Figurteater Programplan

The target group for the programme comprises individuals with an interest in the health sciences. Potential candidates may be admitted directly from studies or from work life in the case of professional practitioners with master's degrees seeking to enhance their levels of competence and knowledge or from research institutes involved in health science projects. Applicants from other professional backgrounds who wish to participate in health science projects may also be admitted.

Applicants to the PhD programme must hold a master's degree (120 credits) or equivalent qualification. Admission to the programme is regulated by the Regulations Relating to the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at Oslo Metropolitan University, and the Supplementary guidelines for the PhD programme in Health Sciences. According to the PhD Regulations, section 2.2, applications for admission to the programme must contain:

A. Documentation of completed education on which the decision regarding admission should be based (certified copies of original certificates).

B. A project description containing

• an academic account of the project
• a progress plan for completing the programme
• documentation of special needs for academic and material resources
• plans for stays at other institutions, where applicable
• academic dissemination
• specification of the chosen language for the thesis
• details of any restrictions on intellectual property rights to protect the rights of other parties

C. A funding plan.

D. A plan for the training component.

E. A proposal for at least two academic supervisors.

F. An account of any legal or ethical issues raised by the project.

G. Details about whether the project requires permission from research ethics committees or other official or private bodies. Such permission should be obtained and enclosed with the application, if possible.

Decisions on admissions are based on an overall assessment of applications. The doctoral degree committee at the Faculty of Health Sciences at OsloMet shall consider admission applications.

Admissions to the PhD programme in Health Sciences are considered on an ongoing basis. Pursuant to the Regulation, section 2-6, admission to PhD programmes is formalised by a written contract between the PhD candidate, the supervisor(s) and the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The courses included in the training component can also be offered to students who have been admitted to the “Health Science Research Programme, 60 ECTS”, by prior approval from the supervisor and based on given guidelines for the research programme.

The PhD program is a three-year full-time study. The program’s required work duties can either be completed full time or part time. The maximum duration for completing the PhD programme is six years.

The programme is divided into two main parts:

• Training component (30 credits).
• Research component (150 credits).

The programme structure is flexible in that candidates may choose when to take the courses to adapt the training component to their individual theses. All courses conclude with an examination. The academic year lasts for 40 weeks, and candidates are expected to work 40 hours per week. This includes scheduled activities, individual activities, and the examination.

Candidates may choose other courses at other units at OsloMet or at other national or international institutions. The PhD committee at the Faculty of Health Sciences shall consider the approval of such courses in individual applications. Candidates are advised to apply for approval in advance.

Candidates may be awarded a maximum of 5 credits for research stays abroad in connection with their thesis. Candidates must apply to the PhD Committee at the Faculty of Health Sciences to have credits approved before research stays are undertaken. On their return, candidates must submit a report for assessment by the PhD Committee as to whether the stay was undertaken in accordance with their application. Credits for research stays abroad are awarded subject to assessment by the PhD Committee at the Faculty of Health Sciences. The following criterion will apply:

• Activity: Research stay abroad in connection with work on the thesis (minimum of 2 weeks).
• Credits: 2-5 credits (maximum of 1 credit per week).

See section "Internationalisation" for a more detailed description of research stays abroad.

Training component

The training component (30 credits) must promote the candidates' research and competence development. It comprises courses offering theoretical and methodological training in performing the work involved in conducting research and writing the thesis.

The compulsory courses, PHVIT9000, Health Sciences I, and PHVIT9100, Health Sciences II: Philosophy of Science, Research Ethics and Research Methodology will provide candidates with a theoretical and methodological platform. Health Sciences I will give candidates a critical perspective of different views of health and illness and will enable them to apply these concepts in complex physical, physiological, and social contexts. Health Sciences II promotes critical thinking on philosophical, ethical, and methodological issues. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methods are key elements, and the course provides candidates with a broad methodological basis for assessing research strategies in their own research.

In addition to the compulsory courses the candidates must elect at least 5 credits in methodology.

The PhD programme currently offers various elective courses:

Elective specialisation in methodology is based on PHVIT9100, Health Sciences II: Philosophy of Science, Research Ethics and Research Methodology; and is offered either as PHVIT9200, Qualitative Methods, or as PHVIT9300, Quantitative Methods. PHVIT9100, Health Sciences II, offers a broad methodological basis, whereas the elective specialisation courses provide the basis for deeper understanding of and advanced application of qualitative or quantitative methods. Candidates can therefore apply relevant design and methods when planning and undertaking their own research work.

Furthermore, the following elective courses are offered: PHVIT9510, Concept and Theory Development in Health Sciences; PHVIT9520, Intervention Design in Health Sciences; PHVIT9530, Assessment and Methods of Measurement; PHVIT9540, User Involvement and Coordination; PHVIT9550, Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses; PHVIT9560 Bioinformatics with emphasis on analysis of high throughput sequencing data; PHVIT9570 Needs Led Research and PHVIT9580 Theories and Models for Midwifery; PHVIT9600 The Municipal Health and Care Services as a Research Setting; PHVIT9610 Single-Case Research Methods; PHBA8230 Pervasive Developmental Disorders – diagnosis, aetiology, prevalence and intervention; PHBA8200 The philosophical and conceptual basis of radical behaviorism and behavior analysis; PHBA8240 Complex stimulus control - research and application. The elective element of the PhD programme forms multidisciplinary arenas that support interdisciplinary research. The courses integrate scientific theories and methods that are relevant to the Faculty of Health Sciences' areas of research. The elective courses are thematically and methodically rooted in the faculty's research activities, and offer candidates the opportunity to specialise in approaches and ways of thinking that are particularly relevant to their thesis.

The PhD programme will be closely linked to current research, and candidates will contribute to developing their respective fields of study through their own projects.

Compulsory courses, a total of 15 credits (Offered once a year)

• Course PHVIT9000: Health Sciences I 5 credits.
• Course PHVIT9100: Health Sciences II: Philosophy of Science, Research Ethics and Research Methodology, 10 credits.

Elective courses, a total of 15 credits. Candidates choose between the following courses:

• Course PHVIT9200: Qualitative Methods, 5 credits.
• Course PHVIT9300: Quantitative Methods, 5 credits.
• Course PHVIT9510: Concept and Theory Development in Health Sciences, 5 credits.
• Course PHVIT9520: Intervention Design in Health Sciences, 5 credits.
• Course PHVIT9530: Assessment and Methods of Measurement, 5 credits.
• Course PHVIT9540: User Involvement and Coordination, 5 credits
• Course PHVIT9550: Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses, 5 credits
• Course PHVIT9560: Bioinformatics with emphasis on analysis of high throughput sequencing data, 5 credits.
• Course PHVIT9570: Needs Led Research, 5 credits.
• Course PHVIT9580; Theories and Models for Midwifery, 5 credits.
• Course PHVIT9600: The Municipal Health and Care Services as a Research Setting, 5 credits
• Course PHVIT9610: Single-Case Research Methods, 5 credits
• Course PHBA8230: Pervasive Developmental Disorders – diagnosis, aetiology, prevalence and intervention, 10 credits
• Course PHBA8200: The philosophical and conceptual basis of radical behaviorism and behavior analysis, 10 credits
• Course PHBA8240: Complex stimulus control - research and application, 10 credits

Elective courses are normally offered at least every second year. Students enrol for courses by given deadlines, and the faculty reserves the right to cancel courses with inadequate enrolment. The faculty may cancel courses with less than 8 enrolments.

Research component

The research component comprises course PHVIT9900, Thesis, 150 credits.

Work on the academic thesis is spread across all six semesters and includes planning and conducting the research project, processing the results, and designing the thesis. The thesis may be produced as a compilation of articles or as a monograph; see the PhD Regulations under "Training component" above.

An article-based thesis must contain at least three articles, at least two of which the PhD candidate must be the main author. In the case of articles of which the PhD candidate is not the main author, the candidate ought to have made a substantial contribution towards collecting data, interpreting results, and writing the article. On submission of the thesis, at least one of the articles must already have been accepted for publication.