The formal requirements regarding submission of the PhD dissertation are described in Regulations for the degree of PhD at MF (Forskrift for graden ph.d. ved MF).

Article-based dissertations must follow the Rules for article-based PhD-dissertations, and Declaration of independent Research.

What is the timeline for submission?

Please notify the PhD coordinator when you have a preliminary time for submission.

The decision to submit your doctoral dissertation is yours, but should be made in consultation with your supervisor.

Two weeks ahead of submission, please send a summary/abstract (1-2 pages) of your thesis (phd@mf.no), make sure to include the title of your thesis. This gives us time to appoint the examination committee.

You will then receive a formula for the letter to apply for the examination of your PhD dissertation.

Which documents should be included in the submission?

Please submit your work electronically to phd@mf.no:

• The abovementioned letter to the institution, dated and signed by you.
• The full text of your PhD-dissertation (PDF)
• Interview guide, when used. Transcripts of interviews and field notes are not to be submitted, but kept by you in case the examination committee asks to see them.
• Necessary assessments (SIKT) and approvals (REK), when applicable
• Declaration of independent research, when applicable.

A paper copy is not necessary.

Formal requirements

On the front page, please write the title of your dissertation, your own name, and then “Dissertation submitted for the degree of PhD at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society”, plus year.

Approved dissertations will be given a professional template to the front page.

Please include a title page, abstract, and table of contents before your main text. Use roman numerals for these pages. We suggest you submit your thesis without acknowledgements. This can be added when you resubmit your dissertation after approval.

The main text should start on p. 1.

Each new chapter should start on pages with uneven numbers. This way, all chapters start on right-hand side in a printed version.

The PhD dissertation should follow the standards for references etc. in your field.

It is recommended that social science projects follow APA 7th edition and that historical and theological projects follow Chicago 17th editions.

We recommend that article-based dissertations add a footnote to explain that the articles are formatted according to the rules of the various journals.

Pictures and illustrations that apply directly to your analysis should be integrated in your text, unless theres is good reason to put them in an appendix.

What happens after submission and when?

The examination committee is appointed by MF, based on advice from faculty and according to the regulations. The supervisor(s) and candidate are not involved in this.

Within a few weeks you will receive a copy of the letter of appointment to your examination committee.

Within a month after submission we will set a tentative date for your public defence. This is a standard procedure, and does not indicate a positive examination result.

The examination committee will give their examination report within 3 months from appointment.