The graduate school is organised within the Department of Technology Management and Economics.
Vice head of department: Susanne Ollila
Director of studies: Karl Palmås
Administrator: Satenik Atanesyan
Read more about the graduate school at the Department of Technology Management and Economics.
Syllabus
(approved by the Pro-Vice-President on 17 May 2005. Ref. nr. C2005/604)
(revised 31 August 2007)
(revised 1 September 2012)
(revised 2 April 2014)
(revised 10 March 2016)
1. Subject description and goals of the programme
Technology Management and Economics encompasses the economic,
organisational and social aspects of engineering and its application.
Social sciences as well as technological, scientific and mathematical
studies all contribute to this scientific field. The field extends from
theories on the role of technology in societal development, and
industrial renewal based on technical innovations, to the management of
technology based operations in industry and the public sector.
The doctoral study programme develops the knowledge and skills to
scientifically formulate and solve problems as well as to report
results. The goal is to educate licentiate and doctoral students, at an
internationally competitive level, by providing them with sound
knowledge of a wide range of applications and by schooling them in
scientific research methods; they should also acquire a high specialist
competence in the subject of their research work.
The doctoral study programme shall:
- Develop individual creativity and critical thinking, as well as
the ability to identify, formulate, deal with, and solve scientific
problems, and to publish results;
- Meet individual needs for scientific specialization and critical search for knowledge; and
- Prepare for leading positions in research, development and teaching.
During their doctoral studies the students shall learn to:
- Plan and lead research and development work;
- Discuss scientific problems with research colleagues including those from other countries;
- Disseminate information, both orally and in writing, about their own
research specialization, the results and possible effects, to
colleagues as well as the general public;
- Find information about scientific results relevant to a specific problem, even outside their own specialization; and
- Collaborate in interdisciplinary work.
2. Requirements for admission
To qualify for admission to doctoral studies, the student should
have completed a degree in a relevant branch of engineering. Applicants
who have acquired four years (240 higher education credits) of
equivalent education can be admitted after a special individual
evaluation. The evaluation can result in requirements for supplementary
studies before the doctoral study programme may be started.
3. Organization and structure
The doctoral degree requires four years of full time study (240
higher education credits) after completion of a Master of Science or
equivalent degree. The programme of study consists of course work and
thesis work. The course work must include at least 75 higher education
credits (60 higher education credits is a full academic year), while the
thesis work shall comprise at least 150 higher education credits. In
addition, doctoral students are expected to participate actively in
seminars during the whole course of study.
Before the end of the first year after admission to doctoral
studies, students shall defend their thesis work plan at a research
proposal seminar, with two opponents. One is a senior (PhD) opponent and
one is a junior (doctoral student) opponent. Both can come from the
Department of TME.
For the licentiate degree 120 higher education credits (two years)
are required, after completion of a M.Sc. or equivalent degree. For
doctoral students admitted before January 1, 2013, the course work is 60
higher education credits, including the compulsory courses, and the
licentiate thesis work is 60 higher education credits. For doctoral
students admitted from January 1 2013 and onward, the course work is 50
higher education credits, including compulsory courses, and the
licentiate thesis work is 70 higher education credits. A student not
taking a licentiate degree, shall present and defend its work on a
licentiate level seminar at a corresponding time. All the higher
education credits (50 or 60) must be reported into Ladok at the latest
one month before the licentiate seminar or the licentiate level seminar
takes place. The course requirements to reach licentiate levels are the
same as for licentiate degree.
Independent research work is usually carried out in parallel with
course work according to a plan worked out by the principal supervisor
in consultation with the student. The topic of the thesis shall be
stated at admission and be outlined in more detail by at least one year
after admission.
The doctoral degree should normally be four years full-time studies
after the Master of Science degree. The licentiate degree/licentiate
level can be equivalent with two years full-time studies.
International contacts and collaboration are expected of students,
and the department encourages participation in international
conferences, study visits and longer stays at foreign universities and
research institutes of good reputation.
4. Courses
The principal supervisor and student together plan what courses to
include in the doctoral programme. Certain courses, which are compulsory
for all doctoral students at Chalmers, are also compulsory for all
doctoral students at the department. The following courses are
compulsory for doctoral students admitted between January 1, 2005, and
August 31, 2012: General introduction for doctoral students (0 higher
education credits), Pedagogy (3 higher education credit points) and
Ethics (3 higher education credit points). The general introduction and
both of these courses must be completed for the licentiate degree.
Doctoral students admitted after August 31, 2012, are required to take
15 higher education credit points from the area of Generic and
Transferable Skills during their graduate studies. 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.
In addition, there are three compulsory courses for the doctoral
programme in technology management and economics. These are also
required to achieve licentiate degree or licentiate level:
Researching Technology Management and Economics (7.5 higher
education credit points) (Or the course Theory and Methodology of
Science 7.5 hec, given before 2011)
Quantitative methods (7.5 higher education credit points)
Qualitative methods (7.5 higher education credit points)
Other courses may be chosen from the selection described on the
home page for the graduate school. Courses at the Master’s level, which
were not included in the graduate student’s first degree, as well as
courses given at other departments and universities, may be chosen in
consultation with the principal supervisor. A maximum of 30 higher
education credits of research preparatory course work may sometimes be
accepted before the student starts doctoral studies. This accounts for
doctoral students with a master’s degree of at least 270 higher
education credits. Doctoral students admitted with a 240 higher
education credit degree cannot get prior course work accepted.
5. Thesis work
The student’s own research work should be designed to lead to
internationally publishable scientific results. Both the licentiate
thesis and the doctoral thesis should be written in English.
The doctoral thesis can be either a monograph or a collection of
articles with an introduction and a summary. For the latter, the
articles must have the form and quality for acceptance in peer-reviewed,
scientific journals of good international standard, and most of the
articles should have been accepted for publication in such journals.
The doctoral thesis shall be defended at a public defence, with a
specially designated opponent, and assessed by an examining committee
with the result passed or failed. The assessment shall take into account
both the content and the defence of the thesis.
6. Supervision of thesis work
Each student has a principal supervisor from the start. The
principal supervisor must be at least associate professor. The examiner
must be professor. In connection with the specification of the thesis
work, and no later than directly after the RP seminar, the vice head of
the department appoints two assistant supervisors who, together with the
principal supervisor, form a supervisory committee. One of the
assistant supervisors can be from outside Chalmers, if this is
considered to be an advantage.
Every student admitted to doctoral studies has a right to
supervision: full time students for four years for the doctoral degree
or for two years for the licentiate degree; part time students to the
same extent distributed over the longer time period involved.
Students shall regularly review their research at seminars. During
the course of the thesis work, students shall have continuing contact
with their principal supervisor and meet periodically with the whole
supervisory committee. When the thesis work is nearly completed, it
shall be presented and defended at a final seminar.
7. Degree designations
Doctoral studies at the department lead to a doctoral degree or licentiate degree in Technology Management and Economics.
This study plan for the doctoral degree programme in technology
management and economics applies to doctoral students admitted after 1
January 2005. Students admitted to graduate study before that date, in
research subjects at the Department of Technology Management and
Economics, may choose, with the approval of the examiner and the
principal supervisor, to be examined in their original research
subjects.