The course corresponds to four weeks of full-time study corresponding to 160 full-time study hours, and should be completed within one semester from the start of the course. The course consists of an individually designed and completed literature study within the relevant topic, where the literature is chosen according to agreement between the research student and the responsible teacher, normally the main supervisor or other suitable person with teacher competence.
The doctoral student conducts independent studies of designated literature in the form of scientific articles, books, book chapters or other material. Selected research literature shall constitute a considerable deepening and/or broadening of knowledge that is relevant to the postgraduate student's own third-cycle studies, but may not be included in the doctoral student's thesis. It is the main supervisor's responsibility to ensure that the literature included in the literature course is not included in the doctoral or licentiate thesis.
Compulsory project plan
A compulsory project plan for the literature study is submitted to the examiner for approval. The project plan must contain:
- name of doctoral student and course responsible teacher
- preliminary schedule for the studies with estimated start and end dates for the course
- time estimate that justifies the extent of 160 full-time study hours
- selected literature to be presented and motivated with regard to content, and how the chosen research literature is related to the research student's own research area and thesis work
- concretisation of the course's learning outcomes based on the chosen research literature
- criterion-referenced grading criteria for the grade pass according to the learning outcomes specified in the syllabus
Information on learning outcomes and criterion-referenced grading criteria can be found in KTH's regulations.
Compulsory elements
The literature assignment includes, in addition to self-study, at least four scheduled meetings with the responsible teacher, where the knowledge acquired so far is presented and discussed. The responsible teacher shall, at the meeting, document the results achieved. The results should be documented in a template specifically designed for the purpose. Conducted discussions and documented results form part of the basis for examination and must be described so that it is possible to ensure that the doctoral student has benefited from the literature in accordance with the course objectives.
A final report written by the doctoral student must be submitted before the oral presentation. The report should contain an overall description, reflection and discussion of the reviewed literature, which also takes into account how the new knowledge benefits the doctoral student's continued education.
The doctoral student must give an oral presentation in the form of a seminar at a time that is decided jointly by the doctoral student, responsible teacher and examiner. The seminar should be open to other doctoral students and researchers at the department.
Course analysis
In accordance with KTH's regulations, the course responsible person must, after completing the course, submit a course analysis to the program director responsible for the doctoral program to which the doctoral student belongs. The course analysis shall contain:
- approved project plan
- documentation from the scheduled meetings
- the report written by the doctoral student
- a joint statment from the doctoral student and supervisor with reflections and comments regarding the benefit of the course for the doctoral student's continued studies, and how the course contributed to progression towards the fulfillment of the examination goals.
After completing the course, the doctoral student should also send his/her own evaluation of the course directly to the program director according to a template specifically designed for the purpose.