Dinner
You are free to choose how to organise the doctoral dinner. It can be a formal gala dinner, a buffet after the disputation, or no doctoral dinner at all.
The dinner must take place on the same day as the disputation.
It is common practice, though not required, for the dress code at the dinner to be black tie or dark suit. The dinner is an official event, but can be less formal towards the end of the dinner.
Speeches
Speeches are normally given by the chair of the defence, the third member of the committee and supervisor(s). The candidate too gives a speech where he/she thanks the university, the committee, the academic environment, family members, etc.
Seating arrangements
You are free to seat your dinner guests as you like. However, the candidate and his/her companion, the committee members, supervisors and chair of defence should be given prominent positions at the table.
Tax deduction
You must cover the costs of the dinner. Committee members, supervisors and chair of the defence are obvious guests. Some people may want to invite many guests to their doctoral dinner, and it is then possible to ask the guests to make a contribution, albeit with the exception of the people mentioned above.
The doctoral dinner expenses are tax deductible. See section 6-43 of the Norwegian Tax Act (lovdata.no) (in Norwegian) regarding printed scientific work for the degree of doctor or licentiate.
Deductions may, according to the act, be claimed for costs related to the presentation of a printed scientific work that is approved for defence for the degree of doctor or licentiate at a Norwegian university or college, including travel expenses associated with the doctoral or licentiate exam and other verifiable expenses that are directly linked to the work in question.
Deductions may, according to the act, be claimed for costs related to the presentation of a printed scientific work that is approved for defence for the degree of doctor or licentiate at a Norwegian university or college, including travel expenses associated with the doctoral or licentiate exam and other verifiable expenses that are directly linked to the work in question.
Tax deduction only applies to dinner guests from the academic staff. Remember to save the guest list with the titles of the guests for whom you want to have the expenses refunded, and receipts. These must be enclosed with your tax return. The maximum deduction appears at all times in the annual tax guide Lignings-ABC (skatteetaten.no) (in Norwegian) from the Norwegian Tax Administration (skatteetaten.no).
Conferral
After your PhD examination has been approved by the Faculty, you will be invited to a conferment ceremony. Conferrals usually take place four times a year, in March, June, September and December.
Diploma and diploma supplement
The doctoral diploma is issued by the University of Oslo.
A doctoral diploma supplement is issued by the Faculty in a standardised format. The name you are registered with in the Studentweb will be the name written on the diploma.
Certificates are issued only once. You can apply for a duplicate if the diploma is lost.