An examiner is appointed for each doctoral student. The reference group consists of at least two of the supervisors and a reference person who must be appointed well in advance of the doctoral student´s firs yearly follow-up.
A professor can always be appointed as an examiner in his/her field of study. A docent can be appointed as examiner in his/her subject area if they have supervised at least one doctoral student to a public thesis defence. The head of department requests the director of studies to appoint new examiners. According to the Higher Education Ordinance, unpaid docents or professors emerita/emeritus cannot be appointed as examiners as they do not meet the teaching criterion. The examiner assignment must be separate from the supervisor assignment. The current list of appointed examiners is available from the Faculty Office administrator. Each department also has a list of its examiners.
Together with supervisor and the doctoral student, the examiner prepares the literature course that the student will take and plans the doctoral courses and other credit-bearing modules that the student shall complete.
A change of examiner takes place in consultation with the head of department and decided upon by the faculty's director of studies. The application for change (form "Change of information in the application for admission to doctoral studies") should be sent to the Faculty Office. The doctoral studies administrator registers the decision in Ladok.
The examiner shall:
• certify that the applicant for doctoral studies fulfils the requirements for both general and specific entry requirements in the subject/specialisation
• discuss with the supervisor and the doctoral student what the national qualitative targets mean for the individual doctoral student and how these are to be achieved
• determine which courses/modules may be registered as part of the doctoral studies and award credits for courses/modules if the number of credits is not already specified
• actively participate in the annual follow-up of the doctoral student and join the reference group
• shall participate in and take decisions on approved mid-PhD seminars
• ensure that the doctoral student has assimilated the literature course prescribed by the individual study plan and thereby acquired depth and breadth in the subject area
Reference group/reference person
Doctoral students must have access to a reference group. Normally, at least two of the supervisors and at least one additional scientifically qualified teacher unrelated to the doctoral student's thesis project (reference person) should be included in the reference group. The reference group must meet with the doctoral student at a formal meeting in connection with the follow-up of the individual study plan, i.e., at least once a year.
The reference person should be someone for whom the PhD student has trust, and who the PhD student can choose, possibly with help from their supervisor. The reference person should not be involved with the PhD student's research activities. The reference person should be identified and registered for the PhD student well before the end of first year review. The reference person will be registered at the Department level by the department's Research education administrative group.
Information: Regulations for Reference Group and Reference Person
The individual study plan must be revised during the course of study and followed up at least once a year. The doctoral student and supervisor are responsible for the follow-up. The date of follow-up must be recorded in Ladok. Indicate whether follow-up has been carried out in the form of a mid-PhD seminar. The reference group must attend a formal meeting in the context of the follow-up of the individual study plan. Specific procedures are applied for follow-up through mid-PhD seminars after year 2 (see below).