The PhD programme at the Faculty of Theology
You are a PhD candidate in the Faculty’s PhD programme. It is important that you, as a PhD candidate, familiarise yourself with the information available via the PhD programme web pages, not least the PhD regulations and the programme description for the PhD programme at the Faculty of Theology.
The training component of the PhD degree consists of courses and academic activities corresponding to half an FTE (30 credits). It would be beneficial to complete the training component as early as possible during the PhD period.
The PhD programme has a PhD Coordinator, who has the academic responsibility for the PhD programme and who is also responsible for the follow-up of PhD candidates. The PhD Coordinator also acts as an ombudsman for candidates and is the person to contact in the event of any issues e.g. in relation to the supervisor. The PhD programme also has a Research Adviser, who has the administrative responsibility for the programme.
The Programme Council for the PhD programme is an advisory body that aims to work towards increased quality and efficiency in organised research training at the Faculty of Theology.
When someone is admitted to the PhD programme, the Faculty will assign a main supervisor. It is also normal for a co-supervisor to be assigned.
The research fellow as a member of staff
A standard doctoral degree programme is three years and a research fellow will usually be appointed for three years. All research fellows that submit their theses within 3 or 3? years of the starting date will be eligible for an additional completion grant for 12 or 6 months (See “Completion Grant” below).
The Dean of Research is formally the research fellows’ immediate manager. Performance assessment interviews are not normally used. The PhD Coordinator will perform follow-up through annual meetings with the all PhD candidates.
Working capital
All research fellows have access to working capital. The funds can be used for purchases, travel, etc., cf. the guidelines for the use of working capital. The amount allocated for each year will be budget-dependent.
Twice a year, the Financial Adviser will provide feedback on how much money each individual has left in their working account. If you need this information at other times, you can contact the Financial Adviser.
All staff members must adhere to the rules for innkj?p og bestilling. See separate information for travel bookings.
Completion Grant
This scheme is available to all research fellows with a three-year appointment at the Faculty of Theology and is an offer of extended employment after submission of the doctoral thesis within the prescribed time.
Guidelines for completion grants (pdf)
Standard agreement for completion grants (pdf)
Template for individual agreements for completion grants (pdf)
Compulsory duties
Research fellows that have been appointed to a position exceeding three years have an obligation to work as part of the position. Duties and responsibilities that may be included in the obligation to work primarily relate to teaching and examinations. Other academic, administrative or welfare duties of such a nature that would otherwise have been expected to be performed by a permanent member of academic staff at the Faculty may also be agreed separately.
The Dean of Studies and the Head of Studies shall convene a meeting with the research fellow to plan required duties.
Representation
PhD candidates have a representative that represents PhD candidates in relation to the Faculty and management. The representative is elected by the PhD candidates and appointed by the Dean. The representative also represents PhD candidates on the Programme Council for the PhD programme.
As temporary staff, PhD research fellows also have a representative on the Faculty Board. This representative is elected by temporary staff.
A PhD research fellow (without compulsory duties) who is partway through their three-year period and is elected to the Faculty Board or stands as a PhD representative on the Programme Council for PhD Programme will be granted a two-week extension to the PhD research fellow period for holding such office for one year, a four-week extension for holding such office for two years and a six-week extension for holding such office for three years. A PhD research fellow (without compulsory duties) who is a deputy member of the Faculty Board will be given meeting time plus one hour of preparation for each meeting.
Temporary staff (PhD research fellows and postdoctoral fellows) are also represented on the Recommendation Committee (which makes recommendations to the Appointments Committee on matters concerning appointments), the Faculty Election Board: https://www.tf.uio.no/om/organisasjon/valg/fakultetsvalgstyret.html and LWEC:
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Members of the Recommendation Committee, Faculty Election Board and LWEC will be given meeting time plus one hour of preparation for each meeting.
Holiday entitlement
It is important to request holidays in good time before you wish to take your holidays. Everyone is entitled to take 25 days (five weeks) of holiday per calendar year. Employees who start work at the University after 1 October are entitled to 1 week's holiday during the year that start their employment. The right to take holidays is independent of any accrued right to holiday pay.
Employees also have a duty to take holidays corresponding to what the employees have accrued salary compensation for during the income year (previous year), cf. the University of Oslo Employee Manual.
For further information:
Leave of absence
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Time off for nursing mothers
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An employee who is in a full-time position and nurses their child shall be entitled to paid time off of up to two hours per day, cf. the Joint Provisions, Section 19 no. 4. If you are employed in a position less than full-time, other rules apply. Please contact an HR Consultant for further information.
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Time off for nursing mothers is a statutory right that leads to an extension of the PhD research fellow period.
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Unpaid leave for family care:
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Requests for unpaid leave for occasional family care must be submitted to your immediate manager. The request can be submitted by regular post or e-mail, with a copy to the HR Consultant. The heading should clearly state which type of leave you are requesting, how long the leave will last (from - to date) and why leave is being requested. Leaves of absence are pensionable and lead to an extension of the research fellow period. Employees that wish to take this type of leave shall notify their employer as soon as possible and preferably no later than 3-4 weeks before the leave of absence is due to start.
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The research fellow shall be responsible for notifying the Faculty via the HR Consultant of any return following long-term leave of absence. This should preferably take place at least two weeks in advance.
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For further information, please see the Norwegian Government’s Employee Manual.
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Paid leave for family care:
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Paid leave for family care is primarily associated with the care of underage children. You can request this type of leave via the HR portal using the absence type “Sick child/child illness”. A prerequisite is that you have registered your child in the HR portal, see guidance.
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In the Basic Collective Agreement, the right to paid leave of absence in the event of children’s illness is set to ten working days per calendar year per employee and applies to children under the age of 12. An extension to the leave quota is also permitted in certain cases. This type of leave of absence shall not carry an entitlement to an extension.
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Welfare leave
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The right to leave of absence for reasons of a social or welfare-related nature has been set down in the Basic Collective Agreement for the government but is conditional upon the employer’s discretionary assessment in each case. Paid welfare leave can be requested via the HR portal, see guidance.
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Requests for unpaid welfare leave should be submitted to the immediate manager, with a copy for the HR Consultant.
Read more about the different ypes of leave of absence. NOTE: Remember that the HR Consultant requires a copy of all requests for leave of absence!
Sick leave
You are required to visit a doctor and obtain a medical certificate if your sick leave lasts beyond the days for which you are entitled to self-certify. Self-certificates are recorded in the HR portal by the employees themselves. The University of Oslo uses digital sick notes, cf. guidance.
It is important that you notify your manager and the HR Consultant when the sick leave is over.
Sick leave that exceeds 14 days entitles you to an extension of the research fellow period that corresponds to the duration of the sick leave period. An extension of holidays shall also be calculated for sick leave periods exceeding 14 days, read more here. The HR Consultant will keep an overview of extensions to appointment periods. The overviews are normally updated every six months. Read more about sick leave here.
UiODoc
UiODoc is the forum for temporary academic staff at the University of Oslo. Follow their blog.