Progress

All PhD candidates at UiB are required to register each semester and confirm that they are active in their PhD education. The deadline for registration is 1 February and 1 September. In Studentweb, you register for courses and exams, as well as update and keep track of study-relevant information. This is also where you can report a change of address and check whether we have registered updated information about you. When registration is complete, an email will be sent to you. 

You can only register for courses during registration periods, but you can always check your status and change your contact information.

What about courses taken other places than UiB?

Documentation on external courses must be sent to your department immediately upon successful completion. After it has been accredited, the course will be displayed in Studentweb.

To whom does PhD registration apply?

All PhD candidates must register. PhD registration also applies to external candidates who have been admitted to the PhD program at UiB. Candidates who are on leave of absence or are absent for other reasons must also complete the PhD registration in order to confirm that they are still active in the doctoral education.

What if the training component already has been approved?

All candidates must register. If your entire training component has been approved, you must still complete the registration, update your address information, and provide information about absences and that you are actually an active PhD candidate.  

Do PhD candidates have to pay semester fee?

Most PhD-candidates are employed as research fellows and are therefore exempt from paying the semester fee.

PhD candidates and main supervisors are required to submit separate written reports on the progress in the doctoral education. Every autumn semester the Division of Research Administration will send out an e-mail with a link to the survey. The deadline for submission is 1 November.

The relevant department and faculty will read through completed reports. In order to ensure that the doctoral education is completed within the nominal timeframe, the faculty, the department, supervisors and the PhD candidate are obliged to actively follow up matters that can lead to delays or non-completion of the education.

Deficient or unsatisfactory progress reporting may lead to mandatory termination of the doctoral education before the end of the study period. Supervisors who neglect progress reporting may lose the right to supervise. 

Leaves of absence for legally authorized reasons will lead to a corresponding extension of the study period. Examples of such leaves are parental leave, absence due to illness and various kinds of welfare leave. It is therefore important that candidates with external employers inform the faculty or department about all leaves that have been authorized. 

As a rule, a UiB PhD research fellow is not allowed to take a second job during the contract period of the fellowship. The research fellow may apply for a leave of absence, however, to take on another assignment relevant to the PhD project. If such an application is approved, the study period will be extended correspondingly.

Many research fellows will have duty work in addition to the doctoral education period of three years. The standard period of duty work is one year and may consist of lecturing, leading seminars, administrative tasks, assistance provided for an affiliated research project or representation on boards or committees. The employer must make sure that the duty work provides the research fellow with relevant competence. It is of utmost importance that the employer and research fellow agree on efficient arrangements for planning and keeping track of the duty work.

If the PhD candidate does not complete the doctoral education by the prescribed date, he/she must apply for an extension of the study period. The application must include a realistic plan for completion. The study right will be terminated if the candidate does not apply for an extension or if the application for extension is rejected. The faculties have different routines for following up candidates who do not complete the doctoral education within the standard three-year period.  

All PhD candidates at UiB must undergo midway assessment. As a rule, the midway assessment will include academic input from researchers within the PhD candidate's field and related fields.  

As with the regular reporting, the purpose of the midway assessment is to help the PhD candidate identify issues that entail a risk of delaying the project or bringing it to a halt, and to offer input intended to enhance the quality of the work. The faculty, supervisors and the PhD candidate are required to follow up actively on issues that entail a risk of delays or a risk of failure to complete the PhD education.

It is up to the faculties to decide the most suitable way of implementing the midway assessment. However, the following elements should constitute a minimum standard for the midway assessment of the candidates:

• Must be a part of the overall follow-up of the candidate
• Must include an evaluation of the status of progress of the research project and the training component
• Must be carried out as a seminar
• Must result in a realistic plan for the completion of the doctoral education
• Should result in a fixed plan of action for candidates who does not satisfy the expected progression
  • in cases where the candidate does not satisfy expected progression, a meeting should be held between the candidate, supervisor and at least one representative from the department leadership, around six months after the mid-way assessment

More information on extension of the PhD periode