What Is Research Studies?
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Page Contents
Being a PhD student at BTH means that you immerse yourself in a research area, develop your expertise and contribute to new knowledge. You focus primarily on your research project, but you also take courses. Whether you are aiming for a licentiate or doctoral degree, you will receive the support and tools you need to complete your studies.
Content of the program
Being a PhD student at BTH means that you will mainly focus on your research project. You will be part of a research group and with the support from your supervisors you will develop into an independent researcher within your area. Read more about our research areas here.
At BTH research is done in close cooperation with industry partners and also public organisations. This means that our research produces solutions to real world challenges.
You will also take courses as part of your education and may also have teaching or other academic duties as part of your doctoral studies.
The final goal of the doctoral program is to complete a licentiate or a doctoral thesis. The doctoral program up to the licentiate degree corresponds to two years of full-time studies (120 credits). For the doctoral degree it is four years of full-time studies (240 credits).
Objectives
The objectives that you should meet to obtain your degree are set out in a regulation, a general syllabus and an individual study plan:
- The Higher Education Ordinance, the degree regulations
- The general syllabus (ASP) for your subject
- The individual study plan (ISP)
The Higher Education Ordinance, the degree regulations are the national objectives that all doctoral students must achieve. The objectives are based on performance in knowledge and understanding, competence and skill, judgment and approach.
You and your supervisor are asked to check your progress against these objectives at least once a year when you revise your Individual Study Plan. You can find these objectives and the checklist in your Individual Study Plan.
The general syllabus for your subject is the local regulation at BTH that sets out the subject specific objectives you should reach. It also indicates the course requirements and whether any courses are compulsory in your program.
The individual study plan is mandatory for your studies and needs to contain a time plan and the commitments of both the PhD student and BTH. It defines the contents and execution of the individual curriculum and works as a support for the PhD student and the supervisors in carrying out their commitments.