Who performs the adjudication?
The composition of the adjudication committee must normally take the following factors into consideration:
-
both genders are represented
-
at least one of the members is not affiliated with the University of Oslo
-
at least one of the members is not affiliated with a Norwegian university
- all members hold a doctoral degree or equivalent academic qualifications
The committee members must sign a declaration of impartiality.
You will be notified of the composition of the committee, and be able to submit written remarks within one week of the department sending the proposal to the faculty. The committee will have about 3 months to present its adjudication of the thesis. The faculty will contact you with the committee's recommendation.
After a positive recommendation
When the adjudication committee has presented a positive recommendation for your thesis, you must submit:
-
a personal details form and a popularized summary of the thesis (one A4 page maximum)
-
a press photo that we can use for publication on the website, etc. – remember to enclose a waiver from the photographer, so that the faculty can publish the photo
- an English abstract and an English translation of the title of your thesis
The administration will send the forms to the University’s central administration, which prints diplomas, etc. The faculty will publish the abstract online when announcing the public defence. See the faculty list of disputations.
You will be informed of the topic for the trial lecture 10 working days in advance. The public defence will take place about 5 months after the adjudication committee has received the thesis.
What is the procedure if the recommendation is not positive?
If the committee does not find the thesis worthy of public defence, there are two options.
1) The committee recommends revision of the thesis
This "interim solution" means that the adjudication committee can recommend that the faculty grants permission for a minor revision of the thesis. The committee must provide a detailed overview of the specific material that the candidate has to rework. If the faculty grants permission for revision of the thesis, it may also set a new deadline for presentation of the committee's final recommendation. This deadline cannot normally be longer than 6 months.
2) The committee finds that the thesis is not worthy of public defence (rejection)
When the faculty finds a doctoral thesis unworthy of public defence, it has been rejected. The earliest point at which it can be resubmitted in revised form is six months after the faculty's decision. There can only be one new adjudication. You follow the same submission procedure as the first time, but specify in your application that this is the second time you are applying for adjudication.