Academic Writing Course

• A completed Master’s Degree.
• Employment at OsloMet.

Admission of PhD candidates and academic staff employed at other higher educational institutions and/or research institutions in Norway can be considered subject to the available places on the course.

Admission of internal and external candidates is based on individual application approved by the applicant’s Head of Studies or Head of Division.

Participants should be reasonably fluent in written and oral English and familiar with academic conventions and requirements.

Ranking

1. PhD candidates and academic staff at OsloMet

2. PhD candidates and academic staff employed at other higher education and/or research institutions in Norway.
Qualified applicants within each category will be ranked according to the evaluation of the letter of motivation.

Application deadline

• The application deadline for course in the spring semester is 15 October.
• The application deadline for course in the autumn semester is 15 April.

Supplementary admission can be opened for study places that were not filled during the primary application round. First come, first served rules will be applied. 

How to apply

1. Register your application in  Søknadsweb (fsweb.no):

• Follow the link to the "Apply via Søknadsweb" above.
• Choose Log in or register using Feide.
• Fill in your user name and password (the same user name and password as you use to log in Canvas or Webmail at OsloMet) and press Login.
• Fill in your personal information, and press Next.
• (New application): In the menu below choose: PHD COURSES - PhD courses LUI
• Choose 5559 LU-AWCC Academic Writing Course, and press save.

2. Upload required documents in Søknadsweb:

• Final diploma / Degree certificate from your Master's Degree.*
• Transcript / mark sheets from your Master's Degree.*
• Certified testimonial approved that you are a PhD candidate or academic staff employed at higher educational institution and/or research institution.*
• Letter of motivation in English (250-400 words). The letter of motivation will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
  • The applicant's motivation and reasons for wanting to complete the course.
  • The applicant's description of the text that she or he wants to work on during the course.

*Does not apply to applicants in a PhD programme at OsloMet.

Please note: The Academic Writing Course can be held if admission is granted to 5 or more students.

Publication in international journals has become increasingly imperative for academics worldwide. Scholarly success is often measured in terms of publication in high ranking, international – i.e. English language – peer-reviewed journals. At the same time, the internationalisation agendas of higher education institutions – in Norway and around the world – place an emphasis on collaboration and initiatives across international borders. The ability to communicate in English is central to successful involvement in such work. 

This course sets out to equip PhD candidates and faculty members at OsloMet with the writing tools needed to meet these challenges. 

Participants will develop a sophisticated awareness of the conventions of academic writing, and how they vary between different disciplines. Participants throughout the course will apply this awareness to their own projects, refining their writing and increasing their likelihood of publication. Moreover, the analytical tools each participant develops during the course will keep on working after the course: each participant will continue to develop their awareness of academic writing and improve their own writing long after the course has finished. 

Among the topics covered by the course are:

• Variations in academic style
• Audience, purpose and style
• The writing process
• Disciplinary identity
• Academic language
• Vocabulary, grammar, sentence, paragraph and text
• Coherence and cohesion
• Directness and formality
• Avoiding common errors: e.g. digression, lack of thesis statement, misunderstanding one’s audience
• Analysing, discussing and responding to academic texts
• Article structures, including IMRAD

Target group

The target group for this course is PhD candidates and researchers among the academic staff at OsloMet, who are actively engaged in writing articles, papers or dissertations in English.

The course consists of 6 fortnightly seminars, each of 5 hours’ duration.

Regular attendance is crucial. In addition to 30 hours' contact time, independent study is required. In order to take the exam, and be eligible for study points, the participant must have attended at least five of the six sessions.

Note that not all PhD programmes accept the credits from the course as part of the programme’s training component. If you were planning to use credits from the course towards your degree, please check whether this is possible with your programme. 

Course dates and times for autumn 2024

• Information session: 20 August, 11-12 
• Session 1: 27 August, 9-14 
• Session 2: 19 September, 9-14
• Session 3: 24 September, 9-14
• Session 4: 15 October, 9-14
• Session 5: 29 October, 9-14
• Session 6: 12 November, 9-14

Course dates and times for spring 2025

• Information session: 7 January, 11-12
• Session 1: 14 January, 9-14
• Session 2: 28 January, 9-14
• Session 3: 11 February, 9-14
• Session 4: 4 March, 9-14
• Session 5: 18 March, 9-14
• Session 6: 1 April, 9-14