Public defence of doctoral thesis (disputation)
On this page you will find general information about public defences at Örebro University.
Public defense of doctoral thesis
To receive a doctoral degree, the doctoral student must receive a pass grade on a scientific thesis (doctoral thesis). Writing the thesis must be equivalent to studies worth at least 120 credits (equivalent to two years of full-time study). More specific requirements for the thesis' scope in credits are described in the general syllabus for each subject.
The thesis must be defended at a public defence (disputation). At the public defence, there must be an external reviewer who has reviewed the thesis in advance and who conducts a scientific discussion with the doctoral student about the content of the thesis. Decisions on grades are made by a specially appointed grading committee and the public defence is led by a chairperson.
Rules for public defence of doctoral theses
Public defences at Örebro University are regulated by the Higher Education Ordinance and by local regulations and guidelines. These rules are compiled in the document Information about proposals and decisions on public defence (pdf).
Links to regulations and guidelines can be found at the bottom of the page.
Proposals and decisions on public defense
Proposals for public defence are prepared at the school. The proposal, which is submitted by the head of school, states, among other things, the date of the public defence, the external reviewer, members of the examining committee and the chair of the public defence. Proposals for public defence are then processed at the Faculty Office and decided by the chair of the respective faculty board (dean).
What the process for this looks like at each faculty is described below.
For questions regarding proposals for public defences and more, contact the Faculty Office at disputation@oru.se.
The Faculty of Business, Science and Engineering (ENT) and The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HS)
The doctoral student and/or principal supervisor informs the school's study and research administration that they wish to submit a proposal for the public defence, whereupon the administration sends a link to an online form, which the doctoral student and main supervisor must fill in. The head of school then makes a digital decision regarding the submission of the proposal for the public defence. Thereafter, the Faculty Office must be notified by the study and research administration, no later than two months before the planned date of the public defence, that a digital proposal is ready for further processing. If a public defence is planned to be held in September, the proposal must be submitted to the Faculty Office no later than the first week of June. During the summer and Christmas/New Year holidays, no applications will be processed.
Faculty of Medicine and Health (MH)
The doctoral student and/or principal supervisor informs the school's study and research administration that they wish to submit a proposal for the public defence, whereupon the administration sends a link to an online form, which the doctoral student and main supervisor must fill in. Please note that the school's Study and Research Administration ask that this is done no later than 15 weeks prior to the suggested date for the defence of the thesis. The head of school then makes a digital decision regarding the submission of the proposal for the public defence. If a public defence is planned to be held in September, the online form need to no later than week 20. During the summer and Christmas/New Year holidays, no applications will be processed.
All dissertations within the MH Faculty must also undergo an ethics review prior to a decision being made in regard to the proposal for the public defense of a doctoral thesis. The documentation must be submitted in accordance with the template developed within Rutin för etikgranskningsfunktion inom Fakulteten för medicin och hälsa (Appendix 1). This process should begin at the latest 15 weeks prior to the date for the public defence of the thesis. The etical review function is closed during the summer and opens week 32.
Information for faculty examiners, members of the examining comittee and chairpersons
The following website provides general information about the public defence and the duties of the external reviewer, the examining committee and the chairperson:
Examining committee minutes
The examining committee's decision is documented in a protocol. The template for the minutes, which also contains information about the rules for the examining committee's meeting, can be accessed via the following link:
Minutes of the examining committee, template and information (word)
Thesis production
As soon as a preliminary date for the public defence has been decided, the planning for printing the thesis needs to begin. For more information, please visit: