PhD Regulations

Chapter 2. Admission and PhD agreement

(1) To be eligible for admission to the PhD programme, applicants must normally have a five-year master's degree, cf. the descriptions in the second cycle of the national qualifications framework. The average mark must be B or better.

(2) In special cases candidates holding other degrees approved by BI as a basis for admission to the PhD programme may be admitted.

1. Only master's degrees with sufficient theoretical orientation and inclusion of methodological topics will be considered.
2. The department that receives the application must assess it and provide a written justification to the programme committee for the doctoral degree.

(3) In very special cases applicants with an education shorter than five years may be assessed for admission. The department to which such applicants want to be admitted may instruct such candidates to take additional education or additional courses, alternatively to submit individual works.

1. Work practice and non-accredited programmes of study are not accepted to meet these requirements. Relevant academic publishing is accepted.
2. The fulfilment of such additional requirements must be approved by the department and sent to the administration for the doctoral programme.
3. The relevant department may propose exceptions from these requirements. These must be considered the programme committee for the doctoral degree. The final decision is taken by the Dean.
4. Only applicants with higher education (a master's degree) in economic-administrative education in a wide sense will be admitted to the PhD programme.
5. Applicants without any higher education other than experience-based master's degrees will not be considered.

(4) In special cases the department, the programme committee for the doctoral programme or the Dean may require applicants to submit GMAT or GRE tests and/or TOEFL or IELTS tests. If so, the applicants will be informed about this or it will appear from the announcement.

(5) Exemption from part of the required coursework (see Section 3.4) may be granted provided that equivalent requirements have been met at another institution offering recognized courses.

1. The required coursework must have been completed during the last five years prior to the application for admission and may not exceed 18 credits.
2. An application for exemption, if relevant, must be enclosed with the application for admission to the programme.
3. An application for exemption is not accepted after admission has been granted.

Applications should contain:

a) Documentation of the educational qualifications that will form the basis of the admission

b) A project description that may include the following:

• scientific description of the project
• progress plan
• funding plan
• documentation of special needs for academic and material resources
• any plans for a stay at another institution
• plans for research dissemination
• information about any restrictions on intellectual property rights that are intended to protect the rights of others

c) Plan for the required coursework, including coursework targeted towards general competency in accordance with the qualifications framework.

d) A description of any legal or ethical issues raised by the project and how these can be addressed. The application must state whether the project is dependent on permission granted by committees on research ethics and other authorities and private individuals (research subjects, patients, parents, etc.). If possible, such permission should be obtained in writing and enclosed with the application.

e) BI Norwegian Business School determines the content of the application form and may establish additional documentation requirements.

f) BI Norwegian Business School may stipulate requirements related to the candidate's obligation to be in residence at the School.

Section 2-2 Infrastructure

The infrastructure needed to conduct the research project must be placed at the disposal of the candidate. The decision as to what is considered necessary infrastructure is taken by BI Norwegian Business School. For candidates with external funding or an external workplace, an agreement between BI Norwegian Business School and the external party in connection with the relevant research project must be entered into. As a general rule, the agreement must be signed prior to the admission decision for the relevant candidate or immediately thereafter.

Section 2-3 Admission decision

The decision to grant admission is based on an overall assessment of the application. BI Norwegian Business School may stipulate criteria for ranking qualified applicants if the number of applicants exceeds the admission capacity.

The admission decision shall name at least one supervisor, assign responsibility for dealing with other needs outlined in the application, and determine the start and end dates of the period of agreement. The start date will be the same as the start date for the funding. Any extension of the period of agreement must be related to the rights of employees, or be determined in relation to the candidate's funding base.

Admission will be denied if:

1. agreements with external third parties prevent the doctoral thesis from being made available to the public or from being publicly defended;
2. the agreements on intellectual property rights that have been entered into are so unreasonable that BI Norwegian Business School ought not to be involved in the project.

Section 2-4 Period of agreement

The PhD education is standardized to three years of full-time study in addition to required duties. An extension may not exceed the maximum period of 8 years allowed to complete the doctoral programme.

In case of interruptions in pursuance of law the agreement period is extended correspondingly.

BI Norwegian Business School may extend the agreement period on the basis of an application with grounds given. If an extension of the agreement period is approved, BI Norwegian Business School may stipulate additional terms and conditions.

After the expiration of the period of admission, the rights and duties of the parties in connection with the PhD agreement terminate. This means that the PhD candidate may lose his/her right to receive academic supervision, participate in courses and access to the infrastructure of BI Norwegian Business School.

Section 2-5 Voluntary termination prior to the expiry of the period of agreement

The candidate and BI Norwegian Business School may agree that the candidate's participation in the PhD programme will be terminated prior to the expiry of the agreement period. In the event of such termination of he PhD education, it must be determined in writing how questions related to any employment relationship, funding, rights to research results, etc. are to be settled.

If voluntary termination is due to the candidate's wish to change projects or transfer to a different doctoral programme, the candidate must reapply for admission on the basis of the new project.

Section 2-6 Involuntary termination prior to the expiry of the agreement period

BI Norwegian Business School may decide that the PhD education be terminated prior to the expiry of the agreement period.

Section 2-7 Involuntary termination in the event of delay or lack of progress before the agreed upon time

When one or more of the following conditions have been met, BI Norwegian Business School may decide to terminate a candidate's PhD education without his/her consent:

1. Serious failure to meet progress requirements §2-12
2. A serious delay due to circumstances over which the candidate has control
3. Repeated or serious violations of the candidate's obligations under the agreement, such as the duty to provide information, follow-up and reporting, cf. Section 3-6 and Section 3-7.
4. A delay in the progress of the research project that is of such a nature as to raise doubts about the candidate's ability to complete the project within the stipulated time period.

Decisions pursuant to this section are taken by the Dean. Complaints are to be dealt with by the Appeals Committee of BI Norwegian Business School.

Section 2-8 Involuntary termination in the event of cheating at examinations or tests in the course of the PhD programme

In the event of cheating at examinations and tests in the course of the PhD programme, BI Norwegian Business School may decide to annul such examinations and tests, cf. Section 4-7 of Act relating to Universities and University Colleges. If the circumstance(s) are so serious as to constitute scientific misconduct, cf. Section 4-13, first paragraph of the same Act, cf. Section 5, second paragraph of Act on Ethics and Integrity in Research, the institution may decide to impose involuntary termination, cf. Section 2-9 below.

Decisions in accordance with this section are to be taken by the Appeals Committee of BI Norwegian Business School. Appeals are too be dealt with by the joint appeals committee for student cases, cf. Section 5-1 of Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and regulations in accordance with this.

Section 2-9 Involuntary termination in the event of scientific misconduct

If a PhD candidate is guilty of scientific misconduct, cf. Section 4-13, first paragraph, of Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, cf. Section 5, second paragraph of Act on Ethics and Integrity in Research, BI Norwegian Business School may decide to impose involuntary termination.

A decision to impose involuntary termination due to scientific misconduct is taken by the Appeals Committee of BI Norwegian Business School. Appeals regarding such decisions are to be dealt with by the Ministry or a special appeals committee appointed by the Ministry.

Section 2-10 Notice and dismissal

A PhD candidate may be dismissed from his/her position in accordance with Chapter 15 of the Working Environment Act (Act of 17 June 2005 no. 62).

Section 2-11 The PhD agreement

Admission to the PhD programme of BI Norwegian Business School is formalized through a written agreement signed by the PhD candidate, the supervisor(s) and BI Norwegian Business School.

The agreement regulates the rights and obligations of the parties during the period of admission and is intended to ensure that the candidate participates in an active research group on a regular basis and that he/she is able to complete the training within the stipulated time period. BI Norwegian Business School shall prepare a form for the agreement.

For PhD candidates with funding from, employment at or other contributions from an external party, a separate agreement must be entered into between the candidate, BI Norwegian Business School and the external party, in keeping with the established guidelines.

In cases where the PhD candidate is to be affiliated with institutions abroad, the guidelines of BI Norwegian Business School for such cooperation must be followed and separate agreements must be entered into using the standardized form. As a general rule, such an agreement must be attached to the admission agreement.

Section 2-12 Progress requirements

The Dean approves the progress requirements including milestones. The progress requirements will be a detailed specification of the study plan, §3.4 of the Regulations for studies at BI.

The requirements can have minor variations between the specializations but will normally include requirements on completion of courses, submission of written work, and if necessary, additional requirements.

Section 2-13 Follow-up, measures and breaches of the Ph.D. agreement, and progress requirements

Departments have the responsibility to follow up that the progress requirements including milestones are met. If the progress requirements are not met, the departments must submit the matter to the Dean. In consultation with the Dean, the departments will try to remedy inadequate progress or insufficient level in the training component or research work.

Significant breach of the Ph.D. agreement and the progress requirements may result in involuntary termination of the candidate’s Ph.D. agreement, cf. Chapter 2.6 and Chapter 2.7.