employment or other contributions must fill out an agreement with an external party. Being employed by a university hospital is not the same as being employed by UiO.
When should you apply to the faculty for project amendment?
The project description with which you applied to the PhD programme serves as a guiding framework for your PhD thesis.
While working on a PhD project, various factors might occur that necessitate adjustments to the original project description on which you were admitted to the PHD programme. This may include changes to the methodology or research questions, new collaborators, changing the data collection, etc. Minor changes, where the PhD project remains essentially as originally planned on admission, do not require you to apply for project amendment. However, if there are major changes and your thesis does not fit within the framework of the original project description, you must apply for project amendment. Major changes may include new topics, a different field of study, major changes in planned data collection or use of methodology. If you are unsure whether your amendment is considered a major amendment, please contact forskerutdanning@medisin.uio.no for advice.
Please note that if the changes are so substantial that the project appears to be a new project, you may have to terminate your current PhD admission and apply for a new admission with the new project. Always contact the faculty if the changes to your project are significant.
Send application for project amendment (docx) together with an updated project description to postmottak@medisin.uio.no. If the changes require new ethical permits, please also submit the permits along with the project amendment form.
The faculty will make an overall assessment in consultation with the institute before deciding on the matter.
Quality Assurance System for the PhD programme
The Quality Assurance System for the Faculty of Medicine (pdf in Norwegian) was adopted by the Faculty Board 3 March 2015. A revision was adopted at the management meeting on 15 March 2022. The system shall contribute to the quality and further development of the PhD programme.
Expected learning outcomes
See goals for knowledge, skills and competences under expected learning outcomes.
Mid-term evaluation
All PhD candidates must carry out a mid-term evaluation 15 to 18 months after admission to the PhD programme, calculated according to full-time PhD studies. The mid-term evaluation applies to all PhD candidates who have been admitted to the PhD programme.
See mid-term evaluation for information and routines.
Start-up and development meetings
All candidates on the PhD programme must carry out development meetings. One of the aims of the development meetings is to ensure that all aspects of the supervision collaboration are discussed, so that all PhD candidates receive effective and targeted guidance. Read more about start-up and development meetings.
Rules and regulations
- The Quality Assurance System for the Faculty of Medicine (pdf in Norwegian)
- PhD education
- Educational Component
- Thesis requirements
- The PhD examination