PhD Programme in Health and Sport Sciences
Kristiansand, GrimstadA PhD degree provides you with the opportunity to deepen your knowledge and understanding in the fields of health and sports sciences, as well as to develop skills in planning and conducting high-quality research. It also allows you to contribute to important discoveries and address societal challenges. Additionally, obtaining a PhD can open up new career opportunities for you.
Facts about the program
- ECTS credits:
- 180
- Duration:
- 3 years
- Mode of study:
- Full-time
- Semester:
- Upon agreement
About the research programme
The PhD programme includes all the faculty’s subject areas and relevant research fields. The aim of the programme is to give the doctoral candidates thorough theoretical and methodological knowledge, as well as experience in completing a significant research task (the doctoral thesis) of international standard. The programme is adapted to the faculty’s academic interests.
The doctoral degree is awarded based on approved completion of compulsory coursework, an academic thesis, a trial lecture and a public defense of the doctoral thesis.
The PhD programme corresponds to 180 ECTS credits, corresponding to three years of full-time studies. It may also be possible to agree to spend four years on the studies with a work component, depending on individual agreements and specialisation.
Norwegian description of the PhD programme in Health and Sport Sciences.
Specialisations
The PhD programme offers the following specialisations:
Read more about PhD education at UiA, in PhD Handbook.
Planned PhD courses
Autumn 2026
Check each course's individual timetable
ME-618 Qualitative Research Methods, 5 ECTS. Scheduled for week 44 (Note that the teaching will be in Grimstad). Teacher in charge: Bjørn Tore Johansen
ME-624 Research Dissemination in Health and Sport Sciences,7.5 ECTS. Scheduled for 27-28 August (Krs), 8-9 October (Grm) og 3-4 December (Krs). Teacher in charge: Bjørn Tore Johansen
ME-626 General Quantitative Research Methodes, 5 ECTS. Scheduled for week 47 (Kristiansand). Teacher in charge: Bjørge Herman Hansen
HEL608 Dialogical and Collaborative Practices, 5 ECTS. Scheduled for week 47 (Grimstad). Teacher in charge: Tore Dag Bøe
HEL609 Research in eHealth and Health Information Systems, 5 ECTS. Scheduled for week 39 (digital). Teacher in charge: Santiago Gil Martinez
Postponed until spring 2027: HEL619 The Science of Behavior, 5 ECTS. Teacher in charge: Carsta Simon
HEL621 Evidence-based Practice: Critical Perspectives, 5 ECTS. Scheduled for Monday 12 - Wednesday 14 October (Kristiansand). Teacher in charge Idun Røseth
Cancelled: HEL623 Introduction to Health Sciences, 5 ECTS. Scheduled for 46 (Kristiansand). Teacher in charge: Kristine Haddeland
Please note that normally the course will be cancelled if there are fewer than four participants, and at least two of the four must be from our own PhD programme.
Spring 2027
Week 5 and 6: The mandatory course EX-606 Researching Health and Sport Sciences: Philosophical and Methodological Foundations. More details will follow. (Note that the link leads you to the spring 2026 version. A new version of the course will be published in December 2026)
Week 7: HEL620 Introduction to Public Health. More details will follow. (Note that the link leads you to the 2025 version until spring 2027 is published)
Please note that normally the course will be cancelled if there are fewer than four participants, and at least two of the four must be from our own PhD programme.
PhD thesis
The PhD thesis should be an independent piece of academic work that meets international academic standards in the subject area. It must contribute to the development of new scholarly knowledge and must achieve a level of academic quality meriting publication as part of the literature in its field.
According to the supplementary regulations for the PhD programme in Health and Sport Sciences, the dissertation may be a monograph or a collection of articles accompanied by an extended summary and an in‑depth discussion of the research results presented in the articles. An article‑based dissertation must include a minimum of three articles. At least one article, for which the candidate is the first author, must be accepted for publication at the time of submission. The remaining articles must have been submitted to scientific journals. The candidate must be the first author on at least two of the articles.
Jobs and carriers
Candidates from the PhD programme work in academia, the health sector in municipalities and hospital trusts, in education, organizations and in the private sector.
Where do our candidates end up?
Many of the graduated doctoral candidates work in academia, both at UiA and other educational institutions. Externally funded candidates in health sciences usually return to their permanent jobs and continue with research in addition to clinical activities in hospitals and municipalities. Some have got jobs in municipalities in various advisory positions, e.g. within public health work or in business.
Defenses
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Public defence: Katrine Håkstad
Katrine Håkstad defends her thesis " Orofacial Signs of Child Maltreatment: Evidence from Clinical Forensic Dental Examinations. Oral Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents at a Norwegian Children's House". Katrine Håkstad has been enrolled in the PhD program at the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences. Katrine Håkstad's PhD was funded through the Research Council of Norway's Public Sector PhD Scheme, in cooperation with Agder County Municipality.
See all our disputations here
Admissions
When you have accepted a research fellow position with us, or have received a funding guarantee from an external source, you can apply for admission to our PhD programme. Applications for admission are sent electronically to the PhD adviser, which you will find at the bottom of the page.
Contact
- bjorn.t.johansen@uia.no
- Phone
- +47 38 14 12 95
- emma.e.horneman@uia.no
- Phone
- +47 37 23 33 77