Examination arrangement

Course content

Academia changes - it always has.

The changes that we experience today have fostered higher education researchers to critically question the consequences for organization, imagination and implementation of teaching and learning practices, societal aims and impact, as well as the very underlying principles of higher education.

Are higher education institutions still recognizable as academic institutions?

How valid are the historical, e.g. the Humboldtian, models of higher education?

What understanding of knowledge is promoted through higher education practices?

What kind of society is higher education contributing to?

In this PhD course we aim to address key perspectives on ideas and practices of higher education in past, present and future. This means research perspectives that both ask what the university is for and in what ways we imagine a future for the university (or not), as well as research perspectives that address the actual practices of educating at universities. In this course we bring in national and international scholars and their ongoing research, and the specific topics which will be announced in the program each semester.

Learning outcome

Through this PhD course the students will bring into exploration and critical reflection the kind of study practices they themselves are a part of as doctoral researchers in higher education as well as the ways in which the university is forming and performing human knowledge and understanding in society.

• Knowledge:

The candidate has read, listened to and actively engaged with advanced knowledge of relevant issues and questions in the field of higher education research.

• Skills:

The candidate has independently voiced his/hers take on relevant research questions and discussed complex academic issues concerning higher education as a research field.

• General competence:

The candidate can address in a reflexive manner his/her research with scholarly integrity and curiosity, and approach own and others’ research independently and critically.

Learning methods and activities

The course will be conducted over three days, including various study practices, i.e. listening, thinking, reading, discussing. It will be structured around the seminar format but will also include lectures and time for reflective reading and thinking. The seminars intend to engage the participants in dialogue in relation to the theme for the course.

The structuring of the program will depend on the actual theme selected for each individual course.

Each course will include a day for the students to discuss their own texts submitted for the course. There will be given time for discussion and feedback on each text.

The course will be taught in English (In Norwegian - only if feasible)

The course can be changed or cancelled if less than 5 PhD candidates are registered. Maximum: 15 PhD candidates.

Compulsory assignments

• Compulsory participation at lectures
• Mandatory submission of a draft paper/blog before the seminar

Further on evaluation

Mandatory Activities.

Participation in the three-day seminar is mandatory

About assessment / Mandatory assignment

Mandatory submission of a draft paper (aprox. 1000 words) before the seminar, outlining theme and a main line of reasoning. The paper should be within the broad realm of the course theme and address something you are currently working on. The drafts will be discussed in small groups with tutors.

Evaluation, course credits and participation

Face-to-face attendance all three days is mandatory. Submission after the seminar of a final paper (max. 10 pages) within the realm of the course content, relating to the course literature and your own interest/project.

An identical version of the exam paper cannot be used directly in the PhD thesis as an article or a chapter. A revised version of the exam paper may be included in the thesis.

Required previous knowledge

To be admitted to this PhD course, you must have completed your master’s degree or equivalent education.

PhD students are prioritized for admission.