The Graduate School, Arts offers two degree programmes:
The Graduate School, Arts also offers double and joint degree programmes in collaboration with international partners.
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:
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.
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.
Duration
3 years full-time study. 180 ECTS credits.
Working hours per week
37 hours per week.
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:
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).
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 combined Bachelor's and 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 in total (or 60 ECTS credits on your Master's degree programme).
Your degrees must be equivalent to at least a Bachelor's degree + one year of Master's study in Denmark.
60-90 ECTS credits on the Master's degree programme
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.
In general terms, the Master’s thesis constitutes the final part of the Master’s degree programme unless you still need to pass a course or two on 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 your 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.
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.
The standard length of the PhD degree programme is 3 years of full-time study: 1 year of full-time study on part A, and 2 years of full-time study on part B for students enrolled on the 4+4 scheme.
180 ECTS credits in total = 3 year of PhD study.
The degree programme consists of a part A and a part B.
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.
Duration of part A
The duration depends on how many ECTS credits you have on your Master's degree programme at enrolment start on the PhD degree programme.
Working hours per week
The number of working hours per week on part A depends on the length of time for which students are enrolled.
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 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.
Duration of part B
You will be enrolled for 2 years on part B.
If you obtain your Master’s degree before the month in which your enrolment on part A expires, your SU PhD scholarship expires at the same time as your degree is awarded (at the end of the month). The remaining time on part A will not be added to part B if the Master's degree is obtained early. The enrolment for part B lasts two years, regardless of the length of part A.
Working hours per week
37 hours per week.
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.
To be considered for the student research scholarships (4+4) applicants must have one of the following qualifications within relevant academic disciplines:
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).
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.
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.
