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The thesis: – requirements and guidelines

Thesis requirements

A doctoral thesis must be written within the framework of the doctoral programme. The nominal work load on the thesis is two - and- a - half years.

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 Faculty’s programme plan for the degree.

  • The thesis must be an independent, scientific work that meets international standards with regard to ethical requirements, academic level and method.
  • The thesis must contribute to the development of new knowledge in the chosen field and be of such quality as to qualify for publication as part of the scientific literature in the field.
  • A thesis can be submitted as a monograph or a collection of articles.

Article-based theses

  • Collations of several shorter works are approved as a thesis if there is a relationship between the different works and this relationship is explained in an introductory chapter of the thesis, i.e. the extended abstract.
  • The introductory chapter/extended abstract must not only summarize but also compare the research questions and conclusions presented in the articles from an overall perspective.
  • Guidelines have been devised for article-based theses and the extended abstract.

At the Faculty, all shorter works (articles) that form part of the thesis may be written with co-authors. It is essential that the candidate is the main author and has overall responsibility for a majority of the articles included in the thesis. The candidate must be the first author on at least two of the shorter works. 

Further requirements on the scope and content of the extended abstract are given in the faculty’s supplementary rules and the Guidelines for the scope and content of extended abstracts.

For further details of the expectations concerning article-based theses, see the guidelines for article-based theses and UiO’s Guidelines for the evaluation of Norwegian doctoral degrees.

Co-authors

If your thesis is article-based, one or more of your articles may have co-authors. If so, you must submit co-author declarations to document the extent of the co-authorship and your contribution to each article. You must submit a completed and signed co-author declaration together with the thesis when it is submitted for adjudication.

Co-author declaration form

Co-authorship (Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees)

Language

Most of the theses in the faculty are written in Norwegian or English. If you want to write your thesis in a language other than Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English, you must apply for permission to do so upon admission to the PhD programme. The faculty decides which languages can be used in a thesis.

Supervision

Thesis work is performed under supervision. Further information on supervision.

Published Apr. 22, 2015 8:22 AM - Last modified Feb. 7, 2023 5:08 PM