The general admission criteria consist of a master’s degree with B as minimum average grade (minimum: 3.5) (or for the last two years of a five-year course of education), or an equal documented academic background. In accordance with the requirement set by the regulations for “a strong academic background”, basic competence from the bachelor’s programme (corresponds to the first three years of the five-year course of education) with C (minimum 2.5) or better as average grade is required.

Candidates with an experience-based master’s degree, for which the three-year bachelor’s degree has formed the basis for admission, may be admitted to the PhD programme provided that the candidate’s master’s thesis is considered to research based. The assessment is made by the head of the programme council for the doctoral degree programme to which admission is applied for. Moreover, prior to admission, the candidate has to take supplementary courses at master’s level in order to obtain a total of 120 ECTS credits at master’s level. The requirement regarding average grade for admission to the PhD programme is the same as for other applicants.

Special assessment of equal education must be made in writing by the Head of Department and the head of the programme council to the faculty through the Vice-Dean for research. The faculty requires that the candidate is able to refer to a thesis (master’s thesis) or works that are sufficient in scope and evaluated as research-based. The assessment is made jointly by the head of the programme council for the doctoral programme to which admission is applied for and the Vice-Dean for research.

With respect to applicants with a degree from other countries, a written evaluation of the formal qualifications must be submitted by NTNU’s international section or by a member of NTNU’s faculty who is very well acquainted with the education system and the applicant’s education institution. A written assessment must submitted prior to appointment and admission.

Applicants with weaker grades may be considered if it is documented that the candidate has relevant work experience and/or has produced scientific works that can be accepted for publication. The department, through the Head of Department or the head of the programme council must provide documentation showing that the candidate is particularly well suited for a PhD education. The decision is made by faculty through the Vice-Dean for research and/or the committee for research and research education.

The faculty may require that candidates take qualification courses prior to admission. The qualification courses must be taken within the discipline to which admission is applied for and must have been agreed on with the programme area to which admission is applied for. As a main rule, the examination in qualification courses must be taken in connection with the first ordinary examination after admission. The grade B or better is required for each course.

Documentation of funding only applies to candidates who are not employed by NTNU. PhD candidates with their own funds are given an access agreement and not an appointment at NTNU and must have a minimum gross income of NOK 17,000 per month.

PhD candidates with their main affiliation at the IE faculty, NTNU, should normally have a salary level corresponding to that applicable at all times for the PhD positions at the faculty.

As regards the admission of applicants who do not have full funding through scholarship schemes, it is required that at least 50 per cent of the working hours during the doctoral degree programme are available for research education, cf. the PhD agreement. Normally, a minimum of 80 per cent of the working hours during one year must be allocated to full-time studies. The funds at the disposal of the candidate for the full period of study must be clarified prior to admission.

The work on the doctoral project must be carried out under individual supervision. All supervisors must have a doctoral degree or equal competence in the discipline and be active in their field. At least one of the appointed supervisors must have previous experience as a PhD supervisor, normally until the completion of the doctoral degree.

The supervisors shall give advice regarding the formulation and limitation of topics and problems, discuss and assess methods and results, discuss plans, implementation, forms of documentation and presentation and contribute to orientation in the relevant academic discourse. The candidate must receive supervision regarding academic and research-related ethical questions related to the doctoral work.

A brief PhD project description (4 – 6 pages) to be enclosed with the application for admission is required. The project description is not meant to be a static document. Following discussions between the candidate and supervisors, the candidate is responsible for keeping the document updated on an annual basis and the main supervisor shall ensure that this is the case.

The application for admission to the PhD programme must normally be initiated immediately in connection with start-up and be prepared and completed parallel to the doctoral degree agreement and the project description. The agreement in connection with admission to organized doctoral education, the doctoral degree agreement, regulates the rights and duties during the PhD education period. The PhD agreement must be completed prior to admission and must be signed as soon as possible after admission, and no later than three months after start-up.

The application is sent via the department to the faculty and must be approved by the candidate, recommended by the main supervisor, the head of the programme council and the Head of Department. Normally the application must contain the following:

• Documentation of the education that will form the basis for the admission
• A project description including an academic review of the project and a progress plan
• Documentation of funding
• Documentation of special needs regarding academic and material resources
• Plans for visits to other institutions
• Plans for academic dissemination
• Information regarding any intellectual property law restrictions to protect the rights of others
• Plan for the coursework part
• A proposal for main supervisor and co-supervisors, as well as specification of the affiliation with an active academic environment for research or artistic development work
• An account of any legal and ethical problems raised by the project and how these may be settled. It must appear from the application whether the project is dependent on permission from committees of research ethics or other authorities, or from private individuals (informers, patients, parents, etc.) If possible, such permissions must have been obtained and enclosed with the application.

The faculty may specify any further documentation requirements.