PhD programme in Engineering and Science

To be admitted into the PhD programme in Engineering and Science, the applicant must hold a master's degree in a subject area relevant to the research area from a Norwegian university or qualifications approved as equivalent.

As a general rule, the following should normally apply:

• The average grade for courses included in the bachelor's degree (or equivalent) should be C (or equivalent) or higher.
• The average grade for all courses (including the dissertation) in the master’s degree should be B (or equivalent) or higher.
• The master's dissertation (or equivalent) should have the grade B (or equivalent) or higher.
• When the applicant's average grades are lower than required, the hosting research group at the Faculty of Engineering and Science must document the probability of the applicant being able to complete the PhD programme. In such an event, the Faculty of Engineering and Science may recommend extra requirements to be included in the basis for admission.
• Competence in English is a requirement for all applicants to the PhD programme. International candidates that are not exempt from the English language requirements pursuant to the guidelines of the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT), must document this through one of the following tests with the stated results or better:
  • TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language with a minimum score of 600 for the Paperbased Test (PBT), or 92 for the Internet-based Test (iBT)
  • IELTS - International English Language Testing System, with the result of 6.5

The Faculty of Engineering and Science offers one PhD-programme (PhD-programme in Engineering and Science) with four specialisations:

• Specialisation in Engineering Sciences
• Specialisation in Information- and Communication Technologies (ICT)
• Specialisation in Mathematical Sciences
• Specialisation in Natural Sciences

The main objective of the PhD programme is to ensure that the candidates attain a high level of scientific expertise in Engineering and Science.

The PhD programme consists of a coursework component of 30 credits and the completion of a thesis weighted at 150 credits. The PhD candidate will receive formal training and supervision, providing him/her with broad scientific knowledge to do his/her own independent research, leading to a scientific dissertation in Engineering and Science. 

The research work and dissertation must be of international standard.

After satisfactory completion of their degree, PhD candidates shall have developed a high level of scientific competence in a specific field within Engineering and Science. Candidates shall have acquired wide academic knowledge in their field and specialised knowledge within a main area.

Knowledge

After graduation the candidate will:

• be at the research frontier within a specific field of Engineering and Science
• master theory of science, the scientific methods and the ethics within a specific field of Engineering and Science
• be capable of contributing to the development and documentation of new knowledge and new methods within a specific field of Engineering and Science
• be able to evaluate different research methods and relate them to topics within a specific field of Engineering and Science

Skills

After graduation the candidate can:

• conduct research and develop new knowledge, theory, and methods of high international standards within a specific field of Engineering and Science
• deal with complex research questions within a specific field of Engineering and Science and reflect critically on the established knowledge and practice in this field
• teach and supervise within his/her specific field of research at both master and bachelor level
• establish and maintain scholarly networks

General Competence

After graduation the candidate is capable of:

• communicating results of research and development via nationally and internationally recognised channels
• identifying new relevant research questions and pursuing their research with academic integrity
• identifying and reflecting on relevant ethical questions in the research process and conducting own research according to established ethical standards
• contributing to project applications and working in projects 

Teaching methods

The research work for the for the thesis (150 ects) is done under the guidance of at least two highly qualified supervisors in the relevant field, one of them being the main supervisor.

The coursework component (30 ects) consists of lectures, seminars and discussions. The courses included in the coursework component should be advanced courses taken at the University of Agder or other universities. At the Faculty of Engineering and Science the courses will usually be PhD courses. It is also possible to create special courses or use summer schools as courses. Parts of the coursework can be completed at other institutions in Norway or abroad, with the approval of the Faculty/PhD Committee. More information about courses can be found in the course descriptions. Teaching will normally be in English.

As part of the research education, the PhD candidate is normally required to:

• Present his/her work in a progress seminar.  
• Participate in their host department’s seminars both as presenter, opponent and as audience.
• Present his/her original work in national and international conferences, workshops and journals.

Candidates are expected to take full responsibility for their own learning and personal progress. It is assumed that students will achieve major parts of the curriculum learning objectives through self-study.

Assessment methods

All courses included in the coursework component have a final assessment. The assessment method is normally an exam or essay which builds on the course literature and the PhD candidate’s own research. The assessment method in the courses appears in the course descriptions.

Grading: Pass/Fail, where Pass corresponds to the grade B or higher on the master’s programme.

The doctoral programme concludes with a public trial lecture on a prescribed topic and a public defence (disputation) where the candidate presents an account of the results of the scientific investigations reported in the dissertation and defends the thesis in a discussion with two opponents. The disputation is further described in the supplementary regulations for the PhD Degree at the Faculty of Engineering and Science.