§ 3 Responsibility for the PhD education
The PhD program in Logistics is managed by the Faculty of Logistics. The program's doctoral committee is responsible for admission to and implementation of the program, and for approving the program's description and course descriptions, and prepares supplementary guidelines for the program.
§ 5-1 Conditions for admission
a. Admission to the PhD program in Logistics requires a 5-year master's degree or equivalent, in accordance with the description in the second cycle of the Qualifications Framework.
b. An average grade of B or better is normally required for modules from the second cycle. With normal conversion practice with a scale where A corresponds to 5 and E corresponds to 1, the requirement is set for a weighted average of 4.0. The credits form the weights in the calculation. For applicants with other degree scales, a similar requirement applies.
c. The educational background must be relevant to the PhD program in logistics.
d. The education from the second cycle must include an independent student work. This will normally be a master's thesis, but other forms of independent student work may also qualify. If the candidate can refer to other scientific publications this requirement may be waived.
e. Application for admission to the program must include the following elements:
- Certified documentation of educational background (diplomas, transcripts of grades)
- The Master's thesis, or other independent student work from the second cycle, must be presented in full text. If the document is not written in Scandinavian or English language, a certified English translation of the summary must also be provided
- A preliminary plan for the PhD project, including a tentatively formulated research problem or research questions, reference to existing research literature, and relevant elements of theory and methodology
- Progress plan, including a proposal for a course plan
- Documentation of funding, in the form of, or in parallel with, doctoral scholarships offered at Molde University College
- A preliminary assessment of potential issues related to intellectual property copyright and ethical issues that require registration/approval related to the use of data, ethics committees, etc.
f. An application for admission to the program may also include:
- Other academic publications you have contributed to
- A motivation letter
- Recommendations from professors, supervisors, or work colleagues
- A list of people who can act as references, as well as their contact information
- Preferred supervisor(s) for the PhD project
- Possible plans for stays abroad
- If the candidate wishes to write a thesis in a language other than that specified in section 10-1, this must be specifically mentioned in the application
§ 5-7 Forced termination in the event of delay or lack of progress
Decisions on forced termination are made by the Faculty on the recommendation of the doctoral committee.
§ 7-1 Appointment of academic supervisors
A person can be appointed as the main supervisor for a maximum of 4 candidates at the same time. As a co-supervisor for a maximum of 5 candidates at the same time. A single supervisor may not hold more than 6 supervisorships (main and secondary supervisorships combined) at the same time.
All supervisors must have a PhD or equivalent qualification in relevant research fields and be active researchers.
The main supervisor must have at least two years of previous experience as a co-supervisor for doctoral research fellows. The main supervisor must normally be employed at Molde University College. Co-supervisors can be internal or external. The supervisors are usually appointed at the start of the doctoral project, but additional supervisors may also be appointed at a later date. The supervisors must sign the written agreement entered into with the candidate and any external parties.
Section 8-1 Purpose, content and scope
The course component for the PhD in Logistics must have a total scope of 30 ECTS. Approval of modules is limited to organized courses at the doctoral level (pure doctoral courses).
The course syllabus must include:
- The compulsory course DRL005 Philosophy of Science (5 ECTS)
- At least 5 ECTS must be courses explicitly related to logistics, supply chain management or transport economics
- At least 5 ECTS must be courses in relevant research methods
In order for a PhD course to be approved, the student must have achieved a grade that is considered as passed by the institution giving the course.
Changes to the approved course plan must be approved by the doctoral committee.
The doctoral student is encouraged to spend at least one semester of their studies at another recognized educational or research institution, in Norway or abroad, where it is possible to continue working on issues related to the thesis.
The purpose of an external research stay is for the student to gain insight into alternative research traditions and approaches to the research question of the thesis.
§ 9-2 Midway evaluation
A mandatory mid-term evaluation must be held within 2/3 of the planned course of study. There are separate guidelines and evaluation forms for the midway evaluation for the PhD program in logistics.
§ 10-1 Requirements relating to the thesis
If the thesis is a collection of smaller works, it should normally consist of at least three articles, publishable in journals of high scientific quality with peer review. The requirement for the number of articles will depend on the scope, quality and degree of co-authorship. The candidate must be the sole author of at least one, or the first author of at least two of the works (articles) included in the thesis.
§ 14 Appointment of assessment committee
When the supervisor considers that there are 3-6 months left until the submission of the thesis, the supervisor notifies the doctoral committee, which appoints the assessment committee based on a proposition from the supervisor. The committee appoints the committee's administrator, who will normally be the internal representative.
There must be no joint work between the main supervisor and the committee's external members for the last 5 years.
An opponent may only be appointed for a maximum of two candidates from the same main supervisor within a time frame of 5 years.
None of the proposed members may have family relations, supervisory relationships or joint work with the candidate, or have contributed to the thesis in any other way.
§ 15 The work of the assessment committee
If the Faculty has allowed a minor revision of the thesis, the candidate shall be given a deadline for such a revision that normally does not exceed three (3) months. After the revision, the committee is given a new deadline to submit its final recommendation. Unless otherwise decided, this deadline is set to one (1) month after the submission of a revised thesis.
§ 17 New submission and assessment
Theses that have not been found worthy of defense can be submitted in a revised version earliest six (6) months after the Faculty has made its decision. Re-assessment can only take place once.
The Faculty decides whether the assessment of the prepared edition shall be assessed by the same committee as for the first submission. If the composition of the committee is changed, the same criteria apply as during the original appointment (cf. Section 14 of the Regulations), as well as regarding the candidate's opportunity to submit comments to the composition of the committee.
§ 19-1 The trial lecture
Trial lectures and public defenses are normally held on the university's premises, but other suitable venues may be approved by the chair of the doctoral committee.
The assessment committee determines the title for the trial lecture. This is sent to the secretary of the doctoral committee at the same time as the committee's report is submitted. The secretary of the doctoral committee announces the title to the PhD candidate ten (10) working days before the lecture is to be held.
§ 19-2 The public defense
The day of the public defense is normally carried out according to the following plan:
At 10:15 a.m. The trial lecture is conducted. The candidate has 45 minutes to present his/her lecture on the topic determined by the assessment committee.
- The assessment committee holds a short meeting to assess the trial lecture.
- The committee, supervisors, the chair of the public defence and other relevant guests are invited to a simple lunch. The doctoral candidate is not invited to this.
At 12:15 p.m. The defense of the thesis can start if the assessment committee approves the trial lecture.
The candidate has 45 minutes to present the content of the thesis.
The committee then organizes its opposition as they wish. There is no time limit for this.
After the committee has finished its opposition, there will be an opportunity for questions ex. auditorio.
The chair of the doctoral committee may grant changes to this plan for the day of the public defense as long as they are within the provisions of the regulations.