slu dissertation format

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• Register and publish

Publishing doctoral and licentiate theses

You are responsible for registering your thesis in the SLU publication database SLUpub along with a file for open access publishing. On this page you will find detailed information about the publishing process.

As the author, you are responsible for formatting your thesis, choosing an open license, arranging the printing and registering it in SLUpub with a file for open access .

Formatting your thesis

Doctoral thesis.

• Doctoral theses shall be a part of the series Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae, ISSN 1652-6880.
• Order ISBN numbers. DOI and number in the Acta series
• Summary part (Kappan) 
• Notice of dissertation
• Back cover text  
• Errata list
• There is no template for the front cover since it will be designed by the print shop. If you want an illustration for the front it should be sent to the print shop with the other files. You may discuss the size of the illustration with the print shop. If you use an illustration to which copyright restrictions apply, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner before your thesis is printed.
• Published articles should be sent as the publisher pdf. Read the publishers' contracts to find out if you are permitted to print published articles in your thesis. Please contact the library if you are unsure.

Licentiate thesis

• Licentiate theses are not published in the Acta series. There is no SLU series for licentiate theses, although some department have such or publish them in their report series. Check with your department what applies.
• Order ISBN numbers and DOI.
• You are free to use the SLU document templates for theses but it is not mandatory. If your licentiate thesis is part of a departmental series you should follow departmental guidelines.

Joint or double degree thesis

• Joint and double degree theses shall be a part of the series Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae, ISSN 1652-6880.
• Order ISBN numbers, DOI and number in the Acta series
• The SLU logo on the front cover.
• The Acta series name and number on the front cover.
• The Acta series ISSN and two ISBN must be visible somewhere on the front pages. 
• It must be clearly stated that the thesis is the result of a joint degree education and which universities are involved somewhere on the front pages.
• Place of publication somewhere on the front pages.

Choosing a CC-license

SLU recommends that you choose a CC-license for the summary chapter of the thesis, see the Publishing policy and guidelines . 

• Information about  Open access: copyright and CC-licenses

Printing your thesis

For printing, send the different parts of your thesis in separate files to Grafisk service:

• Summary part (Kappan) in pdf
• Papers in pdf
• Notice of dissertation in pdf
• Back cover text in .doc (word)
• Front cover illustration in .tif or .jpg (where applicable)
• Errata in pdf (where applicable)

Your thesis should be printed three weeks before the dissertation at the latest. Please make sure to contact the print shop well in advance:

• Contact information for Graphic services

Printed copies to the SLU library and registrar:

You are required to deliver the correct number of printed copies of your thesis (including notice of dissertation) to the SLU University Library and registrar three weeks before the dissertation at the latest. The number of copies varies depending on the faculty:

• NJ Faculty: 3 copies of the thesis at the library in Uppsala and 1 copy at the Registrar office, Box 7070, 750 07 Uppsala
• VH Faculty: 4 copies of the thesis at the library in Uppsala and 1 copy at the Registrar office, Box 7070, 750 07 Uppsala.
• S Faculty: 4 copies of the thesis at the library at the campus where the dissertation takes place and 1 copy at the Registrar office, 901 83 Umeå.
• LTV Faculty: 2 copies of the thesis at the library in Alnarp and 1 copy at the Registrar office, Box 190, 234 22 Lomma.

Registering and uploading your thesis in SLUpub

When the thesis is approved and printed, you will receive a complete pdf from the printing office which includes front and back and all included articles. It is this file that you upload when you register the thesis in SLU's publication database. Please make sure to register and upload your thesis as soon as possible. It must be available online three weeks before the public defence of your thesis, therefore it needs to be registered in SLUpub at least a few days before that time. 

• Guide for registering your publications

The library will check which articles you may make openly available according to the copyright and cut out the articles that cannot be published as below:

• The summary (kappan) is always published, because you as the author have the full copyright to this.
• Articles published open access with a Creative Commons license are always published.
• Articles that are not published open access with a license will be checked by the library and made openly available when possible.
• Articles with status submitted or unpublished are cut out and not published electronically to avoid future journal publication problems. If you as an author want to publish these anyway, you can contact the library.
• Monograph theses are published in their entirety. If your thesis is published with a commercial publisher, you must make sure they also permit electronic publishing.

SLU University Library [email protected] , 018-67 35 00 Addresses and opening hours

• Document templates  for SLU publications
• Get an ISBN number
• Agreement regarding transfer of the right to publish a work

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• Student web

New version of the student thesis template

A new version of the SLU University Library student thesis template is now live! The new version is easier to use and has been developed by taking experiences and challenges with the previous versions into account. The overall look of a text written in the template is only slightly modified.

A new version of the SLU University Library student thesis template is now live! By listening to feedback from students and teachers, changes have been made to make the new version easier to use.

Changes introduced in the new template version are mostly ”behind the scenes”. How the text looks in the template is only slightly modified, but a change that might be good to be aware of is that the page for publishing and archiving is now at the end of the template. That way, the information is easier to locate for administrators and more clearly placed outside of the text itself.

To help students use the template, there is a Canvas guide available:

• The student thesis template Canvas guide

The guide is regularly updated and expanded.

Since the new version of the template is easier to use, our recommendations is that you, if you use the template on a course or a programme, transition to the new version. If you need help to make any adjustments in the template, please contact [email protected] .

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Why Saint Louis University

About SLU's College of Arts & Sciences

Saint Louis University's oldest academic unit offers degrees in more than 30 academic areas.

Health Care Ethics, Ph.D.

Saint Louis University’s doctoral program in health care ethics prepares students for a successful career in academic, corporate, research or clinical bioethics settings.

Curriculum Overview

SLU’s Ph.D. in health care ethics is offered by the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics . The health care ethics Ph.D. integrates an interdisciplinary curriculum with several practica and offers four concentrations to further specialize your doctoral studies.

All students in the traditional Ph.D. in Health Care Ethics program are required to complete 60 credits of coursework in five categories of courses:

• Foundations of Health Care Ethics (12 credits)
• Context of Health Care (12 credits)
• Disciplinary Lens (12 credits)
• Bioethics Content (12 credits)
• Dissertation Research (12 credits)

With the approval of the Ph.D. program director, up to 12 credits (in 5000-level courses or higher) from previous graduate coursework may count as advanced standing toward the disciplinary lens or bioethics content elective categories. Students pursuing the J.D./Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D., M.A./Ph.D. or the joint Ph.D. in Theology and Health Care Ethics follow a modified curriculum.

You may opt to complete a concentration in one of four areas: Catholic tradition, clinical ethics, empirical research methods or research ethics.

Catholic Tradition Concentration

Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program in health care ethics may take 15 credits of coursework with an emphasis on health care ethics in the Catholic tradition and write a dissertation (12 credits) in the Catholic tradition to develop expertise in the area of Catholic health care ethics. To enroll in the concentration in health care ethics in the Catholic tradition, students must already hold a master’s degree in theology or religious studies or be enrolled in the M.A./Ph.D. dual-degree program.

Clinical Ethics Concentration

Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program in health care ethics may take 15 credits of coursework with an emphasis on clinical ethics (12 credits). They'll also write a dissertation on a topic relevant to clinical ethics to develop clinical health care ethics expertise.

Empirical Research Concentration

With the approval of the concentration directors and the Ph.D. program director, students enrolled in the Ph.D. program in health care ethics may opt to complete this concentration to develop expertise in empirical research methods. The aim of this concentration is to prepare students to incorporate empirical methods into a normative dissertation and future research. The focus of the track will be on qualitative research methods (such as ethnography, interviews, focus groups, public deliberation, etc.), though, in consultation with the directors of the concentration, students will have the option of adopting quantitative or mixed methods approaches. Completion of the concentration is meant to indicate special competencies over and above those gained in the Ph.D. program, specifically those that pertain to qualitative empirical research in the field of bioethics.

Students must elect to pursue this concentration by the end of their first semester at the latest. A concentration director must approve the empirical concentration curriculum plan of each student. The concentration requires at least 12 hours of coursework.

Research Ethics Concentration

Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program in health care ethics may take 15 credits of coursework with an emphasis on research ethics and write a dissertation (12 credits) in research ethics to develop expertise in the area of human research ethics.

Graduate Handbook

Fieldwork and Research Opportunities

All Ph.D. students take a three-semester, 150-hour clinical practicum to gain experience working in a clinical setting. Students interested in the clinical ethics concentration can complete an additional advanced practicum in which students are placed in active clinical ethics consultation services for 300+ hours. In addition to these fieldwork opportunities, most Ph.D. students graduate with two or more publications.

Professionals from the fields of law, medicine, nursing, public health, philosophy and religious studies have joined SLU’s Ph.D. program in health care ethics. Our graduates have been highly successful in finding excellent full-time positions both in education (teaching and conducting research in health care ethics) and in health care systems (as professional ethicists).

Admission Requirements

Students entering the Ph.D. program in health care ethics will have an undergraduate or graduate degree in a relevant field, for instance, philosophy, theology, a clinical field, social sciences or law. Successful applicants usually have a high GPA, high GRE percentiles (especially in the verbal and analytical writing categories), a strong normative writing sample and a demonstration of overall fit with the program’s educational objectives.

The Catholic Health Association has recommended that ethicists working in Catholic health care with an interdisciplinary Ph.D. degree should additionally hold an M.A. in theology. It is strongly recommended that students who do not already hold an M.A. in theology complete the dual-degree program, offered in collaboration with the Aquinas Institute of Theology. Alternately, students should plan on completing an M.A. prior to commencing work in Catholic health care.

Application Requirements

• Transcript(s)
• Three letters of recommendation
• Writing sample
• Professional goal statement
• Application deadline Dec. 1

Requirements for International Students

All admission policies and requirements for domestic students apply to international students. International students must also meet the following additional requirements:

• Demonstrate  English Language Proficiency
• Financial documents are required to complete an application for admission and be reviewed for admission and merit scholarships. 
• A letter of financial support from the person(s) or sponsoring agency funding the student's time at Saint Louis University
• A letter from the sponsor's bank verifying that the funds are available and will be so for the duration of the student's study at the University
• Courses taken and/or lectures attended
• Practical laboratory work
• The maximum and minimum grades attainable
• The grades earned or the results of all end-of-term examinations
• Any honors or degrees received.

WES and ECE transcripts are accepted.

Assistantship Deadline

Applicants who are admitted to the Ph.D. program will be invited to submit a separate application for assistantship funding. Contact the Ph.D. program director for more information.

Review Process

Applications are reviewed by a committee of faculty members from the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics.

Additional charges may apply. Other resources are listed below:

Net Price Calculator

Information on Tuition and Fees

Miscellaneous Fees

Information on Summer Tuition

Scholarships, Assistantships and Financial Aid

For priority consideration for a graduate assistantship, apply by the program admission deadlines listed. Fellowships and assistantships provide a stipend and may include health insurance and a tuition scholarship for the duration of the award. 

Explore Scholarships and Financial Aid Options

• Graduates will be able to demonstrate a broad knowledge of the foundational disciplines, methods, topics and issues in health care ethics required for the scholarly analysis of issues in the field. 
• Graduates will be able to demonstrate a proficiency in formulating original, normative arguments on topics related to health care ethics.
• Graduates will be able to demonstrate the ability to conceptualize, develop and bring to successful completion an original, sustained and coherent independent research project that contributes to the field (i.e. the dissertation).
• Graduates will be able to demonstrate an ability to generate appropriate job search materials (i.e. curriculum vitae, teaching portfolio, writing sample, etc.)

Empirical Research Methods Concentration

Non-course requirements, research tools.

These competencies are essential for success in health care ethics. Students may develop these competencies through different mechanisms.

• Competency in medical terminology
• Competency in library database skills
• Competency in reading statistics and study design

Comprehensive Examinations

The comprehensive examinations occur after completing all coursework and practica. 

Dissertation Proposal

The student will work closely with the dissertation chair to select a dissertation topic and plan the dissertation proposal in a timely manner. In the dissertation proposal, the student must present substantial evidence of the ability to develop and sustain an extended normative project on a bioethics topic. Once the chair is satisfied with the proposal, it will be sent to the two faculty readers for their comments. It is at this stage that the readers are expected to influence the general outline of the dissertation. The student will then address the comments of the readers and submit a revised proposal to the chair. This process may be repeated until the chair, readers and student are satisfied with the proposal.

Dissertations: Non-Traditional Format

Ordinarily, doctoral candidates in the Ph.D. program in health care ethics will follow the traditional guidelines for dissertations. However, when appropriate, a student’s dissertation committee may permit the student to write a dissertation using a nontraditional format, the body of which consists of at least three thematically related original article-length manuscripts, at least two of which must be accepted for publication. As is always the case, all dissertation content must receive final approval by the student’s dissertation committee. The mere fact that a manuscript has been published or accepted for publication does not guarantee that it can be used toward a nontraditional dissertation. Ordinarily, if a faculty member serves as a co-author on one of the publications, this faculty member would not serve as the student’s dissertation chair. The nontraditional dissertation format requires that:

• The three incorporated articles be preceded by a substantive introduction chapter and followed by a substantive conclusion chapter, which will integrate the three manuscripts into a coherent whole.
• Ordinarily, the student is the sole or primary author of all three manuscripts.
• At least two of the three manuscripts must be fully accepted for publication and the third at least under review.
• Dissertations must satisfy the formatting requirements dictated by the "Policies and Procedures for Thesis, Project, and Dissertation Formatting."
• All articles incorporated into the dissertation must have been submitted while enrolled in the Ph.D. program.

Oral Defense of the Dissertation

Upon completion of the dissertation, students publicly present and defend their dissertation before their dissertation committee, CHCE faculty and doctoral students.

Continuation Standards

Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 in all graduate/professional courses.

Roadmaps are recommended semester-by-semester plans of study for programs and assume full-time enrollment unless otherwise noted.  

Courses and milestones designated as critical (marked with !) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation. Transfer credit may change the roadmap.

This roadmap should not be used in the place of regular academic advising appointments. All students are encouraged to meet with their advisor/mentor each semester. Requirements, course availability and sequencing are subject to change.

Take either course depending on interest and career goals. May take both, with the second acting as an elective.

Take the “Consuming Empirical Literature” exam the first day of class.

Take the “Medical Terminology” exam the first day of class.

An introduction to graduate-level database and library search skills, taught by library faculty.

Complete the clinical shadowing eligibility requirements prior to beginning of class.

Program Notes

• Students are encouraged to concentrate elective courses in a primary methodological or content area, versus a broad sampling of courses. Common choices are 6xxx-level courses in theology and philosophy.
• Concentration in Research Ethics : Electives will be focused on topics related to research ethics and dissertation will be written on a research ethics topic. One elective will be in research methodology; one elective will be an Advanced Research Ethics Practicum; one elective will be a non-HCE elective related to research ethics and the elective in the final semester will be a directed reading on Research Ethics, preparing the student’s dissertation prospectus.
• Concentration in Catholic Tradition : Electives will be focused on topics related to Catholic health care ethics and dissertation will be written on a Catholic health care topic. One elective will be HCE 6310 Health Care Ethics: Catholic Tradition (3 cr) ; one elective will be an elective related to health care and the catholic tradition, usually in theology; the elective in the final semester will be a directed reading on Catholic health care ethics, preparing the student’s dissertation prospectus.
• Concentration in Clinical Ethics : Electives will be focused on topics related to clinical ethics and dissertation will be written on a clinical ethics topic. One elective will be HCE 6540 Advanced Clinical Ethics Practicum (3 cr) ; one elective will be a non-HCE elective related to clinical ethics and the elective in the final semester will be a directed reading on clinical ethics, preparing the student’s dissertation prospectus.
• Concentration in Empirical Research Methods in Ethics : Electives will be focused on topics related to empirical research methods and dissertation will be written using an empirical research method. Two (preferably three) electives will be graduate-level methods courses taught outside HCE and the elective in the final semester will be HCE 6520 Quantitative Research in Descriptive Ethics (3 cr) , preparing the student’s dissertation prospectus.

For additional information about our program, please contact:

Erica Salter, Ph.D. Graduate Program Coordinator, Health Care Ethics [email protected]

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y

• Start staff web
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• Doctoral education
• Thesis/Public defence

Thesis and the public defence

Defences of doctoral thesis/licentiate seminars are held between August 15 and June 15.

Here you can find the SLU template for doctoral thesis .

The information on this web page is also available in a pdf-file for printing. 

Short information to doctoral students and supervisors regarding public defence:

Please observe that more detailed information on each step is given below in the expandable menus.  

1. Approx. 6 months before the public defence

It is time to book a time and date, and make a request for a room, for your defence, and this is done in the digital calender for public defences . You can see for yourself what times are available via the system. In order for the request to proceed to the venue booking, it is technically important that all fields are answered. Contact external reviewer, examining committee and chairperson.

Instruction for booking time, date and room for public defence or licentiate seminar. (N.B. Swedish and English instructions in the same document.)

2. 3 months before public defence

Application for public defence, together with declarations of conflict of interest, should be sent to the faculty office at least 3 months before the defence (12 weeks for doctoral students admitted before January 1 2013.) Here you will find appropriate forms for application of public defence and declaration of conflicts of interest. At the LTV-faculty the thesis is also sent to the faculty director of studies for pre-examination.

After the decision about public defence has been made, the faculty office sends out an e-mail with information to the external reviewer, examining committee, chairperson, doctoral student and supervisor. The e-mail contains a copy of the decision, as well as degree outcomes and information about the procedures during public defence .

3. 3 weeks before the public defence

The thesis shall be nailed/"spikad" (announced) at least 3 weeks before the public defence. By giving printed versions of the thesis to the registry office (Registrator) and the library, as well as registration of fulltext in the SLU publication database SLUpub which makes it fully accessible, the thesis is announced correctly. You will find more information about announcement, number of theses ex etc below.

4. Day of public defence

NJ- and S-faculties: After the defence, please give a copy of the "Examining committee minutes" to your Ladok-administrator at the department and send the original to your faculty office.

VH- and LTV- faculties: After the defence, please send the "Examining committee minutes" (original) to the officer at your faculty office.

5. Application for a degree is carried out using Ladok for students .

Good luck with your public defence!

There is a possiblilty to use Zoom Webinar for digital public defences or licentiate seminars. 

Contact the media.

Do you want to

• make your thesis available in a popular-science format;
• contact media in connection with your defense;
• present your thesis on the SLU website?

Please contact the Division of Communication for more information .

Thesis format

As part of their PhD studies, students will produce a written thesis, consisting of a synthesis based on three to four papers that should have been accepted by, or at least submitted to, an international scientific journal with a referee system or a monograph.  A printed thesis should be available for public scrutiny before the candidate's public defence.  

A thesis may be a compilation of papers (articles or manuscripts) or a monograph. The faculty board may exclude the possibility of presenting the thesis as a monograph. If so, this must be evident from the general syllabus for the subject. A thesis must be written in English, or in Swedish if this is relevant for the subject.

Rules on the format and quality requirements of the thesis can be found in the SLU guidelines for doctoral education , please read them thoroughly. Please observe that there are different versions of the guidelines, and the one that apply for you is the one that was active when you were admitted as doctoral student.  

Here you will find the thesis template .

Compilation thesis

In addition to the papers included, a compilation thesis must include a summarising chapter, in which the students places their work in an international scientific context with the help of a literature review of the subject and a synthesis of the papers included in the thesis. The thesis section must be checked using the Ouriginal plagiarism checker.

The quality of all papers included in a compilation thesis must be such that they can be published without major reworking in international peer-reviewed scientific journals, or of similarly good quality as recognised within the discipline.

For more information on this, please see the SLU guidelines for doctoral education .

When discussing the order of authors and authorships for a paper that will be used in a thesis, these guidelines may be used.  

Monograph thesis

All doctoral students writing a monograph thesis must hold a final seminar no earlier than nine months before the planned date for defence of the thesis, or the licentiate seminar.

The students must present their work, answer questions and discuss comments at the final seminar. An evaluator must participate in the final seminar. Monograph theses must be checked using the Ouriginal plagiarism checker.

External pre-examination procedure

External pre-examination is only necessary if the principal supervisor decides that the thesis and doctoral student are ready for the licentiate seminar or the defence of the thesis, even though the formal requirements are not met or if the principal supervisor decides that the thesis and doctoral student are ready for the defence of the thesis even though the evaluator at the final seminar strongly questioned the prospects of the thesis being completed according to timetable.

Application for defence of thesis/licentiate seminar

Thesis defence proceedings/licentiate seminars are held between 15 August and 15 June. Exemption from these time limits may be granted by the faculty board.

The faculty board decides the time and place of the thesis defence/licentiate seminar, and appoints a chair, examining committee and external reviewer (for defence only). Applications for defence of a thesis/licentiate seminar must be received by the faculty office no later than three months before the planned date of the defence/ licentiate seminar.

Applications will only be approved if

• the programme meets the scope and content requirements set out in the guidelines;
• the programme meets the requirements set out in the general syllabus;
• examinations have been held for all courses included in the degree and registered in LADOK before the defence/licentiate seminar. The faculty board may grant exemption for a planned or ongoing course.

The application must be accompanied by

• A CV and list of publications for any examining committee member who is not a docent or professor at a Swedish higher education institution;
• conflict of interest declarations submitted by all examining committee members (see chapter 8.1 in the guidelines for doctoral education);
• written assessments submitted by evaluators at the final seminar for monograph theses (see chapter 5.5.2 i the guidelines for doctoral education);
• pre-examination report (if any) and a statement by the principal supervisor (see chapter 5.5.3 in the guidelines for doctoral education);
• a declaration of co-authorship.

To write and publish a thesis

• Thesis template
• To write and publish your thesis
• Grafisk service (the SLU printing office)

Announcement (spikning)

Announcement

When the faculty board has approved an application for a public defence or licentiate seminar, the faculty office must announce the defence or seminar in an appropriate manner.

Notification of the defence of a thesis (spikning)

Doctoral and licentiate theses are announced by way of registration with the senior register clerk no later than three weeks before the defence or licentiate seminar. When registered, the thesis must be published in SLUpub at the SLU Library. Registration takes place between 15 August and 1 July. The faculty board may decide on exemptions from these time limits.

Checklist - before the day of public display of the thesis ("spikning")

• The thesis should be printed 3 weeks before the dissertation at the latest, (the day of public display of the thesis).
• Your thesis should also be published electronically in SLUpub 3 weeks before the dissertation ( on the day of public display ).
• NJ- faculty: On the day of public display it is your responsibility that  3 copies of the thesis are available at the SLU library in Uppsala and 1 copy at the Registrar office, Box 7070, 750 07 Uppsala.
• VH-faculty: On the day of public display it is your responsibility that  4 copies of the thesis are available at the SLU library in Uppsala and 1 copy at the Registrar office, Box 7070, 750 07 Uppsala.
• S-faculty: On the day of public display it is your responsibility that  4 copies of the thesis are available at the library at the campus where the dissertation takes place and  1 copy of the thesis at the Registrator office, SLU, 901 83 Umeå.
• LTV faculty : On the day of public display it is your responsibility that 2 copies of the thesis (including "spikblad") are available at the SLU library in Alnarp and 1 copy at the Registrar office, SLU Alnarp, Box 190, 234 22 Lomma.

Chair, external reviewer and examining committee

The application for public defence of a thesis proposes a chair, external reviewer (opponent) and examining committee composed of three or five members to the faculty board, which decides the matter. If the examining committee has three members, a reserve member must be appointed. The persons proposed must have accepted the engagement and signed a conflict of interest declaration before they are proposed to the faculty board. The principal supervisor and assistant supervisor may not be members or chair of the examining committee. Both sexes must be represented as full members of the examining committee. The faculty board may grant exemption if there are particular reasons for doing so.

The external reviewer must have a PhD and the chair must be employed at SLU. Examining committee members must have PhDs, and the majority of them must have been admitted as docent or possess scientific competence considered by the faculty board to be equivalent to that required to be admitted as a docent in the relevant subject. The examining committee present at the defence of the thesis must have at least one member who does not work at SLU and who is employed at a university other than SLU. Only one member may be employed at the same faculty but not in the same department as the doctoral student. A reserve member is appointed if the examining committee is to be composed of three members, and may be employed at the same department as the student. The reserve member should be well prepared to participate in the examining committee, to attend the dissertation or seminar and stay until it seems safe that they do not need to step in. Provided they can be contacted and quickly return, the reserve member can then leave the defence.

The application for a licentiate seminar proposes a chair and examining committee composed of three members and a reserve member. The persons proposed must have accepted the engagement and signed a conflict of interest declaration before they are proposed to the faculty board, which decides the matter. The principal supervisor and assistant supervisor may not be members or chair of the examining committee. Both sexes must be represented as full members of the examining committee. The faculty board may grant exemption if there are particular reasons for doing so.

The chair of the licentiate seminar must be employed at SLU. Examining committee members must have PhDs, and at least one of them must be employed at a faculty other than the student. One member may be employed in the same department as the student.

Declaring conflicts of interest

There must be no conflicts of interest between members of the examining committee and the doctoral student or supervisor. The following circumstances must particularly be taken into account in relation to the examining committee:

A conflict of interest exists if:

• during the previous five years two persons have collaborated scientifically or have co-produced scientific knowledge. Joint publication is an example of co-production. Reasons can be given for excluding a conflict of interest, for example where collaboration occurred within a scientific consortium in which joint publication does not necessarily imply a conflict of interest;
• in cases of close collaboration, there may be a conflict of interest even if the collaboration took place longer than five years ago;
• a supervisor-student relationship has existed, regardless of how long ago.

The opponent and examining committee members are under a duty to report a conflict of interest in relation to a doctoral student or supervisor. When a member accepts the engagement, a signed conflict of interest declaration must be submitted on the form provided for the purpose.

Defence of doctoral thesis

In the light of the degree outcomes, the examining committee present at the thesis defence must assess the thesis and the author of the thesis oral defence of the thesis. The external reviewer must facilitate the examining committee's assessment by engaging in discussion with the author of the thesis. Hence, the thesis defence must be organised so there is time for

• the author to present the thesis;
• the external reviewer to present the subject of the thesis, place the findings of the thesis in a wider context within the subject area, and question and thoroughly discuss the thesis with the author;
• the examining committee to discuss with the author;
• an open discussion in which the public are invited to participate.

The examining committee must meet immediately after the public defence of the thesis. The committee must appoint one of its members chair of the meeting. The chair keeps the thesis file; the external reviewer and supervisor may attend the meeting of the examining committee, but must leave the meeting when the degree decision is to be taken. The grades possible are pass or fail. The decision is minuted using a common university form provided for the purpose. You will find the form on the staff web page for Regulations and forms used in doctoral education. 

The chair must answer questions put by members and the external reviwere as to how the thesis defence is carried out, and is responsible for ensuring that the defence is conducted so the examining committee has the best possible opportunity to perform its duties, and the author of the thesis has the best possible opportunity to show that the degree outcomes have been achieved.

Licentiate seminar

In the light of the degree outcomes, the examining committee present at the licentiate seminar must assess the thesis and the author's oral defence of the thesis. Hence, the seminar must be organised so there is time for

• the examining committee to question and thoroughly discuss it with the author;

The examining committee must meet immediately after the public seminar. The committee must appoint one of its members chair of the meeting. The chair of the licentiate seminar and the supervisor may attend the meeting of the examining committee, but must leave the meeting when the degree decision is to be taken. The grades possible are pass or fail. The decision is minuted using a common university form for the purpose. You will find the form on the staff web page for Regulations and forms used in doctoral education. 

The chair must answer questions put by members as to how the licentiate seminar is carried out, and is responsible for ensuring that the seminar is conducted so the examining committee has the best possible opportunity to perform its duties, and the student has the best possible opportunity to show that the degree outcomes have been achieved.

Guidance for urgent problems in connection with the public defence of a thesis

  Changes prior to the date of the defence concerning the examining committee, the external reviewer or the time of the defence

Decisions regarding changes prior to the date of the defence concerning the examining committee, the external reviewer or the time of the defence are made in the first instance by the chair of the doctoral education committee or the chair of the faculty board. The principal supervisor for the author of the thesis is responsible for ensuring that these changes are observed.

The chair for the public defence, who is appointed by the faculty board, is responsible for dealing with any urgent problems on the day of the public defence.

All decisions regarding changes to how the public defence is to be conducted must comply with the provisions in chapter 8 of the guidelines for doctoral education.

If a member of the examining committee is absent or leaves the public defence/the meeting before a decision has been reached

The examining committee is only quorate when all of its members are present. If a member is absent for an urgent reason from an examining committee comprising three members, the reserve appointed by the faculty board steps in, provided this person has been present at the public defence. For an examining committee with five members, one of the members steps down, so that the total number of members present is three. If a member of an examining committee leaves the public defence or a meeting of the examining committee, the chair for the public defence must inform the members that the examining committee is not quorate if a member is absent.

If, during a public defence and as a result of an urgent situation, the examining committee only comprises two members, the chair of the doctoral education committee in the first instance, and the chair for the public defence in the second instance, may appoint a replacement. Provided that all the conditions prescribed in the university's guidelines for doctoral education are met, the external reviewer may also be appointed as a member of the examining committee.

If the external reviewer is absent

If the external reviewer sends his/her apologies prior to the date of the public defence, a new external reviewer must be appointed by the faculty board, following proposals from the principal supervisor.

If the external reviewer is absent for an urgent reason on the day of the public defence, the chair for the public defence examines whether it will be possible to conduct the public defence later the same day when the external reviewer has arrived. The chair for the public defence determines a later time the same day, in consultation with the author of the thesis, the principal supervisor and the examining committee. The new time must be posted on the door of the venue where the public defence is to take place, and the doctoral education administrator at the faculty office must be informed. If the public defence is delayed by more than 2 hours, the decision to postpone the public defence must be attached to the examining committee's minutes.

If the external reviewer is unable to be present later the same day, the chair for the public defence examines whether it will be possible to conduct the public defence with a newly-appointed external reviewer. Together with the principal supervisor, the chair for the public defence examines whether or not one of the members of the examining committee is willing and able to serve as external reviewer, and what the consequences of this change will be on the composition of the examining committee. If this is possible, a decision is made about a new external reviewer by the chair of the doctoral education committee in the first instance, and the chair for the public defence in the second instance. The author of the thesis must be informed of the decision as soon as possible. Decisions concerning a new external reviewer must be attached to the examining committee's minutes, and must explain the background to the decision and specify who made the decision.

If it is not possible to appoint a new external reviewer, the public defence is postponed until another day. This decision is made in the first instance by the chair of the doctoral education committee, and in the second instance by the chair for the public defence. The decision must describe the reason for the decision and specify who made the decision. The author of the thesis and the doctoral education administrator at the faculty office must be informed as soon as possible, and the decision must be posted on the door of the venue where the public defence was to take place. The decision must be sent in writing to the doctoral education administrator at the faculty office for recording purposes.

In the event of dissenting opinions among the examining committee

The grade voted for by the majority of the examining committee shall apply. A member is entitled to register a dissenting opinion in the examining committee's minutes. If a majority of the examining committee votes to fail the author of the thesis, this must always be justified.

If a member of the examining committee announces that he/she has concerns about the quality of the thesis prior to the public defence

If a member of the examining committee announces that he/she has concerns about the quality of the thesis prior to the public defence, the principal supervisor must discuss the matter with the author of the thesis in order to arrive at a solution, e.g. that the public defence be postponed until the problem has been resolved.

LTV-faculty: Lotta Malmborg  [email protected]   NJ-faculty:  Charlotta Eriksson or Sabine Sampels S-faculty:  Charlotta Bergström VH-faculty: Anette Wichman ( [email protected] ) General information: Lotta Jäderlund or Eva Stening ( [email protected] ) 

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Many graduate programs require students to complete a final paper (research paper, capstone report, thesis, or dissertation) and submit it to the Graduate School. These final papers must be submitted electronically via the appropriate submission site. The standards of preparation that have been established by SIU graduate faculty and the administration of the Graduate School must be followed.

• Guidelines for the Preparation of Dissertations, Theses, and Research Papers
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View the guidelines/processes below for each option.

Research Paper

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• Survey of Earned Doctorates (PhD only)

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