Developing your doctoral thesis
Structure of the thesis
The structure of the doctoral thesis should be that of a so-called compilation thesis. That is, a summary of scientific articles written by the PhD student alone or jointly with one or more other people [with the articles appended after the summary]. Theses in the form of one unified, coherent scientific work (monograph thesis) may be allowed as an exception, following a specific application to the Research Studies Board.
The Research Studies Board finds compilation theses preferable to monograph theses since the publication of previously completed articles in internationally recognised scientific journals involves an assurance of quality [through peer review].
The components of a doctoral thesis should be written in English, but the summary may be written in Swedish.
A short summary in Swedish written in layperson’s terms
This is strongly recommended but not an official requirement.
Cover
The design of the dissertation’s cover and layout needs to be within the graphic profile of Lund University.
Title page
A loose-leaf title page must be included in each copy of the thesis. The title page includes the opponent’s name, academic title and place of residence. It also announces the time and place of the public defence. The PhD student writes the dissertation title page themself; there is no template.
List of publications
A list of the articles/manuscripts included in the thesis must be included in each copy, preferably following the table of contents.
Abstract
A brief loose-leaf abstract in English must be included with the doctoral thesis. The PhD student fills in a document template. The Faculty of Medicine recommends printing the sheet on the back of the title page (see above), included in the template from Mediatryck. This fulfils the requirement that the short English-language abstract be attached to each doctoral thesis.
Copyright
To avoid any legal repercussions, it is advisable to obtain authorisation from the copyright holder/publisher to reprint your articles. This also applies to electronic registration and publication. Check the agreement with the journal/publisher.
Lund University Library has information on publishing agreements for articles in a compilation thesis, learn more about that here: Copyright | LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
ISBN number
As a rule, published books and theses must have a publishing number – an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). This is emailed to the PhD student in conjunction with the official decision regarding the public defence.
ISSN number
ISSN number 1652-8220 applies to all theses at the Faculty of Medicine.
The summary should be at least 50 pages long, excluding references and cover pages. It should contain at least 100 references and fulfil the following requirements.
The summary:
- must provide an up-to-date description of the area of specialisation and topic of the thesis, as well as how the thesis work fits into this context.
- must be written independently by the doctoral student, and describe the student's contribution to the different projects/articles, within their common context.
- must demonstrate that the doctoral student has achieved the specific subject knowledge.
- must include a critical description and discussion of the methods used, as well as of possible alternative methods.
- should integrate the results achieved into the relevant research area.
- should state what the thesis has contributed to within the area of specialisation.
- must describe how the results of the thesis are beneficial, and propose subsequent research.
Suggestions for headings to include in the summary:
- Abstract – about 250-300 words
- Abbreviations – the most significant ones
- Popular scientific summary – a short summary in layperson’s terms
- the overall purpose of the thesis
- the subject’s history and previously published results in the field
- description of methods – highlighting which methods are important to your thesis work, and any original methods developed during the work
- the most significant results - avoid reusing figures and tables from the articles, unless it is of central importance. In that case, there must be a clear source reference to each figure or table.
- broad discussion
- conclusion, and perspectives on future development
- References
- Acknowledgements
We offer a kappa seminar that is open to all PhD students. For PhD students admitted from January 1, 2021, the seminar is mandatory.
Serial publication
The published thesis is part of the Lund University Faculty of Medicine Doctoral Dissertations Series. The PhD student is assigned an unique serial number for the thesis, also sent them by e-mail.
Printing and dissemination of the thesis
All doctoral theses should be printed internally within Lund University. More information about printing can be found here:
- Media-Tryck, Lund University’s printing and design agency Contact person: Richard Ringhov, Tel: 046-222 91 76. Media-Tryck is Lund University’s printing and design agency and offers all doctoral students the free course To format and deliver a print-ready thesis as a PDF. Register for the course at Media-Tryck's website, above. Media-Tryck also provides you with a thesis template in Microsoft Word to facilitate the writing process.
If another printing company is used, information about framework agreements can be found on the university's website:
- Purchasing and procurement
Duplication and distribution of doctoral theses
The doctoral thesis must be made available at the University in a sufficient number of copies to enable an assessment of the thesis at the public defence, at minimum 25 copies.
No later than three weeks before the defence date, the doctoral thesis is submitted and distributed by the doctoral student/department as follows:
- 3 copies are submitted to Lund University Library at Helgonabacken (UB), for lending and archival purposes. The University Library no longer sends the thesis to the six other compulsory delivery libraries; this is now done by the printers according to law. The desk officer at the University Library receives and provides a receipt that the thesis has been submitted to UB Helgonabacken. There is no need to book an appointment.
- 1 copy is submitted the same day to Anette Saltin’s mailbox between Forum Medicum and BMC F11 (through the main entrance of Forum Medicum, on the left, under/behind the stairs), , with the receipt from UB Helgonabacken attached. If time allows, the thesis and receipt may instead be internally posted to Anette Saltin, BMC F12, pick-up point 66. A written announcement of the public defence is organized by the PhD Studies Office, containing the time and place of the public defence, the doctoral student's name, the title of the thesis, the subject of the defence, and the names of the opponent and chairperson of the seminar.
- About 8 copies are sent by the doctoral student to the opponent, the members and deputies of the examination committee, the chairperson of the defence, the supervisors.
The electronic registration is made by the doctoral student themself, in order to increase dissemination and awareness, and is then approved by the PhD Studies Office. Read about how to register your summary on the University Library's website. Learn more about registration of doctoral theses at Lund University Libraries’ website.
Dissertations at the Faculty of Medicine that are registered electronically are compiled on the Lund University Research Portal, LUCRIS.
The registration of the thesis is a complement to the “nailing” of the physical book, and must take place three weeks before the public defence. Information about your defence and thesis is also entered into LUCRIS. The password for registration is your Lucat ID.
When registering, you should upload the electronic pdf version of the summary that you receive from the printer. Articles included in the thesis that are not published/accepted should not be uploaded. If unpublished data is uploaded into LUCRIS, problems may arise with journals during later publication.