Dr. philos (PhD Programme in Social Sciences)

Doctor philosophiae (dr. philos.) is a non-supervised doctorate that can be awarded to academics who have completed research and a doctoral thesis without affiliation to the University of Stavanger.

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Doctor philosophiae (dr. philos.)

Doctor philosophiae (dr. philos.) is a non-supervised doctorate that can be awarded to academics who have completed research and a doctoral thesis without affiliation to the University of Stavanger.

Dr. Philos. degrees are awarded on the basis of:

  • a doctoral thesis
  • two trial lectures, of which one topic is selected and the other given
  • a public defence of the thesis

The thesis must be independent scientific work that meets international standards with regards to ethical requirements, academic level and methods. The thesis must be at the same academic level as a PhD thesis, but have a significantly larger scope.

Who is this for?

To be eligible for admission to the Dr. Philos. evaluation, the applicant must have an education that is equivalent to a Norwegian master's degree, and fulfil the same admissions criteria as for the PhD Programme in Social Sciences (see Study plan). The research and thesis should be completed individually without formal affiliation to the University of Stavanger.

  1. The thesis shall be an independent, scientific work that fulfils international standards regarding ethical requirements, academic standards, methodology and documentation.
  2. The thesis shall contribute to the development of new scientific knowledge and must be of sufficiently high quality to merit publication as part of the scientific literature in the field.
  3. The absence of a required educational component equivalent to one semester shall be compensated by thesis work which is more extensive than what is required in the organized doctoral programmes.
  4. The thesis can be a monograph or a compilation of several shorter papers. If the thesis is a compilation of several shorter papers, the relationship between them should be clearly explained.
  5. One thesis may be submitted for evaluation by several contributors provided that their individual contributions can be identified and the scope of each candidate's contribution is equivalent to one thesis.
  6. If a written work is the product of a collaborative effort with other authors, the candidate shall adhere to those norms for co-authorship that are commonly accepted in the scientific field.
  7. Theses that include works by several authors shall be accompanied by a signed declaration describing the contributions made to each work by the candidate and each individual co-author.
  8. The thesis must be written in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, or English.
  9. The thesis shall be available to the public.
  10. A thesis which is not approved for public defence may be assessed in a revised form no earlier than six months after the faculty made this decision. A new assessment can only be made once.

Applicants must have Norwegian or Nordic citizenship. If you are not a Nordic citizen, an application for the thesis evaluation must be approved by the relevant faculty. Such applications may be granted if you have a residence permit in Norway or if the thesis meets at least one of the following criteria:

  • the thesis examines topics or makes use of material that has a direct connection to Norway; or
  • is closely related to Norwegian research within the discipline; or
  • has been carried out at a Norwegian university or research institute or in close contact with Norwegian researchers (documentation for this is required).

Note:
Applicants that already hold a Norwegian or Nordic doctoral degree cannot pursue a Dr. Philos. in the same subject field. Applicants cannot switch from an organised doctoral programme (PhD) to a Dr.Philos.

Application

Applications for Dr. Philos. are sent directly to the faculty.
In order to submit a thesis for Dr. Philos. evaluation, we need the following from the applicant:

  • Digital copy of thesis (PDF)
  • Formal application for assessment
  • A written declaration confirming that the thesis, or parts of it, have not been submitted for assessment at another university (in Norway or abroad)
  • Copy of master's degree diploma and grade transcript
  • CV with eventual publications
  • Co-author statements for each article in the thesis

The faculty decides whether you will be granted an evaluation of the thesis based on your application and the enclosed documentation.

If the application is approved, an assessment committee will be appointed, and you will receive information on the further process.