PhD project monitoring at the Department of Soil and Environment

Last changed: 12 March 2024

Annual revisions of the PhD project shall be made according to the Swedish Decree on Higher Education (Högskoleförordningen). The PhD candidate and the supervisor have a joint responsibility for the revision. The department makes formal follow-ups after 25, 50 and 75 % of net study time, which are performed by the department board of post-graduate studies (MoM-FUN).

PhD students admitted after 2019-01-01

First year follow-up (at 25 % of net study time)

First year follow-up requirements:  

  1. Approved Introductory essay (literature review, 10-15 pp)
  2. Approved account of the first years activities and eventual changes in the individual studyplan (revised ISP & one-year follow-up form)
  3. Short summary of the PhD-projcect (1/2 A4)

The first year follow-up requires the completion of the Introductory essay in Soil Sciences. The student shall retrieve literature relevant to the PhD project, read and compile it into a 10-15 pages long paper in English. In the review, the PhD student shall discuss how his or her own PhD project will contribute to the studied topic of interest. The PhD student shall present the literature review to the supervisory group and the review should have been approved by the main supervisor, before it’s submitted to the MoM-FUN. The PhD student shall also write a short summary describing the PhD project (1/2 A4), suitable for publication at the homepage of the Department of Soil and Environment.

The introductory essay, the project description summary,  and the one-year follow-up form should be uploaded as attachments to the revised ISP, in the SLU ISP-portal by the main supervisor and then transferred to the department director of post-graduate education, at least one week before a meeting of the department board of post-graduate studies. MoM-FUN meeting dates -  See the department web calendar.

Half-time control (at 50 % of net study time)

Half-time control:

  1. Approved half-time seminar (summary from the opponent)
  2. Approved revised ISP & Half-time follow-up form
  3. Interview with PhD student and main supervisor

After 24 months (50 % net study time) the PhD student should give a half-time seminar in which he or she presents the results and future plans of the PhD project, which are discussed with a “half-time opponent”.

Forms and routines for the half-time seminar

When the half-time seminar has been completed the following documents should be uploaded with the revised ISP, in the ISP-portal: Summary from the half-time opponent & half-time follow-up form. The ISP with attachments should be transferred by the main supervisor to the director of studies, at least one week before the next meeting of the MoM-FUN (for MoM-FUN meeting dates see the internal department web calendar).

An approved half-time control is required in order to get the salary increase corresponding to 50 % of net study time.

The half-time seminar constitutes a part of the course Current Research in Soil Science, 3 credits, which is compulsory for PhD-students admitted at the department of Soil Sciences, according to a decision  by the Head of department.

Final follow-up (75 % net study time)

Final follow-up consists of:

  1. Approved revised ISP & Final Follow-up form including the plan for the period up to the PhD defense.
  2. Approved Current Research in Soil Science 3 credits (Current Research Course Document)
  3. Interview with PhD-student & main supervisor

Before the final follow-up (3-year follow-up) the following documents should be uploaded with the revised ISP in the ISP-portal: the final follow-up form & a Current Research Course document. 

The Current Research Course document should include: a list of at least 15 relevant soil seminars attended (seminar title, date, person presenting, date for acting as pedagogic reviewer, date for acting as chair-person, date for own halftime seminar).

The revised ISP with attachments should be transferred to the director of PhD-studies at least one week before the next meeting of the department board of post-graduate studies (MoM-FUN). MoM-FUN meeting dates are announced in the department web calendar.

An approved final follow-up is required by the department in order to get the salary increase at 75 % of net study time.

Before follow-up

  • The main supervisor/PhD-student should send a notice to the director of studies at least two weeks before the date they wish MoM-FUN to perform an annual follow-up.
  • Follow-up documents and other required documents should be uploaded as attachments to the revised ISP, in the on-line ISP-portal, by the main supervisor, and transferred to the department director of post-graduate studes, at least one week before the relevant MoM-FUN meeting.

Signing of documents and archiving

When an annual follow-up has been approved by the department doctoral education board,  the revised ISP + uploaded attachments are transferred to the Head of Department (by the department director) who will approve by signing the ISP in the portal. The signed ISP + attachments will thus be “archived” automatically in the ISP-portal.

Before printing the thesis

The thesis manuscript should be reviewed and approved of by the editorial board before the thesis goes to printing. The manuscript should be submitted to the committee at least ten weeks before the planned defence. Before submission, the manuscript should have passed a language review. Tips on suitable language reviewers should provided by your supervisory team or by the subject professor. Tips from the editorial committee can be found here: Thesis Summary Writing Advice 2024-01-19

Please contact the editorial committee in advance for an agreement regarding your time-table and the date for handing in your manuscript.

PhD students admitted before 2019-01-01

First year follow-up (after 25 % of net study time)

First year follow-up includes:  

  1. Approved obligatory introductory course (7 hp)
  2. Approved account of the first years activities and eventual changes in the individual studyplan

The first year follow-up requires the completion of the course Introduction to Soil Science Research, 7 credits. To pass the course the student shall retrieve literature relevant to the PhD project, read and compile it into a 10-15 pages long paper in English. In the review, the PhD student shall discuss how his or her own PhD project will contribute to the studied topic of interest. The PhD student shall also write a short summary describing the PhD project (1/2 A4), suitable for publication at the homepage of the Department of Soil and Environment. The PhD student shall present the literature review to the supervisory group and subsequently submit the literature review and the short summary electronically together with a signed approval of submission from the supervisor. The literature review, the project description summary, approval and the oneyear followup form should be submitted to the director of post-graduate studies at least one week before meetings of the Board of post-graduate studies – for meeting dates see the calendar at the department intranet.

Half-time control (after 50 % of net study time)

Half-time control consists of:

  1. Approved half-time seminar
  2. Approved revised ISP
  3. Interview with PhD student and supervisor

After 24 months (50 % net study time) the PhD student should give a half-time seminar in which he or she presents the results and future plans of the PhD project. The half-time seminar is a part of the compulsory course Current Research in Soil Science 5 credits. The PhD student must also submit a half-time follow-up document including a revised ISP that is to be considered in the Board of post-graduate studies at the department. The documents should be sent to the director of studies no later than one week before the next meeting of the board (for meeting dates see the calendar at the department intranet).

For PhD students with a PhD position (doktorandtjänst) an approved half-time control is requested by the department in order to get the salary increase after 50 % of net study time.

Final follow-up (75 % net study time)

Final follow-up consists of:

  1. Approved Current Research in Soil Science 5 credits
  2. Approved account of activities, changes in the ISP and plan for the period up to the PhD defense.

At the earliest 33 months after admission (c. 70% of net study time) the PhD student can submit the final follow-up form to the Board of post-graduate studies. The PhD candidate shall attend the meeting if requested by the board.

For PhD students with a PhD position (doktorandtjänst) an approved final follow-up is requested by the department in order to get the salary increase at 75 % of net study time.

The final follow-up form must be submitted to the Director of post-graduate studies at least one week before meetings of the Board of post-graduate studies – for meeting dates see the calendar at the department intranet.

Before follow-up

The follow-up documents including the revised ISP should be sent to the director of studies as a pdf-file, at least one week before the meeting. The original documents with signatures (by PhD-student and supervisor) should be brought to the meeting, by the PhD-student, at the interview (half-time and final follow-up).

Signing of documents and archiving

When the follow-up has been approved by the department doctoral education board, and signed by the director of PhD-studies, the documents + ISP should be signed by the Head of department.

Finally the PhD-student should make a pdf of the signed documents to be saved for own purpose, before the original documents are handed over to be archived at the course secretariat.

After printing the thesis

The thesis manuscript should be reviewed and approved of by the editorial committeé before the thesis goes to the printers. The manuscript should be submitted at least ten weeks before the planned defence. When the thesis is printed PhD student shall inform the Director of post graduate studies time and venue for the dissertation.