PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION FOR THE PhD PROGRAMME IN SOCIAL WORK2007/2008
The programme description is founded on the Regulations concerning the philosophiae doctor degree (PhD) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) , passed by the Board of NTNU on 22 May 2003. The programme description for the PhD Programme in Social Work for the 2005/2006 academic year, was authorized by the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management on 18 January 2005. The programme description is prolonged without any changes for the academic years 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.
The PhD Regulations as well as internal faculty procedures and administrative guidelines that are common to the Faculty's study Programmes are to be found on the Faculty's web pages for the PhD education.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAMME (§ 2 in Regulations) The PhD Programme in Social Work is prescribed as 180 credits (3 years). The final course plan for the PhD Programme is to be shaped in joint consultation between candidate, supervisor and Department depending on the thesis area of research and the candidate's individual requirements and wishes.
Objective for the PhD Programme in Social Work The PhD Programme in Social Work aims to develop the candidate's qualifications in work that requires an advanced degree of scientific expertise. The most important element of the Programme is an independent piece of research achieving an advanced scientific standard. The candidate is to complete course work which is to complement work with the thesis, as well as contributing to the necessary academic requirements. The Programme is to provide the basis for an independent, creative and critical perception of one's own and others' research, as well as providing practice in communicating research results in academic and other forums.
ADMISSION (§ 5 in Regulations) The primary requirement for admission is that the applicant holds a cand.polit./Master's degree in Social Work or equivalent (possibly a cand.socion degree). The applicant must have a weighed average grade of Master's degree or equivalent education with a grade of B or higher, in accordance with NTNU's grading system (§ 5 Regulations).
Applicants who are unable to meet these criteria may only be admitted if they can document that they are suitable candidates for education leading to a PhD degree. In special cases, applicants with backgrounds other than a Master's degree or equivalent in Social Work may be admitted to the PhD Programme. Applicants may be requested to take specified courses and/or pass specified tests prior to admission.
Application requirements Applications for admission are to be made on the application form or by enquiry to the Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology. Application requirements are stated in Regulations concerning the philosophiae doctor degree (PhD) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
Admission procedure The Faculty considers applications for admission based on the recommendation of the Department or Doctoral Committee. Procedures for admission and the follow-up of incomplete applications (for example applications with only an outline of a project description) are described on the Faculty's web pages.
Decision of admission The ranking of applicants will be based on the quality of the application, with emphasis on the project description, but the Department's expertise and supervision capacity will also be considered. The decision concerning admission is based on a collective evaluation of the application. Admission to a PhD Programme is formalised by a written contract, in accordance with § 6 of the Regulations concerning the philosophiae doctor degree (PhD) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
PhD PLAN (§ 5.2 in Regulations) The project plan is to give an account of which issues are to be considered and approaches to problems, preferably related to relevant theory and ongoing research. Further, an account is to be given of method, practical implementation and possible research ethical challenges. The description of the research project is normally to be between 5 and 10 pages.
FUNDING PLAN (§ 5.2 in Regulations) For applicants who are not fully funded through scholarship schemes, it is normally required that 50 % of working hours during participation in the PhD Programme can be used for study, and that a minimum of 1 year can be allocated to full time studies. Candidates without funding give an account for an accomplishment without funding. Evaluation of this will be made for each candidate individually in connection with the admission, and compared with the requirements mentioned in the previous paragraph.
SUPERVISION (§§ 5.2 and 8 in Regulations) Work on the PhD thesis constitutes active research under supervision. The supervisor's total use of time supervising is stipulated to 210 worker-hours for the entire period. This is equivalent to approx. 70 worker-hours per year for 3 years. In addition to the contract period stated between candidate and supervisor, this includes preparation, reading, complementary work etc. If a supplementary supervisor is appointed, the number of worker-hours must be divided between the principal and supplementary supervisor. Procedures for the appointment and changing of supervisor (s) are described on the Faculty's web pages.
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT (§§ 5.2 and 7.2 in Regulations) A plan for the meeting of residency requirements is to be presented in the application and in the agreement on supervision. In certain instances, the Department may grant dispensation from the residency requirements.
ACADEMIC DISSEMINATION (§§ 2, 4 and 5.2 in Regulations) Dissemination is partly to be connected to the seminar series offered by the Department. When presenting, the candidate receives practice in dissemination, and the discussion after the presentation, also counts as dissemination. In addition, it is required that the candidate imparts information from the project in the form of a “paper presentation” given at a conference, normally an international conference. A written version of the “paper”, preferably in English or another “international” language, serves as documentation and a basis for assessment/approval. Approval is done by the Department based on the supervisor's recommendation.
REPORTING (§ 9 in Regulations) The candidate and supervisor are to deliver separate annual reports on progress, in accordance with § 9 of Regulations concerning the philosophiae doctor degree (PhD) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). (Procedures for submission and processing of candidate and supervisor reports are to be found on the Faculty's web pages.
ORGANIZED ACADEMIC COURSE WORK (§ 7.3 in Regulations)
Objective of the organized academic course work The aim of the organized academic course work component is to complement the work with the thesis, as well as providing insight into relevant theories and methodologies.
Structure and implementation The candidate is to state in her/his application, a plan for the organized academic course work component in consultation with the supervisor (s). External courses/subjects that are to be a part of the organized academic course work must be approved by the Department. For procedures concerning the signing up for courses and approving of external courses/subjects, consult the Faculty's web pages.
The organized academic course work has a prescribed duration of 1 semester's full time work, i.e. a minimum of 30 credits, and must be completed before the thesis is handed in for assessment. The organized academic course workcomponent consists of three elements:
For courses in “The Theory of Science,” candidates are referred to the Faculty of Social Science and Technology Management. The course may also be followed at the Faculty of Arts. The course must be a minimum of 7.5 credits.
The main part of the methodological and theoretical training will consist of seminars organised by the Department. There will be held a two-day seminar each semester. The content of these will vary, but over a two-year period, several central theoretical and methodological subjects will be treated. Each seminar will be a blend of teaching and presentations by the participants. A curriculum of 250 pages will be arranged for each seminar. Each seminar awards 5 credits if the candidate makes a presentation, and 2.5 credits without a presentation.
The presentations take the form of essays/papers. These should be connected to the theme of the course, but simultaneously be connected to the doctoral thesis, for example by discussing the theoretical grounding of one's own work, or possible the status of knowledge of own area of research. A draft of the presentations is to be handed in before the seminar, presented and discussed orally at the seminar, and to be completed in written form within a given deadline. The completed essay/paper must be awarded a grade B or higher by the seminar leader.
It is mandatory to participate in two of these seminars, one of them by giving a presentation. This is to ensure contact with the Department and the rest of the doctoral candidates. The remaining credits are to be chosen freely, depending on individual wishes and in agreement with the supervisor. One may participate in additional seminars offered by the Department, but it may also be useful to attend PhD courses offered at other Nordic universities. The courses may be assembled so that the methodological training constitutes at least 7.5 credits and that the theoretical/substantial training constitutes at least 7.5 credits. The assembling of the remaining credits is determined by the candidate in deliberation with the supervisor. Courses taken that are not part of the Departmental series must be approved by the Department after recommendation by the supervisor.
Individually selected syllabus may be approved as part of the programme, if the access to research courses makes it difficult for the candidate, within reasonable time frames, to compose a schedule that supports his thesis work. Assessment will be based on written assignments. The department can also consider other types of assessment.
In a few cases, it may be relevant to approve external courses on condition that certain additional criteria are met, for example that an essay related to the course is submitted, even though this is not a requirement in the course itself. In these cases, the essay is submitted to the Department, and assessed by the supervisor.
In special cases, Master's courses may also be accepted on the same level as an external doctoral course. However, these courses may not be part of the candidate's Master's degree. Furthermore, it is assumed that the course, curriculum, awarding of credits, form- and requirements of documentation are adapted to the standards of PhD courses. This use of Master's courses must be approved by the Department of Social work and Health Science on recommendation by the supervisor.
Code
Title
Credits
Semester
Mandatory courses:
SARB8000
PhD-seminar in Social Work with presentation A
5
A/S
SARB8001
PhD-seminar in Social Work without presentation A
2.5
A/S
Chosen courses:
SARB8002
PhD-seminar in Social Work with presentation B
5
A/S
SARB8003
PhD-seminar in Social Work without presentation B
2.5
A/S
Recommended courses:
SARB8004
PhD-seminar in Social Work with presentation C
5
A/S
SARB8005
PhD-seminar in Social Work without presentation C
2.5
A/S
Note that it is the same series of seminars. Each session will have a unique content, so that there is no overlap. Coding is used for reasons of study plan formality.
THESIS (§ 7.4 in Regulations) Requirements for the thesis and rules for evaluation are given in Regulations concerning the philosophiae doctor degree (PhD) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
The thesis may be handed in as a larger collective piece of work (monograph). If the thesis consists of a number of smaller pieces of work, there should be at least 4-6 pieces as well as a summary, dependent on quality and scope. In special cases an exception may be made. This must be discussed with the supervisor. At least 75% of these pieces of work ought to have been published, or accepted for publishing (except the summary). It is assumed that 50% are to be publicized in reputable and referee based periodicals, whilst the remaining may be published in anthologies or other relevant periodicals. The candidate is to be the sole author of half of the pieces of work, and the main author of the others.
FINALIZATION Procedures for submission, appointment of an evaluation committee, the committee's report and assessment of the thesis, revision for new assessment, trial lecture and public defence, as well as conferment of the PhD degree are described on the Faculty's web pages.
Overview over courses offered by the Department at PhD level:
