Important dates
- Make a recommendation: You have a three-month deadline to submit your recommendation.
- Public defence: A public defence may at the earliest take place six weeks after the recommendation has been approved by the faculty.
- Recommendation associated with revision: You have two months to submit a final recommendation after the candidate has delivered a revised thesis.
The composition of the committee and roles
The committee consists of three people: the first and the second opponents, and the committee chair, who performs the committee's administrative work.
After the committee has been appointed, there must not be any contact between the supervisors and the committee about the candidate or the candidate's work until after the PhD examination has been completed.
The candidate and the committee must not have any contact before the trial lecture and the public defence.
Opponents
You will discuss general matters regarding the field of research, issues of a more special nature, questions regarding form and methodology, and matters regarding discussion of the results of the research.
You must agree amongst yourselves how to divide the tasks associated with the public defence.
- As the first opponent, you must present the thesis in 15 minutes maximum.
- As the first opponent, you have about 75 minutes at your disposal to have a discussion with the candidate.
- As the second opponent, you have about 60 minutes at your disposal to have a discussion with the candidate.
The public defence normally takes no more than 3–4 hours, including breaks and ex auditorio questions.
Committee chair
As the committee chair, you are an employee of the faculty. You are responsible for initiating the opponents’ work with the adjudication. The committee must submit a proposed date for the trial lecture and public defence as soon as possible after it has received the thesis. This should happen before you know whether the thesis is approved, so that all of the parties involved can save the date. The proposal is not binding on the part of the faculty until the Dean has approved the date.
You will coordinate the work, liaise between the committee and the faculty, and edit and submit the final recommendation.
Adjudication of the thesis
The recommendation is your written adjudication of the thesis. You have a three-month deadline to submit your recommendation. If you need more time, you must send a detailed written application to the faculty officer.
Positive recommendation
If the recommendation is positive, you must enclose the following information with the recommendation:
- The names of the first and the second opponents.
- The topic of the trial lecture.
The committee chair will e-mail the recommendation to the faculty officer when it is ready. The committee chair must ensure that the recommendation is signed by everyone on the committee, but this can be done after the recommendation has been submitted to the faculty officer.
The public defence may at the earliest take place six weeks after the recommendation has been approved by the faculty.
Revision
You can recommend that the candidate revises the thesis without this being considered rejection. You can only recommend this if the thesis is worthy of defence, but you want the candidate to make certain adjustments in order to achieve a better result.
A revision cannot require more than six months' work. If you recommend revision, you must provide a detailed overview of the specific material the candidate must rework.
When the candidate submits a revised thesis, you will have two months to submit a final recommendation.
Rejection
If you believe that the thesis does not meet the requirements for public defence, you must reject it.
The candidate cannot submit a new thesis until six months have passed since notification of the rejection.
Trial lecture and public defence
The candidate will be ready for the trial lecture and public defence when the Dean has approved the thesis.
You will be present at and adjudicate the trial lecture and the public defence. If one of you is unable to attend, the faculty will appoint a substitute member. You will later sign a record stating whether the trial lecture and public defence have been approved.
You will set the topic of the trial lecture. The PhD candidate will be notified of this 10 working days before the lecture.
The purpose of the trial lecture is for the candidate to demonstrate his/her ability to convey research-based knowledge to a target group of advanced students of the subject (who have completed at least one year of studies).
The trial lecture will last for 45 minutes. The adjudication of the trial lecture will focus on both the academic content and on the ability to convey knowledge.
Travel and fees
Travel must be booked once the recommendation is ready. The opponents normally book their own travel (economy class), and expenses are refunded after the public defence. If you want the faculty to make the booking, you must send information about your point of departure, the date, the time/period, and your name as written in your passport to forskningsadministrasjon@teologi.uio.no. The faculty will book a hotel, and pay for 2 nights. It will not cover the expenses for a companion.
Remember to save all original receipts, as the faculty cannot refund your expenses without them.
Form for refund of expenses and bank details for payments abroad.
Once the public defence has been completed, the faculty will pay the following fees:
- First opponent: NOK 18 820
- Second opponent: NOK 16 938
- Supplement for adjudication of a revised thesis: NOK 3 764 (applies when the committee members have to read/evaluate the thesis twice)
- These fees are applicable for work carried out after 1 July 2022.