Qualification Requirements and Application Process for the PhD in Nautical Operations

The PhD program in Nautical Operations is offered to individuals who have a professional degree and a master's degree in maritime disciplines. Applicants with different or interdisciplinary academic backgrounds may be considered if the planned research project of the PhD student has maritime relevance.

The doctoral program is standardized to three years of full-time study. For part-time students, it is a requirement that at least 50% of working time can be dedicated to the PhD studies. There is a requirement of a minimum of 12-month residency at USN for the PhD student.

For admission to the doctoral program, applicants normally need to have a master's degree (120 ECTS) in a relevant field. Under special consideration, other equivalent education can provide a basis for admission. If the above requirements are not met, individual assessment of applicants is conducted by a professor/associate professor in the relevant field.

Requirements for Admission

  • Applicants must have a master's degree in a relevant field (e.g: maritime management, maritime studies, work and organizational psychology, fire and safety, meteorology, oceanography, or marine technology).
  • Applicants must have a weighted average grade from the master's degree of B or better. Applicants with an average grade of C may be admitted after individual assessment if it is documented that the candidate is particularly suited for a PhD education.
  • Applicants must have documentation of satisfactory financing throughout the study period.
  • Applicants must demonstrate good English skills. It is expected that the candidate is able to communicate research results both orally and in writing in English and participate in seminars conducted in English.
  • Applicants must be able to collaborate with others in our PhD community and other colleagues and be able to work independently at a high academic level.

Funding

To apply for admission to the PhD program, there must be documentation of financing for the entire study period. Financing is done through scholarships where you are employed as a research fellow at USN or through employment in a company (industrial PhD or public sector PhD).

All USN research fellow positions are advertised here: Work for us - Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge (usn.no)

In the case of an industrial PhD or public sector PhD, the applicant must be employed in a company that has applied to the NFR (Norwegian Research Council) for funds and entered into a cooperation agreement with the PhD program.  

 

Satisfactory financing is as a rule salary at the level of salary and operating funds, infrastructure, and indirect costs for a research scholarship position. Admission is not granted for self-financed PhD students.

For more information, contact the PhD coordinator.

The application

The application for admission consists of a standard application form.

Required Documentation:

  • Documentation of previous relevant education (bachelor’s and master’s degree transcripts showing grades and credits).
  • Project description, including title, research questions, theory, and choice of research method. The project description must be written in collaboration with the main supervisor. The project description requires signatures from all supervisors in addition to the student.
  • Progress plan for completing the PhD, including the semester for the mid-term evaluation (usually the third semester), preliminary publication plan, and plan for submitting the dissertation.
  • Plan for academic dissemination.
  • Financing plan.
  • Name of the main supervisor and other supervisors. The main supervisor should normally be employed at USN.
  • Plan for affiliation with an active research environment and any stays abroad or at another institution.
  • A plan for the training component:
    • All courses must be at the PhD level.
    • List covering all courses (minimum 30 ECTS) planned in the training component. Including mandatory 15 ECTS consisting of HTOI courses and Philosophy of Science and Ethics Course. As well as the remaining optional 15 ECTS
    • Courses to be taken at another institution must be documented with a course description.
  • Information about any intellectual property restrictions to protect others' rights.
  • Explanation of any legal and ethical issues the project raises and how they can be clarified.
  • Assessment of the potential for innovation and/or ideas that can be commercialized.
  • First version of the data management plan for projects involving research data.

Application for admission to the PhD program must be submitted within three months after starting as a research fellow at USN (employment date) or three months after the start of the PhD student's research project (in the case of an industrial PhD or public sector PhD). If less than one year of full-time work on the research project remains at the time of application, the applicant may be rejected.

Applicants who are not going to have a workplace at USN must be affiliated with another active research environment where the project will be implemented. It must be stated in the application where the workplace will be.

Incomplete applications will not be processed.

You can read more about the application criteria and admission process in Regulations for PhD in Nautical Operations, Chapter II. Admission Section 8 - 11