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Guidelines for writing and approval of essays under the educational component

These guidelines were adopted by the Pro-Dean for Research by authority on 20 April 2007, and amended by the Programme Committee for Research Training (PFF) on 23 January,28 November 2008 and The Autumn semester 2015.

Writing of essays is mandatory for all PhD candidates admitted to the programme after 1 January 2007.

Objective:
The essays shall help the candidate establish a reflective and active relationship to the issues discussed in the various modules.

Learning outcomes:
The essays shall help improve the candidates’ general insight into the topics discussed in the various modules and help develop the candidates’ own projects. Moreover, they shall provide the candidates with writing practice and constructive feedback on their use of the literature.

Requirements to essays:
The essay shall focus on the issues or perspectives discussed within the framework of the seminar and its accompanying literature. It can be related to the topic of the thesis or the research area of which the thesis is part.

Examples of possible essays include discussions of particular issues covered by the literature or more comprehensive overviews of theories included in the courses covered by the various modules. An essay could have the form of a journal article with footnotes and a list of references or be a wider discussion of a specific problem.
The essay must document that the candidate has a good understanding of the research issues that have been raised in the area in question.
The essay shall have a scope of 5‒10* pages, with 1.5 line spacing and a 12 pt font. (* For candidates with specialization in criminology/sociology of law, separate rules apply under module 4). To be approved, the essay must comply with requirements to at least grade B at the master’s level.

Time limits:
Proposals for topic and research question must be presented to the person responsible for the seminar before the end of the seminar. The deadline for submission of essays is three weeks after the completion of the seminar. The lecturer may request improvements before final approval. The deadline for submission of a revised essay is one week after the student has been notified of the need for improvement. If the revised essay fails to be approved, the candidate must write a new essay for a later PhD seminar.

Published Dec. 2, 2013 1:18 PM - Last modified Apr. 1, 2016 11:19 AM