PhD Programme in Social Sciences

The candidate and supervisor plan the educational component in line with the description of the project's learning outcomes, and the candidate's project and career plans.
The training component within the given framework is individual and adapted to the thesis work and the career plans of the individual candidate.
Elective courses in the educational component
Within the framework of the Faculty’s programme description, the candidate may choose which courses and activities are to be included, but the educational component must be planned in consultation with the candidate’s supervisor, and the choice of courses must be clarified in advance with the research school leader at the research school the candidate is affiliated with.
The structure of the organized academic training provides room for flexibility tailored to the candidate's needs and the project arrangements, but must include the following three elements: 

1. 10 ECTS within Philosophy of Science and Research ethics
2. 10 ECTS within Methods and/or Research design
3. 10 ECTS Thematic courses

Most PhD courses arranged by the Faculty of Social Sciences and UIS Buisness school is accessible for registration via Studentweb. There is a general overview of the courses offered and other academic activities under Courses and seminars.
Once a course has been completed, it will appear as approved in Studentweb.
External PhD-level courses (courses arranged by other faculties or institutions) from an educational institution that give credits/ECTS can be approved as part of the educational component. Documentation must be attached to the application to the Faculty after completion of these courses. Application for approval of required coursework should be submitted when you have achieved 30 credits.
At least 20 credits of the training component should be completed after admission. Elements that are to be included as part of the training component may not have been completed more than two years prior to the date of admission.

All courses taken outside the University of Stavanger must be documented with a course certificate.
If the activity is not weighted in the form of credits, the candidate must attach the programme and, as applicable, a reading list. The Research School will then determine how many credits the activity can be assigned. On completion of the approval round, the PhD candidate will receive a separate decision document from the PhD administration, and the courses will appear as approved in Studentweb.
Thematic courses in the training component:
Within the framework of the Faculty’s programme description, the candidate may choose which courses and activities are to be included, but the training component must be planned in consultation with the candidate’s supervisor, and the choice of courses must be clarified in advance with the research school leader at the department the candidate is affiliated with.
The following attachments must be enclosed with your application if the courses do not have credits/ECTS:

• Confirmation that the course is a PhD-level course.
• Confirmation of course duration (i.e. number of hours course lasted). If relevant, confirmation of number of hours of preparation before the course started/course literature and confirmation of exam (i.e. number of hours an exam lasted as well as any preparations before an exam).
• If relevant, confirmation of presentation - poster or oral presentation.
• Web address to the course.

Courses cannot be approved as part of the educational component if the above mentioned documentation is not enclosed. Credit points equal the ECTS grading scale (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System). 1 credit = 1 ECTS= 25-30 hours.

As a PhD candidate, you must also contribute to disseminating your research. This can be done e.g. by publications, participating in conferences, and science dissemination to a wider audience. Academic presentations are obligatory and have to include these elements:

1. Minimum one annual presentation of progress to the research environment at the University of Stavanger.
2. At least one presentation at an international scientific conference during the research training period.
3. At least one popular science contribution during the research training period. (e.g. feature articles, popularized articles, lectures, etc.)
4. 50%- seminar according to the procedures for 50%- seminars.

Scientific publication – articles
Most PhD candidates publish articles in the course of the PhD period. The world of publication, and not least learning to master the article format, can be a major challenge for new PhD candidates, and your supervisor will be an important support person in this process.
Here you can find useful information about the publication process as well as the terms and guidelines for uploading.
PhD on Track is a useful online resource. Here, you can find information about reference tools, citation indexes, how to submit articles, peer review etc.
Conference participation
Participating in conferences is a good way to make new contacts and make your research known. By presenting your own research, you can also gain useful input that you can build on later. You should look at which conferences may be relevant to you with your supervisor and participate in conferences with a paper or poster presentation.
Popular science dissemination
There are many forms of popular science dissemination: Interviews, writing op eds, giving talks etc. How easy it is to disseminate your research can vary depending on the research project, angle and what the media and the general public are interested in. Journalists can sometimes contact you to get a statement in a case. They often do this through their own networks or via media contacts.
If you have a topic you wish to disseminate either because you have research-based knowledge on a topic debated in the media or because you have made interesting findings that you think the public may be interested in, you can contact the communication advisers in the central administration for tips and advice.

Approval of academic dissemination

Once the dissemination component is considered complete, all the activities are entered in the APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT form. Activities must be documented by means of a certificate of participation, course programme (for lectures), a copy of the book or article cover, etc. The documents must be attached to the application, which will be processed by the Doctoral committee.
On completion of the approval round, the PhD candidate will receive a separate decision document from the PhD administration.
Other activities
Most departments expect PhD candidates to participate in other activities that do not provide credits, including PhD seminars and research seminars. In addition, the Faculty will regularly offer seminars in academic writing and careers planning.

The norm for the number of articles is at least three(3) articles, with the candidate as the first author. Main Rule: Two(2) of the articles must be submitted for publication.

All the Research Schools have an opportunity to propose their own guiding standard with requirements for article-based dissertations. The requirements for article-based dissertations may go beyond the requirements stated in the study plan, but not lower than the mentioned ones.

The requirement for article-based dissertations applies to all PhD candidates who are admitted to the PhD program in Social Science. For research schools without their own guiding standards, the rules mentioned above, will apply.
*Research School in Politics and Society (POLSOC):
The number of articles in doctoral dissertation:

• The norm for the number of articles is at least three(3) articles, with the candidate as the first author.
• Main Rule: Two(2) of the articles must be submitted for publication, of which at least one(1) must be published or accepted for publication.

*Research School in Social Work and Welfare (SWEL):
The number of articles in doctoral dissertation:

• The norm for the number of articles is at least three(3) articles, with the candidate as the first author.
• Main Rule: Two(2) of the articles must be submitted for publication, of which at least one(1) must be published or accepted for publication.

*Research School in Radical Interdisciplinarity (ITEM):
The number of articles in doctoral dissertation:
At least 3 articles should have the PhD candidate as the first author, and at least 2 articles should be submitted for publication and under review when the thesis is submitted for examination. It is recommended that at least 1 article is accepted for publication.

* The Research School in Economics and Business Administration (ECOBA):
The number of articles in doctoral dissertation:
If the thesis is article-based, at least 3 articles should have the candidate as the first author. This may include shared first authorship for up to 2 (two) of the articles where the authors are listed in alphabetical or random order. The third article, in that case, must be written as sole author. At least 2 (two) articles should be submitted for publication when the thesis is submitted for examination. If 2 (two) PhD candidates write 1 (one) article together with shared first authorship, both can include it in their theses. In this case, only one joint article is allowed in each thesis.

* The Research School in Service Leadership, International Business and Hospitality Management (SLIHM):
The number of articles in doctoral dissertation:
If the thesis is article-based, at least 3 articles should have the candidate as the first author. This may include shared first authorship for up to 2 (two) of the articles where the authors are listed in alphabetical or random order. The third article, in that case, must be written as sole author. At least 2 (two) articles should be submitted for publication when the thesis is submitted for examination. If 2 (two) PhD candidates write 1 (one) article together with shared first authorship, both can include it in their theses. In this case, only one joint article is allowed in each thesis.

You should apply for approval of the educational component at least 6 months before you hand in your thesis for evaluation. The PhD Board undertakes the final approval of the educational/ training component.
Usually, no more than 30 credits should be included in the training part, and the PHD Board will not approve more credits than necessary. Under certain conditions, it is possible to allow the training part to exceed this limit by 1-2 credits.
From other educational institutions: Credits obtained from other educational institutions in Norway or abroad must be documented with a transcript/course certificate from that institution. The transcript/course certificate must be in English or Norwegian.
Application form for approval of educational component:
List the courses you wish to have approved in order of priority.
Documentation of each component in the form of diplomas, course certificates and confirmations must be enclosed. Confirmation of courses registered in the University’s Studentweb is not necessary.
Courses, conferences and seminars:
To document participation on courses, conferences or seminars, you must provide documentation of participation. Candidates are responsible for obtaining approval and documentation for all credit-bearing participation and for the safekeeping of copies of all documentation throughout their PhD education.
Participation in conferences can be approved by sending in:

• Name of the candidate
• The front page of the conference programme with the name and date of the conference
• The page with title of your presentation - poster or oral presentation
• Abstract.

Lectures, articles and other popular scientific materials: Written materials should be documented in such a way that it is clear when and how they were published, for example, a page in a newspaper, an entire magazine, etc.
In the case of posts on television or on the radio, the supervisor confirms that this took place. The lectures must be documented by the organizer.
Candidates who had planned to attend a national or international conference with presentation, where the conference has been cancelled due to the corona pandemic can still apply for approval of the activity in his/her educational component if the following documentation is submitted:

• A zoom recording of the presentation or an image of the poster to be presented
• Documentation that the candidate was registered to attend the conference, preferably in the form of a conference programme in which the candidate's participation appears, alternatively a confirmation of registration with presentationl from the organizer.
• The candidate must also state name, place and original time of the conference, unless stated in the programme or the confirmation of participation.
• Abstract

The provision of the workshop program itself is not considered sufficient documentation.
Before submitting the thesis for assessment, candidates must complete the documentation form listing all documented courses, seminars, etc. with details of the title, type of participation, credits etc.
All elements in the training component must be documented and approved in accordance with the applicable guidelines. The entire training component must be approved at least six months before the candidate can apply for submission of the dissertation.
The training component is considered complete when formal approval of the overall training component is given.