Applying for admission to a PhD programme

To apply for admission to the PhD programme at HVL, you must have the following:

  • Finances for the period of your PhD studies (for instance appointment as a salaried research fellow)
  • A master's degree or equivalent education within a subject area relevant to the PhD programme
  • A project description for the research project that will lead to the PhD
  • The name of at least one proposed supervisor.

Financing

To be admitted to the PhD programme at HVL, you must be able to document full financing for the PhD period. The most common way to finance one’s doctoral studies is by appointment to a research fellowship at either HVL or other research institutions. Other ways to finance doctoral studies are through the Industrial PhD and Public Sector PhD schemes offered by the Research Council of Norway. Self-financing is not normally accepted as the basis for admission.

The announcement of available research fellowships at HVL can be found under vacancies on our website.

Educational background

Admission to the PhD programme at HVL generally requires a master's degree of 120 credits (2 years duration) or the equivalent, and you must be able to document good results from your master’s level studies. The individual PhD programme has its own admission requirements/supplementary provisions that refer to specific grade requirements and the academic background that is required for admission.

If your master's degree was taken abroad, it is wise to get it accredited as the equivalent of a Norwegian master's degree before applying for admission. You can do this by applying to NOKUT for accreditation of your educational background.

Project description

The project description that will be the basis for admission to the PhD programme should be prepared in consultation with your supervisor. For information about project description requirements, see more information at the webpage "How to apply for admission".

Suggested supervisor

When applying for admission, you must propose at least one supervisor. If you are appointed to a research fellowship at HVL, you will be assigned a supervisor as soon as you commence the fellowship position. The supervisor must sign the application for admission so that the programme committee, when processing your application, has a confirmation that the supervisor has agreed to take on the task.

How to apply