Section 6 - Degree outcomes for doctoral education

The Swedish Higher Education Ordinance contains degree outcomes (examensmål) for both doctoral and licentiate degrees. You can find these targets on the page: Guidelines and forms. Links to an external site. They are divided into three sections:

• Knowledge and understanding
• Competence and proficiency
• Judgement and approach.

The outcomes for knowledge and understanding refer to deepened knowledge of the thesis subject and its methodology. In other words, the traditional scientific knowledge obtained by reading various types of literature.

Competence and proficiency describes the scientific approach and how new knowledge is created. These are not typically learnt through traditional study of scientific literature. You learn through trial and practice. Often, a person needs a role model to guide them and provide objective feedback. Compare it to learning a musical instrument.

The final outcomes, judgement and approach, describe the scientific community’s standard of conduct, or professional ethics for researchers.

Read through the outcomes, choose one and think about how it applies to you specifically.