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Length and layout of the thesis

The faculty's set of rules specifies the following provisions:

‘A monograph is approximately 250 pages +/- 20% of approximately 2400 characters (including symbols and spaces). A compilation (anthology) thesis consists of 3–6 articles and a summarising account. The latter has a recommended length of 30–80 pages. The compilation thesis, i.e. articles and summarising account, has a length of 125–250 pages of approximately 2400 characters (including symbols and spaces).’

Notes and abstract in both Danish and English are included in the length of the thesis. The bibliography is not included in the length of the thesis.
Images/diagrams/figures that are the object of analysis are also included in the thesis. The length of these corresponds to the length of text that could have been in the relevant places.

Appendices are not included in the number of pages, as they may only contain material that is an extra service for the reader/assessor and are not included in the assessment of the thesis.

Conversion factor

The faculty’s rules regarding the permitted length of a PhD thesis include images, diagrams, figures, etc. with a length corresponding to the text that could have been in those places. For example, if an image/diagram/figure corresponds to approximately 10 lines of text in your thesis, simply add the number of characters that corresponds to 10 lines of text to your total thesis. In Word, you can find the number of characters by selecting the desired piece of text and clicking the word count function on the bottom left corner. Note the number determined by ‘Characters (with spaces)’.  

Guidelines for layout
The PhD-thesis is submitted electronically in PURE. There are no requirements for special layout in this regard.

From January 1, 2024, your thesis will no longer be sent to the assessment committee in print. 

Originality check

As from 1 January 2023, all PhD theses at the Faculty of Humanities will be automatically checked for originality.

The procedure is:

You submit your thesis via PURE. View the complete submission guide here.

Once the thesis has been submitted, the Library will perform an originality check. This can take up to three working days.

An originality check can result in one of the following three conclusions:

GREEN: Everything is in order and your thesis will be sent to the doctoral school.

YELLOW: Issues related to previously published texts and/or other issues. The thesis can either be reviewed for relevant editing and resubmitted, or the principal supervisor can submit a declaration that the highlighted issues are not a problem. However, this declaration may be challenged by the doctoral school.

RED: Suspicion of plagiarism. A copy of the report is sent to the head of the doctoral school and the Committee on Practice. The principal supervisor is obliged to contact the head of the doctoral school to discuss the case and any possible further action. If the Committee on Practice assesses that the suspicion is substantiated, they will decide whether the case should be forwarded to the Danish Board on Research Misconduct.

Guide to submitting your thesis

To make the submission process easier for you, we have created this step-by-step guide to everything you need to know about submitting your thesis.

Notification of thesis submission

You must notify us two months before you submit your thesis so that we have time to set up an assessment committee, etc. Start the digital form "Notification of thesis submission". Find it at the PhD web.

Principal supervisor’s statement

Your principal supervisor must provide a statement about your overall course of study, which documents that you have fulfilled your PhD plan. Only if the statement is positive can your PhD thesis be submitted for assessment.

Assessment committee

When the dean has appointed an assessment committee, you will be notified. You may object to the composition of the committee within a period of at least one week.

Preparation of your thesis

You can read about copyright and how to avoid plagiarism on the Library’s website. The website also contains important information about how your thesis is to be published and what restrictions there may be if you have made publishing agreements.

Submission of your thesis

You must submit in PURE – read more about uploading your thesis here. The following documents must be uploaded:

• The thesis 
• Solemn declaration
• Declaration of co-authorship if your thesis is an anthology (compilation of articles). REMEMBER to note in the appropriate field in PURE that your thesis is an anthology (compilation of articles).

Originality check

Your thesis will automatically be checked for plagiarism when you submit in PURE, after which it will be forwarded to the doctoral school. Only when the doctoral school has received your thesis has it been formally submitted. The doctoral school will then forward your thesis to the assessment committee.

The preliminary assessment

Two months after you have formally submitted your thesis, you will receive the preliminary assessment. You and your supervisor can comment on the assessment, which is particularly important if the assessment is negative. If the assessment is positive, a date will be set for the PhD defence.

The final recommendation

After the defence, the assessment committee makes their final recommendation and the Academic Council awards the degree. You will be notified by email when your degree is awarded.

The digital PhD diploma

Attached to the certificate is the final recommendation and a course insert in Danish and English with an overview of your courses, communication and change of research environment. You will receive the course insert for review before the final diploma is created.

Paragraph 15(2): Submitting a thesis without a prior programme of study

Under normal circumstances, the submission of a PhD thesis is linked to a preceding PhD programme. However, there are some special situations where you may be allowed to write a PhD thesis and submit it for assessment without having done so. Use this form to apply for this type of PhD.

If you have obtained qualifications equivalent to a PhD programme in other ways, you can apply for permission to write a PhD thesis and have it assessed. This requires a recommendation from the department and the head of the doctoral school and approval from the dean.

In special cases, the dean may also approve the submission of a PhD thesis from a person who does not fulfil the conditions to be enrolled as a PhD student. This also requires a recommendation from the department.

As a rule, you can write your PhD thesis as either an anthology or a monograph.

If you have written articles on topics relevant to a PhD thesis, you can apply for permission to write your PhD thesis based on these. If the articles have been written in collaboration with others, their contributions must also be documented.

Finally, you can apply for permission to submit multiple theses on related topics or which apply the same methodology as your PhD thesis. If you choose this option, you will also need to write a summarising account.

Digital diploma

The diploma

Your PhD diploma is issued as a series of the following PDF documents:

• Diploma
• Course insert
• Final evaluation

When you click on a document, you will be given the option to download it to your own computer.

Verification

All pages in the personal documents are secured with an embedded verification link that allows the recipient of the diploma to view the document directly from SDU’s server. In this way, SDU maintains a high level of security in the use of the digital diploma, and the recipient can be sure that the received certificate is genuine.

Validity

A valid digital diploma must contain a verification link. If the link is removed from the diploma, the diploma is no longer valid documentation of the degree and results from SDU.

SDU stores a copy of your diploma on the University’s secure server. A verification link will be embedded in the issued diploma. If the person to whom you are sending the diploma clicks on the link, they will be able to view the original diploma directly from the University’s server. The diploma recipient can only view the original version of the document found via the verification link and cannot view other content in the Digital Diploma Mailbox.

Send your diploma

In the Digital Diploma Mailbox, you can forward your diploma directly from SDU’s server to one or more email recipients. SDU will appear as the sender of the email.

Give access to others

In the Digital Diploma Mailbox, you can grant temporary access to third parties.

How to grant temporary access:

• Choose which documents the third party will be able to view
• Select the period during which the documents are to be visible
• Enter one or more email addresses to which the access link will be sent

History

In the Digital Diploma Mailbox, you can always see to whom you have sent documents and when, as well as to whom you have given access, what you have given access to, when you have given them access and whether they have retrieved any of the documents you have given access to.