Offentlig administrasjon, ph.d.-program

Admission requirements

The applicant should hold a master's/cand.polit. degree in political science, public administration, or similar disciplines. The position places great demands on the applicant's capacity for independent goal-oriented work, ability to concentrate and attention to detail. Applicants will be assessed on the basis of their academic background and results, and any previous research and development work. Relevant practical experience, personal suitability and good teamwork skills will also be emphasised.

Applicants must submit a project description of no more than 10 pages, including the bibliography. The project description should include a presentation of possible research questions/hypotheses, theoretical framework, data/material and methods as well as a progress plan for the proposed doctoral project. The quality of the project description is essential to the assessment of the applications.

The following documentation will be required when applying:

• Certified copies of diplomas and references
• List of academic publications
• Master's thesis
• Other academic publications
• Project description (no more than 10 pages)

General description

The core area of the programme focuses on research themes such as:

• Development and implications of composite systems of public administration
• The interaction and mutual penetration of international and regional systems of public administration
• Overviews of existing composite systems of governance at the international and regional levels of governance
• Implications for democratic governance
• Implications for political steering and control

The PhD-programme aims at understanding the development and implication of composite administrative systems at different levels of government. Arguably, composite systems are able to accommodate multiple governance dynamics by mobilising multiple organisational and human resources.

The PhD-programme is organised to be completed in a three-year period. The first year of the programme is devoted to coursework and beginning of the dissertation work. The coursework includes a core course in public administration, courses in research methods and specialisation courses. As part of the coursework all students are required to participate in a dissertation seminar. This is to help the students to prepare for their final dissertation.

The two last years the students will work on their dissertation.

Year 1:
1st semester: coursework and appointment of supervisor(s)
2nd semester : coursework and beginning of dissertation work

Year 2:
1st semester: coursework and dissertation
2nd semester: dissertation work

Year 3:
1st semester: dissertation work
2nd semester: completion of dissertation and dissertation defence

Programme components
The coursework in the programme is divided into three main areas:

• Core Course. The core course (10 credits) is intended to give the students a thorough grounding in the main literature of public administration in general and particularly on the composite aspects of governance. The course is dedicated to the core area, reflecting the definition of composite systems of public administration.
• Specialisation Courses. The specialisation courses (10 credits in total) go into depth in a limited number of specific issues covered in the core course. Specialisation courses will help the PhD student to achieve a sufficient knowledge within a narrow subfield of public administration and to start producing research in this field. Currently we have outlined two specialisation courses convened by the faculty at the Department of Political Science and Management. Additional specialisation courses are provided by the network partners of the Programme: Netherland Institute of Government (NIG), The Danish Political Science Research Program (POLFORSK) and Science Po Bordeaux.
• Methodology Courses. The purpose of the methods courses is to provide students with a solid methodological foundation. A minimum of 17.5 credits are required in research methods, theory of science, and dissertation seminar. The PhD students are obliged to take Theory of Science and the Dissertation Seminar at UiA, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences. The choice of courses in research methods is subject to the choice of the PhD students. Methodology courses are provided by the network partner of the Programme.

The content of the core course will be relatively stable over time, whereas the content of the specialisation courses, focusing on current research issues, will have to be continuously updated to reflect ongoing research. The coursework is divided into three main areas, as presented below. In total the coursework consists of 37.5 ECTS.

Core course (10 credits)

• Composite Political Systems and Governance (10 credits)

Specialisation courses (10 credits)

• The structuring and dynamics of International Bureaucracies (5 credits)
• ´Engaged scholarship´ and ´realistic research designs´: New approaches to the study of local networks and leadership (5 credits)
• Available courses at NIG
• Available courses at POLFORSK
• Available courses at Science Po

Methodology courses (17,5 credits)

• Theory of science (5 credits)
• Dissertation seminar (2.5 credits)

A minimum of 10 credits is required in research methods. These courses are electives and thus subject to the choice of the PhD students. These courses are given by our network partners at NIG, POLFORSK, Science po Bordeaux as well as at other national and international universities.

Learning outcomes

The courses seek to give the students
a) a thorough grounding in literature in public administration
b) a solid methodological foundation, and
c) an opportunity for in-depth focus in areas relevant to public administration

Qualification awarded

PhD in Public Administration