Admission requirements

To be admitted to the PhD programme applicants must have a master’s degree of 120 credits in one of the subject areas covered by the programme’s specializations, and the degree must include a substantial independent piece of work equivalent to a master’s thesis (minimum 30 credits). Based on a special assessment, the Faculty may approve other, comparable qualifications as the basis for admission.

A grade point average of B or better from the master’s degree programme or equivalent education is required in terms of NTNU’s grading scale. Applicants with no letter grades from previous studies must have an equally good academic foundation. Applications for admission must be considered by the PhD committee for each specialization. The Dean makes the final decision on admission.

For more information about the criteria for admission and the requirement for the application for admission, please see the supplementary guidelines to the PhD regulations at the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences.

Funding schemes

To be admitted to the PhD programme you must document that you have funding for the entire PhD period (three years). PhD candidates do not have status as students in Norway and are not applicable for funding from Lånekassen.

There are two main sources of funding:

• you can be employed as a PhD candidate at NTNU
• You have external funding, for example through a position as PhD candidate with a private or public employer, or through a release from your current position.

Admission with funding through a position as PhD candidate at the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences

Available PhD positions at NTNU are announced on NTNU’s web pages and through jobbnorge. PhD positions may be related to subject areas or disciplines, research projects or units at the faculty and will be announced by the department. As a PhD candidate at the faculty you will get access to working capital to cover expenses to complete the doctoral project, for example to cover expenses related to conference participation, equipment, books and similar.

If you are employed as a PhD candidate this will be regarded as adequate funding to apply for admission to the PhD programmes at the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences. Please note that employment as a PhD candidate does not automatically give admission to the PhD programme. You must apply for admission within three months after you have started the position.

Admission with external funding

To be admitted to the PhD programme applicants must document funding for a total of three years that covers the equivalence of employment as a PhD candidate in terms of the placement in the current salary structure, or that covers release from their current position. The funding must also cover operating costs at the rates in the current rates for PhD candidates employed at the Faculty.

Private funding will not normally be accepted. Educational scholarships are considered case by case. If an educational scholarship does not provide enough funds for subsistence, admission is conditional on supplementation of the educational scholarship with further funds. If your employer wants to apply for funding through Public Sector PhD Scheme or Industrial PhD Scheme via The Research Council of Norway, please see information below.

Supervision

It is important that you establish contact with the research community and find a prospective main supervisor. You may find information about the research interests of the academic staff at the department webpages and who could be relevant for you and your project. If you are connected to a larger research project your supervisor will normally be part of this research group.

As a PhD candidate you need a minimum of two supervisors. The name of your main supervisor must be clarified before you can apply for admission. At least one of the supervisors must be employed at NTNU. Most of our departments will normally prefer that the main supervisor is employed at the department offering the specialization you apply for admission to. This also applies for applicants with external funding.

Application process

To apply for admission, please use NTNU’s application form (see number 1). You complete the application together with your prospective main supervisor. With the application form, you must enclose:

• Documentation of previous higher education. If you have education from outside of Norway, please see more about the documentation requirements.
• Documentation of funding.
• Project description of maximum 10 pages in addition to the bibliography. If you are permitted by the department to submit a preliminary research description, you must submit a complete project description within three months after admission.

In the project description you must give an account of the legal and ethical issues. If your PhD project is dependent on approvals from committees for research ethics or other public or private organs, you must include these in your application if possible. Please submit the application to the department. Applications are processed continuously, and the deadline for application is three months after the start of the employment.

If you have questions about admissions requirements or the admission process, please contact the contact persons for the various specializations.

Public Sector PhD Scheme and Industrial PhD Scheme

These funding schemes means that you are employed in a Norwegian company or enterprise while you are conducting your PhD education. You may find more information about the Public Sector PhD Scheme and Industrial PhD Scheme at the Research Council of Norway’s webpages.

If you employer would like to apply for funding through one of these schemes, it is important that you contact the PhD administration at the department or the faculty administration early in the process.

In relation to the application to the Research Council of Norway NTNU will estimate the indirect costs that your employer must cover. The costs are estimated for the period you will reside at NTNU (the residency requirement is a total of one year or more) and the costs are based on fixed rates. NTNU will cover supervision costs for supervisors employed at NTNU.

As degree-conferring institution NTNU must confirm the participation in the PhD project. The Faculty must do a preliminary assessment of the application for admission to the PhD programme (including a project description). At the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences it is the vice-dean of research who formally signs the confirmation of participation in the PhD project.

If your employer is granted funding by the Research Council of Norway, admission to the PhD programme can be approved as soon as the Faculty has received documentation of funding. After admission you enter into a cooperation agreement together with NTNU and your employer (PhD agreement at NTNU).