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PhD degree programmes (4+4 or 5+3)

The Graduate School, Arts offers two degree programmes:

  • 5+3 scheme
  • 4+4 scheme

The Graduate School, Arts also offers double and joint degree programmes in collaboration with international partners.  

The PhD degree programme

The programme regulations for the graduate schools at Aarhus University are in accordance with the provisions in Ministerial Order no. 1039 of 27 August 2013 on the PhD Programmes at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions and section 16b(1) –(4) of the Danish University Act, Consolidation Act no. 261 of 18 March 2015.
 

Official duration of programme in credits and/or years
The PhD degree programme is equivalent in length to three years of full-time study or 180 ECTS credits at a level above that of completed Master’s degree. One year corresponds to 60 ECTS credits.     
 

Programme results 
The objective of the PhD degree programmes at Aarhus University is to train the PhD student to independently conduct high-calibre research and to master research methods and tools, development tasks and teaching within the field.

The PhD degree is conferred on a candidate who has completed a PhD programme, which is comprised of the following elements:

  • Independent research work under supervision (the PhD project)
  • Completion of PhD courses equal to approximately 30 ETCS credits
    • Normally, 1 ECTS point is considered equivalent to 25 hours of work, including preparation time etc. To a limited extent, ECTS points may be awarded for participation in academic conferences, if the outcome is considered equivalent to the outcome form participating in a PhD course. A maximum of 10 of the 30 ECTS points required may be earned in this way.
  • Participation in active research environments, including stays at other research institutions
    • To ensuring the international level of the PhD degree programme, a long-term and continuous period of research lasting at least two months must be included at an active research environment which is not your own (preferably outside Denmark).
  • Teaching experience or other forms of knowledge dissemination
    • The PhD student must perform work for the institution of employment according to its directions, corresponding to 840 working hours during the employment. If the PhD student is enrolled/employed for a shorter period of time than three years in total, the departmental work will be reduced in accordance with the duration of the employment period.
      To ensure that PhD students not employed at the faculty will acquire this competency, these PhD students must have participated in teaching activities at the faculty Guidelines ‐ PhD students’ paid work for departments (840 hours total) corresponding to one term of teaching.
  • Completion of a PhD dissertation on basis of the PhD project.

The dissertation must be publicly defended.
 

Professional status (if applicable)
A PhD degree from Aarhus University is a research-based, internationally oriented educational qualification that qualifies the holder to take knowledge-intensive positions in industry, business, the public sector and in academia – including in the international labour marked. 
 

Purpose
The PhD degree programme is a research training programme which aims to develop the competencies of PhD student to carry out research work independently, i.e. abilities in the areas of analysis of, knowledge of, independent work with and communication of academic issues at the highest international level. In this connection, the programme will give students familiarity with all the most advanced research methods and theories in their respective fields. As a result, the PhD degree programme will qualify a PhD graduate to independently carry out research, development and teaching work in both the public and the private sectors. After completing the PhD degree programme, PhD students should also have developed all skills in developing new ideas within one or more areas of their discipline, as defined in the broadest sense.

The PhD degree programme is aimed at training students for future employment both as academic researchers and in a broader range of functions in society.


For further information please see this page.

5+3 scheme (3-year PhD fellowships)

To begin a 3-year fellowship you must have passed a qualifying examination that corresponds to 300 ECTS credits (e.g. a Bachelor’s degree allocated 180 ECTS credits and a Master’s degree allocated 120 ECTS credits).

Your Master’s degree programme must be completed no later than the day before enrolment start (see the start date in the call).

The PhD degree programme consists of PhD courses, academic communication, working at the department including teaching, possible international exchanges, independent research and working with the PhD dissertation.

Full-time employment equals 37 hours a week on average as stated in the agreement and protocol.     


Language
The Graduate School of Arts offers supervision in Danish and English. It will also be possible to take courses taught in English.


Admission requirements
To be considered for the PhD fellowships (5+3) applicants must have the following qualifications within relevant academic disciplines:

  • a 3-year BA (180 ECTS credits), and
  • a 2-year MA (120 ECTS credits).

Your degrees must be equivalent to a Danish Bachelor's degree and a Danish Master's degree. For further information please see this page: https://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/international-applicants 

Admission to the Graduate School, Arts requires satisfactory English language skills (if you do not have ‘B level’ in English from a Danish entrance examination).

Applicants can suggest a potential main supervisor among faculty staff (not mandatory).

4+4 programme (4-year student research scholarships)

- Requirements (ECTS credits)

Entrance requirement
To begin a 4-year scholarship you must have passed a qualifying examination that corresponds to 240 ECTS credits (e.g. a Bachelor’s degree allocated 180 ECTS credits as well as Master’s degree examinations that correspond to 60 ECTS credits, or a Master’s degree allocated 240 ECTS credits). This means that the earliest point in time at which you can apply is during the semester immediately before you reach the 240 ECTS credits.

Your degrees must be equivalent to at least one year of Master's study in Denmark.

60-90 ECTS credits
Applicants who will have acquired 60 to 90 ECTS credits in a Master’s degree examination after the deadline for application may apply for a 4-year scholarship. 

  • If a Danish Master’s degree programme has been extended and has a prescribed duration of 150 ECTS credits (in Danish "rammeudvidelse"), the applicant must have accumulated at least 90 ECTS credits and no more than 120 ECTS credits at the time of their enrolment.
  • Applicants who have already earned 90 ECTS credits (120 ECTS credits if the Danish Master's degree programme has been extended to 150 ECTS instead of 120 ECTS) at the time of application should apply for the 3-year fellowship (5+3 programme) as long as the Master’s degree programme is completed no later than the day before the PhD enrolment starts.

In general terms, the Master’s thesis constitutes the final part of the Master’s degree programme.

Credit for courses taken on Master's degree level
In addition to passing the entrance requirement you must also be able to obtain a credit transfer of 60-90 ECTS credits for courses taken on Master's level.

Please note that we might not be able to give you credit for all courses taken on your Master's degree programme. You might have passed 60 ECTS credits on your current 2-year Master's degree programme or your completed 1-year Master's degree but when we compare the courses to the courses on one of our Master's degree programmes we can only give you credit corresponding to 40 ECTS credits. This means that we cannot enrol you as a 4+4 student at Arts because you need at least 60 ECTS credits to be admitted.

The assessment of the qualifications associated with your Master's degree programme will be made by Study Centre Arts if your PhD application is sent for assessment in the Admission Committee. Do not contact the Study Centre yourself for an assessment before you apply or during the assessment of your PhD application.

Part A and part B
The programme consists of a part A and a part B each of two years of full time study.
Part A consists of 60 MA-ECTS credits and 60 PhD-ECTS credits and part B consists of 120 PhD-ECTS credits.  This means that the average number of working hours on the PhD degree programme is 18.5 hours per week on part A and 37 hours per week on part B.    

Exception!
If you receive 90 MA-ECTS credits (or 120 MA-ECTS credits if the Danish Master's degree programme has been extended to 150 ECTS) between the PhD application deadline and enrolment start you will only be enrolled for 1½ years on part A (30 MA-ECTS credits and 60 PhD-ECTS credits) . P
art B still consists of 120 PhD-ECTS credits. This means that the average number of working hours on the PhD degree programme is 24.67 hours per week on part A and 37 hours per week on part B.
    

Two Master's degrees
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.


- Part A

During part A of the programme you complete your MA simultaneously with the first part of your PhD. 

If you are not already enrolled as a Master’s student at the Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University you will be contacted by the Study Centre Arts (if you get one of the PhD fellowships). They will find a new Master's degree programme at Arts for you and make a credit transfer for the courses previously completed as part of your degree programme at Master’s level. On this page you can see all the Master's degree programmes at Aarhus University (choose "Faculty" - "Arts" to see the programmes at Arts): https://kandidat.au.dk/en/ 

SU grant as a Master's degree student:

This initial part of the programme may consist of courses, independent research, international exchanges and work at one of the Faculty's departments.

Semi-annual evaluation and midway assessment
The course of the postgraduate programme is evaluated every 6 months. After 18 months the student will either be recommended for completing the programme with part B and thus obtaining the PhD degree or to end the programme after the first 2 years and thus obtaining a research-intensive Master’s degree. PhD students completing after part A will be working on their master thesis during the last term.

In part A the PhD degree programme is financed by a SU PhD scholarship (corresponding to 2 SU vouchers from the State Education Grant and Loan Scheme in Denmark) as well as a salary for the student's work at the department (all in all 280 hours in two years).

Students who are recommended for part B will during the last term of part A be working on a qualifying exam which consists of the fourth evaluation and a presentation of one or more scholarly works within the PhD project. One or more of these works will be assessed as the master thesis in order for the student to obtain the Master's Degree. Satisfactory completion of all the parts of the qualification exam is necessary for enrolling in part B.

Master's thesis
The Master’s thesis must be submitted no later than four weeks (six weeks if submitted in the period 15 June - 31 August) before the expiry of the enrolment on part A so the mark given for this thesis can be entered in the same month as the expiry of part A. If the Master’s thesis is submitted before the deadline and thus gaining the Master’s degree before the month in which the enrolment on part A expires, the SU PhD scholarship expires at the same time as the degree is awarded (at the end of the month).  If the Master’s thesis is submitted before the deadline, the time remaining under part A will not be added to part B. Enrolment for part B lasts two years, no matter how long part A lasts. 


- Part B

Part B consists of PhD courses, academic communication, working at the department including teaching (560 hours), possible international exchanges, independent research and working with the PhD dissertation. At part B the PhD project is financed by a scholarship in accordance with the collective agreement. Please consult the translated version of the salary agreement at Aarhus University.


- Language

The Graduate School of Arts offers supervision in Danish and English to PhD students enrolled in the postgraduate programme. In Part A it is possible to take courses taught in English in several of the study programmes, or to combine international courses. In Part B it will be possible to take courses taught in English in all of the study programmes. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the study programme or to see the Faculty’s current International Course Catalogue for further information on courses in English.


- Admission requirements

To be considered for the student research scholarships (4+4) applicants must have one of the following qualifications within relevant academic disciplines:

  • a 3-year BA (180 ECTS credits) and a minimum of 1 year of full-time graduate study (60 ECTS credits), or
  • equivalent qualifications (an MA allocated 240 ECTS credits).

Master’s degree students who have not yet successfully completed the final exam of the first year of their Master’s degree programme should include a curriculum for any outstanding exams and a statement from the relevant teacher or director of studies. 

Your degrees must be equivalent to a Danish Bachelor's degree and a Danish Master's degree programme. For further information please see this page: https://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/international-applicants 

Admission to the Graduate School, Arts requires satisfactory English language skills (if you do not have ‘B level’ in English from a Danish entrance examination).

Applicants can suggest a potential main supervisor among faculty staff (not mandatory). 


- Enrolment on a Master's degree programme

Requirements (ECTS credits)
If you apply for PhD enrolment with a 1-year Master's degree or a 2-year Master's degree that is not equivalent to a Danish 2-year Master's degree you must apply for the 4+4 scheme.

In order to assess if you meet the entrance requirements for enrolment as a Master's student at Arts we must check your previous qualifications (Bachelor and Master). We must ensure that we are able to admit you on one of our current Master's degree programme at Arts with a credit transfer of at least 60 ECTS credits. If the courses taken on your Master's degree programme does not match at least 60 ECTS credits on one of our Master's degree programmes we cannot admit you as Master's student on the 4+4 scheme which also means that we cannot enrol you as a PhD student.

Credit for courses taken on Master's degree level
In addition to passing the entrance requirement for the PhD enrolment you must also be able to obtain a credit transfer of 60-90 ECTS credits for courses taken on your Master's degree programme.

Please note that we might not be able to give you credit for all courses taken on your Master's degree programme. You might have passed 60 ECTS credits on your current 2-year Master's degree programme or your completed 1-year Master's degree but when we compare the courses to the courses on one of our Master's degree programmes we might only be able to give you credit corresponding to 30 or 40 ECTS credits. This means that we cannot enrol you as a 4+4 student at Arts because you need at least 60 ECTS credits on a Master's degree programme in order to be admitted.

The assessment of the qualifications associated with your Master's degree programme will be made by Study Centre Arts if your PhD application is sent for assessment in the Admission Committee. Do not contact the Study Centre yourself for an assessment before you apply or during the assessment of your PhD application.

On this page you can see all the Master's degree programmes at Aarhus University (choose "Faculty" - "Arts" to see the programmes at Arts): https://kandidat.au.dk/en/ 

4+4 scheme (part A and part B)
The 4+4 scheme consists of a part A and a part B. During part A of the 4+4 scheme you must complete a Master's degree programme (120 ECTS) simultaneously with your PhD enrolment (180 ECTS). This means that you will be enrolled as a Master's student and a PhD student at the same time for the first 1½-2 years of the enrolment on the 4+4 scheme (part A).

Part A consists of 30-60 MA-ECTS credits depending on the credit transfer from your previous Master's degree programme and 60 PhD-ECTS credits. Part B consists of 120 PhD-ECTS credits. 


Double and Joint degree programmes

The Graduate School, Arts offers double and joint degree programmes in collaboration with international partners. As part of a double or joint degree programme PhD students will spend time at both universities under mutual supervision schemes.

The programmes may be organised in collaboration with one or more cooperating foreign PhD training institutions. Enrolment based on collaboration on degrees at two institutions will be based on framework agreements between the Graduate School, Arts and the partner institutions. Similarly, individual agreements will be entered into with partners concerning the content of a student's PhD programme. The PhD plan will then be based on this agreement.