To be considered for a PhD, you must meet our requirements for enrolment:
If you are an international applicant you should also consult this page before you apply.
These rules apply from 1 November onwards.
During your PhD you will become part of an international network through presentations at conferences abroad and publications in English journals. It is therefore important that you have profound English language skills. To develop your language skills and to accommodate international PhD students, the PhD short courses are taught in English.
Excellent communication skills in English are considered essential, and PhD students must be able to read, write, and speak academic English fluently. English language requirement is comparable to a minimum of TOEFL 83 or IELTS 6,5.
Documenting required proficiency in English is mandatory at the time of enrolment. This means, you can apply without documenting required language skills, but you cannot be enrolled without submitting the required documentation.
To ease the processing of your application, you can upload documentation at the time of application.
For Danish applicants, TOEFL 83 or IELTS 6,5 correspond to passed English B from upper secondary school ("gymnasium") – please submit your diploma (“eksamensbevis”) as documentation.
If you do not have English B level from the Danish upper secondary school, you must document your English language proficiency by passing one of the tests mentioned below at the levels required.
We only accept below tests as documentation.
TOEFL:
English B – Test result of at least 83 (internet-based) or 560 (paper-based - please note, we only accept paper-based tests taken in 2020 and earlier. From 1 January 2021 tests must be internet-based to be accepted)
Aarhus University accepts the TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition test.
Aarhus University does not accept the TOEFL ITP (this includes the TOEFL ITP Plus for China Solution). The Aarhus University TOEFL code is 8935.
IELTS:
English B – IELTS Academic test result of at least 6.5 points.
Cambridge English Qualifications
English B – Cambridge English Advanced (grades A, B and C) or Cambridge English First (grade A) or 180 points as a minimum on the Cambridge English Scale.
These rules ONLY apply if you have applied before 1 November 2022.
During your PhD you will become part of an international network through presentations at conferences abroad and publications in English journals. It is therefore important that you have profound English language skills. To develop your language skills and to accommodate international PhD students, the PhD short courses are taught in English.
To have an application processed the applicant must document English language proficiency identical or comparable with an 'English B level' in the Danish upper secondary school ('gymnasium').
If you do not have English B level from the Danish upper secondary school, you must document your English language proficiency by passing one of the below mentioned tests at the levels required (exemptions mentioned below).
Please upload your test results in the application form.
We only accept below tests as documentation. If the applicant does not meet the requirements, the graduate school administration will reject the applicant.
English B – Test result of at least 83 (internet-based) or 560 (paper-based - please note, we only accept paper-based tests taken in 2020 and earlier. From 1 January 2021 tests must be internet-based to be accepted)
Aarhus University accepts the TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition test.
Aarhus University does not accept the TOEFL ITP (this includes the TOEFL ITP Plus for China Solution). The Aarhus University TOEFL code is 8935.
English B – IELTS Academic test result of at least 6.5 points.
English B – Cambridge English Advanced (grades A, B and C) or Cambridge English First (grade A) or 180 points as a minimum on the Cambridge English Scale.
Please upload your test result in the application facility together with your application.
If you have an undergraduate or master’s degree from Denmark or the Nordic countries for which the admission requirement was English B-level or equivalent, your master’s diploma serves as documentation.
Your application should (minimum) consist of:
Please note, all documents should be uploaded as pdf.-files.
All applications have to be submitted through our online form.
When there is an advertisement for a project, you find the link to the application system under the relevant project advertisement on the open call page.
The online form has to be filled out in one session. It cannot be saved and completed on a later date. It will however stay open for filling out as long as the browser window is open.
Please note, all files should be uploaded as pdf.-files.
The application form is in English and should be filled out in English just as all attachments, including your CV, should be in English. There are no requirements in regards to neither font nor type size.
Please choose the educational level on which your PhD admission will be based.
If you expect to obtain a degree before enrolling as a PhD student you must choose the level you obtain. If you do not obtain e.g. a master's degree before enrolling as a PhD student you must choose the previous/current level.
Enter your unweighted grade average calculated and based on your transcripts’ grading scale, BSc and MSc separately.
If you hold a Danish degree you can, if you wish, use this form (Excel) to calculate both your weighted and unweighted grade average and upload it together with your diplomas and transcript of records.
Please uploade both diplomas and transcript of records. It is mandatory for applicants with non-Danish degrees to upload diplomas and transcript of records both in original language and in an official English translation.
The fields with information about referees are not mandatory fields.
Either leave blank or if you have a recommendation, fill out the field with the name, institution and e-mail of the person giving you the recommendation.
In addition to the mandatory attachments, you can upload other relevant documents in the upload field "Other information to consider".
Project description
Before the enrolment can begin, a project description (5 standard pages) must be completed in collaboration between the candidate and the main supervisor. The final project description needs to be approved by the head of the graduate programme before the enrolment can begin.
The project description is approved by signing a specific form – the form and the project description must be uploaded when the offer of enrolment is accepted.
Approval of the project description takes place according to the same guidelines as those which apply to project descriptions for the application for enrolment.
Initial PhD plan
Before the enrolment can begin, you need to fill out an initial PhD plan and get it approved by your main supervisor and the head of the graduate programme. The plan must be uploaded when the offer of enrolment is accepted.
The plan describes yours (and your main supervisor's) considerations on how to complete the mandatory study elements of the PhD.
