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Courses and the educational component of your PhD

The educational component is compulsory for all candidates on the PhD programme, and must correspond to between 30 and 40 credits.

Candidates discussing next to a white board with equations

Training

Together with the work on the thesis, the educational component must provide the necessary academic breadth and specialization. Up to 10 credits with a grade of A or B can be covered by Master's-level courses.

The content of the educational component must be between 30 and 40 credits.

The educational component for natural sciences subjects normally consists of at least 20 credits.

If you want to change a course in the educational component, you must complete the form for changes to the educational component (.pdf) and submit it to the unit you have been admitted to. This must normally be done before taking the course you want to change to. The faculty will decide whether you can change the course or not.

Compulsory courses

At least 5 credits must be within a course on research ethics, philosophy of science and scientific method. MNSES9100 is the course that can meet this requirement.

Research courses and special syllabuses

Up to 10 credits can be taken as national or international research courses or special syllabuses in the form of literature or methods studies that are relevant to the research project. Research courses with a final examination that are fully or partly organized by the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences or the Natural History Museum can be included in the educational component as ordinary courses.

For approval of a research course without a final examination, the PhD candidate must give a seminar at the unit within six months of completion of the course. The seminar will be assessed by a representative of the local PhD committee.

Courses taken as special syllabuses must be described on a dedicated form (odt) (doc), where the content, level and scope are indicated in the same way as other course presentations on the faculty's website. The examination form must be stated. The description of the syllabus must be approved by the unit before the examination is taken.

The faculty will only credit research courses and special syllabuses with a whole number of credits.

Attending courses as a visiting PhD candidate

If you have been admitted to a PhD programme at an educational institution other than UiO you can apply for a visiting PhD candidate status on our 9000 courses in natural sciences.

Supplementary department rules for the educational component

Contact

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