Production and distribution of doctoral and licentiate thesis plus communication

Instructions

1. Layout

There are mandatory layout templates for Halmstad University’s doctoral dissertations/licentiate theses. The templates and instructions for how to use the templates are available for download from Halmstad University Press.

Halmstad University Press

You send your finished print file to Media-Tryck in Lund at least six weeks (30 working days) before the date of the public defence/licentiate seminar. The dissertation/thesis must be available in printed format at least three weeks (23 working days) before the public defence/licentiate seminar in order to be registered (the ”spikning”, see below).

Please note that the weeks during the month of July, the last week of December and the first week of January are excluded. Contact Media-Tryck well in advance if there is a risk that the time frame cannot be followed.

You will receive a digital proof (a pdf) for approval before printing. If you want a physical proof, you must send your documentation seven weeks (35 working days) before the date of the public defence/licentiate seminar.

Send your print file and the following information to the printer’s with a copy to the responsible communications officer at your School:

• State whether it is a doctoral dissertation or a licentiate thesis.
• Title of the dissertation/thesis.
• Your name and the School where you work.
• Specify the delivery date (the delivery date must be no later than two days before the ”e-spikning”).
  
• Optional: Photo of you (personal portrait) and short text for the back. The text must be a maximum of 500 characters in the font Adobe Garamond Pro, 10 points.
• Optional: high-resolution image (300 dpi) for the front of the cover in JPG format.

If your dissertation/thesis consists of several separate articles, please you submit them separately (as separate files).The printer’s arranges the insert and puts the articles in the correct order with a cover page before each article.

The publisher Halmstad University Press assigns each dissertation/thesis an ISBN and serial number and sends this to the doctoral student and the printer.

Please respect the timetable! For a more detailed timetable, see the next chapter: Dissertation and licentiate seminar

Send your print file(s) to media-tryck@service.lu.se

Guide: Preparing and working with the thesis template Pdf, 224.8 kB, opens in new window.

Free online course

You can take a free online course called ”Formatting and delivering a print-ready thesis as a PDF”. The course will help you avoid the most common problems when compiling your thesis into a print file. The course is held by Media-Tryck in Lund.

You must register no later than three working days before each course date. State that you are a PhD student at Halmstad University when you register. You will receive the link to the course on the same day as the course takes place.

• Course dates 2025
  
  • 29 April, 10.15–12.00
  • 22 May, 10.15–12.00
  • 3 September, kl. 10.15–12.00
  • 1 Oktober, kl. 10.15–12.00
  • 29 October, kl. 10.15–12.00
  • 26 November, kl. 10.15–12.00

Register for the course: media-tryck@service.lu.se

2. Production

Production and duplication of doctoral and licentiate theses along with appendices take place through the agency of the University and within its resources. The School in which the doctoral student has carried out his/her doctoral education covers the printing costs as well as other possible production costs relating to the thesis. A minimum of 50 copies of the thesis must be printed.

If additional copies are to be printed, the student must have confirmation from the respective School concerning the decision and the cost of printing from the respective school before the order is made to the Communications Department.

The University does not pay for duplication other than by means of the cheapest form of production or in a greater size or number than that which is stated in the Guidelines for the production and distribution of doctoral and licentiate theses.

3. Distribution list

The Committee for Doctoral Education establishes the distribution list. What copies have to be sent, and to where, is pre-printed on forms which are mentioned below. If you want copies to be distributed to additional departments, this must be indicated on the form’s back, and the form must be submitted together with the application for the public defence of doctoral thesis or the licentiate seminar.

Forms:

• Distribution list – doctoral thesis Pdf, 92.2 kB, opens in new window.
• Distribution list – licentiate thesis Pdf, 115 kB, opens in new window.

In accordance with Swedish law, the printing house must deliver legal deposit copies (so-called “pliktexemplar”). The University library is responsible for cataloguing the electronic legal deposit copies, in accordance with the Legal Deposit Act for Electronic Materials (2012:492).

The Campus Services department (Caretaker’s Office) distributes the doctoral thesis/licentiate thesis to those listed in the established distribution list.

4. Notification of the date of the defence of a doctoral thesis/licentiate seminar and electronic publishing

The thesis must be made public at least three weeks (23 working days) before the public defence of the doctoral thesis/licentiate seminar through so-called “e-spikning“.The e-spikning at Halmstad University is the official method for publicly posting the thesis. Once the dissertation/thesis has been e-spiked, it is considered officially published. E-spikning is done after the university library has reviewed the dissertation/thesis in DiVA. The doctoral candidate can register the dissertation/thesis in Halmstad University’s publication database (DiVA) as soon as the final manuscript has been sent for printing. For compilation dissertations, the "kappa" (summary) should be uploaded as a file that includes the front and back covers but excludes the included papers. However, all individual papers must be registered separately in DiVA (and linked to the dissertation).

Please note that registration is not the same as e-spikning. E-spikning takes place only after the university library has reviewed and approved the record, so please register in good time.

More information on registering in DiVA External link.

The public announcement of the defense is also made around the same time by the university’s academic communicator in both internal and external calendars. The announcement should include the date and time of the defense/licentiate seminar, the doctoral candidate's name, the title of the dissertation/thesis, a summary of the dissertation/ thesis, and the name of the opponent.

Note: DiVA is the primary source for information regarding both dissertations/licentiate theses and dissertation/licentiate seminars. The university should always link to the DiVA record (including links to the full text) when communicating about dissertations/theses and dissertation/licentiate seminars. By referring to the DiVA publication rather than parallel publishing the dissertation/thesis on other platforms, one can both utilize the statistics on the number of downloads and ensure the integrity of the file.

5. Publication in printed form

Doctoral/licentiate theses (including appendices and articles) are to be made available in print at Halmstad University's library at least three academic weeks (23 working days) before the public defence/licentiate seminar. The Caretakers’ Office is responsible for the delivery. Each School determines how the dissertation should otherwise be made available.

The conditions for publishing your thesis at Halmstad University can be found below. Halmstad University Press will also send these out in connection with the issuance of the ISBN.

Information from Halmstad University Press

Search for the University's dissertations in LIBRIS External link.

Publication Terms Pdf, 106.1 kB, opens in new window.

6. External, popular communication

• The notification regarding a public defence/licentiate seminar is made via the University's calendar and is described in section 4.
• When the decision regarding the public defence of a doctoral thesis is made by the Research and Education Board (FUN), the responsible Communications Officer, or equivalent, sends a questionnaire to the doctoral student. This also applies to certain licentiate seminars.
• The responses to the questionnaire often – depending on the focus and results of the research – form the basis for a popular science text and sometimes a press release. The Communications Officer writes the text and publishes it through appropriate channels. Images and potential video may also need to be taken/recorded.
• Publication typically occurs in conjunction with the public defence/licentiate seminar. The texts are always published in Swedish, and sometimes also in English.
• To reach relevant target audiences, it is important that the doctoral student, supervisor, and others involved also contribute to spreading the popular science material in different networks.

* Please note that ’term weeks’ implies that the weeks between spring term and autumn term are not taken into account, as well as the period around Christmas and New Year. Therefore, please take this into consideration and contact the printer’s Media-Tryck in good time.