Description of routines for admission to the PhD programme

Reviewed by the Programme Committee for Research Training (PFF) on 30 April 2013 and the Recommendations and Appointments Committee (ITU) on 26 June 2013. Amended by the ITU on 24 October 2013.

GENERAL PROVISIONS (apply to all PhD candidates)

To be admitted to a PhD programme at the University of Oslo, the applicant must have a first degree requiring at least five years of education, i.e. a Master’s degree or an equivalent education approved by the Faculty. Announcements of vacancies may define certain specializations.
Admission to a PhD programme requires the applicant to have good grades. Normally, the majority of the grades earned at the basic level should be A grades. The master’s thesis should also be in the top segment. Academic production and independent design of the project outline may to some extent compensate for the grade requirement.

The applicant must document possession of language skills that will enable him/her to follow the PhD programme.
Applicants must submit an application accompanied by a CV, other application documents, academic works and a list of such works, if any, as well as a detailed project outline (5‒10 pages).
If there is any doubt about the formal qualifications of an applicant to a PhD position or of an external applicant to the PhD programme, the evaluation committee or the PFF may obtain an assessment from a member of the academic staff who has competence at the associate professor level and has no relationship to the applicant. This applies also in the case of doubt regarding the feasibility and relevance of the PhD project. The Faculty’s ability to provide a supervisor and infrastructure will also be considered in the decision on admission and employment.
The Programme Committee for Research Training (PFF) submits a recommendation to the Recommendations and Appointments Committee (ITU) on employment of the applicant in a PhD position, normally on the basis of a recommendation from an appointments committee appointed by the PFF. Admission to the PhD programme of candidates who do not apply for a PhD position at the Faculty is decided by the PFF.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS (apply to PhD candidates who are not employed at UiO)

PhD candidates who are not applying for a position as a doctoral research fellow at the Faculty must apply on a separate form. A confirmation of funding from an external source or a confirmation of employment and the employment period from an employer must be available; self-financing will as a rule not be approved. The funding must normally encompass at least three man-years.

If the employer is an external party, the “Agreement on completion of doctoral degree education in cooperation with an external party” must be filled in and attached to the application.
A recommendation from a supervisor at the Faculty, or from another supervisor at a unit of the University approved by the Faculty, should be available.