STV9000C – Midway assessment

Course description

• Course content
• Learning outcome
• Admission

Course content

All candidates of the PhD programme will be required to perform a midway evaluation approximately halfway through the period. The midway evaluation will happen in a meeting between the candidate and the department, represented by research director, administrative coordinator and members of institute PhD committee. Main and co-supervisors are also invited to participate. The meeting will take approximately 45 minutes.

The main objective of the midway evaluation is the progress and status of the different parts of the thesis. The cohesion of the different parts of the thesis will also be given emphasis. As a foundation of the meeting, the candidate shall submit a note of maximum 5 pages expressing the following:

1. Title of thesis
2. Overarching research question
3. Planned table of contents
4. Title, research question, theory and data of each article or chapter of the thesis (maximum 1/2 page per article/chapter)
5. Status of work progress for all parts of the thesis
6. Planned conferences and possible research stay abroad
7. Prospective feasibility of finalizing the thesis within the given time limit. The candidate will give an account of process delays, if any. Strategies and measures to prevent or minimize delays by the candidate, employer and the Department of Political Science will be discussed

Please send the note to the Department of Political Science with a copy to supervisor(s)

Learning outcome

The midway evaluation is intended to:

• stimulate the candidates toward a good writing progress through establishing an additional milestone and thereby securing completion
• give the candidates a closer follow up during the process through a thorough and systematic assessment of the thesis process at a point where important choices are made, but when there is still time to incorporate comments and criticism before the process finalization
• familiarize the candidate with the process of presenting their material to a broader audience
• help make the question of quality and progress a collective responsibility of the departments research environment

See also guidelines for midway assessments at the Faculty of Social Sciences

Admission

You register for the midway evaluation the semester when you are approximately halfway in your thesis period. Registration for the PhD seminar is done through Studentweb.

The midway evaluation is reserved for students whom have been admitted to the PhD programme at the Department of Political Science.