From Submission to Public Defence at the Faculty of Health Sciences

The requirements for the PhD thesis are outlined in

• the PhD regulations for OsloMet (in Norwegian, lovdata.no)
• the supplementary guidelines for PhD in Health Sciences
• the supplementary guidelines for PhD Behavioural Analysis

You need to follow OsloMet’s mandatory layout for PhD theses (odt.-file).

There is some flexibility in terms of layout, reference style and more. For inspiration, it might be helpful to look at former theses from the faculty. You can find them at the University Library. Some are also available online through The Open Digital Archive:

• PhDs in Health Sciences (oda.oslomet.no)
• PhDs in Behavioural Analysis (oda.oslomet.no)

The PhD administration also has available copies of most theses from the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The submission date should be discussed with your supervisors. When you have a realistic idea of when you will be handing in your thesis, please inform the PhD administration of your intended submission date.

To avoid delays, it is important that the evaluation committee has been established by the submission date. It is the main supervisor’s responsibility to find and propose members for the evaluation committee. We recommend that your supervisor contacts us about this at least a few weeks before you submit your thesis. Further information can be found on our information page for supervisors.

When your thesis is ready for submission, you must submit an application requesting the assessment of your thesis for the PhD degree. The application must contain the following:

• English application form (.docx) or Norwegian application form (Word).
• The thesis in .docx and .pdf formats. Articles and appendices can be included in the thesis document or submitted as separate files. For articles and appendices in pdf-format we recommend that you submit them as separate files, because inserting them into a word-file might reduce the quality of these pages.
• Declaration of all necessary permits (.docx). Please attach the approvals and write in the reference number from the appropriate authority in the form.
• Co-author statement (.docx) for articles with co-authors.
• Scientific abstracts in English and Norwegian (maximum 600 words each). These should be included in the thesis document, between the title page and table of contents.
• Short summaries written for a general audience, in English and Norwegian (maximum one page each). The summaries will be published with the announcement of your public defence. Advice on how to write a popular scientific summary (forskningsrådet.no).

The application, including all attachments, should be submitted electronically to the PhD administration at the Faculty of Health Sciences. Please send to both post@oslomet.no and phd-hv@oslomet.no. If you encounter problems sending your thesis due to large file size, you can send it with Filesender (filesender.sikt.no).

After you have submitted your application, the PhD administration will check that you have completed the training component and that all submitted documents are in order. We will contact you if anything is missing or if we have any questions. 

If everything is in order, the University Library will check the formatting of your thesis and compile the final document to be sent to the evaluation committee. This document will include all the articles and appendices, and you must approve it before it is sent to the evaluation committee.

After the evaluation committee receives your thesis, they have three months to evaluate it. When the committee has submitted their final report and it has been approved by the faculty, it will be forwarded to you by the PhD administration.

There are three possible outcomes of the assessment (all three are recommendations to the faculty):

• Approved: The committee finds the submitted thesis worthy of a public defence.
• Minor revision: The committee recommends minor revisions to the thesis before the final recommendation is made. If the faculty approves the recommendation, the candidate will have three months to submit the revised thesis, and the committee will have three months to evaluate it.
• Rejected: The committee finds the submitted thesis not worthy of public defence. The candidate can appeal the decision. After a minimum of six months, the thesis can be resubmitted for a new assessment. The thesis can only be resubmitted once.

Detailed information about the assessment process and the different outcomes.

The evaluation committee will propose a date for the public defence, and the PhD administration will then check with you and your main supervisor if the date is suitable. This is usually done before the committee delivers their report. Typically, it takes between five and seven months from the submission date before a public defence can take place.

Errata list

You can apply to make minor corrections of a formal nature (layout, print errors, deletions etc.) before the thesis is printed, but you are not allowed to make changes of a substantial nature.

To correct formal errors, you must submit a complete list of the errors that you wish to correct (an errata list) to the PhD administration no later than four weeks before the deadline for the committee's final report. This can only be done once. If the list is approved, you can make the changes before printing, and the errata list itself will be included at the end of the thesis.

Please note that if you have articles that were submitted/unpublished at the time of submission but later approved/published, you cannot replace the unpublished version of the article with the published one before printing.

The rationale for this, is that the committee cannot assess changes that are carried out after the thesis has been submitted. You may, however, refer to the printed version of the article in the preface to the thesis.

Printing of the thesis

Shortly after the faculty has approved the committee's recommendation, the process of preparing your thesis for printing will begin. At this point, you can add a preface to the thesis and if your errata list is approved, you can revise the document accordingly. You will have to approve the final version before printing.

By default, the thesis will be printed in 35 copies (up to 70 if more people are expected to attend the public defence). The faculty will cover the printing costs. Additional copies of the thesis can be ordered at the candidate's own expense.

More about printing and publishing PhD theses at OsloMet.

The public defence (including the trial lecture) is both the formal and the academic high point of the doctorate. The trial lecture and the public defence are normally held on the same day, and at OsloMet’s premises. The PhD administration is responsible for the practicalities.

PhD candidates will hold a trial lecture on a topic decided by the evaluation committee. The candidate will receive the topic ten working days before the trial lecture. You should prepare the lecture so that an audience with prior knowledge equivalent to what could be expected of advanced students of the subject area can follow it. When assessing the trial lecture, emphasis should be placed on both academic content and the candidate's ability to impart knowledge.

The trial lecture and public defence will be held in the same language as the thesis is written unless the evaluation committee suggests another language.

If one or more members of the evaluation committee are prohibited from attending in person, it is possible to arrange for a hybrid defence (i.e., for them to participate via an online stream).

The trial lecture and the public defence can be streamed online. This is optional and decided by the candidate. 

Schedule for the trial lecture

• Normally starts at 10:00 and lasts 45 minutes.
• While it is possible to ask questions at the end of the lecture, it is not common to do so (if done, only a few questions should be allowed.)
• After the trial lecture, there is a lunch break. The PhD administration organizes a lunch for the committee and the leader of the public defence. The candidate will be provided with a simple lunch but does not eat together with the committee.

Schedule for the public defence

• Normally starts at 12.
• The candidate presents their thesis (20 minutes).
• Discussion between the first opponent and the candidate (approximately 75 minutes).
• Break (15 minutes).
• Discussion between the second opponent and the candidate (approximately 55 minutes).
• Small reception outside the auditorium.

On the day of the public defence, it is common for the candidate to organize a doctoral dinner (or late lunch) at their own expense, but this is not mandatory. There are many ways to do this, some more expensive than others, and we recommend asking yourself how you can create an enjoyable dinner within your budget.

If you choose to have a doctoral dinner or lunch, you should at least invite the following:

• the leader of the public defence
• the members of your public defence committee
• your supervisors

You are allowed to send invitations to the committee directly. Ask your supervisor or the PhD administration for the contact details.

You may also choose to invite colleagues, friends and family members.

Usually, speeches are held in the following order:

• the candidate
• the leader of the public defence
• the third member of the evaluation committee
• the supervisor(s)

Shortly after your public defence, your doctoral diploma will be available in the Diploma Registry (vitnemalsportalen.no).

You will be notified by email when your diploma is ready. We kindly ask you to ensure that your postal address and private email address in Studentweb are correct.  

The PhD conferral ceremony is a formal ceremony for everyone who has attained a PhD after completing their doctoral education at OsloMet. The ceremony is held once every six months.

The rector leads the ceremony and will give a short presentation of your thesis before you receive your PhD diploma.

The university will send you an invitation to the PhD conferral ceremony and you are welcome to invite your closest family and friends to the event. If you cannot attend, your diploma will be sent to your private address after the conferral ceremony.