Thesis requirements are set out in section 10.1 of the Regulations for the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo and the supplementary regulations at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences to section 10.1 of the Regulations for the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.
Supervisors have a responsibility to consider the viability of publishing when selecting a research project. During the thesis work, parts of the work will normally be submitted for publication in international journals and/or presented at international conferences.
Criteria for assessment of the thesis
It is beneficial for the PhD candidates to familiarize themselves with the requirements for a thesis. It can also be useful to know how a doctoral thesis at UiO are assessed:
- Regulations for the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo
- Guidelines for the Evaluation of Norwegian Doctoral Degrees
- Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences’ Supplement to Guidelines for the evaluation of Norwegian doctoral degrees
Article-based thesis
The thesis is normally submitted in the form of a number of articles that are linked together to form a whole (superstructure or extended abstract), with an introduction to the work and a summary of the main findings and conclusions. The superstructure must also incorporate the questions and conclusions presented in the individual works into an overall perspective, thereby documenting the coherence of the thesis.
If a written work is the product of a collaborative effort with other authors, the PhD candidate must adhere to the norms for co-authorship that are generally accepted in the academic community and UiO’s guidelines for co-authorship.
A thesis that includes works by several authors must be accompanied by a signed declaration describing the candidate and the co-authors of each work.
When using published works, these cannot be accepted as part of a doctoral thesis if they were published more than five years before the candidate's admission date.
Monograph
If a thesis that takes the form of a monograph is based on underlying publications with several co-authors, the thesis must be submitted with co-author declarations for all relevant publications.
Summaries/abstracts
All PhD theses must have two scientific summaries/abstracts: a Norwegian and an English (it can be the same text). The summaries/abstracts should be up to 2 pages (400 - 1200 words) and must be included in the thesis at the time of submission. If you need assistance for the Norwegian summary contact your supervisor/research group. As a last resort you could use Semantix Translations (semantix.no). Please contact Semantic in order to get a quote.
Co-author declaration
A thesis that includes works by several authors must be accompanied by a signed declaration describing the candidate and the co-authors contribution of each work. If an article has previously been used in a thesis or is planned for use in a future thesis, the degree of input by the different PhD candidates must be clarified. Contributions from Master’s degree candidates must be described.
Layout
The University Print Centre specifies instructions for the layout that all theses at the University of Oslo must follow.
Language
The thesis must be written in English.
Publicizing the thesis
The thesis must be made publicly available no later than two weeks before the date of the public defence.