Agreement governing Double Degrees of PhD Candidates

Between

the University of Bergen (UiB)

and

XXX

(hereafter jointly referred to as “the Parties”)

 

PREAMBLE 
The double PhD degree agreement between the University of Bergen (UiB), Norway, and [name of institution (XXX), country,] builds upon the existing scientific partnership between our two universities.
This agreement is in line with the Norwegian Act Relating to Universities and University Colleges of 8 March 2024, and the Regulations for the Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) Degree at the University of Bergen, of 13th February 2025. [Add equivalent formulation from partner institution]. Exceptions from the provisions in the PhD regulations can be made if necessitated by the collaborating institutions' regulations. Such exceptions must, both individually and jointly, be fully justifiable.
All parties commit themselves to act in conformity with the institutions’ regulations and codes of practice regarding doctoral awards.

1.	SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES
1.1.	Under this Agreement the parties are jointly responsible for the candidates’ research, learning outcome, management of the double PhD degree education, quality assurance, and evaluation of the education.
1.2.	The parties will cooperate on admission, progress, examinations and issuing of the double PhD degree.
1.3.	The objective of the double PhD degree is to admit the candidates to a joint PhD education at both collaborating universities and to fulfil the requirements of these universities, while producing only one thesis and making only one final examination. The successful candidate will be conferred one diploma and one degree from each institution. The diplomas will have cross-reference.
1.4.	The parties must, as far as possible, ensure that admitted candidates are not given an extra workload due to their participation in both PhD programmes.
1.5.	The parties must set up an individual agreement for each candidate admitted to the double PhD degree education. The individual agreement must state additional requirements for admittance to and completion of the double PhD degree education. The requirements herein are based on the Regulations for the Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) degree at the University of Bergen and on the rules (programme description) of the faculty PhD programme to which the candidate is affiliated. [Add here the equivalent formulation from the partner institution]
1.6.	Admittance to the partner institution must take place no later than one year after the candidate has been admitted to her/his home institution.
1.7.	The names of the doctoral degree shall be Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at UiB and [add equivalent name of PhD degree]. 
1.8.	[Only if a scientific committee is not established: The heads of the respective faculties/schools involved shall mediate and make decisions in any disagreements that may occur between the candidates and/or the supervisors.] 
2.	SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE [Only if a group of candidates are involved]
2.1.	The double PhD degree education will be coordinated by a scientific committee. Each university shall appoint X members to the scientific committee. The [name of board or unit at both institutions] shall appoint members to the scientific committee. The scientific committee shall be appointed and active within two months of the signature of this agreement.
2.2.	The scientific committee shall cooperate on the coordination and on the development of the scientific content of the double PhD degree education. The scientific committee shall mediate in any scientific disagreements that may occur between the candidates and/or the supervisors. The committee shall not deliberate and decide unless both institutions and half of the members are present. Decisions shall be made by a simple majority. In certain cases, it is up to the heads of the faculties/schools to make the final decisions.
2.3.	The committee shall be appointed and active within two months of the signature of this agreement.

3.	ADMISSION AND REGISTRATION 
3.1.	The candidates must fulfil the criteria for admission to the double PhD degree education, registration, training and examination at both universities and the respective faculty/school. 
3.2.	The candidates should undertake a joint research project with supervisors from both universities. 
3.3.	The candidates must meet the admission requirements at both institutions. The applicant is required to hold a master's degree, equivalent to level 7 in the European Qualifications Framework. The application must contain a project proposal and progress plan. The application for admission to the double PhD degree education is to be evaluated and decided upon by the faculty to which the candidate will be affiliated at UiB and [add equivalent formulation from partner institution]. 

4.	DURATION OF STUDIES 
4.1.	The standard length of the PhD education is 3 full time work years, from starting date to the date of thesis submission. In the event of statutory leave, the agreement period is extended correspondingly. The candidates are responsible for reporting and documenting such interruptions.
4.2.	The agreement period may be extended due to delay during the course of the PhD education. An extended period may only be admitted upon a favourable opinion by the supervisors and the two institutions and any sponsoring bodies.

5.	MOBILITY AND INTEGRATION AT PARTNER INSTITUTION
5.1.	PhD candidates under the double PhD degree education shall spend at least 3 months altogether at the partner institution for research, supervision and coursework, to be specified in their individual agreements.
5.2.	PhD candidates shall be fully integrated into the research environment at the partner institution by online participation. The candidates shall become member of a relevant research group(s) and/or PhD research school at the partner institution and take part in its activities online. The candidates shall take part online in the activities of its fellow PhD candidates at the partner institution’s department or faculty.
  
6.	SUPERVISION
6.1.	Work on the PhD thesis is to take place under individual supervision. The faculties and academic supervisors must jointly ensure that the candidate participates in an active research environment.
6.2.	The supervisors must have a doctoral degree or equivalent academic competence within the subject area and be an active researcher. At least one of the appointed supervisors should normally have previous experience of supervision of candidates at the PhD level. The supervisors will be appointed consistent with the supervision policies of UiB and [name of institution].
6.3.	There shall be at least one supervisor at each university, where one should be the main supervisor. The main supervisor has the overall responsibility for the supervision, and for the coordination between the supervisors. The main supervisor has a specific, delegated responsibility to follow up with the candidate in terms of practical matters and regulations at the main supervisor's institution. One co-supervisor from the other institution must be appointed with a specific, delegated responsibility to follow up with the candidate in terms of practical matters and regulations at this supervisor's institution. Additional co-supervisors from either university or any other university may be appointed as required.
6.4.	The main supervisor is to be the candidate's primary contact. The candidate and supervisors should be in regular contact. The main supervisor is responsible for following up on the candidate's academic development and is to advise on the training component. Contact frequency should be stated in the annual progress reporting. 
6.5.	The supervisors are obliged to keep informed on the progress of the candidate's work and assess this in relation to the project description's progress plan. The supervisors are obliged to follow up on academic conditions that may incur delayed completion of the PhD education, so that it can be completed within the standard time.
6.6.	The supervisors will give advice on formulating and delimiting the research topic and research questions, discuss and assess hypotheses and methods, discuss results and their interpretation(s), discuss the structure and completion of the presentation (including outline, linguistic form, documentation), and provide guidance on the academic literature and data. Supervisors must give the candidate guidance in matters of research ethics related to the thesis.
6.7.	The supervisors shall enter into an agreement that states their obligations. The supervisor’s agreement must reflect the supervisor’s particular responsibility to follow up with the candidate in terms of practical matters and regulations at the supervisor’s institution, according to § 6.3. and 6.4. 
6.8.	Should one of the supervisors leave their institution, the normal procedures for replacing the supervisor will be followed, with the involvement of the other supervisor.

7.	TRAINING COMPONENT 
7.1.	The candidate must complete a training component of 30 ECTS, equivalent to one semester’s workload, with relevance for the research conducted by the candidate. The institutions must in the candidate’s individual agreement agree upon how the candidate shall undertake the training component of the programme. The training component must provide training in academic dissemination, theory of science and ethics, and research methods. 
7.2.	The training component must be completed and approved before the thesis is submitted.
7.3.	There shall be joint recognition of courses included in the double PhD degree education given at both universities. Care should be taken to avoid overlap between courses. This is mainly the supervisors’ responsibility. 
7.4.	Documentation of course work must be done through approved transcripts in English from either university.
 
8.	THESIS 
8.1.	The thesis must be an independent, academic work that meets international standards, and must be at an advanced academic level in respect of the formulation of the research topic, conceptual clarification, and methodical, theoretical, and empirical rationale, as well as in respect of the documentation of sources and formal presentation. The thesis must be able to develop new knowledge in the chosen field and must be of such quality as to qualify for publication as a part of the academic literature in the field. 
8.2.	The thesis may take the form of a monograph, or several pieces of work (e.g., scientific articles/papers) that form a consistent, coherent, and unified whole. If the thesis takes the form of several pieces of work, the candidate must write a summarising article that accounts for the thesis as a whole.
8.3.	As a general rule, work that has been approved as the basis for previously completed exams or degrees, will not be accepted for assessment. Parts of work that have been approved as examination answers or other activities in the PhD training component, may nevertheless be included in the thesis.
8.4.	The thesis must be written in English.

9.	PROGRESS REPORTING AND MID-TERM REVIEW
9.1.	At UiB, the candidate and main supervisor must each year submit separate progress reports on the progress of the PhD education. [add equivalent formulation from partner institution, if any]. In connection with the progress reporting, the candidate and main supervisor shall review the plan for the project and assess the need for adjustments. Significant changes should be approved by the UiB faculty and [add relevant unit]. 
9.2.	Each PhD candidate’s work must be subject to a mid-way evaluation. As a main rule, the mid-way evaluation will include academic input from researchers within the candidate's field and/or related fields. The main purpose of the mid-way evaluation is to help the candidate identify issues that entail a risk for the project to stop or being delayed, as well as providing input that may increase the quality of the work. The faculty, supervisors and candidate are actively obliged to follow up conditions that may lead to a risk of a delay in the completion or non-completion of the PhD education, so that the education, as far as possible, can be completed within the standard time frame. Any additional details regarding each candidate’s mid-way evaluation must be stated in the individual agreement. 

10.	ASSESSMENT PROCESS
10.1.	In order to receive the PhD degree, the candidate must accomplish: 
a. An approved academic training component 
b.	An approved written thesis 
c.	An approved trial lecture 
d.	An approved public defence.
10.2.	The parties must decide which of the institutions who will be coordinating and making the final decisions in the assessment process (hereafter referred to as the Coordinating institution). The other institution will be consulted on all decisions regarding the assessment process. Any additional details regarding this must be stated in the individual agreement.
10.3.	The coordinating institution shall appoint an expert assessment committee of at least four members consisting of two internal examiners, one each from UiB and XXX, and two external examiners. Rules on impartiality contained in the national legislation of Norway and [relevant country] apply to the members of the committee. The Norwegian Public Administration Act implies that the supervisors cannot be members of the expert assessment committee.
10.4.	The assessment committee will be responsible for the assessment of the thesis, the trial lecture, and the public defence. 
10.5.	Reworking of a submitted PhD thesis
The assessment committee may, on the basis of the submitted PhD thesis and any additional material, recommend that the candidate to make minor revisions to the thesis before the committee submits its final report. A deadline up to but not exceeding three (3) months will be set for completing such revisions.
If the committee finds that major changes are needed in order to deem the thesis worthy of a public defence, the committee must recommend that the thesis is rejected. 

11.	RESUBMISSION
11.1.	A PhD thesis that has not been found worthy of defence, may be re-evaluated in a revised version. A revision and new assessment can only be made once.

12.	PUBLICATION
12.1.	An accepted thesis must at the latest be publicly available two (2) weeks before the public defence is held. The thesis must be made available in the form in which it was submitted for assessment.
12.2.	No restrictions may be placed on publication of the PhD thesis, with the exception of an agreed postponement of the public release date and public defence. Such a postponement may be permitted to allow the institution and any external party that has provided full or partial funding for the PhD education to decide on any commercialisation including patents. Neither the parties nor an external party may require that the thesis in whole or in part can be withheld from the public domain.

13.	TRIAL LECTURE AND PUBLIC DEFENCE
13.1.	Trial lecture
The candidate must give a trial lecture after the thesis has been submitted and approved. The trial lecture is an independent part of the examination for the PhD degree. The purpose is to test the candidate's ability to acquire knowledge beyond the topic of the thesis, and the ability to communicate it in a lecture setting. The trial lecture will be performed in English.
The trial lecture must be approved before the public defence may take place.
The parties must state in the individual agreement where the trial lecture shall be conducted.

13.2.	Public defence
The PhD candidate must give a public defence of the scientific work in the thesis, conducted in English. The public defence must be an academic discussion between opponents and the PhD candidate regarding the formulation of the research topic, methodical and theoretical rationale, as well as in respect of the documentation of sources and formal presentation. The parties must state in the individual agreement where the public defence shall be conducted.

The public defence must be approved before the degree can be conferred.
13.3.	The approved thesis and PhD research will be presented at a seminar at the partner institution after the public defence has been approved.

14.	DIPLOMA, DIPLOMA SUPPLEMENT AND GRADUATION CEREMONIES
UiB and [name of institution] will produce a diploma and a diploma supplement each. The two diplomas will have identical content when it comes to the description of each candidate’s PhD education, more specifically name of the thesis, name of the supervisors, name of completed PhD courses, name of members of the assessment committee and vital dates in the completion process. Digital versions of the diplomas will be issued, which will provide added content for increased cross-reference and ensure authenticity of the documentation. More details regarding graduation ceremony may be stated in the individual agreement. 

15.	INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
The intellectual property rights (IPR) of the PhD research are subject to the IPR-regulations of the involved parties. Issues related to IPR and the regulations of rights, when relevant, must be formalized in a separate agreement.
 
16.	OPEN ACCESS 
PhD candidates are strongly encouraged to make published research results available through free electronically available databases. In Norway, this database is Nasjonalt vitenarkiv (NVA). At [add relevant information for partner institution, if any].
 
17.	FINANCIAL MATTERS 
17.1.	Funding
Potential candidates for the double PhD degree education must upon admission have secured financing for the full 3 years of PhD education. Details of the financing must be stated in the individual agreement. 
17.2.	Fees
PhD candidates will not pay tuition fees to UiB during their visit there. UiB cannot charge tuition fees independently or on behalf of partner institutions. [add relevant information for partner institution, if any]

18.	COMMITMENT
This joint PhD agreement must ensure participation from partner institution and UiB throughout the whole process from admission to the completion of the degree.

19.	CONTINUATION, WITHDRAWAL AND TERMINATION 
In the case the candidate does not meet the terms of the agreement the institutions may consider bringing the present agreement to an end, either by a joint decision or a decision made by one of the parties. If the decision on termination is made by one of the parties, the other party must be duly informed. 
If the candidate transfers to one of the institutions to complete the doctoral education, the doctoral degree which then may be awarded, will not be a double degree. In such a case the PhD degree will only be awarded according to the regulation of the institution’s country in which the enrolment has been maintained.
If a candidature is terminated, the decision must take into consideration what should happen to the work done under the double PhD degree education. 

20.	SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
Should a dispute arise, the parties shall endeavour to settle their disputes amicably. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this agreement shall be settled by negotiation between the scientific committees or heads of faculties/schools of the two universities. In the event, and to the extent, that the boards have not resolved the dispute within two months of the commencement of the negotiation the dispute shall be referred to the rectors of the universities for mediation. If such attempts do not succeed, the mediation will be led by a neutral, third party chosen and approved by both. If such attempts do not succeed, the dispute may be brought before a mutually agreeable, neutral legal venue. If the parties are not able to agree on a mutually agreeable, neutral venue, the dispute may be brought before the Hordaland District Court as the legal venue.

21.	EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERMINATION 
This Agreement is valid for from the date of signature until [XX.XX.XXXX]. This agreement is automatically extended unless terminated by either university with a notice period of six months. If terminated, it will not affect the admitted PhD candidates until the degree is awarded according to the original institutional and individual agreements.

DATE																																																																															DATE

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XXX XXXXX		XXX XXXXX																																																		XXXXXXX  XXXXX
Rector																																																																												XXXXXXXXXXXX
UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN																																															 University of XXXXXXXXX