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School of Medical Sciences

I am a doctoral student

This page provides you with information about your doctoral education, as well as with links to different forms that you will need.

According to the Higher Education Ordinance, every student admitted to doctoral education shall annually establish an individual study plan (ISP). The plan should be established together with your supervisor within two months after you have been admitted. The individual study plan can be seen as a contract between you and the university about how your doctoral education is implemented. It is also an important planning tool for you and your supervisor and a way for the university to follow up on your studies. Your research plan and the general syllabus (ASP) is the basis for the planning of the ISP. The individual study plan must be signed by the doctoral student and the supervisor. Use the link below to find more information about the ISP, as well as links to the ISP template and a guide with examples to help you to fill it out.

Change/addition of supervisor

If you want to change, remove or add a supervisor, you the doctoral student must fill out the form found below.

Change of specialisation

If you want to change your specialisation within the subject area Medical Science, please fill out the form below.

If you have any questions, please contact study and research administration.

Change of general syllabus

You follow the general syllabus which was valid on the day you were admitted to doctoral education. Should the general syllabus change during your study period, you may apply for transfering your studies to the newer general syllabus. Please fill out the form below.

Change pace of study

Pace of study can mean either the planned or the actual level of activity, depending on the context. You cannot have a study activity lower than 50 per cent of full time. If you want to change your pace of study you need to fill out the application form below.

If you have any questions, please contact the Director of Studies or the study and research administration.

Extension of study period

If you want to request an extension of your study period, for example due to sick leave or parental leave, you need to fill out the form below and send it to the study and research administration. Please remember that you must also include a certificate from your employer or insurance office (not required if you are employed as a doctoral student at Örebro University). 

Termination

If you for some reason want to terminate your doctoral studies, you must report it in writing. Contact the study and research administration or the Director of studies for more information.

The general syllabus on which you were admitted states how many credits you need to take during your doctoral education to meet the degree requirements. Örebro University offers doctoral courses but you can also choose to attend courses at other universities or institutions. You will find the University's doctoral courses here.

When you attend and pass a course given by Örebro University, your credits will automatically be registered in the study documentation system Ladok. However, if you attend and pass a course given by the University Library, you must apply for credit transfer (more information about credit transfer follows below).

You may also attend courses at other universities or institutions, in Sweden or abroad.

Below you will find links to doctoral courses at faculties of medicine at other universities in Sweden.

Important to remember is that if you attend courses outside of Örebro University you need to apply for a credit transfer after you finished the course in order for it to count towards your future doctoral degree.

Along with a properly filled-out application you must also submit a certificate of your participation, as well as a course syllabus or similar. Submit your application to the  study and research administration, alternatively to the Records Office at the university.

Note that it is always individually assessed whether or not an application is approved (completely or partly).

According to "Guidelines for credit transfer for the subject areas of Medical Science, Disability Science and Sport Science" (ORU 1.2.1-06176/2017), an application for credit transfer for courses/thesis work completed prior to admission shall be made in connection to establishing the doctoral student’s first ISP (Individual Study Plan). For courses completed whilst on the doctoral programme, an application for credit transfer should be made no later than at the time of the next ISP revision.

The study and research administrator forwards the application to the specialisation coordinator/head of subject who reviews and makes the relevant decisions. If the specialisation coordinator/head of subject is of the opinion that the course for which credit transfer has been applie, does not fall within the scope of third-cycle courses and study programmes, the application shall be rejected. On rejection, the decision must include the grounds for the decision.

Mid-way review is a mandatory element in doctoral education. The mid-way review shall be held no later than when half of the doctoral study programme has been completed, i.e., after two years for full-time studies, or earlier if two papers have been accepted for publication in a refereed journal. The mid-way review is planned by the supervisor in consultation with the doctoral student and other supervisors, as well as with the specialisations coordinator.

Please note that Örebro University's PowerPoint templates and logos shall be used for your material presented at the mid-way review, they can be found here (ORU account log-in required).

Important reminder: The chairperson’s role is neutral and non-assessing.

Open the seminar: welcome and introductions.

Part I (open, ca 1,5 h)

  • Presentation by doctoral student (ca 30 minutes) – in English
  • Discussion/questions from the experts/reviewers – in Swedish or English
  • Questions from the auditorium

Part II (closed, ca 30 minutes)

  • Continued in-depth discussion/questions with experts/reviewers as needed.
  • Chair, supervisors, and any audience leave the seminar to allow the  experts/reviewers to discuss supervision and progress separately with the doctoral student.
  • The chair shall also enable a separate discussion between the experts/reviewers and the supervisor(s).
  • The experts/reviewers jointly fill out the assessment form.
  • The chairperson is responsible for returning the form with all signatures to the administration.

A licentiate degree of 120 credits (two years of full time studies) can be an independent degree, or a step on the road towards a doctorate. The licentiate thesis shall be defended at a public seminar.

On the University's central pages you can find more information about thesis production

A doctoral education of 240 credits (four years of full time studies) is concluded by you defending your thesis at a public defence.

It is your principal supervisor’s responsibility to plan your public defence together with you. Remember to start planning and preparing well in advance; there is much to be done. We recommend that you inform the study and research administration as soon as you have a preliminary date for your defence, so that the availability can be checked. It is also important that you contact the printing office Repro as soon as possible to establish a time plan for your thesis production.

The proposal for public defence, complete with all appendices, shall be submitted to the study and research administration via web forms - for the doctoral student and the supervisor respectively - 15 weeks - at the latest! - before the proposed date of the public defence. All appendices that are to be included are listed on the supervisor's web form.

Contact

Here you can find contact information to persons involved in doctoral education at the School of Medical Sciences. If you have general questions or are unsure of whom to address, please contact the study and research administration.

Subject representative: Hans Hjelmqvist
Programme Director: Ignacio Rangel
Specialisation coordinator Biomedicine: Allan Sirsjö
Specialisation coordinator Medicine: Katja Fall
Assistant Specialisation coordinator Medicine: Stefan Särnblad
Specialisation coordinator Surgical sciences: Hans Hjelmqvist
Directors of studies: Julia König and Amanj Saber