PhD at UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Housing for PhD students

Housing for PhD students at UiT 

TODOS - Doctoral Students and Postdocs at UiT The Arctic University of Norway

TODOS is an interest organization that works to improve the general welfare of all PhD candidates and postdocs at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. TODOS is a neutral organization. It is not a union, nor is it linked to any union organization, political opinion, or religious belief. TODOS is here to help, assist, guide and educate you throughout your journey as PhD or postdoc. We focus on two important aspects: a good academic working environment and a thriving social life.

PhD On Track

PhD on Track is a web resource aimed primarily at PhD candidates and early career researchers.

Guidelines for evaluation of doctoral degrees at UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Guidelines for the evaluation of doctoral degrees at UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Webpages about HSE and emergency prepardness

Webpages about health, safety, environment and emergency prepardness (you need to log into the intranet). 

University Library

University Library

Munin - where you hand in your Doctoral Theses

Disputation

Instruction component

Signing up for PhD courses at the Faculty of Science and Technology

PhD students at UiT The Arctic University of Norway sign up for PhD courses (8000-level) through StudentWeb. You will find information about how to register for the semester and sign up for courses here. You are not guaranteed enrollment to courses with restricted admission. If you have applied for admission to a restricted course you will be informed if you got admission or not after the deadline.

PhD students from other universities, applicants with a master’s degree or equivalent, or participants in the Associate Professor Programme must apply for admission to PhD courses through SøknadsWeb.

External students must document their basis for admission

External students must remember to upload certified documentation of education, and if relevant, documentation of their status as a PhD student to SøknadsWeb. Confirmation of student status should be from your home University's student administration. Confirmation from your supervisor or copy of award letter is not considered as valid documentation.

Who can apply for admission to the PhD courses The following students may apply for the PhD courses, in order of priority:

1. PhD students and research fellows at a PhD student research program at the University of Tromsø
2. Participants in the Associate Professor Program
3. PhD students and students at a PhD student research program at other universities
4. People who have a minimum master's degree or equivalent, but are not admitted to a PhD program.

If there are more applicants than capacity, students will be given priority from the category 1 to 4. Please note that some courses may have additional admission requirements and/or priority keys. This would be stated in the course description for each course.

Special Curriculum

Special curriculums are approved by the Head of Department at the department responsible for the course by filling in the word document form you can download here Application for approval of special curiculum. After you fill in the word document and get all the signatures you need, you will have to upload it on this application form - only after that we will be able to sign you up for the course. 

Transcript of record
Transcripts can be found at this website www.vitnemålsportalen.no.  

Course overview Below you will find an overview of the PhD courses at the NT-faculty. The courses are not necessarily given in a regular interval. For additional information about each course, please see the course catalouge. Check the availability of the courses in the semester you want to take them: spring / fall. Some courses run only in the spring, or only in the fall semester.

Application for recognition of external PhD courses

National and international research training courses may be included in the individual instruction component, provided they have been evaluated by a relevant research environment in respect to scope and level.

Applications for approval shall be submitted to the faculty. 

The approval requires:

‐ Confirmation from the supervisors that the course is relevant and may be a part of the individual instruction component, and that it is at PhD level.

‐ Documentation of the teaching arrangements:

It must be documented that the course is on PhD level. In the event that the scope of the course is not expressed in credits (ECTS), an overview of the number of hours used to complete the course must be attached; one credit is equivalent to approx. 25‐30 hours of work; documentation of successful completion of testing of knowledge, e.g. examinations, essays.

- Random courses taken at UiT, and which do not have a subject code (ex.: FYS-8801), you need to apply for their recogninssion in the form of special curriculum. Check the section above. 

Incomplete applications will be returned.

All applications are to be sent to: gabriela.sirbu@uit.no

Application for final approval of the instruction component:

All PhD-students must apply to have the instruction component finally approved by the Committee for Research Training prior to submission of the thesis.

Final approval of the individual instruction component - Application form

Please send your application to gabriela.sirbu@uit.no.

Application for special curriculum

Special curriculums are approved by the Head of Department at the department responsible for the course by filling in the word document form you can download here Application for approval of special curiculum. After you fill in the word document and get all the signatures you need, you will have to upload it on this application form - only after that we will be able to sign you up for the course. 

Progress report

Every year PhD students and their supervisors are obligated to submit a progress report. The purpose of this progress report is to uncover possible problems that might exist between the student and the supervisor, to uncover deviation from the work schedule and to provide feedback in general. The progress report is done electronically.

PhD students and supervisors report independently of each other.

PhD students submit the report using this form.

The deadline for students is February 1st each year

Supervisors submit their report using this form

The deadline for supervisors is February 28th each year

Midterm evaluation

The Committee for Research Training at the Faculty of Science and Technology, UiT, has with effect from 22 June 2019 introduced a system of midway evaluation for students admitted to the PhD programme in Science.

The system was introduced as a requirement for PhD students admitted to the programme after the date it came into effect, and may also be arranged for students admitted before this date.

All students admitted after 22 June 2018 are to complete the midway evaluation when they are at the midway point of the programme. 

The responsibility of implementing the midway evaluations lies with the departments. The students will receive a comprehensive response to the work on their PhD projects.

Template for midterm evaluation

Template for PhD plan

Guidelines for midterm evaluation

Application for leave of absence and right to study

Leave of absence:

Leave of absence as pregnancy, illness etc. (PhD regulations, section 13) is automatically granted for PhD students, but it must be documented before we can register a new end date. Documentation include confirmation from NAV, hospital e.g. that shows the period (and if so, percent of working time in the period).

The documentation is to be sent to: gabriela.sirbu@uit.no

Right to study:

In the event that the candidate does not complete the PhD study within one year over and above the nominal length of study (normally equal to the employment period), the candidate have to apply to the Committee for Research Training for an extended right to study. Such an application must include the grounds for the delay and a plan for completing the program, and must be signed by the PhD student and his/her supervisors.

Please note that such an application only regards prolongation of the agreement period, and not prolongation of research fellow positions and salary. To prolong your period as research fellow, please contact your department, as this concerns your employment and not your study.

The application is to be sent to: gabriela.sirbu@uit.no

Grants

Regulations

Regulations:

Regulations relating to the Philosophiae doctor (PhD) degree and Philosophiae doctor (PhD) degree in artistic research and development at the University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) 

Supplementary provisions for the degree PhD in Science at the Faculty of Science and Technology

Website for PhD at UiT

Application for admission to singular PhD courses   

Application deadline:

June 1 for admission to the autumn semester.

December 1 for admission to the spring semester.

Do you want to take a single course without being admitted to our PhD program?

Apply for admission on singular courses at PhD level via SøknadsWeb. You will find the application alternative under singular courses -> Singular courses PhD level.

The following application code must be used: Application code 9301 - Individual courses at PhD level

You do not have to enter the course code in the comments field, but if you want to take an admission-restricted PhD course, you will have to apply for a place on the specific course by applying for admission in StudentWeb after you have been admitted to singular courses. The right to study you receive is general and gives you access to take all PhD courses that are open and available to all singular course students at PhD level, but it does not automatically give you a place on admission-restricted PhD courses.

Who can get the right to study for singular courses at PhD level?

• PhD students at UiT who wish to take a PhD course that is not to be used as part of the PhD degree they take at UiT
• PhD students and students from the Student Research Programme from institutions other than UiT
• Applicants who have completed a master's degree (five-year master or three-year bachelor + two-year master), but who are not PhD students

Documentation

In order for your application to be processed, you must upload the necessary documentation in SøknadsWeb which shows that you meet the above requirements. The deadline for uploading documentation on education via the application web is the same as the application deadline.

What happens after you have been granted the right to study?

When you have been granted the right to study, you must register for the semester in StudentWeb.

The deadline for registration for classes and exams for the autumn semester is 1 September, and 1 February for the spring semester.

You can read more about our PhD courses here.

If you are a foreign applicant, you will find information about admission here.

If you have questions about admission, please contact the admission office.  

Application for admission to the PhD programme in the Faculty of Health Sciences

                                   Apply for admisson here.

Admission Requirements

You must have following qualification for admission to the PhD program:

• Hold a master's degree with the average grade C or better on their master's thesis and as an overall grade in their master's degree. The 5-year programme must include at least a 20 ECTS master thesis and the 2-year master’s programme must include at least a 30 ECTS master thesis.  Applicants who have completed higher education abroad shall be considered in lin with Section 3-5 (3) of the University and University Colleges Act 
• By special consideration, the Faculty may approve other equivalent qualifications as grounds for admission. 
• Applicants shall document English language proficiency that fulfils the criteria set out in Section 2-1 (1) or 2-2(7) of the Regulations relating to admission to higher education 
• Satisfactory funding of the study programme, generally involving a salary on a par with the salary and employee allowance, infrastructure and indirect costs required for research fellowship. Requirements for funding can be waived exceptionally and in special cases for candidates who have passed student research programme. The condition for such an exception is that the candidate is nearing completion of their doctoral work. 

For more information regarding admission requirements, see Regulations concerning the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway (UiT)

Attachments to the application

1. Project description in the standard template (templates can be found below)
2. Milestone/Progress plan for the project
3. Data Management Plan
4. Written assessment of the project’s feasibility within the normal time frame (templates can be found below) 
5. Copies of diplomas
6. Documentation of funding (Grant letter, confirmation from employer institution or similar)

Possible other appendices:

• Approval from REK, NSD or other entities. If approval has not yet been granted, a plan for the application process can be attached.
• If the research project is part-time during the funding period, you must include a funding plan showing percentage of working hours for your doctoral project per year/semester.
• If you will be working in a clinic or similar,  in addition to your studies, you must enclose a confirmation letter from your leader stating that at least 50 per cent of your time will be spent on the research project
• If you plan to use a language other than English in your dissertation, you must submit an application to do so
• If you plan to take courses at other universities as part of your training, you must enclose a print-out of the course description (from website)
• Proof of English proficiency: You must include documentation of proficiency in English if you do not have the Norwegian Higher Education Entrance Qualification.

Application for final admission to the PhD programme in the Faculty of Health Sciences - Doctoral Research Fellows employed by the University

Once you have been employed as a research fellow, you must apply for final admission to the PhD program within two months after the start date of your employment. 

                                           Apply for admisson here.

Appendices to the application

1. Project description written in the template
2. Milestone/Progress plan for the project
3. Written assessment of the project’s feasibility within the normal time frame (written by the main supervisor)
4. Data management plan

 Possible other appendices:

• Approval from REK, NSD or other entities. If approval has not yet been granted, a plan for the application process can be attached.
• If you plan to use a language other than English in your dissertation, you must submit an application to do so.
• If you plan to take courses at other universities as part of your training, you must enclose a print-out of the course description (from website

Training component

Courses that are included in the training component shall be at PhD level and must, among other things, include training on the philosophy of sciences, ethics and dissemination. Training will contribute towards achieving the expected learning outcomes as specified in national qualifications framworks for lifelong learning.

The training component must correspond to at least 30 credits, of which 20 credits should be submitted after admission. Elements included should not be more than two years old at the start of the term of the agreement. Exception apply to candidates who have passed a student research programme and have an approved training component as part of the programme. 

In order to complete the PhD programme you must complete all the compulsory courses. Elective courses have to be completed according to the programs regulations.

As soon as possible after completing the 30 ECTS educational component, you must send an email request to obtain a written confirmation of completion from us. This must be done prior to submitting your PhD thesis.

PhD courses taken at UiT and intended to be included in your training component do not require you to apply for apporval. You will add theses courses to your education plan through StudentWeb. 

Courses taken at other universities, colleges, research schools, or other non-degree-granting institution that are intended to be part of the training component should be applied for through:

Important! Candidates admitted to the PhD programme after 14.06.2023 will adhere to the revised study plan, whereas those admitted to the programme before will adhere to the study plan in effect at the time of their admission. Consequently, there may be variations in the permissible conten and extent of the training component. 

Requirements in the educational component

Compulsory courses (10 ECTS):

Elective courses (20 ECTS):

Elective courses can be PhD-level courses from UiT, or other universities, scientific presentations and research stays abroad. Always check the course description for any overlapping content with other courses. You can apply for pre-approval if you are unsure whether the course meets the requirements.

For more detail and other options, see the PhD regulation, Section 15 or the study plan.

PhD courses at the Faculty of health sciences

PhD courses running next semester

In the course catalog, you will find an overview of courses offered in the next semester. 

PhD courses at the Faculty the next year 

Spring 2024

Autumn 2024

Spring 2025

Autumn 2025

Overview of all the PhD courses at the Faculty of Health Sciences

Below is an overview of all PhD courses at the Faculty of Health Sciences. The courses are not running every semester and not necessarily at regular intervals.

You will find the course description in the course catalogue, with information about course contents and exam format. Since the course description can be revised, you must always refer to the course description for the current semester for exact information about curriculum, examination forms etc., when you apply for the course.

Not all courses will be given in English. For information about the language for a given course, please see the course web page.

The education plan and semester registration in StudentWeb

Semester registration

Education plan

Moving courses to different semester

Elective courses

Register for courses

Cancellation of registration for examination

Midway assessment PhD candidates at the Faculty of Health Sciences

The midway assessment consist of a seminar and aims to provide you, as a PhD candidate, and your main supervisor with an independent assessment of wheter you have made sufficient progress to complete the PhD education according to the progress plan. You will rexeive specific feedback on your work thus far and receive input for your future work. 

The midway assessment allows the department to identify candidates who require structured support. It is expected that such an evaluation will lead to better progress in the project and increase the likelihood of completing the study within the stipulated time. 

Successfully completing the midway assessment is a requirement for being eligble to defend your thesis. 

The midway assessment for PhD candidates at the Faculty of Health Sciences was introduced in spring 2018 and applies for all those admitted to the PhD course from January 1st, 2018. The admission committee can decide to exempt candidates from the midway assessment in cases where the candidates have been admitted to an abbreviated PhD programme.  The timing can also be ajusted if you have taken or are taking leave or extensions. Beyond these adjustment, it is not possible to postpone the midway assessment. 

Composition of the committee 

The candidate will be informed about the date and the composition of the committee at least two months in advance of the midway assessment. The comittee consist of two internal UiT staff members with a PhD or equivalent qualification who are not involved in the project and are unbiased. 

Your supervisor is responsible for selecting the committee members, and you will be asked by the administration if you have any objections to the proposed members. 

The candidate´s tasks before the assessment

Three weeks before the assessment seminar the candidate must send a completed self-report form, with attachments, to the administration.

The self-report form contains:

• Progress of study
• Progress of the educational component
• List of published and planned articles
• List of retrieved approvals (if relevant)

The self-report form must be submitted with the following attachments:

• Original project description for the PhD project
• Original and revised (if any) milestone plans
• Published articles and manuscripts in preparation.
• Report on progress of the PhD project up until the midway assessment (2-4 pages) 
  • The departments may specify further requirements to the contents of the progress report than described here.
  • Plan for the rest of the PhD project (1-2 pages)
  • Copy of approvals (if relevant)

The committee will also receive an overview of the committee´s mandate and the form of the evaluation from the administration no later than two weeks before the seminar.

The midway assessment – the evaluation seminar

Participants in the evaluation seminar include you (the candidate), the main supervisor, and the evaluation committee. It is optional whether co-supervisors attend. The seminar can be conducted via video conference or in-person meeting and can be held in English or a Scandinavian language.

The seminar begins with a discussion between you and the committee (without your supervisor(s) present). You will discuss any issues related to the project, supervision, academic environment, or other factors relevant to the progress of the Ph.D. project.

Following this, there is a discussion between the supervisor(s) and the committee (without you present). They will discuss the further plans for the study, the structure of the guidance, and any other factors related to the progress of the Ph.D. project.

Then, the candidate delivers a presentation lasting 20-30 minutes, following the recommendations outlined below.

• Summary of your own project
• Progress in the training component
• Assessment of risk factors in the project
• Future work on the project, and how to achieve the goals

After this, a joint discussion takes place among you, the supervisor committee, and the evaluation committee.

The discussion should address the following themes:

• Progress according to plan
• Hypothesis
• Chosen methods
• Preliminary results
• Presentation of the results
• The candidate´s academic skills
• Coherence of the work that has been done
• The scope and structure of the supervision
• Suggestions for improvements/changes in the project
• Cooperation with the supervisor(s)

The total scope of the assessment seminar is 90 minutes.

The tasks of the assessment committee

Based on submitted documents and the assessment seminar the committee will assess:

• Whether the educational component and the project progressionare satisfactory according to the plan
• The candidate´s knowledge of the field in general and more specifically for the project- The candidate´s knowledge of research methods, specifically for the project and for the field in general
• Whether all the necessary approvals have been obtained (for projects where it is relevant)
• The candidate´s academic independence
• The candidate´s understanding of scientific thinking
• The candidate´s ability to present, analyze and assess research findings
• Understanding of priorities/adjustments due to delayed progression

After the discussion the committee will fill in and sign a record of evaluation for the midway assessment. The candidate´s achievement at the midway assessment will be graded satisfactory or not satisfactory.

In the record of evaluation, the committee will describe needs for follow-up and provide advice for further work with the PhD project.

The record of evaluation is sent to the administration by the end of the term.

Follow-up after midway assessment

The administration registers the completed midway assessments. The departments review all reports from midway assessments and the responsibility for follow-up of candidates lies with the department where the candidate is affiliated.

If the committee finds that a candidate needs follow-up, a meeting must be arranged with the department and the team of supervisors within one month after the midway assessment seminar. A written plan for completion of the dissertation must be made. Within six months after the assessment seminar, a written progress report must be submitted to the Head of Department. The report may be assessed according to Sections 24 and 25 of the PhD regulations.

Progress report 

All PhD candidates, and their main academic supervisor, at the Faculty of Health Sciences must submit an annual progress report. 

All PhD candidates and main supervisors who must submit a report will receive an e-mail with a link to the web form that must be completed.

The purpose of this progress report is to uncover deviations from the planned progression/timeline. The Vice Dean, together with the faculty administration, will review all the reports and assess further follow-up measures.

Supervision

The supervisor’s responsibilities

You should have regular contact with your supervisors.

Your supervisor(s) should:

• give you advice on the formulation and scope of topics and problems
• discuss and assess hypotheses and methods
• discuss results and their interpretation
• discuss the conception and implementation of presentation (including organization, language, documentation, etc.)
• assist in finding relevant literature and data available through libraries, archives etc.
• provide guidance on ethical questions of relevance to the thesis

Your supervisors are obligated to:

• know the prevailing PhD-regulations at the Faculty, and the Ethical guidelines for supervision at the University of Tromsø.
• follow your progress in the project and theeducational component
• follow up on scientific issues that can cause a delay in your progress

As a PhD candidate, you will join an active research environment. Your supervisors are responsible for facilitating active participation in the research environment. 

The supervision is regulated by "The Agreement upon admission to doctoral program at the University of Tromsø" which includes doctoral candidates, supervisors, the department and the faculty.

Changes in supervisory team

If you wish to make changes to your supervisory team during the PhD studies, you must submit an application to the Facult yusing our web based application form. Remember to log in using your Feide username and password. A confirmation from all supervisors is also required and can be uploaded as a pdf-file, e-mail or similar in the application form.

Supervision problems - The Conflict Council

Occasionally, conflict may arise between the PhD candidate and a supervisor. If the conflict is of such a nature that it may undermine the possibility of completing the doctoral studies or potentially lead to significant delays, the Faculty of Health Sciences has a Conflict Council (Konfliktrådet) that can assist the parties involved in resolving the conflict.

Both the PhD candidate and the supervisors may report cases to the Conflict Council through this email address: konfliktradphd@helsefak.uit.no 

This email goes to the Vice Dean of Research Education and two members of the PhD administration at the Faculty. All parties involved are bound by confidentiality in such a case. 

Two Head of Departments at the Faculty are then appointed to constitute the conflict council in each case. These will not be from the department that the PhD candidate belongs to,

Meetings in the Conflict Council

The Conflict Council meets with the involved parties separately and as a group. The Research group leader will also participate in the group meeting. The PhD candidate is allowed to have a confidential advsior present at the meeting . Both the PhD candidate and the supervisor are given the opportunity to present their versions of the conflict, and the Research group leader is allowed provide supplementary information. The council will then sketch a possible solution to the conflict and a proposed action plan for completion of the PhD project.

Content of the action plan

The proposed action plan will:

• discuss the remaining milestones in the project and the anticipated time required to reach these
• propose new supervisors in cases where the supervisory agreement is terminated to ensure supervision for the remainder of the PhD project period
• give advice on compensation for lost time caused by the conflict

If the Conflict Council does not succeed in finding a solution to the conflict, a report will be sent to the Research, Education and Communication Section for further follow-up.

Prolongation of right to study and leave of absence for Ph.D. candidates at the faculty of health sciences.

The agreement period and the right-to-study
The agreement period is the contracted time period in which you have the right to get supervision from your supervisors.

The right-to-study is the right to be affiliated with a study program and to take Ph.D. courses without paying a semester fee. You retain the right to study for a period of time equating to two years of effective study exceeding the agreement period. As long as you retain the right-to-study, you can take PhD courses without paying the semester fee, you also have access to library services, your UiT e-mail account, and may use other IT-systems at the university.

Note that if you are granted a leave of absence, the agreement period will be extended correspondingly.

Mobility grant

Application Form: https://uit.no/phd#v-pills-706279

Application deadline for the mobility grant: 14.11.2025.

About the grant:

The grant is intended for research stays abroad with a duration of 2-6 months. 

It is possible to apply for a research stay in Europe and the rest of the world.  The grant covers personal costs, such as travel expenses and additional costs in connection with the stay abroad. No support is granted for travel home during the stay abroad. The size of the grant is calculated according to The Research Council of Norway rates.  

Please contact phd@helsefak.uit.no for questions regarding the mobility grant. 

Who is eligible to apply?

• If you are employed as a research fellow at UiT you are eligible to apply for the mobility grant.
• The grant scheme does not apply to research fellows funded by the Research Council of Norway or other external funding agencies  The grant can be applied for by students in their second or third year of study.
• Support can be granted for one stay abroad during the PhD study. 

Application requirements

It is of outmost importance that the applicant carefully read the guidelines and make sure to submit all the required documents. 

The aplication must include: 

• Purpose of the stay abroad and relevance to the doctoral project 
• A plan, including time indicators for the research stay 
• A budget and financing plan 

 In addition to the application form, the following documents must be attached to the application: 

• Recommendation from the main supervisor. The supervisor must give his / her professional assessment of how important the stay abroad will be for the completion of the doctoral project. 
• Confirmation from the Head of Department showing that he/she supports the application  
• An invitation letter from the host institution 

You can apply for the mobility grant through this form: 

Processing of applications

Submitted applications will be processed shortly after the deadline for the grant application. 

The faculty administration has the right to refuse and / or reduce the scholarship amount if it exceeds available funds. 

Useful information about international stays

UiT has a web page containing useful and relevant information for employees at international stays. Here you will also find necessary forms to be used when applying for advance or final settlements. 

Reporting and financial settlement

Advance payment: Up to 90% of the grant can be paid out in advance of the stay.  You apply for advanced payment in the DFØ app

Travel expense claim: Shortly after the research stays end, you must registrer at travel expense claim in DFØ.  Only costs documented with receipts (or other documentation) will be reimbursed. Any amount in excess of the approved grant will not be paid out. 

Report: The grant recipient must submit a short scientific report to the faculty after the international stay. The report should describe the scientific results of the stay and whether there are plans to continue the collaboration with the host institution. Please include the duration of the stay and the name of the host institution. 

This report form must be used. 

Mentor group

Completing a doctoral degree can be demanding and involve many different challenges that go beyond the specific research project to be carried out. Therefore, at the PhD program in Health Sciences, we offer our PhD candidates the opportunity to participate in mentor groups where they can recieve information about and dicsuss various challenges with others in the same situation.

Who is the program for?

Everyone who applies for admission to the PhD program in Health Sciences after June 1st, 2022, will be offered the opportunity to join a mentor group. Participation is voluntary. Participants are expected to be active participants in all 12 mentor group meetings. 

Mentor Group:

A mentor group consist of up to 10 PhD candidates who are put togheter across disciplines but who are at the same stage in the program. Consideration is also given to geographical location and language. Most groups will be digital and in Norwegian. 

What is a mentor?

A PhD mentor should facilitate a healthy psychosocial environment for the PhD candidate, in our case by bringing together and supporting a group of PhD candidates from different departments. For their groups, the mentor will be a guide through the PhD process, a career counselor, and a gateaway to various resources (for example, by informing about various programs and support services at UiT) 

Our mentors are scientific employees from our departments, they have a PhD and desire to support our PhD candidates. 

What is the difference between a mentor and a supervisor?

The supervisor's role is primarily more specific and centered around the candidate's research project, where the main tasks are to provide academic guidance for planning, implementation, and documentation of a research project.

The mentor is a supplement to the supervisor. The mentor share implicit knowledge and experience at a more general level, which is more focused on coping with doctoral education, career planning, and the work/study life of PhD candidates. Mentors do not address challenges related to the individual research project. 

Requirements of the scientific articles 

The most common practice is to include three articles in the dissertation, and that the candidate is the first author of at least two of these. There is no requirement for included articles to be published, but as a general rule a dissertation is submitted only when one of the articles has been published and the others are in publishable form that are ready for submission to a relevant peer-reviewed scientific journal in the subject area. There are no requirements as to which type of articles that can be included in the dissertation. For articles that summarize / analyze non-fiction works, it is recommended that the candidate take special care to avoid overlap with the cover text. Articles in the dissertation cannot be published more than five years prior to the beginning of the studies. Exemptions can be made by the faculty if there are extraordinary circumstances. 

Language

The thesis is to be written in English. The thesis can only be written in Norwegian if granted upon admission to the PhD-program. 

The thesis must include a popular scientific summary in Norwegian and English. 

The thesis summary (kappa)

The thesis summary (kappa) is the scientific document, which with the relevant articles, completes the PhD thesis. 

The candidate is the sole author, and this is where you will show your independence as a researcher. This includes:

• showing a good and updated overview of the research field
• conveying capacity for critical assessment of your own work and the research of others
• demonstrating necessary methodological competence
• demonstrate reflection on ethical issues and choice of research projects. 
• showing how the main research questions are answered through the included individual articles 

The summary should supplement and elaborate on the articles, rather than repeat and summarize them. 

Please note, that citation rules also apply for the summary, including citation of your own work. 

Some guidelines for the summary can be found in Guidelines for the Evalutation of Candidates for Norwegian Doctoral Degree i.e 

"When evaluating a thesis, special consideration should be given to wheter the thesis represent an independent and comprehensive piece of scientific work of high academic standard with regard to the formulation of problem issues, methodological, theoretical and empirical basis, documentation, treatment of literature and chosen form of presentation. It is especially important to consider wheter the material and methods applied are relavant to the questions raised in the thesis, and whether the material and methods applied are relevant to questions raised in the thesis, and whether the arguments and conclusions postulated are vaild" 

Things to consider when you write the summary (regarding the printing of the thesis) 

You can send the thesis for printing as soon as it is approved by the evaluation committee. The thesis is printed in a 170x240 mm format. You must keep in mind that everything will appear smaller in the printed version since the thesis in written in the A4 format (210x297 mm). 

To avoid any problems in this process, please follow these recommendations: 

• Margin size should be at least 2 cm on the sides and on the top of the page. The margin at the bottom should be 2,5 cm. 
• Set the font size to 12.
• The page numbers should be centered or on the outer edge of the page (odd numbers to the right page and even numbers to the left).
• Chapters, table of content, preface etc. should start on odd page numbers (so to appear on the right-hand side in the book).
• Bullet points and lines should not be less than 0.5 pt. 

Thesis template 

The university has made a Word template for writing the doctoral thesis. The template, as well as information about reference techniques and how to work smarter with Word documents, can be found on this page: 

Thesis template 

Please note that you must put only the name of the Faculty in full on the front page, as well as the year and month of submission. 

The name of the department, placement of logos from collaboration partners or supporters as well as crediting of partnership, can be put on the Colophon Page. 

The back cover of your thesis will be added by the printing service provider (UiT Trykkeri) when the thesis has been sent for printing (after the thesis has been approved by the evaluation committee). 

How to submit your thesis

Before the thesis can be submitted the educational component must be approved (30 ECTS).  You can get the educational component approved by sending an enquiry to phd@helsefak.uit.no

The thesis must be submitted electronically in Munin with the following attachments:

• A picture of yourself, or something related to your thesisto be used for dissemination
• A PDF-file of your thesis. You should submit the thesis as one single file. If necessary, it can be submitted in separate files. In this case, please use meaningful file names e.g. introduction.pdf, paper-1.pdf, paper-2.pdf etc. Contact information: munin@ub.uit.no
• Co-Author declaration which describes the candidate’s contribution to each component (articles and the summary). If similarly detailed author's declaration for a publisher has already been filled out, you can include that instead
• Plagiarism self-declaration form

In addition, you have to enter two abstracts in the Munin form:

• A short popular scientific abstract (for the public). The text will be included in the University’s annual doctoral thesis booklet, in the public announcement of the thesis and in a press release. You have to explain your project (including methods) and describe the potential impact. Avoid jargon and try to make your work comprehensible for a general public. Max 1000 characters including spaces.
• A short scientific abstract. A short abstract of your thesis, with a length of approx. 200-300 words, in both English and Norwegian. 

Please note that the submission is not completed untill you have submitted all the neccessary documents! 

What happens after the submission

After the evaluation committee is appointed

The faculty will send the committee an e-mail with the thesis and other relevant information regarding their evaluation work. You and your supervisor will receive a copy of this e-mail. The committee must submit their assessment within 3 months of receiving the thesis.

Date of the defence

It is the committee's responsibility to find the date for the defense. The leader of the defense shall always consult with you and your supervisor in setting the date. 

The defense shall normally take place within four months after the committee is appointed. If needed, the stipulated defense date can be later than four months, but this has to be approved by the candidate. 

Errata list

You cannot correct typing or any errors after you have submitted your thesis. However, typing errors and other corrections can be summarized in a separate document attached to the thesis entitled "Errata" ("Erratum" if there is only one error). This document must be approved by the faculty before it can be attached to the thesis, and you must apply within two months before the defence. The errata can only include formal errors, like typing errors in text or tables or other minor mistakes. You cannot include changes to the meaning of the text. You send the errata to phd@helsefak.uit.no as a complete list of errors with references to page and line numbers in the thesis.

The evaluation

You will receive the committee’s evaluation at least three weeks before the scheduled defence.

When can you send your thesis for printing

You will get information about how to order the thesis prints in the e-mail confirming that your thesis is approved by the evaluation committee. The Faculty of Health Sciences will cover printing expenses. You have to submit 5 copies of the thesis to the faculty and these will be forwarded to the University Library.

You will receive an ISBN-number for your thesis along with the evaluation report.

Title of the Trial lecture

You will receive the title of you trial lecture by e-mail 10 working days before the scheduled defence.

When will you receive the graduation certificate/diploma

It normally takes a few weeks receive your graduation certificate/diploma. It can take more time if your defence occurs late in the spring semester. 

If you reside in Tromsø you must collect the graduation certificate at the Information Desk at MH West. If you do not live in Tromsø, the graduation certificate/diploma will be mailed to the address registered in StudentWeb. It is your responsibility to inform us of any changes in mailing address before receiving the graduation certificate.

Diploma registry

By using the Diploma Registry, you can collect your results from higher education in Norway and share them with potential employers, educational institution and other relevant recipients. 

For more information visit Vitnemålsportalen. 

Trial lecture 

The PhD candidate must complete a trial lecture. The lecture constitues as an independent part of the doctoral examination for the PhD degree and must be on a topic given from the assessment committee. The purpose of the trial lecture is to test the candidate's abiliity to acquire knowledge beyond the topic of the thesis and their ability to disseminate such knowledge

You will receive the title of you trial lecture by e-mail 10 working days before the scheduled defence.

The trial lecture has a timeframe of 45 minutes for the presentation + 10 minutes for introduction and questions from the opponents.  

Public defences at the Faculty of Health Sciences

The public defence marks the end of the doctoral education and qualifies the candidate for research at an international level. Furthermore, it is an important arena for dissemination of research activities at the university. Therefore, UiT The Arctic University of Norway emphasizes that the public defence is a very formal and solemn event.

Defence location

The faculty reserves appropriate rooms for the trial lecture and public defence. Auditorium Cortex at MH West is normally used for public defences at campus Tromsø.

Defence announcement

The time and location of the public defence is normally announced 10 working days in advance.  The defence announcement can be found at Tavla, at the faculty info screens and outside the defence room. If you agree to use a picture for the annoucement, the defense will also be announced on our Facebook-page: UiTHelse 

Dress code

Both the candidate and the members of the evaluation committee are expected to dress formally.

The leader of the defence wears the Dean's robe during the public defence, but not during the trial lecture.

Trial lecture

The trial lecture lasts for 45 minutes + any questions from opponents and the introduction by the leader of the defence.

Lunch

After the trial lecture, lunch will be served for supervisors, the adjudicating committee, the leader of the defence and the candidate. Lunch will normally be served in the MH cafeteria. 

Public defence

At the public defence, the public audience must have arrived and is expected to rise when the defence leader, the candidate and committee enter the room. Order of entry procession: the leader of the defence, candidate, 1st opponent, 2nd opponent and the leader of the committee. The order is reversed when leaving the room. Members of the committee sit on reserved seats in the front row. 

The leader of the defence introduces the candidate, who then provides a brief overview of the most important scientific contributions of the PhD work. The presentation should ideally last about 30 minutes but must not exceed 45 minutes.

The first opponent opens the discussion with the candidate. This takes about 45 minutes but can last up to one hour.

The leader of the defence assesses the need for a 10-minute break before the second opponent takes over. The second opponent can spend up to 45 minutes for discussion with the candidate.

After both discussions, the leader of the defence announces the possibility for ex auditorio opposition. There is only time for brief comments/questions.

The leader of the defence will intervene if opponents exceed the allocated discussion time significantly or do not let the candidate speak. The leader of the defence will also intervene if the language is inappropriate or the general public disturbs the public defence.

Note! The Faculty does no longer offer a event after the defense, but can be help if asked. 

External defenses or defenses at another UiT campus 

External defence

It is possible to arrange the public defence at other sites than the university campus. The application to arrange the public defence at alternative locations must comply with the Faculty guidelines. 

External defenses will considered according to the following guidelines:

1. The external institution has directly or indirectly contributed to the thesis through data collection or access, have been significant part of the PhD candidate's learning environment during the PhD period, or otherwise played a significant role in the project 
2. The external institution can confirm that they have the necessary infrastructure (suitabe location, technical equipment, technical/administrative contact person), and that they provde economical guarantee for additional expenses (travel cost for the committee leader, leader of the defense, supervisors)
3. The application must be able to argue for a clear institutional and professional added value beyond the dissertation itself, for instance through planned or continued research collaboration betwwen the professional environment at UiT and the external institution. 

Application for external defenses at another university will not be considered. The same goes for application for arranging defenses at a hospital if the only reason is the PhD candidate's employment there. 

It is the PhD candidate who must sendt the application and it must:

• Answer point 1-3 above
• Be recommended by the research group leader, head of department, as well as confirmation from the relevant authoritites within the external institution with regards to the criteria above. 

The application must be supported by the external location, the research group leader and the institute leader before the Faculty can process the application. 

Defenses at other campuses 

UiT - the Artic University of Norway has several campuses located in Northern Norway, and we support arrangeing defenses on all of our campuses. While the majority of our defenses are centered at the Tromsø campus, you do not have to formally apply to hold your defense on any of the other campuses.  However there are certain prerequsities that must be met before considering defenses at alternative locations: 

• Contact person: It is important that there is a contact person at the campus, that can do some pracitcal task surronding the defense i.e book the location, order lunch, arrange IT-support, decorate the location, be there on the day of the defense)
• Technical support: Every defenses held on the Faculty of Health Sciences shall be streamed digitally, and sometimes the opponents attends digitally. It is important that the candidate has technical support on the day of the defense. 
• Suitable location for the defense: It is important that the campus has suitable location for arranging the defense. This includes have room for audience, technical equipment (PC, microfone, screen). If the opponents attends physically, they will need a room nearby to whitdraw for discussion. 
• Suitable location for the lunch 

Please note, you do not have to apply to the Faculty if you wish to hold your defense at any of UiT's campuses, but if you are planning to have it on another campus than campus Tromsø, please send the information above to phd@helsefak.uit.no. 

Dr.Philos 

The degree of Doctor of Philosopiae (dr.philos) is awarded to academics who have qualified for a doctoral degree on their own, without formal supervision. You have no affiliation with the university as a doctoral candidate until your application for the doctoral examination has been approved. 

You can find the Regulation concerning the degree of Doctor Philosophiae (Dr.Philos) here. It is imporant that you read through it before applying. 

The degree of dr.philos is awarded based on:

• A scientific thesis - the thesis should be an independent, scientific work. It should contribute to the development of new academic knowledge and be of an academic level that suggest it could be published as part of the academic literature. 
• A trial lecture on a given topic
• A public defense of the thesis

Application to be given the right to present yourself for the degree must be sendt to phd@helsefak.uit.no 

The following must be included in the application:

• The thesis
• Plagarism self-declaration form 
• Declaration of independence which describe your contribution to each component of the thesis. If similarly detailed author's declaration for a publisher has already been filled out, you can include that instead. 
• CV / Documentation of education 
• Confirmation of affiliation with UiT 
• Confirmation that the thesis has not been submitted for evaluation anywhere else. 

The supervisor's responsibilities 

 The supervisor must be in contact with his or her PhD candidate at regular intervals. 

As a supervisor you are expected to: 

• Advise the candidate regarding phrasing and demarcation of the subject and thesis. 
• Discuss and evaluate hypotheses and methods of research 
• Discuss results and interpretations of said methods and hypotheses 
• Discussing the setup, layout, and execution of the dissertation(disposition, language, documentation etc.) 
• Help the candidate navigate field literature and database I relations to the university library, archive, etc. 
• Guide the candidate in questions of ethics related to the dissertation.    

As a supervisor you must:

• Make yourself familiar with the PhD regulations set by the faculty, as well as the ethical guidelines regarding supervision at the University of Tromsø.
• Keep yourself informed about the progress of the candidate's project and the educational component.
• Follow up any issuses that can cause the candidate to be delayed in their studies
• The PhD candidate must be a part of an active scientific environment. As a supervisor, it is your responsibility to make sure that the candidate can participate in a research group and/or  scientific enviroment in an active manner. 
• The supervision is regulated by the "Avtale ved opptak til organisert doktorgradsutdanning»; Introduction, part A, part B and part C, which includes but is not limited to doctoral candidates, supervisors, the institute, and the faculty. 

 In addition to the above-mentioned responsibilities, the candidate's main supervisor is expected to:

• Find members for the evaluation committee responsible for the midway assessment, as well as booking a room and/or setting up a digital meeting for the seminar. 
• Find members for the evaluation committee for evaluation the dissertation (see Proposing the assessment committee)

Supervision problems - The faculty mediation service

Occasionally, a conflict arises between the PhD candidate and a supervisor. If the conflict is of such a nature that it may weaken or affect the possibility of completing the doctoral studies or lead to major delays in progress, the Faculty of Health Sciences has a mediation service (Konfliktrådet) that can assist the parties involved in resolving their conflict. 

Both the PhD candidate and the supervisors may report cases to the mediation service through this email address: konfliktradphd@helsefak.uit.no  

This email will be set to the Vice Dean of Research Education and two members of the PhD administration at the faculty. All cases are treated with strict confidentiality.  

Two heads of departments at the faculty will then appointed as constituents of the mediation service, whose purpose is to preside over each case. These individuals will be required to be from different department, of which the PhD candidate does not belong to. 

Mediation services meetings 

The mediation service meets with the involved parties separately and as a group. The Research group leader will also participate in the group meeting. The PhD candidate is allowed to bring a supporting person. Both the PhD candidate and the supervisor are given the opportunity to present their versions of the conflict, and the Research group leader is allowed provide supplementary information.  

Based on the information gathered from the preliminary meetings, the mediation service will then draft a possible solution to the conflict and a proposed plan of action for the completion of the PhD project. 

Plan of action content 

The proposed plan of action will: 

• discuss the remaining milestones of the project and the anticipated time required to reach and complete said milestones 
• contain suggestions for new supervisors in cases where the supervisory agreement is terminated, to ensure the Ph.D. candidate is given supervision for the remainder of the PhD project period 
• give advice regarding compensation for time lost due to the conflict 

 
If the mediation service does not succeed in finding a solution to the conflict, a report will be sent to the section for Research, Education and Communication for further follow-up. 

Changes in supervisory team 

If you have joined as a supervisor in an existing supervisory team, or if you end your role as a supervisor before the student's agreement period is over, it is important that the student sends an application for changes in supervision to the Section for Research, Education and Communication. 

If not applied for, the changes will not be formal.

This is the candidate's responsibilty, not the supervisors, but please remind the student of this. 

Mid-term Evaluation

The midway assessment provides the candidate and supervisor with an independent assessment of whether the candidate has adequate progression to complete the PhD education on schedule. The candidate will receive specific feedback on his/her work and get suggestions for further work. The midway assessment allows the department to identify candidates that need structured follow-up. It is expected that such an assessment will improve progress in the project and increase the likelihood that the candidate completes the PhD-program on time.

The midway assessment must be conducted 15-18 months after entering the PhD programme. If the candidate works part time with the PhD project, this will be accounted for when deciding a date for the midway assessment. The date can also be adjusted if the candidate has had any leave of absence. Otherwise, it is not possible to postpone the midway assessment.

The supervisors responsibilities: 

The main supervisor is responsible for suggesting an evaluation committee consisting of two members. The committee members should be academic staff at UiT, and at least one member must be. Appointment of an external committee member must be approved by the department. Additional costs by appointing an external member will be charged to the department. Furthermore, a committee member must have a PhD and be familiar with the candidate´s research field. Committee members must not be involved in the project and must be impartial. The Head of Department appoints the assessment committee. The members of the assessment committee are obliged to examine all the documentation provided ahead of the midway assessment.

The main supervisor must also make sure the seminar is carried out. This includes finding a suitable date for the seminar, as well as booking a room and/or setting up a digital meeting for the seminar. 

The main supervisor will also have to attend the seminar. 

Proposing the assessment committee

Appointment of evaluation committee for the thesis

It is the main supervisors responsibility to find members to the evaluation committee, and to send the application of appointment of evaluation committee. The composition of the committee should normally be clarified by the time your PhD candidate submits their thesis. 

The committee needs to be approved by the candidate and the Head of Department before the Pro Dean of Research Education formally appoints the evaluation committee. This is done by the Faculty. 

Information you must submit in the form 

Attachement that must be uploaded in the form 

Please note; the commitee will not be formally appointet until the submission in Munin is completed!

Requirements for the composition of the committee

The composition of the committee must be justified and any deviation from the criteria must be justified sepereatly. The justification must show how the committee as a whole covers the field of study addressed by the doctoral work. 

The composition of the committee must be such that (§27 PhD regulation): 

• Both genders are represented 
• At least one of the members is employed at the university 
• At least one of the members has no association with the university 
• At least one of the members does not have a primary affiliation with a Norwegian institution 
• All the members are holding a doctoral degree or equivalent 
• At least one member has competence at the level of professor or equivalent 
• The majority of the committee are external members 
• The majority of the committee are employed at institutions awarding the doctoral degree. 

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