The University of Oslo may cooperate with other institutions in the conferral of doctoral degrees. The conditions for such cooperation are in the main regulated through the following:
- Act relating to universities and university colleges (2005)
- Regulations related to degrees and vocational training, protected titles and nominal length of study (2005)
- Regulations concerning quality assurance and quality development in higher education and tertiary vocational education (2010)
- Regulations concerning supervision of the educational quality in higher education (2013)
- Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo
1. The purpose of the doctoral degree cooperation is to achieve an added value in the research training that could otherwise not be attained at just one partner institution. Cooperation on doctoral degrees means that a doctoral degree is conferred by two or more educational institutions as a result of a coherent cooperation on the doctoral candidate’s research training.
2. Cooperation on doctoral degrees requires that the regulations and objectives for the institutions’ research training are harmonised. Strategically selected partner institutions, and institutions that already have a broad cooperation with the University of Oslo, will be given priority.
3. Cooperation on doctoral degrees requires a framework agreement at the institutional level, which shall cover structural and regulatory conditions of the research training and the conferral of degrees. The agreement can be limited to candidates who have been admitted to a specific research training programme, or encompass all candidates who meet defined criteria for the degree.
In addition, an individual agreement must be entered into for each individual candidate, which shall cover academic, practical, and financial conditions of the cooperation on the candidate’s research training.
4. Joint conferral of a doctoral degree requires that the candidate has been admitted to the research training programme at both (all) degree-awarding institutions, has received supervision at (at least) two degree-awarding institutions, and has passed a doctoral examination that is accepted by both (all) degree-awarding institutions.
5. It is a prerequisite that the research training and the doctoral examination meet the requirements of both (all) degree-awarding institutions, and that the research training in these institutions is accredited and that they are authorized to confer doctoral degrees in the scientific field in question.
Admission requirements, the requirement that the doctoral thesis must be made available to the public, and the requirement that the public defence must be evaluated by an impartial committee cannot be waivered. The University of Oslo may, in special cases, grant exemption from other provisions in the regulations for research training if such exemptions, individually and as a whole, are deemed to be fully justifiable.
6. The institutional cooperation agreement must be signed by the Rector. If the agreement relates to a specific programme, the signature of the Dean is also required. Individual agreements are normally signed by the faculty, supervisor, and doctoral candidate.
7. The joint doctoral degree shall, if possible, be documented by a joint diploma and diploma supplement. If one or more cooperation partners cannot, for legal reasons, award a joint diploma, each institution may award its own diploma and degree. In such cases, the diploma and diploma supplement must state that the degree is awarded in cooperation with the other institution(s).