Official records no. NA35 642/2005
January 16, 2006
Faculty of Science Faculty Office Senior Adminstrative Officer E Terne
Regulations and instructions regarding licentiate degrees at the Faculty of Science
The regulations in this document apply to the degree of Licentiate of Philosophy at the Faculty of Science, Lund University. The Faculty Board has decided that the degree of licentiate may be taken in all the Faculty’s research subjects.
The Higher Education Ordinance
The licentiate degree is regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 8, Section 2. “Research studies are concluded with a doctorate or a licentiate degree. Courses equivalent to 160 1 credits must be taken for a doctorate and 80 credits for a licentiate. A university may decide that postgraduate studies can be terminated with a licentiate if the work carried out is equivalent to at least 80 credits.” Chapter 8, Section 14 regulates the extent of the degree. “The requirements for a licentiate degree are satisfactory grades in the courses taken, and an approved scientific dissertation equivalent to at least 40 credits.”
Admission
A student may be admitted to postgraduate studies leading only to a licentiate degree. The University Board has decided that decisions in this matter are to be taken by the Faculty Board, and not by individual departments, in contrast to the admission of students to a doctorate, which may be decided by the department. Students may only be admitted for a licentiate degree under special circumstances, and each case is to be considered separately. A licentiate degree may also be a step on the way to a doctorate for those admitted to postdoctoral studies.
Requirements for a Licentiate of Philosophy
The Faculty of Science considers that the amount of research should be equivalent to 40-50 credits. This research is to be described in at least one scientific paper, which must of the quality acceptable for publication in a recognised scientific journal. The demands, over and above those laid out in the Higher Education Ordinance, are defined by the curriculum of each board for postgraduate studies.
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One credit is equivalent to one week of full-time work.
Postal address P O Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, SWEDEN (Mailstop 39) Visiting address Sölvegatan 37 Tel. dir. + 46 46-222 71 82 Exch. +46 46-222 00 00 Fax +46 46-222 40 24 E-mail Eivor.Terne@kanslin.lu.se
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Information on the Licentiate seminar and distribution of the dissertation
The dissertation is to be available three weeks before its examination so that it can be scrutinized by the department in question, other departments and divisions in the field belonging to the Faculty, and by professors of the subject at other universities and institutes of higher education in Sweden. The student’s department/division is responsible for distributing the dissertation. Three copies of the dissertation are to be sent by the department/division to the Faculty Office. Two of these will be forwarded to the University Library. The department bears the cost of printing the dissertation.
The seminar
The work carried out is to be presented at a public seminar. The professor of the subject in question shall approve the dissertation for presentation. The seminar is to be held in Lund. The Faculty Board may decide, however, that the seminar can be held elsewhere, in exceptional cases. Any change in the subject of the degree must be made before notification of the seminar is sent to the Faculty Office. This applies to postgraduate students admitted before July 2003 who were admitted to a subject of study the name of which has been changed. The Director of Postgraduate Studies can give information on this. If the student wishes to be awarded the degree of Licentiate in Engineering instead of a Licentiate of Philosophy, this is to be stated when notification of the seminar is made to the Faculty Office. Notification of a licentiate seminar is to be given by the department on a special form, which can be found on the Faculty’s website. The form can be completed interactively, and then printed out, signed by the professor and sent to the Faculty Office 3 weeks and 3 working days before the seminar. The administrator in charge of this matter can be reached by telephone (046-222 4123). The licentiate seminar must take place during term time, according to the general regulations for the defence of dissertations and theses. Term time starts on or about September 1. Seminars may not take place during the Christmas break (usually December 23 – January 8). The last day of the spring term on which a seminar may take place is the last Friday before Midsummer (around June 16.
Evaluation Committee and grade
A grade of pass or fail is awarded for the dissertation by an examiner, following consultation with the Evaluation Committee, which consists of two members, at least one of which must be from another department. The Evaluation Committee is appointed by the Departmental Board, or by a person delegated to do this by the Board. The professor in the subject is the examiner. If there is any reason why this person is not suitable, for example, there is cause to believe that he or she may be partial, the Faculty Board may appoint someone else, upon the request of the professor. Neither the student’s supervisor nor deputy supervisor may be included in the Evaluation Committee.
Public announcement
The seminar is publicly announced three weeks in advance by the Faculty Office. Announcements are made on official notice boards and the Faculty’s website. The announcement will also be sent,
3 by the Faculty Office, to the student, relevant departments and divisions within the Faculty, the examiner, Evaluation Committee and the supervisor.
Certification of approval of the dissertation
A form for this can be found on the Faculty’s website. It is to be filled in on the internet, printed out, signed by the examiner and sent to the Faculty Office as soon as possible after the seminar. The administrator at the Faculty Office then registers the approval of the dissertation in LADOK.
Registration of courses in LADOK
The department (professor) is to ensure that information is recorded in LADOK concerning the date of completion of all the courses required for the licentiate degree.
Degree certificate
When all the requirements for a licentiate degree have been fulfilled, the student may apply for a degree certificate. Before applying for a certificate the student is recommended to check with the department that the date of completion of courses and of the approval of the dissertation have been recorded in LADOK. An application form for a degree certificate can be found on the website of the Division for Student Affairs www.lu.se/o.o.i.s/621 . This form is to be printed out and sent to the Diploma Office at the Division for Student Affairs.
Continuation to a doctorate
It is possible to obtain a licentiate degree about half-way through doctoral studies, as a step along the way. If the student has been admitted to doctoral studies, he or she always has the right to continue their postgraduate studies after obtaining a licentiate degree. If the student does not wish to continue the postgraduate programme, this must be expressed in writing to the head of the department. If a student has been admitted only to licentiate level, a new admission decision is required for continuation to a doctorate. This document has been adopted by the assistant deans Bertil Holmberg, Dan E Nilsson, Torbjörn Frejd and Karl-Gustav Andersson.
Torbjörn von Schantz Faculty Dean Eivor Terne