How to become PhD

Before anyone can start as a PhD student at the Royal Danish Academy, they need to go through an assessment process.

Furthermore, if they are to be employed as a PhD fellow at the Academy, they will also have to go through a separate employment process.

Not all PhD students are employed by the Academy.

Some are employed by private companies, others at a museum or another educational institution, or they may work for e.g. a municipality.

Assessment process
PhD projects and candidates are assessed on the basis of a project description of max. five standard pages, excluding bibliography and time schedule for the project, the candidate's diplomas and CV, a budget, and any portfolio.

The Rector of the Royal Danish Academy appoints an assessment committee following the recommendation of the Director of the PhD School consisting of two to three researchers at associate professor level or above, who will consider the quality of the project, the candidate, and whether this is the right candidate for the right project.

When the assessment committee has assessed the application, the candidate will receive his/her assessment during a hearing. The hearing offers the candidate the opportunity to draw attention to any factual misunderstandings, errors and/or omissions in the assessment basis.

Employment process
If the candidate is also to be employed at an institute, the Rector of the Royal Danish Academy will appoint an employment committee, consisting as a minimum of the Head of Institute and the closest expert professor / associate professor within the relevant subject area following the recommendation of the Director of the PhD School. Normally, the employment committee will have two or three members.

The employment committee will consider qualified applications, if there are more of them, as for instance in connection with an advertisement, as well as any hearing responses.

A candidate will be selected and employed under the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations, AC, for PhD fellows in public service.

When a PhD project is to be launched, it can be financed in various ways. Here are a couple of examples of PhD financing models that we currently have experience with at the Royal Danish Academy's PhD School.

The financing models below presume that PhD students complete the PhD programme within the described framework. Should a PhD student need to extend the enrolment period, this may incur additional expenses for the employing institution or the external student.

Fellowship in collaboration with other research, educational or cultural institutions

– Duration normally four years, of which three are full-time on the PhD project. The 'extra' year is used for teaching and/or dissemination related to the PhD project at the place of employment.

– Employment with the partner – the person concerned is usually already an employee before enrolling as a PhD student at the Royal Danish Academy.

– Study place between 18 months and two years at the Royal Danish Academy, and the rest of the time at the partner's.

– Teaching and dissemination conducted both at the Royal Danish Academy and at the partner's by agreement.

Budget

Enrolment fee: DKK 45,000

PhD administration: DKK 180,000

PhD courses: DKK 45,000

Supervision: DKK 100,000

Printing and assessment of thesis: DKK 30,000

Operation: DKK 90,000

Workplace etc.: DKK 285,000

Total: DKK 775,000

External student

– No employment

– Study place full-time at the Royal Danish Academy for three years

– Teaching/dissemination 840 hours at the Royal Danish Academy

Budget

Enrolment fee: DKK 45,000

PhD administration: DKK 180,000

PhD courses: DKK 45,000

Supervision: DKK 100,000

Printing and assessment of thesis: DKK 30,000

Operation: DKK 90,000

Workplace etc.: DKK 570,000

Total: DKK 1,050,000

840 hours' teaching: -DKK 252,000

Net total: DKK 798,000 

If you wish to be a guest PhD student at the Academy, you need to forward an enrolment letter from your host university and a brief description of your PhD project, your CV and a publication list, if any.

On this basis, we can determine whether there is a research environment at the Royal Danish Academy that can support your project, and whether resources are available for supervision etc.

Guest PhD students are usually enrolled for a period of two to six months and can, as a maximum, be enrolled as guest PhD students for one year.

The annual fee for being enrolled as a guest PhD student is DKK 53,000 (2015 prices).

If you wish to have a PhD thesis assessed without prior enrolment as a PhD student at the Royal Danish Academy, please forward an application.

The application must contain a copy of the thesis.

In addition, you must submit documentation that you have acquired qualifications corresponding to a three-year study course as described in Section 7 of the PhD Order:

– Three years of research activities

– PhD courses corresponding to 30 ECTS credits

– Participation in active research environments

– Experience with teaching activities or other knowledge dissemination

It costs DKK 45,000 to have a thesis assessed without prior enrolment.

The first DKK 5,000 must be paid when submitting the application. This will cover expenses in connection with the preliminary assessment and related administration.

If the Academy finds that the thesis can be accepted for assessment, a further DKK 40,000 must be paid. This amount will cover printing of the thesis, two external assessors and one internal, including travel and stay in connection with the oral defence.