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Procedure of admission to the PhD Program at the Faculty of Law

To be employed as a Doctoral research fellow at the faculty or to be admitted as an external candidate to the faculty's PhD programme, there are certain general requirements regarding education, qualifications, and documentation.


Those employed as Doctoral research fellows at the faculty are automatically admitted to the PhD programme. External candidates must go through a separate application process for admission with a specific evaluation.

General requirements

The following requirements apply to both applicants for positions as Doctoral research fellow and external candidates.

Education and grades

  • For admission to the PhD programme, a master's degree in law, including criminology and legal sociology, or an equivalent university or college education is normally required. "Equivalent" means a master's degree or an equivalent education approved by the faculty. There may be specific subject areas specified in advertised positions.
  • The grade requirement for admission to the PhD programme is high. Normally, the applicant should have a result that places them among the top 10-15 percent of candidates. The master's thesis should also be of high quality. Progression in the applicants' grades can to some extent compensate for poorer grades in the early stage of studies.
  • A transcript of grades for the entire course of study and a diploma for the master's degree must be submitted with the application for a position or the application for admission without employment.

Applicants with foreign education

Applicants with foreign education must provide the following documentation of their education so that the faculty can assess whether the education fulfills the admission requirements:

  • Diploma and a description of how the course of study is structured
  • Transcripts of grades showing grades and an overview of the grading system used at the institution

Diplomas and transcripts of grades must be in the original language, and all documentation must be translated into Norwegian or English by an authorized translator.
Copies of diplomas must be certified copies.

Project description

The project description should be included in the application for both positions Doctoral research fellow and for admission to the PhD programme as external candidates. The project description is given significant weight in the evaluation of the application. A template for the project description is available.

Previous work

Previous written work, including a high-quality master's thesis, and an independently developed project description are also considered in the evaluation.

Language requirement

The PhD programme is conducted in Norwegian, another Scandinavian language, or English. Applicants must have language skills that enable them to follow the PhD training.

External Candidates

Applicants who meet the general requirements and have funding from other sources can apply for admission to the faculty's PhD programme as external candidates. External candidates follow a separate admission procedure, and the application is submitted on a separate form.

Evaluation of Applicants

  • Applicants for positions as Doctoral research fellow are evaluated by an assessment committee established by the faculty's Programme Committee for Research Training (PFF). When evaluating external candidates, PFF seeks input from the relevant department and/or academic community.
  • In case of doubt regarding the applicants' formal qualifications or the feasibility and/or relevance of the PhD project, PFF may seek additional assessments from faculty members with professorial competence.
  • In addition to the applicants' formal qualifications and the quality, feasibility, and relevance of the project, the evaluation may take into account the responsibilities and obligations of the Faculty of Law in larger collaborative projects. The faculty's ability to provide supervision and infrastructure will be considered in the decision regarding the admission of external PhD candidates.
  • For appointment to a research fellow position, PFF provides a recommendation to the Appointment and Advisory Committee (ITU) based on the committee's evaluation. ITU makes the decision on appointment based on PFF's recommendation.
  • Admission of external candidates to the PhD programme is determined by  PFF.

Links

Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo, § 5 Admissions

The Faculty’s programme description for the PhD degree, Section 4 Application and admission
 

Published Aug. 19, 2015 11:03 AM - Last modified Jan. 9, 2024 1:45 PM