General rules and guidelines for the PhD programme at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen
Table of content
The PhD programme comprises (cf. section 7 of the PhD order):
- Completing independent research work under supervision (the PhD project)
- Completing PhD courses totalling approx. 30 ECTS points
- Participating in active research environments, including stays at other, mainly foreign, research institutions
- Gaining experience of teaching or other types of knowledge dissemination, which is, as far as possible, related to the student’s PhD project
- Completing a PhD thesis on the basis of the PhD project
The research project is the main part of the PhD programme and must be able to serve as the basis for the PhD thesis. The work may be organised as an independent project or as an integrated part of a larger research project, but must in this case be clearly defined and structured with a view to meeting the objective of the PhD programme, among other things in terms of scope, scientific/academic content and independence. (Back to table of content)
As mentioned in chapter 3, the PhD student must, during the PhD programme, complete courses totalling approx. 30 ECTS points, corresponding to six months’ studies.
Each PhD school regularly offers PhD courses which are announced on the faculty’s website. PhD courses must be approved by the PhD Study Board. The courses are, among other things, offered as part of research schools. Courses organised by other course organisers in Denmark and abroad may also form part of the PhD programme. Participation in such courses is subject to prior agreement with the principal supervisor and usually subject to advance approval by the PhD Study Board.
The courses may be of a specific academic nature or of a general, research-relevant nature, e.g. writing articles in English, research ethics or patenting. In addition, the University of Copenhagen is, as mentioned in chapter 3.3, obliged to offer all PhD students a knowledge dissemination course (cf. section 8(3) of the PhD order).
Each individual faculty lays down any detailed rules for the structure of the overall course programme, and participation in general courses, including the knowledge dissemination course, is usually included in the overall course programme.
For courses offered by the University of Copenhagen, the PhD student is entitled to have a certificate issued briefly stating the content and scope of the course and certifying the satisfactory participation of the PhD student. (Back to table of content)
Supplementary rules and guidelines at LIFE: PhD courses at LIFE
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Types of courses:
Regular PhD courses: Well-defined courses which are held regularly
Ad hoc courses: individually organised courses
External PhD courses
Establishing, approving and changing PhD courses
Regular PhD courses are offered by the departments at LIFE, including the research training programmes. Regular PhD courses are advertised in the PhD course database following approval by the PhD Committee. Each course is assigned a unique course number. Each course description states, among other things, the academic content, course period, the name of the person responsible for the course, time consumption and ECTS accreditation. Regular courses comprise both specialist courses and generic courses (courses of a more general nature). In exceptional cases, ordinary MSc courses may be included in this course category. Regular PhD courses are approved by the PhD Committee. The person responsible for the course completes the course description via the electronic course database and submits this for approval by the PhD Committee.
Ad hoc courses are individually organised PhD courses held following approval by the PhD Committee. These courses are often a supplement to the other national and international PhD course offering within niche disciplines. The person responsible for the course completes the course description via the electronic course database and submits this for approval by the PhD Committee.
External PhD courses are PhD courses offered by other Danish and international institutions. The PhD Study Committee at LIFE awards ECTS points for each individual course based on the documented time consumption (from the original course description, alternatively the lecturer responsible for the course).
Formal requirements for the PhD student’s PhD course portfolio
The PhD courses should normally be completed within one year of enrolment at the latest to ensure that the student has the background required for the research work. The schedule of the PhD plan must specify when the courses are completed.
Courses with a time consumption of less than 25 hours (<1 ECTS point) are not approved.
Application for approval of the PhD student’s PhD course portfolio
The PhD student’s course portfolio must be agreed between the PhD student and his or her principal supervisor. The PhD Committee approves the PhD student’s course portfolio as follows:
In the PhD student’s PhD plan, the PhD student and his or her supervisors make proposals for the course portfolio. This must take place no later than three months after the start of the PhD programme, cf. 2.8. If the portfolio is composed of regular PhD courses at LIFE, only the number, name and ECTS points of the course are stated in the PhD plan. For ad hoc or externally offered PhD courses, course descriptions for these must also be enclosed with the PhD plan.
Once the PhD school has approved the PhD student’s PhD plan, the student’s PhD course portfolio is also approved. Any request for subsequent change of the course portfolio must be submitted to Study and Students’ Affairs along with a revised PhD plan and the required documentation about the PhD courses affected (Form F9).
Registration of passed PhD courses
When a PhD student has completed a PhD course which, according to the PhD plan, is approved to form part of the study programme, this is registered in LIFE’s central database. For PhD courses offered at LIFE, registration is effected based on notification from the lecturer responsible for the course (Form F11 must be used). For PhD courses held externally, registration is effected following the PhD student’s submission of documentation in the form of course certificates or similar.
Documentation for completed PhD courses must be submitted continuously upon conclusion of a course. (Back to table of content)
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As part of the PhD programme, all PhD students must gain experience with teaching and other types of knowledge dissemination related, as far as possible, to the student’s PhD project (cf. 7(2)(4) of the PhD order).
The scope of this requirement to the PhD programme is not specified in the PhD order. The requirement should not be confused with the work obligations of PhD students employed under collective agreements, which are often teaching assignments. For PhD students employed under collective agreements, it would be natural also to approve teaching carried out as a work obligation as experience gained with teaching. However the requirement for teaching activities and knowledge dissemination applies to all PhD students and should, in terms of scope, only account for a limited share of the contents of the entire programme.
According to the PhD order, the University of Copenhagen is obliged to offer all PhD students a knowledge dissemination course as well as teaching guidance (cf. section 8(3) and (4) of the PhD order). (Back to table of content)
Supplementary rules and guidelines at LIFE: Knowledge dissemination at LIFE
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All PhD students enrolled at LIFE should spend an average of at least 70 hours a year on teaching and dissemination activities. If the PhD student is employed under the collective agreement made between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and the state, the teaching and dissemination activities are included in the ‘compulsory work’ (amounting to 280 hours annually, cf. the circular on the agreement for academics employed by the state, entry on PhD scholarships – see www.life.ku.dk). (Back to table of content) |
PhD students must participate in active research environments, including stays at other, mainly foreign, research institutions (cf. section 7(2)(3) of the PhD order). The PhD order does not specify any required scope of this activity, and the requirement may be met in many ways and should be adapted to the nature of the research project. The principal supervisor is specifically responsible for ensuring that the PhD student has the opportunity to establish contacts with active researchers outside the University of Copenhagen. Stays abroad are not a requirement, but should, to the extent possible, be aimed for.
Stays at other research institutions should be organised so that research work, courses, knowledge dissemination etc. also can be carried out during the stay. The activities carried out during a stay at another research institutions is usually subject to advance approval by the principal supervisor (cf. chapter 3.2). (Back to table of content)
Jeppe Berggreen Høj , - last update:15 February 2011