General rules and guidelines for the PhD programme at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen

 Table of contents

§	Contant
1.	Introduction
1.1	General rules
1.2	Objective and scope
1.3	Organisation of the PhD programme at the University of Copenhagen

 

1. Introduction

1.1 General rules

The current Danish University Act (Universitetsloven) (cf. Ministerial Order no. 1368 of 7 December 2007 and Ministerial Order no. 18 of 14 January 2008 on the PhD programme (the PhD order) (cf. Appendix 1) issued by the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation form the legal framework for the PhD programme and the award of the PhD degree at the University of Copenhagen. In addition, other Danish legislation etc. is applicable where relevant, e.g. the Danish Public Administration Act (Forvaltningsloven).

 

The general rules and guidelines for the PhD programme at the University of Copenhagen lay down supplementary internal rules concerning admission, the organisation of the programme, the appointment of the principal supervisor and any additional supervisors, the supervision of the PhD student as well as the writing, submission and defence of the PhD thesis (cf. section 25 of the PhD order). The general rules and guidelines of the University of Copenhagen lay down the common standards for all PhD programmes at the University of Copenhagen and constitute the common minimum rules. Each faculty lays down its own supplementary provisions (cf. chapter 1.3).

 

These rules and guidelines do not contain provisions concerning terms and conditions of employment, including part-time employment, leave of absence, PhD scholarships, remuneration etc. Reference is made to the general employment rules and collective agreements, including the collective agreement for academics employed by the state. (Back to table of contant)

 

1.2 Objective and scope

The PhD programme is a research programme aiming to train PhD students at an international level to independently undertake research, development and teaching assignments in the private and public sectors, for which a broad knowledge of research is required. The PhD programme mainly comprises active research training under supervision (cf. section 1 of the PhD order).

The programme is equivalent to 180 ECTS points which corresponds to three years of full-time study (cf. section 4 of the PhD order). The three-year period is calculated as from the date of enrolment up to and including the date for submission of the thesis. The assessment is thus not included in the three-year period.

The PhD programme in Denmark is described in the Danish qualification framework: 

                    

	Persons awarded the PhD degree:
Knowledge	Must have knowledge at the highest international level within the research area. Must have provided a significant contribution to the development of new knowledge and understanding within the research area based on scientific/academic studies.
Skills	Must master the scientific/academic methodologies and tools as well as other skills related to research and development tasks within the area. Must be able to analyse, evaluate and develop new ideas, including designing and developing new techniques and skills within the discipline. Must be able to participate in international discussions within the discipline and communicate scientific/academic results and advances to the general public.
Competencies	Must be able to plan and manage research and development tasks in complex and unpredictable contexts. Must be able to independently initiate and participate in national as well as international collaboration initiatives on research and development with scientific integrity. Must be able to independently initiate research and development projects and through these generate new knowledge and new skills that develop the research area.

 

The Danish qualifications framework, July 2008 - http://www.ciriusonline.dk. (Back to table of content)

 

1.3 Organisation of the PhD programme at the University of Copenhagen

At the University of Copenhagen, the PhD programme is carried out at eight PhD schools, one for each of the University’s faculties. Each PhD school has a head of school who is responsible for the programme and who is assisted by a PhD Study Board with equal representation of academic staff and PhD students. Each PhD school may have a number of local or cross-institutional research schools. Each PhD school has its own supplementary provisions. The general rules and guidelines of the University of Copenhagen should therefore be read in connection with the supplementary provisions of the relevant PhD school. Further information about organisation, research schools, supplementary provisions and guidelines as well as contacts is available on the website of each individual faculty at http://www.ku.dk/phd/ . (Back to table of content)