Read the application guide incl. the description of each section in the application form before your fill out the application form.
You can find the link for the application facility in each of the calls (open call and specific calls) under the section "Application".
In the application facility, you have to choose the correct application form depending on which call you want to apply for.
You may only send one application per call.
The open call is one call. This means that you have to choose which PhD programme you want to apply for. You can only apply for one of them!
If you want to apply for the open call you have to choose the main call ("Open Call") first and then the PhD programme you want to apply for.
Examples:
NB: You cannot click on the links in the screen shots below!
It is your Master’s degree programme that determines what you may apply for.
Your degree programme is equivalent to a Danish 2-year Master’s degree programme (120 ECTS):
Your degree programme is equivalent to one year of Master’s study in Denmark (60 ECTS) or a Danish 1-year Master’s degree (60 ECTS):
For more detailed information please see PhD degree programmes (4+4 or 5+3).
How do I know if my degree programme is equivalent to one or two years of Master’s study in Denmark?
On this page you can find general assessments of degrees from specific countries. If you cannot find your degree country on the list please see this page.
The most important part of the application for admission to a PhD degree programme at the Faculty of Arts is your own project description. The project description explains the research project you propose to conduct as a PhD student in some detail, and it outlines the research plan. The project description must also explain the research project you propose to conduct within the larger project if you apply for one of the specific calls.
The project description must meet certain formal requirements.
Please see the "Application guide" and "Preparing a PhD Project".
The graduate school has a number of forms that you must use when you apply for enrolment and employment at Arts.
Please find the forms on this page.
If your application is missing one or more mandatory documents it will be rejected. See a list of mandatory documents under "Application guide" and "Mandaory attachments".
How to merge/save multiple files as one PDF file
Which documents must be merged
You can find the link for the application form in the bottom of each call under "Application".
It is your responsibility to make sure that you have applied for the correct call.
Please refrain from writing your whole name and project title with block capital letters in the application form.
You cannot send your application from a Tablet or Smartphone. Please send your application from a computer.
If you get this error "Credit transfer must be 0 or a positive integer" when you try to send your application. Please make sure that you have entered '0' in the box "Credit transfer on top of admission level (Months)".
Fill out the box before you choose "Applying for 4+4" because the credit box will disappear when you choose 4+4.
If you have already chosen 4+4 please choose 5+3 and enter "0" in the box. Then choose 4+4 again and continue filling out the application form.
If you get this error "If there are no particular expenses, please just enter 0" when you try to send your application. Please make sure that you have entered '0' in the box "Total budget in DKK for particular expenses" and left the box "Indicate sources and amounts of possible financial support, if any" blank.
If you cannot send your application there are a few things you can try that might help:
If you still cannot send your application you must contact Bettina H. Acthon at the PhD administration (acthon@au.dk) immediately (and before the application deadline). Do not wait until after the deadline. Any mails received after the application deadline will be declined.
- Problems in good time before the deadline
If the problem occurs in good time before the application deadline (or within normal office hours (Monday-Thursday 08:00-15:00 and Friday 08:00-13:00) on the day of the application deadline) please contact Bettina H. Acthon (acthon@au.dk) with a description of the problem incl. screen shots of the error you get on the screen.
- Problems close to the deadline
- Sending the application with blank PDF files
If the problem occurs close to the deadline (and outside normal office hours (Monday-Thursday 08:00-15:00 and Friday 08:00-13:00) on the day of the application deadline) you must fill out and send the application with blank PDF files. The PDF files must be as small as possible so a blank paper with just your name on is enough. Afterwards you must send the PDF files in an e-mail to Bettina H. Acthon (acthon@au.dk).
Please write the application No. in the e-mail and name the PDF files so there is no doubt where they must be uploaded in the application. Use the terms from the application form. Remember that you may only send one PDF file per field in the application. This means that you have to merge some of your documents (for example cover sheet must be saved in the same file as BA and MA diplomas and transcripts).
Your e-mail incl. all PDF files must be sent (and received) before the application deadline. If we received your email after the deadline it will not be taken under consideration.
Please also include a screen shot in the e-mail of the error as documentation of your problem.
- Sending the application via email (only as a last resort)
If you still cannot send your application via the application facility (with blank PDF files, see option above) you may send your application and attachments to Bettina H. Acthon (acthon@au.dk). It must be a copy of the complete application (application form incl. all attached documents). The mail containing the filled in application form (Word file) and all attachments (PDF files) must be received by our mail system no later than the application deadline. If we received your email after the deadline it will not be taken under consideration.
Use Copy/Paste for the application form. Fill out the application form on the screen and take a copy of the completed form. Open a blank Word document and insert the information from the application into the Word document. Save the document.
Do not send the information from the application form as screen shots! We must be able to copy the text from each field and insert the text into a blank application form.
Please name your PDF files so there is no doubt which field they belong to. Remember that you may only send one PDF file per field in the application. This means that you have to merge some of your documents (for example cover sheet must be saved in the same file as BA and MA diplomas and transcripts).
- No exemptions
The Graduate School does not grant exemptions from the application deadline due to problems with your own computer or internet connection.
The application will be evaluated on the basis of the documents received electronically before the application deadline. If the application is incomplete it will be rejected.
Please check your application before you press “Send”. From September 2019 it is no longer possible to check the application after it has been sent because the link to the application in the return receipt (e-mail) will be removed due to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
If you suspect you have made an error in the application or uploaded the wrong document you need to fill out and send a whole new and complete application (before the application deadline). We will assess the application received last and automatically delete the first one when we find two applications from you to the same call.
Unfortunately we cannot help you after the application deadline.
The only document that may be sent after the application deadline is your Master's diploma if you apply for a 5+3 fellowship. Any other documents sent to us after the application deadline will not be taken under consideration.
Please note that you cannot apply for the 4+4 scheme with an ongoing Master’s degree programme if you have already completed another Master’s degree programme corresponding to a Danish two-year Master’s degree programme (120 ECTS). This means that you have to apply for the 5+3 scheme with your completed Master’s degree and not the 4+4 scheme with your ongoing Master’s degree programme. You can also choose to finish your current Master’s degree programme and apply later for 5+3 with your second Master's degree.
If your completed Master's degree is not equivalent to a Danish 2-year Master's degree you may apply for the 4+4 scheme.
Please see this page for more information on the 4+4 and 5+3 scheme.
The Circular on the collective agreement for state-employed academics states that a condition for employment is that the person in question does not already have a PhD degree. In other words, we cannot employ you as a PhD fellow if you already have a PhD degree corresponding to a Danish PhD degree. This means that you cannot apply for a PhD fellowship via an open call or a specific call because these calls includes both enrolment and employment on the collective agreement.
If you want to apply for enrolment (without employment) at the Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University you can apply with your own funding and pay for the enrolment costs yourself. Please see the website “Costs for enrolment” and "Applying for enrolment with external funding".
