Purpose and scope

The half-time review assesses the doctoral student’s research progress at the midpoint of their studies, based on their half-time seminar performance and any submitted manuscripts or summaries. It is not an examination, but an opportunity to give constructive feedback and guidance for the remaining study period.

Timing of the half-time seminar

The half-time seminar is scheduled once the supervisor and student agree that roughly half of the thesis work has been completed. A typical example would be: one completed paper (submitted or published) for Study 1, one completed data collection with a draft manuscript for Study 2, and a well-developed plan for data collection in the remaining studies. Other scenarios are possible depending on the specific project. By this stage, approximately half of the required coursework should also be completed (around 30 credits), although some flexibility is accepted regarding the exact amount of coursework completed at this point. The final decision on the timing of the half-time seminar rests with the supervisor.

The supervisor is responsible for arranging the seminar and appointing two reviewers ("docent" or professor). At least one reviewer must be from the department, but both may be.

Procedure

Prior to the seminar, the doctoral student shall provide the two appointed reviewers with copies of any published material and manuscripts produced to date. A brief time plan for the remaining work (including the estimated month of the thesis defense) and a list of completed and planned courses should also be included. The course list may, for example, be provided as a screenshot from the digital Individual Study Plan.

Public seminar

The half-time seminar takes place on site and is open to all interested participants. It should be announced internally within the department (please send an Outlook invitation), and, whenever possible, also made accessible via a videoconferencing platform (e.g., Zoom). The doctoral student delivers a slide-show presentation of up to 30 minutes, summarizing their research progress to date. This is followed by a question-and-answer session with the two appointed reviewers. After the reviewers have concluded their questions, the floor is open for questions from the audience. A minimum of two hours should be allocated for the entire session.

Closed follow-up sessions

Immediately after the seminar, the following closed discussions take place in sequence:

1. Joint Discussion – Reviewers, the doctoral student, and the supervisors meet to discuss the seminar outcomes and progress.
2. Student–Reviewer Discussion – Supervisors withdraw, allowing the reviewers and the stu-dent to discuss alone.
3. Supervisor–Reviewer Discussion – The student withdraws, and the supervisors rejoin the reviewers for further discussion.
4. Reviewer Deliberation – Supervisors withdraw, and the reviewers confer privately to final-ize their assessment. The assessment form (see below) is expected to be completed at this stage and submitted to the Head of the PhD Program. Once this step is completed, the reviewers’ formal responsibilities in the process are concluded.
    

Half-time review and reviewer assessment form (211 Kb)

Half-time review and reviewer assessment form (Word) (45 Kb)

 

Contact

Mats Nilsson

Professor

mnn@psychology.su.se

08-16 46 05

See profile page for Mats Nilsson

• Visiting address
• Albanovägen 12