Regulations for doctoral theses and public defence of theses

Regulations for doctoral theses and public defence of theses
Revised and approved by the Deputy Dean of the IT Faculty 090513
 

1. Form of thesis
2. Thesis reproduction
3. Time, venue, publication
4. Availability of thesis
5. Public defence
6. Grades and grading committee
7. Composition of grading committee
8. Meetings and decisions of the grading committee
9. Instructions
10. Degree certificate
11. Delegation

1. Form of thesis

1.1. A doctoral thesis shall normally be drawn up in the form of a compilation of scientific articles with a summary (compilation thesis) that the student has written themselves or with another person. Alternatively the thesis may be written as a single, continuous scientific piece of work (monograph).

1.2. A scientific thesis that has been written jointly by two or more individuals will be accepted as a doctoral thesis for those authors whose contribution can be identified.

1.3. An application to defend a thesis that has been written jointly by several individuals shall be accompanied by a report detailing the contributions of each author, signed by the authors and supervisor, as a guide for the opponent, grading committee and general public.

1.4. When a compilation thesis is assessed, scientific essays that the respondent has written with another person may only be considered to the extent that the respondent’s contributions can be identified.

1.5. A doctoral thesis shall normally be written in English. The thesis may also be written in Swedish, Danish or Norwegian. A doctoral thesis that is not written in English shall include a summary in English.

1.6. A brief abstract in English shall be attached to the doctoral thesis, written in accordance with the regulations of what used to be called the office for universities and university colleges, 22.05.1978.

2. Thesis reproduction

Financial reimbursements and grants to cover printing are paid in accordance with an amount and print run set by the department. It is recommended that students book printing services well in advance, particularly for defence at the end of the spring term.
Link to Printing, publishing and e-publishing of thesis

3. Time, venue, publication

3.1. The postgraduate student’s application to defend his/her thesis and the examiner’s proposal regarding a chairperson, opponent and grading committee should be submitted to the faculty board no later than six weeks before defence. The application shall contain details of the student’s name, personal ID number, the title of the thesis, and the time and venue for the public defence of the thesis. The examiner shall also provide the opponent and members of the grading committee with complete addresses.

3.2. The public defence of a thesis shall take place at a time and venue decided upon by the faculty board, as delegated by the Vice-Chancellor.

3.3. Announcements on the university’s notice board regarding a thesis and communications relating to the time and venue for the public defence and publication of the thesis shall be submitted no later than three weeks prior to the defence of the thesis, at which point the allotted time is calculated in accordance with sections 3.5 and 3.6. Publication of thesis

3.4. The Dean may agree to a shorter publication period due to sudden attested cases of illness, or other extenuating circumstances.

3.5. The public defence and licentiate seminar must take place between 1 September and 22 December, and between 8 January and the Friday 2 weeks before midsummer.

3.6. Examples of deadlines:
publication no later than;
• 25 May for defence 15-18 June
• 10 June for defence 1 September
• 16 August for defence 6 September
• 6 December for defence 10 January

3.7. The postgraduate student shall deliver the text of the abstract and a press release (in Swedish) via e-mail to the PR Officer in conjunction with the publication of the thesis, and no later.

4. Availability of thesis

4.1. The doctoral thesis shall be made available at the university as soon as it is published and a sufficient number of copies shall be produced to allow a satisfactory examination of the thesis at the public defence. The thesis shall also be published in digital format.

4.2. At the same time, the doctoral thesis shall be sent to all departments at universities in Sweden that are involved in the subject area covered by the thesis, as well as to the libraries of all these universities. A distribution list is available in each department detailing all affiliated university departments in Sweden.

5. Public defence

5.1. The public defence of a thesis is led by a chairperson. An opponent should participate in the defence.

The chairperson and opponent are appointed by the faculty board.
5.2. Members of the audience at a defence are entitled to address questions to the respondent in the order directed by the chairperson.

6. Grades and grading committee

6.1. A doctoral thesis is awarded either a pass or a fail. When grading the thesis, the content of the thesis and the manner of its defence are taken into consideration.

6.2. The grade for a doctoral thesis shall be decided by a grading committee, which is appointed specially for each thesis.

Form, grading committee minutes

7. Composition of grading committee

7.1. A grading committee shall consist of three or five members. The faculty board shall decide upon the number of members and appoint them.

7.2. The members of the grading committee shall be at least docent level. However, a member may be appointed who does not satisfy this requirement if there are special reasons.

7.3. The majority of the members of the grading committee shall be appointed from outside the department to which the postgraduate student belongs, unless there are special reasons for not doing this. At least one of the members should be appointed from among the teachers within the area of responsibility of another faculty board, or at another university.

7.4. The grading committee should not include the supervisor or the chairperson for the public defence of the thesis.

7.5. The university’s equality guidelines shall be observed when appointing the members of the grading committee.

8. Meetings and decisions of the grading committee

8.1. The grading committee appoints a chairperson from among its members.

8.2. The opponent is entitled to be present at meetings with the grading committee and to participate in discussions, but not in decisions.

8.3. The supervisor is entitled to be present at meetings with the grading committee and to participate in discussions, but not in decisions. If several supervisors have been appointed, this regulation shall apply to the principal supervisor. Under special circumstances, assistant supervisors may also attend.

8.4. The grading committee is a quorum when all members are present. The decision of the majority of the committee’s members shall constitute a decision by the committee. If the thesis is passed, the reasons for the committee’s decision may not be recorded in the minutes or in any other document. The same applies for the reasons that an individual member may have put forward in opposition to other members, or in a different order.

8.5. However, if the thesis is failed, the reasons for the committee’s decision may be recorded in the minutes or in any other document. The same applies for the reasons that an individual member may in such cases have put forward in opposition to other members, or in a different order.

9. Instructions

9.1. In 1995, the delegation for quality development at the University of Gothenburg published the document: For the opponent: information regarding the public defence of a doctoral thesis for foreign opponents and others, For the Opponent
9.2. Departments may have certain guidelines that are specific to each department for a doctoral thesis and public defence.

10. Degree certificate

When the postgraduate student has completed all courses and wishes to be issued with a doctoral degree certificate, an application should be submitted to the Office of Degrees, University of Gothenburg.

11. Delegation

The faculty board may delegate its duties in a particular order, according to the regulations.