Postgraduate studies at IEA

Through postgraduate studies you get an opportunity to broaden your skills and at the same time specialize in an area of personal interest. You learn to formulate and solve new problems using the latest technology. This is done in a creative environment, including international contacts and travel abroad. Teaching and presentations of your research at conferences and in journals will improve your communication skills. Altogether, this makes you more attractive in industry as well as in academia. Hopefully you also find it personally stimulating, developing and fun.

Admission

The formal requirement for admission as a postgraduate student to IEA is a Bachelor's degree, but a Master's degree or equivalent is recommended. The student must have obtained the degree from a recognised university, and must have completed an independent project of at least 20 weeks' duration. Specialization in subjects relevant to the IEA profile is highly recommended.

Postgraduate position

In general, a person accepted as a postgraduate student is awarded a postgraduate position. A PhD degree is expected after four years of full-time studies, but with 20 % of the time spent on teaching or other work assigned by IEA this gives a total study time of maximum five years.

Supervisors

When being accepted for postgraduate studies, the student is assigned an examiner and a supervisor at IEA. A study plan is established, defining the subject and scope of the work and a timetable for completion.

Activitites

In general, the three main activities of postgraduate education are:

• courses,
• research and
• teaching.

The distribution among these usually shift during the studies. In the beginning much time is spent on courses, while at the end research takes up most of the time. The courses can be special postgraduate courses or advanced undergraduate courses. Teaching or other work assigned by IEA is allowed to take up to 20 % of the total time. If possible, the teaching assignments are given in subjects relevant to the research.

Degrees

Two university degrees can be attained: PhD in Engineering and Licentiate in Engineering.

PhD in Engineering is called "Teknisk Doktor" in Swedish. The requirements for this degree are courses corresponding to 50 credits (weeks of full-time studies) and thesis work corresponding to 110 credits. The thesis work should be original and its quality should meet high international scientific standards. The thesis can be a monograph or a collection of articles supplemented by a summary. The PhD thesis has to be approved by an examination committee after it has been defended at a public viva ("disputation" in Swedish).

Licentiate in Engineering is called "Teknisk Licentiat" in Swedish. It is an intermediate degree between Master of Science and PhD. The requirements are courses corresponding to 30 credits and thesis work corresponding to 50 credits. The quality of the thesis work should be comparable to that of an international refereed journal. The thesis is approved by the IEA examiner. The thesis work is presented at a public seminar, where an external examiner assesses the value of the work. The Licentiate in Engineering degree is compulsory at IEA and gives a salary increase.

Application

If you are interested in postgraduate studies at IEA, please contact associate professor Ulf Jeppsson or professor Mats Alaküla.

Information

Information in Swedish about postgraduate studies at LTH http://www.lth.se/FFI/FU_s.html

Handbook for postgraduate studies at LTH (in Swedish) http://www.lth.se/FFI/fushb/fushb2000.html

Open postgraduate positions at LTH http://www.lth.se/personaldb/ledjobb/dokt/index_e.asp

Students’ union for postgraduate students – "Doktorandkåren" http://www.tlth.lth.se/~dokt/

Extensive information about postgraduate studies in general is found at (in Swedish) http://www.doktorandhandboken.nu