Course of Studies

Individual Study Plan

The objective of an individual study plan is to support the student in his/her work. It should include requirements on what the student is to accomplish (degree of activity, literature tasks, essays, etc). The plan should be described in operational enough terms in order to fulfill its objectives. This does not mean that the plan cannot be incomplete at start, e.g., long range activities in the study plan may be described on a less detailed level.

The individual study plan should contain the following:

• The intended degree. The student may choose whether the plan will include both licentiate and Ph.D. degree or only one of them.
• Total duration of studies. This should be estimated considering the student's degree of activity. The duration may be prolonged, e.g. if the studies are interrupted, or the degree of activity changed.
• The intended degree of activity. The degree of activity may be changed only in agreement with the principal advisor. It should be decided with respect to the financing of the studies.
• Planned courses with their respective credits.
• A plan for the thesis work and advising activities.
• If applicable, identification and credits for courses taken at other universities.
• Any discrepancies between planned activities and the actual progression, should be explained and motivated in the revised study plan.

The individual study plan shall be revised at least every 12 months and is to be signed by the principal advisor, the associated advisor, the student, and the prefect, and be filed with the research secretary.

Further attributes which may be included in an individual study plan are:

• Planned teaching activities and other departmental duties.
• Possible participation in larger research projects.

The degree of activity and the financial form should be registered in LADOK.

For forms for the individual study plan, see: for Stockholm University

Progress, Requirements and Monitoring

It is in the interest of both the department and the student that his/her progress is significant. Normally, the student should fulfill the requirements for a PhD within 4 years (full-time student), 5 years (student enrolled in the education at the department on 20% maximum) or 8 years for students working 50% outside the department. Therefore, the student progress is monitored, and if it does not reach the minimum level, the student may be excluded from the postgraduate studies. To be readmitted, she/he has to compete with the other applicants at that time.

At the end of every semester, the progress monitoring is done, based on the follow-up and possible revision of the individual study plan. The progress is measured in course credits registered in LADOK for the course part, and as estimation, done by the principal advisor, for the thesis part. The course credits are registered in LADOK by the research secretary.

The student must confirm his/her registration in the beginning of each semester with the research secretary. Before registration the semester-fee has to be paid and the receipt presented to the research secretary.

Defense Preparations and Procedures

PhD (in Swedish)
Licentiate (in Swedish)

To ensure quality, DSV has also introduced pre-lic and a pre-doc seminars to which opponents are assigned. These seminars are also announced at DSV (information monitors, e.g.). The pre-seminars are normally attended by the supervisors, plus some fellow graduate students and faculty. After the pre-seminar, there is an informal discussion about what should be corrected before the final version of the thesis goes to print, typically involving several senior faculty members. This is a pragmatic form of quality control, and the department believes that the pre-lic  and pre-doc protocols, together with the quality control by the senior faculty members, helps increase the quality level of theses in general.