Specializations
- Digital Representation
- Higher Education
The graduate school is organised within the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
Director of Graduate Studies: Nir Piterman, Wolfgang Ahrendt
Syllabus
(Approved by the President on October 31, 2006. Ref. nr. C2006/1051)
(revised August 24, 2007)
(revised September 30, 2015)
1 Subject description and goals of the programme
Applied Information Technology is a subject matter that combines
engineering with social science. It combines theoretical and empirical
approaches with methods for professional design of software and
interfaces in order to develop innovative IT-artefacts and sound
IT-usage in different contexts. Applied Information Technology is
concerning the usage of IT, the development of IT, and the organisation
of IT. Focus could be on any of these aspects as well as on specific
application areas. The aim of the postgraduate education in Applied
Information Technology is to give the students:
- Deeper knowledge of IT in general and of the chosen profile area in specific.
- Practical skill in application development and development methods
- Deeper knowledge in theories relevant for the subject, and skills in
using and developing theories in the individual research work
- Practical skill in empirical work and research methods relevant for Applied Information Technology, and
- Skills to participate in written and oral scientific discourse on an international arena
2 Requirements for admission
To be admitted to education on doctoral level it is required that
the applicant meets the criteria for general and specific entry
requirements in accordance with what is stated in the Higher Education
Ordinance, Chapter 7, sections 39, and 40.
A person meets the general entry requirements for doctoral courses and study programmes if he or she:
- has been awarded a qualification on advanced level,
- has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240
credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded on advanced level, or
- has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.
The specific entry requirements shall be essential for students to be
able to benefit from the course or study programme. The specific
requirements for admission to the doctoral programme in Applied
Information Technology are:
- a master’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or
in a design oriented subject of relevance to information technology
Equivalent knowledge acquired by other means will also count as qualification.
Applicants from abroad who do not have English or a Scandinavian
language as their mother tongue, will normally be required to take an
English language test, e.g. TOEFL 550 (paper-based)/TOEFL 213
(computer-based) before admission.
3 The plan of the graduate programme
The PhD program comprises 240 credits and the licentiate program,
120 credits. These correspond to 4 years and 2 years respectively of
full time study. One year full time study will correspond to 60 credits.
Both programs consist of:
- obligatory courses
- individual study
- participation in seminars and guest lectures
- research or development leading to a scientific dissertation.
The student participates in scientific activities through
attendance at seminars and guest lectures even if these are not directly
related to any part of the formal course requirements. Each
postgraduate student must present the results of his or her research at
least once a year at a seminar.
4 Specialization
The Graduate Education can also be in Applied Information
Technology with specialization in Digital Representation, and Higher
Education.
5 Courses
The course part contains an obligatory component and an
individually planned component that is adapted to the student’s research
orientation, interests and knowledge profile.
Credits from relevant courses in undergraduate studies may be
transferred to the graduate programme. Students with at least 270
credits from their undergraduate studies may transfer a maximum of 30
credits. No credits may be transferred from undergraduate studies
amounting to 240 credits. A graduated system of credit transferral will
be applied between 240 and 270 credits The main supervisor decides which
credits from the undergraduate education that may be counted in the
graduate education.
5.1 Mandatory Courses
Doctoral students admitted after September 1, 2012, are required to
take 15 credit points from the area of Generic and Transferable Skills
during their graduate studies. Generic and Transferable skills (GTS)
aims to give doctoral students at Chalmers professional and individual
development, and is a program of activities/courses not directly linked
to the respective areas of research. Of these, 9 credit points are
mandatory for the licentiate degree, and another 6 credit points for the
PhD degree.
In addition to the courses within Generic and Transferable Skills,
the student is also required to participate in the introduction day for
doctoral students (before the licentiate examination, at latest).
Further requirements are an oral popular science presentation to be
performed prior to the PhD thesis defence and a written popular science
presentation to be published on the back of the PhD thesis.
The following courses are mandatory for the degree of Licentiate (L) and for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD):
L PhD
Theory of science 7.5 7.5
Research method 6 12
Design of IT-artefacts 4.5 7.5
Theoretical perspectives on IT 6 12
Ethics 3 3
Pedagogy 3 3
Individual study 15 45
Total course requirements 45 90
5.2 Individual Study
For profiling within the subject area, the supervisor together with
the graduate student determine individual study courses amounting to at
least 15 credits for the licentiate and to at least 45 credits for a
PhD. The individual study could consist of literature courses as well as
relevant elective PhD-courses at Chalmers, Göteborg University or other
universities. The individual study is specific to each graduate student
and is described in the student’s individual curriculum.
6 Licentiate thesis and Doctoral Dissertation
6.1 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, the graduate
student’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, or of a
compilation with a number of scientifically reviewed articles. In the
latter case, these articles are to be connected by a so-called ’kappa’
which interrelates the contributions as well as discusses and draws
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 articles should maintain such a level that they could be
accepted for publication in an international scientific journal or high
quality conference with a referee procedure. 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 Fail or Pass.
6.2 Doctoral Dissertation
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, or of a
compilation with a number of scientifically reviewed articles. In the
latter case, these articles are to be connected by a so-called ’kappa’
which interrelates the contributions as well as discusses and draws
conclusions from the entire work. In both cases, the thesis should have a
length corresponding to about 4-5 conference papers and articles of
normal length. The articles should maintain such a level that they could
be accepted for publication in an international scientific journal or
high quality conference with a referee procedure. 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 Fail or Pass.
7 Degree
The type of degree that can be obtained after completion of the
postgraduate studies differs depending on the area of the undergraduate
and master level education (Engineering, Philosophy, et cetera).
7.1 Licentiate degree
The requirements for the licentiate degree comprise 120 credits, of
which 45 credits are acquired in postgraduate courses and 75 credits in
the licentiate thesis.
7.2 Doctoral thesis
The requirements for the doctoral degree comprise 240 credits, of
which 90 credits are acquired in postgraduate courses and 150 credits in
the PhD thesis.
8 Supervision
Postgraduate students are entitled to supervision: full time
students to four years of supervision for the doctoral degree, and to
two years for the licentiate degree; part time students obtain the same
amount distributed over a proportionally longer time period. When
admitted each graduate student is assigned a first year supervisor who
accompanies the beginning of his or her study. Each student has an
advisory committee which comprises in addition to the supervisor at
least two further persons, usually one within and one outside the
subject of the dissertation. This committee meets the student at least
once per year to discuss progress towards the degree.
The management of the department appoints an examiner who, together
with the supervisor, determines the individual study courses (see
Section 5.2). The examiner fixes the grade at the examination. The
examiner and the supervisor can be the same person. The examiner, the
supervisor, and the student together work out in the beginning an
individual study plan for the student's path of education.
9 Examination on proficiency in the subject
Courses are followed by written and/or oral examinations; the
student’s performance is graded Passed (“Godkänd’”) or Not passed (“Icke
godkänd”). A doctoral dissertation is graded by a committee, which is
specially appointed for each thesis defence. Three months before the
planned date of the defense a draft of the dissertation must be given to
the director of graduate studies and to the members of the student’s
advisory committee.
A licentiate thesis is graded by the examiner.
10 Additional guidelines
With full time study, a doctoral degree is normally calculated to
take four years, and a licentiate degree two years. The student must
present his or her study results and future plans regularly.