FAQ
Roskilde University receives many inquiries from potential students. We have tried to answer the most frequent questions on this web page.
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- How do I become a PhD student at Roskilde University?
- How can I get a scholarship from Roskilde University?
- When is the application deadline for scholarships?
- How can I apply for a scholarship?
- Who am I applying to?
- What are the research areas of Roskilde University?
- Can I finance my PhD studies myself?
- Are PhD programmes offfered in English?
- What is the size of the processing fee I have to pay in order to apply for a residence permit? (for non-EU citizens only)
How do I become a PhD student at Roskilde University?
First of all you need to fulfil the formal requirements. In order to become a PhD, you need to have obtained a master’s degree or qualifications that correspond to five years of study at university level. Applicants who do not hold a Danish master’s degree must be able to document academic qualifications corresponding to the Danish master's degree.
All students, regardless of the way they are financed must be able to document excellent qualifications and will be required to present a research plan for their PhD project.
If you are not sure that your degree corresponds to a Danish master’s degree you can read more about the assessment procedure on the web page of The Danish Agency for International Education.
How can I get a scholarship from Roskilde University?
All vacant positions are announced on the University's job database. Please note that the scholarships that are only announced in Danish are announced on the Danish version of the University's job database (click on the icon 'På dansk' on top of the website).
Positions announced on the website are fully financed. In Denmark PhD students with a full scholarship are employed as scientific staff and they get paid according to the union agreement. This also means that PhD scholarships are fairly expensive to finance in Denmark, and often the University needs external funding to obtain sufficient funds for scholarships.
Externally funded scholarships: Many PhD projects are carried out in collaboration with private or public companies that provide funding for the project, and who will often have a specific problem, they wish to
address in the project. These scholarships are announced with a project
description, which the potential candidate must relate to in the application.
Internally funded scholarships: Occasionally, scholarships are announced in open calls that are fully financed by Roskilde University. In this case, the applicants are asked to submit an idea for a PhD project in a project description. The open calls are either announced by a PhD programme or by a Doctoral School. It is not possible to say when these calls will be announced.
When is the application deadline for scholarships?
There are no fixed deadlines. All positions for PhD scholarships financed fully or partly by Roskilde University are announced on the University's job database. Each call has an individual application deadline. The Industrial PhD programme has fixed deadlines.
See deadlines for the Industrial PhD programme and other types of funding and scholarships
How can I apply for a scholarship?
You apply for a PhD position by following the directions given in the specific call that you are applying for. It is important that you read the call carefully and that you deliver all the requested documentation.
Who am I applying to?
Positions are either announced by a Doctoral School or a PhD programme. The Doctoral School is the formal entity and takes care of all PhD matters related to enrolment and employment. The PhD programme is the thematic entity dealing with the scientific activities. The number of PhD programmes varies from department to department.
Read more about the organisation and structure of the PhD programme
What are the research areas of Roskilde University?
The research of the University is organised into 6 departments. The research of each department is described on the website of the department (see list of departments). The departments each cover several research areas. Consequently the researchers are organised into different research groups that combined cover all research areas of the University. There is no direct link between research groups and PhD programmes. PhD programmes will often cover several research groups.
See list of research groups at Roskilde University
Can I finance my PhD studies myself?
Students who wish to finance their studies themselves should be aware that Denmark is a very expensive country to live in. The tuition fee is app. 80.000 DKK per year and the costs of living in Denmark amount to app. 100.000 DKK per year.
At the moment the University does not offer tuition waivers and students are expected to be able to document their ability to pay the tuition fee for all 3 years at the beginning of their studies.
Are PhD programmes offered in English?
In most programmes it is possible to complete the PhD project in English. Only programmes where field work has to be conducted in a Danish national setting, is it a requirement that the candidate is fluent in Danish.
What is the size of the processing fee I have to pay in order to apply for a residence permit? (for non-EU citizens only)
The Danish authorities charge a fee for all visa applications. You can find out more on the official portal for foreigneers and integration in Denmark.