What is external funding?
External funding may be:
- a PhD fellowship at a university college/another university
- other employment at a research institution that allocates time for own research
- The Research Council of Norway’s Industrial PhD scheme or Public Sector PhD scheme
The Faculty of Educational Sciences does not accept private funding.
The external funding must cover all living expenses and necessary operating costs for the candidate, and costs for research travel as necessary. The PhD education is organised in programmes with a stipulated length of three years' full-time study. A proposed schedule of more than six years will not be accepted.
There is no tuition fee for PhD candidates at the University of Oslo.
Am I qualified?
You are typically qualified if you have:
- Relevant Norwegian higher education totalling five years as a minimum - normally a three-year bachelor’s degree and a two-year master’s degree. The master’s degree should normally include a master's thesis of at least 30 credits.
- Relevant completed international degree (master's degree level) equivalent to a Norwegian two-year master’s degree.
As a general rule, the following grade requirements apply:
- The average grade for the bachelor's degree should be C or better and for master's courses A or B. Your master's thesis should be graded A or B.
- For 5-year education programs, the average grade for the first three years should be C or better and for the last two years should be A or B. The master's thesis should be graded A or B.
For qualifications with few or no grades, a comprehensive assessment of the applicant’s expertise and planned PhD project will be conducted.
English Language qualifications
International applicants are required to have a good command in written and spoken English for attending the PhD programme. Demonstration of written proficiency may, for example, consist of publication in English-language journals, completion of higher education in English, a master’s thesis written in English, and similar. An internationally recognised test may also document proficiency.
If you are admitted to the PhD programme, the Faculty will ask you to either submit original documentation of your previous education or arrange that your examination institution sends us copies of the necessary documents directly.
For a complete description of requirements go to Supplementary rules for PhD.
Affiliation with a research community
Admission with external funding requires that you are affiliated with a relevant and active research environment. Examples of such affiliation:
- employment at a college, university or other research institution that is considered academically relevant, or
- office space at one of the faculty's departments. This means that the department must have the capacity and desire to make workspace available. You must contact the department in question yourself.
How do I apply?
You apply for admission via Nettskjema. You must upload the following:
- project description
- CV and copies of relevant diplomas/certificates
- any list of scientific publications
- documentation from your employer confirming funding for the entire admission period. Without such documentation, the application will be rejected without academic evaluation
See guidelines for the project description.
How is the application assesed?
Applications are assessed by an academic committee at one of the faculty's departments. When evaluating your application, the committee will emphasize the academic quality of the project, its feasibility, and whether the project can contribute to new knowledge within the field. Furthermore, the committee will assess whether the faculty has supervisory expertise and capacity within the field in which you wish to write your dissertation.
The academic committee then presents the evaluation of the application to the PhD Program Council, which makes the decision. A supervisor is assigned upon admission. It is assumed that the project meets ethical research requirements and that you have applied for the necessary permits before the project can commence.
Admission to the PhD program is formalized through an admission agreement. A separate agreement is also made between the faculty and your employer outside of the University of Oslo.