Frequently asked questions

How to apply for a PhD position at Aarhus BSS Graduate School?
Before you apply read the application guide carefully.

  • You apply online
  • Please note that you automatically apply for a full scholarship, including tuition fee and salary unless you state that you have external funding

When can you expect the assessment of your application?
You can expect the assessment of your application approximately three months after application deadline. You can read more about the assessment procedure at our website. 


The below questions and answers are grouped under short headlines to give a better overview of the FAQ.

What to apply?

What PhD degree scheme should you apply for? 3-, 4-, or 5-year scheme?

What scheme you can apply to, depends on how far you are in your education at the expected PhD study start:

  • 3-year scheme if you have completed a relevant Masters degree corresponding to 120 ECTS
  • 4-year scheme if you have completed between 60 and 90 ECTS from a relevant Masters degree or completed a relevant 1 year MBA
  • 5-year scheme if you have completed a Bachelors degree corresponding to 180 ECTS or more

Read more about the PhD degree schemes at our website.

Can you apply to more than one PhD programme?

Yes, but only if the project descriptions are not the same.

For technical reasons please submit the applications with different email addresses.

Can you apply with more than one project description?

Yes, if you have different project descriptions you can make more than one application.

For technical reasons please submit the applications with different email addresses.

What if you have applied to the wrong PhD programme?

If it is clear from your application that the project would fit better at another of our PhD programmes, your application will be moved and assessed there.

Supervisor

How to find a supervisor/Is it mandatory to find a supervisor beforehand?

You are not required to find a supervisor beforehand. We will make sure that you get a supervisor if you are enrolled.

Language requirements

Please be aware that excellent communication skills in English are considered essential, and you must be able to read, write, and speak academic English fluently. Your proficiency level of English should be comparable to a minimum of TOEFL 83 or IELTS 6,5, corresponding to Danish Highschool level B.

Are language tests required?

No, but the Graduate School can ask you to provide documentation for your english proficiency during the recruitment process if necessary. This will often be in the form of an interview.

Recommendation letters

Are recommendation letters required?

No, but you can upload up to three recommendation letters to your application if you want to.  

What if my referee wants to send the recommendation letter directly to the Graduate School?

If you add the email address of your referee in the application form under “add referee”, the system will send an email to the referee requesting a letter of recommendation. You will not be able to see the recommendation letter. You can add up to three email addresses.

Please note that we cannot ensure that recommendation letters received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration, so make sure to give your referee enough time to upload the letter before the application deadline.

Scholarship/financing

There are two different ways of financing:

  • A faculty scholarship from Aarhus BSS Graduate School
  • External financing

A combination is also possible.

To read more about external financing check out our financing website.

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How to apply for a faculty scholarship?

When you apply through the open application round you automatically also apply for a scholarship at Aarhus BSS Graduate School, including tuition fee and salary.

This is also the case if you apply for a special call. In this case, however, the funding often comes from a grant to Aarhus BSS.

How to apply with external financing?

If you have external financing, i.e. a scholarship from elsewhere or are backed by a company, you should state this in the application form and upload documentation (including a signed declaration if it is an external scholarship). The documentation should be uploaded in the field “Extra Documents” under “Application and CV”.

Please be aware that if you upload more than one file in the same field in the application form you overwrite the document(s) you have previously uploaded in the same field. Thus, you must combine your files to 1 (one) pdf file.

Application form questions

What fields are required in the form?

All fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required. All other fields are optional.

How do you state the grade point average?

You should state your grade point average as it is stated in your transcript of records and according to the scale used at your home University, BSc and MSc separately.

What start date should you write?

The expected start date is stated in the call. For the open call it will always be 1 February or 1 September but can be all year round for special calls.

What should you write in “credit transfer on top of admission level(months)”?

Credit transfer is an optional field for you to fill out if you think you are eligible to get months transferred which you have studied on top of your admission level. You should state how many months you have on top of the education that your PhD enrolment will be based on.

Examples:

  • if you have a bachelor's degree and the first year (60 ECTS) of a master's degree, your admission level will be the Bachelor degree. Because you already have the first year of your Master education you write 12 months in credit transfer and state the date you started your Master education. In reason for credit transfer you then write “Already started on my master's degree".
  • if you have a bachelor's degree and the first 18 months (90 ECTS) of a master's degree, your admission level will be the Bachelor degree. Because you already have the first 18 months of your Master education you write 18 months in credit transfer and state the date you started your Master education. In reason for credit transfer you then write “Already started on my master's degree".

Are there limitations for length of motivation and project description?)

Yes, please see the application guide for the limitations relevant for the scheme you apply for (3, 4 or 5 year scheme).

Please note that in all cases the limitations are stated as number of characters and spaces, NOT words.

Please also note that the Graduate School reserves the right to reject the application if the motivation and/or the project description are too long.

Why should my diploma and transcript of records be combined to one file?

If you upload more than one file in the same field in the application form you overwrite the document(s) you have previously uploaded in the same field. Thus, you must combine your diploma and transcript of records to 1 (one) pdf file, i.e. one file for your Master degree and one file for your Bachelor degree and upload them in their corresponding fields.

Please be aware that the Graduate School reserves the right to reject any applications which do not include the mandatory documentation. In this case that means that we can reject your application if you have not uploaded both diploma and transcript of records for both your master’s and bachelor’s degree. Please see the  application guide for more info.

Where do you upload additional information, fx regarding financing?

If you have other important documentation, you can upload it in the field “Extra Documents” under “Application and CV”.

Please be aware that if you upload more than one file in the same field in the application form you overwrite the document(s) you have previously uploaded in the same field. Thus, you must combine your files to 1 (one) pdf file.