There are several things we consider when a candidate applies to one of our PhD programmes. The most important things are:
1) Formal qualifications (Section 5.1 in the Regulations)
The applicant to a PhD Programme must have a master’s degree or equivalent education that is approved by the Faculty as the basis for admission for that applicant to the PhD Programme.
The applicant must have a strong academic record and have a weighed average grade in the past two years (equivalent to 120 credits) of master’s or equivalent education with a grade of B or higher, in accordance with NTNU’s grading system.
2) Supervision (Section 8 in the Regulations)
The Faculty is to appoint the supervisor(s). When more than one supervisor is appointed, one of them is to have the main disciplinary responsibility for the candidate’s work. The main supervisor is to be responsible to the supervision. The supervisor is to be a professor or associate professor at NTNU.
Supervisors in the PhD programmes of the Faculty of Arts must hold a doctorate, either earned in Norway or internationally at an equivalent academic level, or they must have earned the status of Professor as a result of an appraisal.
3) Research proposal
A complete PhD proposal is considered essential for successful completion of a dissertation-oriented PhD programme. Upon application to the PhD programme, the general requirement is submission of a 5 to 10 page research proposal.
4) Funding plan (Sections 5.2 and 7.1 in the Regulations)
Only applicants with full funding will be admitted to the programme, or applicants who hold academic positions with allotted time for their own research. PhD candidates in academic positions with roughly 50% time allotted for their own research will normally be allowed an extended period of up to 5 years.
