Course description for 2012 or earlier: VITHFPHD Theory of science and ethics

ECTS: 15
Teaching semester: Spring
Language of instruction: English
Course unit level: PhD
Access to the Course Unit: PhD students at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Bergen and NHH.

Aim and Content
The aim of the course is 1) to give students an overview of key topics in theory of science, such as philosophy of science, the relationship between science and society, normative issues related to science, and ethical issues in science (including research ethics), 2) to develop students’ ability to reflect critically upon their own research.

The course consists of three parts:

• a 4-day seminar in theory of science and ethics.
• supervision of a paper in theory of science.
• presentation and discussion of the paper.

Learning outcomes
Upon completing the course as well as the presentation and discussion of the paper, the student is expected to have demonstrated: Knowledge of general problems of theory of science and ethics, and, an ability to identify and discuss in detail, problems in theory of science and/or ethics that are directly relevant to the student’s PhD project, or to the field of study in which the project belongs.

Pre-requirements:
Master’s degree, or equivalent. 

Teaching methods:
4-day seminar (group-work, lectures). Supervision of paper.

Compulsory requirements:
Participation in 4-day seminar in theory of science and ethics. Presentation of a paper in theory of science in the form of a lecture (45min) and a discussion of the paper (45min).

Assessment methods:
An assessment committee is appointed by the student’s department. The committee consists of the student’s supervisor, a representative from the student’s department, or from his/her academic field), and a representative from SVT (Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities).

The manuscript needs to be recommended by the committee before it can be presented. Final acceptance of the paper is given after the presentation and discussion. In some cases the final acceptance of the paper may be dependent upon the student revising the manuscript.

As a general rule, the manuscript is made available by the department to the public prior to the presentation.

The paper may also be presented within the framework of a conference or other similar forums provided that it is also commented upon and discussed from the perspective of theory of science. In this case, one may subsequently apply to have the paper approved as the student’s paper in theory of science and ethics for the PhD degree.

Grading scale:
Seminar: present/not present
Paper: Approved/approved on the condition of a minor revision/not approved.

Place of teaching:
Bergen

Course evaluation:
The students evaluate the course in accordance with the University’s system of quality assurance.

Contact information:
For more information please contact SVT on 55582705, or consult the SVT web-pages at svt.uib.no

HFs sider.