The PhD examination consists of a trial lecture and a public defence. A trial lecture on a set topic must be held before the public defence.
Trial lecture
When the dean has approved the thesis for public defence, you must deliver a trial lecture on a given topic set by the evaluation committee.
- You will be notified of the title of the lecture by email 10 working days prior to the trial lecture.
- The trial lecture is led by the chair of the defence and lasts 45 minutes. Up to 15 minutes can be allocated questions and comments after the trial lecture.
- During the trial lecture you have to show that you are able to convey knowledge. The target group for the trial lecture is students, colleagues without specialist knowledge, and the informed public.
- The trial lecture should adress topics outside your PhD thesis, hence you are not supposed to refer to your own PhD-work during the trial lecture.
Public defence
The disputation is the public defence of the thesis. It lasts between two to three hours, is led by the chair of the defence, and is conducted as follows:
- The chair of the defence opens the public defence by giving a brief presentation of the candidate and committee, and gives a brief account of the submission and evaluation of the thesis and the trial lecture.
- After the public defence is opened, the candidate must explain the purpose and results of the scientific investigation that has been carried out. The explanation can last up to 20 minutes and should be presented in a way that benefits students, persons without specialized knowledge, and the informed public.
- The first opponent follows with up to 75 minutes, and the second opponent with up to 60 minutes.
- The candidate concludes the public defense with a brief thank you to the university and the committee, after which the chair of the defence concludes the disputation ceremony.
The public defence must be held in premises belonging to the University of Oslo or a university hospital.
Language
The trial lecture shall be held in the same language as the thesis.
The public defence (the disputation) shall normally be held in the same language as the thesis. If the thesis is in English, the Faculty may in exceptional cases approve that the disputation is conducted in Norwegian, provided the members of the evaluation committee understand a Scandinavian language.
In such cases, an application must be submitted to the Faculty together with the application for thesis evaluation: Søknad om norsk disputas.
It is the principal supervisor's responsibility to clarify in advance with the proposed committee members and the candidate that the defence is set to be conducted in Norwegian, and to confirm that the committee is proficient in a Scandinavian language. The proposed committee chair confirms on behalf of the committee that they have been consulted.
Public defence at the institutes
Using logos
If you choose to use logos from funding source and/or hospital you must remember to include the Faculty’s logo.