In Finland it is possible to replace the monograph dissertation with a combination of a brief overview (typically 30-60 pages) and ~4 or more peer-reviewed published articles. In many fields, the latter option is by far the more popular choice. The overview will also be peer-reviewed, published in a series, and defended in public.

This is absolutely not the case in the UK. A PhD by publications is rare. Most people have to write a lengthy dissertation. Whether you have published peer-reviewed articles does not enter into it. You don't get academic credits for publishing papers.

I do not thing that ...............

regards

In Finland it is possible to replace the monograph dissertation with a combination of a brief overview (typically 30-60 pages) and ~4 or more peer-reviewed published articles. In many fields, the latter option is by far the more popular choice. The overview will also be peer-reviewed, published in a series, and defended in public.

No, this is not the case.

Regards

The final degree (a genuine PhD) will be the same regardless of the chosen format of the dissertation. Technical universities in Finland grant a PhD-equivalent title of a Doctor of Science (in Technology), which also offers a choice between these two dissertation formats. So to sum up, it is the same degree, the choice is about the format of the thesis itself.

The content of information given by dear Pekko is very interesting. Although ''this is not the case'' in Greece, as far as I know, a suitable adaptation would be promising.

This is not applicable here. It sounds strange

Five papers for a PhD degree? No. I rather heard that in some institutions, a PhD viva voce can be substituted by six peer reviewed articles from the PhD dissertation. I have not verified it though.

I do not think so.

Greeting

Pekko's submissions are valid. I have heard that KNUST in Ghana does that. You can put your articles together (if they are on the same topic) for presentation. I don't know about the number of articles required though.

@Dickson Adom: I am sure you can verify that for us.

I found this on the website for Deakin University in Australia. Check the section on Higher Doctorates.

http://www.deakin.edu.au/research/become-a-research-student/types-of-research-degrees

I heard of similar system that a pH student must publish at least 2-3 papers before the final defence.

I agree with Karen McAulay . An official award of a doctorate should not be connected to any number of published papers without a dissertation, unless this award is honorary.

It is something beyond the reality.

I don't think so and there is no such a case exists in India. So many scholars having more than 10 publications in high impact Journals but they have to follow the rules and regulations framed by the universities. They have to registered for Ph.D and have to clear the Pre Ph.D Examination before going to submit the PhD thesis. At the time of thesis submission , candidate have a minimum of two publications ( a requirement for submission of Ph.D thesis). After submission, thesis will be evaluated by the three examiners ( one from international).

@Samuel Frimpong. In KNUST, the PhD duration is four years with most departments offering taught courses in first year with emphasis on particular courses in the field as well as research methodology and thesis writing courses

After the pursuance of the PhD research, the thesis presentation is in two forms, either as a Monograph or Manuscript-Based thesis.

I hereby attach a file that explains each of the thesis format in great detail. Kind regards

Hi,

In my country in several universities there is a possibility of working on a doctorate dissertation based on three published quality papers in a refereed journal. The three papers are the core of the study, and around these papers one has to write an introduction, research question discussion and conclusions that are combining and summarizing these papers. Only few PhD candidates are choosing this way of work on a dissertation.

Interesting and informative query@ Santosh Sadashiv Todkar

Thanks

Finland may be the good option for so many researchers to get PhD simply by publishing good five research papers. Nice to know about this information.

Thanks@ Pekko Kuopanportti

Interesting question......following....

I never heard this... the first author of the paper publishes 5 Journal papers to the Peer Reviewed/Reputed journal it is taken as equivalent to the Ph.D.!

Never heard this kind of messages. For submitting Thesis publication is a criteria. After Thesis scrutinized from Panel Members (Indian & Foreign) you have to defend your viva-voce in front of Examiner, Subject Experts. If they agree only, they will recommend you for a Doctoral Degree.

@ Santosh Sadashiv Todkar

That statement is deceptively false in many respects:

The PhD though papers is quite common. Google: Thesis by published papers. You do not even have to tell your examiners that you used this method to construct your thesis-book.

I granted one of my PhD candidates his degree on this basis. But be warned, it is not an easy route. You have to plan modularity for the papers to become chapters, and make sure that the subanswers add up to the answer to the research question. You have to allow for refereeing time, but you can start before you register for the PhD, saving registration fees. The advantage of the process for the candidate is that the external examiners have to tick the box asking if part of the thesis-book is capable of being published. The advantage for the supervisor is that the progress milestones are being authenticated.

Very interesting topic. That is not the case in Ghana and Russian. For UK, if you have a number of papers in the same area, then you can apply for PhD where your papers will be assessed and given supervisors to supervise you to put them together as a thesis. After which you will go through the examination processes for which you should pass your viva before you will be awarded the PhD.

Not possible

An Indian friend of mine pass through this system in the US. Some Unis in the US has two streams of PHD. We have the dissertation and those that must solve some particular problems and publish in high impact journals recommended by the supervisor. I must say it is not an easy walk in the park. it is not as if the PhD student chooses any reputable journal and publishes. Some people spend so many years in completion with this system. After a candidate has satisfied that requirement, it Is cemented with a Viva.

Most institutions now offer PhD by course work including the lengthy work on a thesis that follows. However, bagging a PhD by publication without undergoing the rigorous thesis defense attached to it will be a huge misplacement of academic priority.

I haven't heard such thing before.

Strange !

Is it available in Finland only by 5 papers ? No other requirements?

For a PhD in engineering at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, it takes a disserttation + at least one pusblished paper in a WoS journal

Based on some comments since my earlier answer, I wish to clarify that it is not possible simply to apply for a PhD in Finland if you have a sufficient number of peer-reviewed publications. No, no. Instead, one needs to be accepted for a PhD program and go through all the steps of the process, just as one would if going for a monograph thesis. (In Finland, one actually even needs to complete 40 ECTS points worth of courses on top of the Master's degree, which in my experience is not required in most countries.) As I stated, the choice simply concerns the choice of the format of the written thesis. The publications comprising the dissertation should also be thematically connected, and the overview should bring them together in a cohesive way. Indeed, the situation is very similar to what Ian Kennedy describes above, except perhaps for the fact that these two formats (monograph or overview+publications) are "officially recognized" clearly distinguished in the dissertation itself. What Mark Bediako writes about the two PhD streams in some US universities also sounds very similar to the Finnish system.

As many have expressed, I would also say that choosing the option of the overview and publications is not a walk in the park, but rather the more laborious option. But the reason it is the more popular choice, by both the supervisor and the candidate, is likely because both will be guaranteed to acquire publications during a successful PhD project and, as already pointed out by Ian Kennedy, the peer-review and acceptance of the articles provide a midway authentication of the validity and novelty of the research.

In Germany my colleagues have completed their PhD in that fashion. And I can see the point in that you ought to publish and get used to scrutiny in your PhD. But there you had to write a monograph called the Habilitation if you wanted to become a professor. You need to review and discuss over time on a similar topic to be awarded any advanced degree.

Based on my knowledge, the mentioned option is acceptable in few universities in the world; at least one of them is here in Egypt. The acceptance is however constrained by many issues, such as the PhD candidate must be registered in a university, the publications should satisfy the original overall research proposal and plan of the dissertation, and the research summary should be presented in a public session and evaluated by an approved examination committee.

There are so many ways of getting a PhD depending on what is obtainable in a particular institution. The most common ones are the [1] PhD by research, [2] PhD by publication and [3] PhD by course work. If it is PhD by publications, then published works will be accepted for the award of the PhD

I agree with Jide Soyemi Soyemi O.B