Applications for admission to the PhD Programme are to be completed in cooperation with the intended supervisor. Applicants are therefore requested to contact the Department to which application is intended.

Applications may be presented to the Faculty of Economics and Management. Applications including documentation of academic degree and project plan are to be addressed to the Faculty of Economics and  Management and sent to the Department the applicant is to be affiliated.

Applicant's formal qualifications

The applicant for a PhD Programme must have a master's degree or equivalent education that is approved by the Faculty as the basis for admission to the PhD Programme.

The applicant must have a strong academic record and have a weighed average grade of master's or equivalent education with a grade of B or higher, in accordance with NTNU's grading system.

In special cases, applicants with other academic backgrounds may be admitted to the PhD Programme. As a condition of admission, applicants may be requested to take specified courses or pass specified tests prior to admission. The candidate is responsible for signing up for these specified courses. In special cases, the additional courses may be followed prior to admission. The scope of the additional courses that are followed after admission may not amount to more than one semester's stipulated work load. Admission is not valid if the additional courses are not passed with the grade B or higher. Such qualifying courses are not part of the PhD Programme and may not be included in the PhD Diploma.

Applicants who don't meet the grade requirements for admission may be admitted if documentation that substantiates that the candidate is academically suited for the PhD programme is presented.

PhD plan

As a norm, the project description must be between 5-10 pages and specify which issues are being considered, the scientific approach, theory and methodology. The project description is to be prepared in cooperation with the proposed supervisor.

When applying for admission the candidate may submit a summarized version of the PhD plan in cooperation with the main supervisor, but the detailed description of the research project has to be prepared within six months of being admitted to the programme, in accordance to § 5.2 of Regulations.

Organized academic training 

The candidate is in consultation with the supervisor(s), to state in her/his application, a plan for the organized academic training component. The plan for organized academic training must meet the requirements stated in the study plan for the relevant doctoral programme. The candidate is responsible for signing up for the courses.

If it proves difficult to establish a complete plan for the organized academic training component at the time of application, the candidate must submit to the Department via the supervisor, a complete plan for the organized academic training component, at the latest 6 months after admission.

The plan must be approved by the Department and forwarded to the Faculty for approval and registration.

Approved supervisor (s)

The Faculty appoints supervisor (s) during admission proceedings on recommendation from the Department. The main supervisor must hold an academic position at NTNU. The supervisor(s) must hold doctoral degrees or equivalent qualifications in the discipline. In addition, an external or internal supplementary supervisor may be appointed. The same academic requirements apply to the supplementary supervisor as the main supervisor.

In cases where the supervisor is affiliated to another Department than the one where the candidate is to join the PhD Programme, the supervisor's departmental association should normally not be of significance to which programme the candidate is admitted to.

If the Department which the candidate is admitted does not possess the academic competence required in a narrow field of research relevant to the doctoral project, a supervisor may be appointed at another Department at NTNU, or a subsidiary supervisor from an external institution may be appointed.

Work schedule

The PhD Programme has a prescribed duration of three years of full-time study (180 credits). The application must include a work schedule. The Department, in cooperation with the supervisor, is to determine whether the work schedule is realistic in relation to the project plan, and if the programme may be completed within the stipulated framework of three year's full time study.

Funding plan 

For applicants who are not fully funded through scholarship schemes, it is normally required that 50% of working hours during participation in the PhD Programme may be used for study, and that a minimum of 1 year can be allocated to full time studies. In total, 3 man-labour years may be used for the doctoral project. Documentation of funding is to be enclosed with the application.
Some programmes may have different funding requirements.

Scientific and material resources

The Department is obliged to ensure that the candidate's requirements for access to necessary scientific and material resources are attended to at the institution of research to which the candidate is affiliated.

Plan for participation in active research groups in Norway and internationally
This plan is to be prepared in cooperation with the supervisor. For further information, consult the study plan for the programme in question.

Residency requirement

The application must give an account of how the residency requirement is to be met. The main supervisor is responsible for ensuring that this residency requirement is met. A reduction in this residency requirement is only possible in special cases where both the main supervisor and the Department recommend it. Here the proposed solution must show how the academic supervision is to be carried out and also how the candidate is to contribute to the academic and research activities at the Department.

Decision on admission

When the Department has considered the application, it is sent to the Faculty with the Department's recommendation. If the capacity of supervision or other considerations are to be made, restricted admission may be adopted on recommendation from the Department if a restricted number of places in the programme have been decided. If restricted admission has been decided, the Department is to make a ranking of qualified applicants in cases where the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available in the PhD Programme.

The Faculty makes a formal decision of admission on the basis of the candidate's application and on recommendation from the Department (and possible Programme Committee when application is for inter-faculty programmes.)

The time required to process such an application should not exceed 6 weeks.

PhD Agreement

A written agreement is to be entered into to formalize admission to a PhD Programme at NTNU. The parties to the agreement are the PhD candidate, the Department, the supervisor(s), and the Faculty that admits the candidate, and possible external bodies (in accordance with § 6 in PhD Regulations). The Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management has drawn up a guide to filling in Agreement when admission to the Programme is decided.

Admission is only valid when the signed agreement is formalised.

Appeals relating to admission 

Appeals following the rejection of an application for admission are to be made in accordance with §§ 28 and following sections of the Norwegian Public Administration Act. A detailed appeal is to be sent to the Faculty. If the Faculty finds that there is no reason why the decision is to be reversed, the appeal must be forwarded to the Appeals Committee at NTNU for a final ruling.