Dr.philos. degree It is possible to complete a doctoral degree outside of a structured PhD education. This is called a dr.philos. degree and is a completely independent non-supervised academic work where your first formal contact with the university will be upon handing in your thesis. https://www.ntnu.edu/phd
It sounds similar to Doctorate by publication in the UK. The degree is awarded base on your publication without supervision.
It is the equivalent of the PhD, approved under Norway law. Personally, I would respect this accomplishment more than a standard PhD route. Shows tenacity and a bit of colour. Because dr.philos. does not have taught component, regulation states that expected level of dissertation is higher than for the PhD. It is no picnic doing this without supervision, in any case, and you'd expect the committee of professional academics would not go easy on a cocky outsider, even if the reg didn't give them an excuse to do so. There is no way this is a joke degree in substance. Presumably, this process will also be cheaper than standard (not relevant to people from Norway because tuition might be free anyway). Basically, it's like British degree by publication: flexible, but every bit as rigorous (or more so!) as the standard route. Could be a godsend for some. There are two snags, however. This degree requires a defense and two "trial lectures" - presumably in person. Also, this is automatically open to Norway and Nordic countries citizens, and only on case-by-case basis to foreigners. A thesis by a foreigner is expected to have some connection to Norway. I didn't look into it more closely, but Ukrainian/Russian/exUSSR model should permit the similar route (dropping a finished dissertation, "avtoreferat", proof of publications, and certificate of passing the prelim exams on a "specialized science council" and scheduling a defence) - subject to jumping through administrative hoops. This can't be easy for a foreigner without a champion within the system to navigate, though. Bjurokratija!
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholders, if one has a completed dissertation/ thesis then submit it - no harm no whatever... These people do not want to talk to you until the process has been completed I say perfect.
I did google the dr. philos degree and one of the results was an old DI thread: http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/19138-doctoral-degrees-without-supervision-norway.html The last post from a user called NorwegianPerson is quite interesting: The Wikipedia article about the Danish/Norwegian dr. philos. no longer exists, but it seems it was merged with the article about the Ph.D. Here is that article's section about Scandinavia: mintaru.
There is a PDF of regulations linked to at the original site that indicates that if you are not from Norway and wish to be considered for this, there needs to be a clear connection between your thesis and Norway to justify their looking at, i.e. it must include topics directly related to Norway, it must involve research that was undertaken in a Norwegian university, or must be closely related to Norwegian research in the discipline. It would not be appropriate for them to consider work that from a foreigner that does not meet those requirements.
Great find, Mintaru. Quite possibly anything that anyone needs to know can be found among the 580,000-odd posts here.
TED: How many ways are there to abbreviate Doctor of Philosophy? ME: Well, I guess I've heard of four. PhD, D. Phil., now Dr. Philos. and ... oh yeah, Dr. Phil. That's right, TV's ever-popular Dr. Phil (McGraw) holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology, from the University of North Texas. :smile: J.
The modern Ph.D. is almost always called a 19th century German/Prussian invention, but that isn't 100 percent true. One thing isn't of German origin: the abbreviation "P.hD."! A few German universities use it today, but often only as an alternative variation and only since about 20 years. German universities traditionally use the abbreviation "Dr. phil." - with exactly that orthography! By the way, the traditional German Dr. phil. is a pre-nominal title. There is also a fifth way to abbreviate Doctor of Philosophy, but it is no longer in use. Universities in Czechoslovakia, and later also in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, had a "Doctor of Philosophy" degree with the (pre-nominal) abbreviation "PhDr.". That degree was abolished together with the implementation of the so-called Bologna process in these countries. Today, universities in these two countries offer PhDs with the American-style abbreviation. mintaru.
