Machine and Vehicle Systems

​​The Graduate School is organised within the Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences.

Director of Studies: Mats Svensson

Syllabus

Established by the First Vice President on 2005-05-17, registration number C 2005/604.
Latest revised on 2021-06-21, registration number M2 2021-0145.
This syllabus applies to doctoral students admitted as of 2021-08-01.
Regarding older syllabus, please contact the first vice/vice head of department.

Transitional regulations:
A doctoral student admitted to an older syllabus may earn a degree in accordance with this, provided that the current Appointment regulation for doctoral programmes and current Local Qualifications Framework – third cycle qualifications are followed.

Doctoral students admitted to an older syllabus of graduate school Machine and Vehicle Systems can, however, change to the current syllabus by an application to the Deputy/Vice Head of Department. The change must be documented in the individual study plan.

The graduate school is regulated by the Appointment regulation for doctoral programmes and the Local Qualifications Framework for Chalmers University of Technology - third cycle qualifications and is described in the syllabus for the graduate school. In the event of any conflict between the documents, the Appointment regulation for doctoral programmes and the Local Qualifications Framework for Chalmers University of Technology - third cycle qualifications are governing. For the most recent version of all regulatory documents referenced in this syllabus, see Chalmers’s internal website.

1. Subject description

Description of subject

The doctoral programme at Machine and Vehicle Systems includes theoretical and applied research methods. The objective is to give knowledge and skills beyond that at the Master’s level, both in terms of depth and breadth. The programme offers both qualitative and quantitative knowledge and skills in scientific engineering problem solving. The student shall carry out theoretical or experimental investigations in the given topic. The development of experimental techniques and mathematical models is an essential component of the work.
Description of specializations
Research at the Research School for Machine and Vehicle Systems is divided into three specializations:
  • Applied AI
  • Vehicle Dynamics
  • Traffic Safety

Applied AI

The Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) research involves biological computational methods and their application in various areas, in particular autonomous vehicles and robots.

Vehicle Dynamics

The Vehicle Dynamics research is oriented toward the dynamic performance of vehicles exposed to various driving conditions.

Traffic Safety

Traffic Safety covers a wide research area. This includes increasing our understanding of road users’ behaviour, why crashes happen, safety aspects of autonomous driving, injury mechanisms, human body modelling, and human tolerance levels in crash. Such research could be used to support the development of crash prevention systems and protective systems for all road users

2. Objectives of the doctoral program

Objectives

The national objectives for third cycle degrees (licentiate and doctoral degree) and local requirements are stated in the Local Qualifications Framework for Chalmers University of Technology – third cycle qualifications.

3. Entry requirements

General entry requirements

To be qualified for admission in Machine and Vehicle Systems the student must have earned a degree at the second-cycle level. The orientation of the student’s degree shall also have a sufficiently close connection to the subject of the doctoral programme. Equivalent requirements apply to individuals who have taken their first degree in a country other than Sweden. The examiner, in consultation with the principal supervisor, shall assess whether the applicant has the requisite capacity to successfully complete the doctoral programme. Other requirements for general entry are regulated in Appointment regulation for doctoral programmes.

Admission

Regulations regarding admission are stated in Appointment regulation for doctoral programmes.

4. Curriculum

The study programme towards a doctoral degree encompasses 240 higher education credits. The study programme towards a licentiate degree encompasses at least 120 higher education credits. One year of full-time studies equals 60 credits.

For the licentiate degree programme the credits are distributed between courses and thesis work as follows: courses at least 30 credits and thesis at least 90 credits.

For the doctoral degree programme the credits are distributed between course work and thesis work as follows: courses at least 60 credits and thesis at least 180 credits.  

Courses

Courses within the graduate school include general courses that cover all doctoral programmes at Chalmers as well as courses specific for the graduate school.

General courses in Chalmers’s doctoral programmes
The general course requirements for doctoral programmes at Chalmers are regulated in Local Qualifications Framework for Chalmers University of Technology – third cycle qualifications.

Courses specific for the Graduate school Machine and Vehicle Systems
The elective courses are usually specific PhD courses offered by the department and other departments at Chalmers. National and international courses occur as well. Courses from the Master’s programmes may also be included. The graduate school also offers:
  • Graduate school (MVS) seminar course part A (1.5 credits)
  • Graduate school (MVS) seminar course part B (1.5 credits)
A PhD-student can receive 1.5 GTS credits for an international visit with more than four weeks duration and an additional 1.5 credits if the visit results in a joint peer reviewed publication (conference or journal). For an international visit, the student is required to apply for funding from relevant sources.

Licentiate thesis

A licentiate thesis shall be written in English. In exceptional cases it can be written in Swedish; in such cases it shall contain a summary in English.

The purpose of the licentiate thesis is to account for the relevant scientific results that have been attained during the thesis work and describe these in a way that is accessible outside of the scientific inner circle of researchers. A licentiate thesis can either be written as a compilation thesis or as a monograph. If the licentiate thesis is a compilation thesis it should begin with an introduction, a summarizing text, followed by the included scientific articles. The purpose of the summarizing text is to put the studies in context, and to present relevant results that for various reasons are not described within the articles.

The content must be of such quality that the appended articles can be published in journal or conference publications with a peer-review system

Other regulations concerning the licentiate thesis are stated in Appointment regulation for doctoral programmes.

Doctoral thesis

A doctoral thesis shall be written in English. In exceptional cases it can be written in Swedish; in such cases it shall contain a summary in English.

The purpose of the doctoral thesis is to account for the relevant scientific results that have been attained during the thesis work and describe these in a way that is accessible outside of the scientific inner circle of researchers. A doctoral thesis can either be written as a compilation thesis or as a monograph. If the doctoral thesis is a compilation thesis it should begin with an introduction, a summarizing text, followed by the included scientific articles. The purpose of the summarizing text is to put the studies in context, and to present relevant results that for various reasons are not described within the articles.

The content must be of such quality that the appended articles can be published in journal or conference publications with a peer-review system

Other regulations concerning the doctoral thesis are stated in Appointment regulation for doctoral programmes.

Supervision

The Appointment regulation for doctoral programmes states that for each doctoral student at least two supervisors shall be appointed. One of them shall be appointed principal supervisor. The doctoral student has the right to supervision during the studies unless the Head of Department decides otherwise.

Other regulations concerning supervision are stated in Appointment regulation for doctoral programmes.

5. Examination

After completion of a doctoral programme a doctoral degree is awarded. A licentiate degree can be an intermediate stage in a doctoral degree. If a licentiate degree is not a part of the individual study plan, a midway seminar shall be held to denote that licentiate level has been reached.

Examination, licentiate degree

For a licentiate degree to be awarded, the doctoral student must have received a grade of pass for the licentiate thesis and its presentation and must also have received a grade of pass for the other elements that are included in the programme.

Examination, doctoral degree

For a doctoral degree to be awarded, the doctoral student must have had a doctoral thesis and its defence approved and must also have passed the other elements that are included in the programme.

Other regulations regarding examination are stated in:
  • Appointment regulation for doctoral programmes
  • Local Qualifications Framework for Chalmers University of Technology – third cycle qualifications

6. Title of degree

The title of qualification is Teknologie doktorsexamen i Maskin- och fordonssystem or Filosofie doktorsexamen i Maskin- och fordonssystem. The English translation of the title of the qualification is Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Machine and Vehicle Systems.

For a licentiate degree the title of the qualification is Teknologie licentiatexamen i Maskin- och fordonssystem or Filosofie licentiatexamen I Maskin- och fordonssystem. The English translation of the title of qualification is Degree of Licentiate of Engineering in Machine and Vehicle Systems or Degree of Licentiate of Philosophy in Machine and Vehicle Systems.

The degree is given a title corresponding to the name of the faculty within which the undergraduate degree was earned. The title is determined by the Head of Department in connection with admission.

Any decision regarding exemption from use of the defined title is made by the Head of Department. In some individual cases, it is possible to use a title that does not correspond to the name of the faculty within which the undergraduate degree was earned.

Page manager Published: Wed 18 Aug 2021.