The graduate school is organised within the Department of Product and Production Development.
Director of Graduate Studies: Göran Gustafsson,
gorang@chalmers.se
Product and Production Development Syllabus
(approved by the Pro-Vice-President on May 17, 2005. Ref. nr. C2005/604)
1 Subject description and goals of the programme
The research in this subject focuses upon the realisation of products and production systems in, for example, the automobile and workshop industry.
Research in product and production development is conducted within two main areas:
- Product development
- Design of production systems
The subject includes development of working approaches, methods and tools for developing and designing products, as well as techniques for integrating and rationalising the product development process. Information technology is seen in this context as an important facilitating technique. Both analytical and synthetic aspects are emphasised. The goal is to attain an understanding of how system products should be developed on the basis of established criteria in an industrial product realisation process. "Systems Engineering and PLM (Product Life Cycle Management)", as well as Robust Design and Geometry Assurance, are important theme areas.
Also included in the subject is development of models, methods and tools for modelling, simulation, visualisation and design of production systems. The subject applies a system perspective to the development, operation and maintenance of partly automated production systems. The goal is an understanding of how the combination and design of all components in the production system (machines, humans, robots, information systems, transport systems etc.) influence the whole system in terms of robustness, automation level, efficiency etc. The concept of production systems is not limited to workshop-technical production but can also be applied within, for instance, the processing and food industries.
The graduate student, after completing the education, should be well prepared for continued independent and high-quality academic research and teaching activity within the subject area or for industrial research and development work, both nationally and internationally.
2 General requirements for admission
Whoever is admitted as a doctoral candidate in Product and Production Development has undergone Swedish university undergraduate education of at least 180 credits in an educational programme with orientation relevant to the graduate education subject, or foreign university education with corresponding content. In addition, there are special knowledge prerequisites corresponding to at least 60 credits within the graduate education subject’s areas.
For applicants with foreign undergraduate education, the knowledge prerequisites correspond to those for applicants with Swedish undergraduate education. Applicants from abroad whose native language is not English or a Scandinavian language must also normally pass an English language test in order to be admitted.
Anyone who does not satisfy the qualification requirements in the curriculum may be accepted according to a special acceptance procedure. The decision is taken by the director of the graduate education in consultation with the examiner.
3 The plan of the graduate programme
Two graduate degrees may be taken: a licentiate degree and a doctoral degree. Regardless of the final aim, the studies are devoted first to the licentiate degree and subsequently to the doctoral degree. The graduate education for the doctoral degree comprises 240 credits, which correspond to four years of full-time studies. The licentiate degree comprises 120 credits, corresponding to two years of full-time studies.
The graduate studies consist of a course part and a thesis part, which lead to the licentiate or doctoral degree.
For each graduate student, an individual curriculum is arranged, based upon the student’s background and aim. This curriculum is planned in consultation with the main supervisor and approved by the examiner.
The curriculum is to be followed up, and possibly revised, at least once per year during the entire doctoral education. This follow-up is to occur in dialogue with the examiner, the main supervisor, and the director of studies for the graduate school. The latter is responsible for the follow-up.
4 Courses
The course part contains an obligatory component and, in addition, an individually planned component that is adapted to the student’s research orientation, interests and knowledge profile. The individually planned course component is specific to each graduate student and is described in the student’s curriculum.
At most 30 course credits are allowed to have been acquired before the graduate studies are begun, within the framework of the completed undergraduate education. The main supervisor decides which credits from the undergraduate education may be counted in the graduate education.
4.1 Obligatory university courses
The following courses are obligatory for doctoral candidates who are admitted to Chalmers University of Technology from 2005-01-01 onward.
- Course in pedagogics (3 credits)
- Course in ethics (3 credits)
4.2 Obligatory courses in the graduate school
Courses in the following themes with the stated extent are obligatory for doctoral candidates in Product and Production Development:
- Product realization (9 credits)
- Theory of science and research methodology (7,5 credits)
- Presentation techniques (3 credits)
- Academic writing (4,5 credits)
4.3 Elective courses
- Introductory course
For profiling, courses within the following themes may be chosen as electives:
- Design methodology
- Systems engineering
- Engineering Design Research
- EcoDesign
- PDM/PLM
- Robust design and geometry assurance
- Production systems
- Production technology development methods
- Modelling and simulation
- Optimisation
4.4 Other courses
In addition to obligatory courses in the university, the graduate school’s obligatory courses and the elective courses, literature studies within the subject area may also be included in the course part of the graduate education. These courses are planned in each individual case, in consultation with the main supervisor and the examiner.
Moreover, the course part of the graduate education may include continuation/elaboration courses from the engineering education or graduate education courses from other institutions. All courses are to be determined in advance, in consultation with the main supervisor and the examiner.
5 Degree thesis
5.1 Licentiate thesis
In order to obtain the licentiate degree, the graduate student must carry out research work and write a licentiate thesis which describes the work.
In the education leading to the licentiate degree, one’s own research work is of limited extent, but it must still be given such a form that it yields results which can be published internationally.
The licentiate thesis may have the form of a monograph, but is normally to be presented as a compilation with a number of scientifically reviewed articles. These are to be connected by a so-called ’kappa’ which interrelates the contributions as well as discussing and drawing conclusions from the entire work. The individual articles may have been written together with the main supervisor, another supervisor or other persons. Whichever its form, the thesis should have a length corresponding to about 2-3 conference papers and articles of normal length. The thesis is normally to be written in English so that the work can reach an international public and contribute to the international research in the area. The licentiate thesis must be presented in English or Swedish at an open seminar. The thesis is assessed with the mark of either not approved (UK) or approved (GK).
5.2 Doctoral thesis
To obtain the doctoral degree, the graduate student must carry out research work and write a thesis which describes the work.
The doctoral thesis may have the form of a monograph, but is normally to be presented as a compilation with a number of scientifically reviewed articles. These are to be connected by a so-called ’kappa’ which interrelates the contributions as well as discussing and drawing conclusions from the entire work. In both cases, the thesis should have a length corresponding to about 4-5 internationally publishable conference papers and articles of normal length. The individual articles may have been written together with the main supervisor, another supervisor or other persons. In order to show that the doctoral candidate has attained the intended proficiency, at least one of the articles must have been written by the candidate personally. The thesis is normally to be written in English so that the work can reach an international public and contribute to the international research in the area. The thesis work must be defended orally in English or Swedish at a public disputation. The thesis work is assessed as either not approved (UK) or approved (GK).
6 Requirements for the degrees
6.1 Licentiate degree
For the licentiate degree, a minimum of 120 credits is required. 45 credits are obtained in the course part, and 75 credits in the research work. The following two courses are obligatory for the licentiate degree:
- Course in pedagogics (3 credits)
- Course in ethics (3 credits)
The research work is reported in a licentiate thesis.
6.2 Doctoral degree
For the doctoral degree, further credits are required (totally 240 credits), of which 60 credits are obtained in courses while 180 credits refer to research. The research work is reported in a doctoral thesis.
7 Supervision
Each graduate student is to have an examiner, a main supervisor, and at least one assistant supervisor. The main supervisor and the assistant supervisors form a supervisory group. The assistant supervisors come from the graduate school, from other academic institutions and/or from industry or the public sector.
The supervision consists partly of general advice regarding the organisation and planning of studies, partly of instructions for specific courses and in connection with the thesis work. Supervision for a particular course is generally given by the person(s) responsible for the course.
The examiner has overall responsibility for the graduate education’s orientation. The examiner approves the individual curriculum and decides upon any changes. The examiner takes part in the follow-up of studies, and may also be the main supervisor.
The main supervisor is responsible for ensuring that a research task exists for the graduate student, and that the student receives sufficient supervision. The main supervisor, too, takes part in the follow-up of studies.
The assistant supervisor participates in the supervision of the graduate student as well as in the follow-up of studies.
8 Examination on proficiency in the subject
The student’s knowledge is tested in a manner which is determined by the examiner. The student normally takes part in the examination according to the manner specified for the respective course. This may occur through written or oral tests, through hand-in assignments, or through seminars.
9 Additional information
Graduate students in the subject Product and Production Development belong to the Chalmers graduate school with the same name. The student may also belong to national or Scandinavian research schools.
Graduate students who are admitted in older, related subjects of graduate education may, after approval by examiner and main supervisor, choose instead to be examined in the new subject of Product and Production Development.