Completion

Final Seminar

AHO requires the completion of a finishing seminar by each candidate. The finishing seminar focuses on supporting the academic quality of the work and provides a forum for discussing strategies around the thesis presentation. The format of the seminar is intended to be flexible to allow different approaches to finishing the thesis. It may either be used as a final check on a very advanced thesis document, or as a forum for finalising the strategy around the presentation of that document.

The finishing seminar requires an opponent to review a version of the final PhD thesis. Opponent appointments and the date of the final seminar must be ratified by the programme board.

The finishing seminar takes place between 9 and 3 months before the final thesis submission, at the discretion of the supervisor and candidate.

The submitted material should comprise at least 3/4 of the empirical work undertaken (regardless of research form) together with a literature review/environmental scan/contextualisation, a description of the methods issues in the thesis and a written formulation of the thesis proposed. 

The opponent provides a reading of the thesis in a seminar format together with a report on the state of the thesis concerning the checklist for the submitted thesis. This is provided to the candidate, supervisor and the programme board.
 
The finishing seminar budget should include funds both for reading the thesis and attending AHO either virtually or physically to discuss the work. The honorarium for reading the thesis, writing the report and participating in the seminar is NOK 6 000. No research administration funds are available for travel for mid-term seminars. 

Funding for the mid-term seminar is retained based on time set aside for the opponent. The honorarium is NOK 6 000. No research administration funds are available for travel for mid-term seminars.

Reader

Alternatively, a candidate can organize to have a reader instead of a final seminar. The reader must have a PhD and is appointed by the PhD program board based on a proposal from the doctoral candidate’s principal supervisor. The reader can be internal or external, but only external readers are given an honorarium.

The arrangement acts as an extra quality assurance, as well as providing the candidate with critical and constructive feedback on the dissertation before the final submission.
 
The reader is expected to submit a written report with specific advice on necessary changes and corrections. The closing remarks should conclude with a reasoned assessment of whether the dissertation is ready to be submitted for final evaluation or not. Overall, the report as a whole should be valuable for the candidate in the finishing stages of the dissertation.
 
The scope of a reader report will vary on the background of the character of the dissertation and the candidate’s individual needs. Normally the report will be a discussion of 3-5 A4 pages, where the following aspects are referred to:

• the dissertation’s original contribution to the research field
• the manner of working and the use of method
• the selection and handling of the empirical material
• theoretical insights and the level of reflection
• academic craft, including reference apparatus and language
• argumentation and structure
• overall quality (is it ready for final submission)

The finished reader report is to be sent to the principal supervisor and the candidate, with a copy to the Research Administration at AHO. The candidate and supervisor have two weeks to present a response to the report to the PhD program board. The reader report and the response from the candidate will be presented to the PhD program board for information and approval. In case of significant need for changes, the program board shall implement measures. 

The response should not be more than one A4 page, and state how they have received the report, which changes will be carried out in the dissertation and when one thinks that the thesis may be submitted to final adjudication. 

The thesis must be submitted electronically as one PDF file. The thesis is submitted to the research administration in person. A signed submission form must be submitted together with the thesis.

In addition, AHO asks all PhD candidates to sign the agreement on the online archiving of their doctoral thesis. This form must be signed before the defence of the thesis.

The checklist for candidates and supervisors is meant to be used in the final stages of the PhD project. It is there to ensure that you have thought of the various aspects of the project before finishing and handing in the thesis. It is recommended, but not obligatory to use the checklist. It should not be sent to the PhD program board.

Download the checklist here (.docx)

Process for thesis evaluation

This flowchart outlines the process from handing in the thesis to approval of the thesis for public defence, or the ultimate rejection of the thesis.

It is the main supervisors responsibility to contact relevant academics and submit an application to the Research Committee where he/she is to appoint the adjudication committee. The application must state the reason for the selection of committee members and the CV of all committee members must be attached. The adjudication committee is made up of first and second opponent and a coordinator. The coordinator must be familiar with the Norwegian doctoral system and preferably be an academic employed at AHO. All of the three members shall have a doctorate and both genders must be represented. The reader cannot be a member of the assessment committee.
 
The adjudication committee will usually be given three-month deadline from when they receive the dissertation until they submit their report. Deviations due to holidays, illness or similar can occur. The committee decides the defense date. All contact with the adjudication committee must go through the research administration.
 
The committee must hand in their report to the Research Committee at AHO at least five weeks prior to the date of the defense. The report must end up with one of these three conclusions:  

• the dissertation is deemed worthy of defense in a public disputation,
• the dissertation is not considered worthy of defense (rejection)
• the committee ask for minor revision before the final decision is made

Application to appoint adjudication committee

The candidates receive the title of the trial lecture 2 weeks (10 working days) before the defense. The title of the lecture is sent from the Research administration to the candidate.

The trial lecture must last 40 to 45 minutes, but maximum 45 minutes.
 

Approved dissertation

Once the adjudication committee has submitted a recommendation that concludes that the dissertation is found worthy of defence in a disputation, the printing process can begin. Note that the printed dissertation must be identical to the one submitted for evaluation, except rectification of small errors of a formal nature. All such corrections should be entered in an errata list, see point below. You cannot include or replace an article that is published after the dissertation has been submitted.
 

Requisition form

Before printing the thesis, AHO must submit a requisition form to the printing office (Aksell, previously Bodoni). You will receive a draft and be asked to complete the necessary information and sign the form. Then the research administration sends the form to Aksell and the printing process can start.
 

Printing

Aksell is currently printing all of AHO’s doctoral dissertations. A total of 50 copies will be ordered from the print shop, and the school will cover the cost of printing up to a fixed amount determined by AHO. If the printing costs exceed this sum, the candidate must cover the remaining amount. You will get 25 free copies of the printed dissertation, but you can order more copies and pay for them yourself (tell us the number you want in the requisition form).
 
AHO advises you to contact Aksell to arrange a delivery time as soon as the positive committee report is in place and the requisition form has been sent to the printing office. Ideally, the dissertation should be completed two weeks before the defence. Before delivery, carefully review files and verify that everything is correct. This is your responsibility. The research administration will inform you who is your contact person at Aksell.
 
Note: You must send the dissertation, including the cover layer from the information department, to Aksell as one PDF file. Remember to copy the research administration.
 
If desired, you can order a proof copy of the dissertation before the entire edition is printed. With proof printing, one can verify that all pages in the dissertation are included in the correct order and that the quality of illustrations and the thesis generally satisfies the requirements for printing. It is not possible to do proofreading or make any other changes based on the test print, other than technical changes. More information about proof prints can be obtained through your Bodoni contact person.

Fixed printing specifications:

• Format: 17x24 cm
• Paper Feeds: 90g Multi Offset
• Paper cover: 300g Invercote creato matt
• Print feed: 1 + 1 black / 4 + 4 cmyk
• Print cover: 4 + 0 cmyk
• Binding: Glue cutter softcover
• Print originals: PDF
• Color pages: AHO covers up to 40 colour pages per copy. Excess colour pages are covered by the candidate.
• Sample Print: Covered by AHO

Delivery and printing

Aksell receives printable PDFs from the candidate, assembles them in the right order, and scales them to print format (17x24cm). Images and shapes should be in either vector format or 300 dpi resolution. The font must be embedded. Otherwise, the text may fall out or be incorrect. Aksell runs an automatic preflight of all files and provides feedback on the problem.

The candidate reviews and approves a digital proof before printing. If physical proof is needed, this must be arranged in advance.

ISSN number, ISBN and con-text number

This information must be listed on the colophon page (see template). You will get them from the research administration.

The Cover

The Information Department at AHO will design the cover based on material from you. Specifications can be found in the Cover Requirements attachment, which you fill in and send to Eileen Danielsen at ed@aho.no

Errata list

In cases where you discover typos or other formal errors after the dissertation has been sent to the committee, an errata list must be prepared in which all changes made shall be recorded. The evaluation committee may also point out formal errors that should be corrected before the thesis is printed. If you write a preface that was not there in the edition that was sent to the committee, this should also be pointed out in the errata list. You cannot make changes of a professional nature, or in the language itself (add or delete paragraphs and the like).

NB! The Errata list must be sent to the research administration at the same time as the dissertation is sent to the printing office.

Press release

The Information Department will write a news story on the dissertation, based on information from you. In addition, information about the disputation on the website of AHO (calendar) will be published. Necessary information for a news item written for a general audience, in Norwegian (and possibly English), is a brief presentation of the topic in the dissertation and the most important findings/conclusions.

Writing tips: get the main points first, use simple language, and avoid repetitions. Contact the information department for more tips and an interview agreement.

Electronic archiving of the thesis

AHO has a policy that all PhD dissertations must be made available in the publication archive at AHO, ADORA. In addition, it is mandatory to publish a summary of the dissertation. Before archiving, you must clarify the copyright to all articles and illustrations used in the dissertation. The library will send you an agreement form that we ask you to complete and return, contact the library or research administration if you have any questions about this.

The trial lecture and the dissertation defense (the defense of the thesis) take place on the same day. First, the candidate holds the trial lecture, which must be approved by the committee before the defense can begin. After a break, the committee announces whether the trial lecture has been approved. If so, the candidate presents the thesis. The defense then begins with the first opponent delivering their argument. After a lunch break, there will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions to the candidate "ex auditorio," before the second opponent begins. Those who wish to ask questions must notify the ceremony master in writing during the break. After both opponents have completed their presentations, the committee will announce whether the defense is approved or not.

Regarding the presentations from the opponents, the purpose is to establish a dialogue with the candidate so that the thesis can be illuminated and discussed in all its complexity. The opponents should have different approaches, focusing on themes and issues related to their own professional interests and research areas. Traditionally, the first opponent has taken an overarching perspective on the thesis, while the second opponent has concentrated more on details, but this is not an absolute requirement.

Dress Code
Formal/semi-formal.

Program Outline
Times may vary.

10:00 Welcome, by the master of ceremony
The audience stands to wait for the candidate and committee, who process into the auditorium in the following order: Candidate, first opponent, second opponent, and coordinator.
The master of ceremony gives a formal introduction and presents the candidate and the committee.

Trial Lecture (45 min)

Break

The committee retreats to decide whether the trial lecture has been approved and uses the break to have lunch. A meeting room is made available to the committee for the entire day. The committee goes to the cafeteria to choose food and drinks for lunch. (The coordinator provides a requisition number to the cafeteria staff.) If desired, lunch can be served in the meeting room in advance.

12:00 Dissertation
The candidate and committee enter the auditorium in procession.
The master of ceremony asks the coordinator to announce whether the committee has approved the trial lecture.
If approved: The candidate presents the thesis (20 min).
The first opponent debates with the candidate. (No fixed time frame. About an hour is normal.)

Break

Any questions ex auditorio (very rarely occurs)
The second opponent debates with the candidate (time frame: as with the first opponent).
The committee retreats to determine whether the defense is approved.

Break

The master of ceremony invites the coordinator to present the committee's final approval or rejection of the defense.
The ceremony concludes.

Important: All committee members must sign the assessment form, which the coordinator submits to AHO's research administration.
 

The AHO Rector confers the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) after a recommendation from the Research Committee. The candidate will receive a diploma in AHOs diploma ceremony, held every semester (June or January).