On this page you find information about parental leave, holiday rules and sickness absence.
In addition, you can find information about leave, part-time and extension of your PhD programme.
Applications for any kind of leave and part-time must be submitted before the period of leave or part-time begins. We reserve the right to deny an extension if leave/part-time is not reported in time.
Please note, the mandatory study elements must be completed when you are actively enrolled. This means that teaching- and dissemination activities, courses, research stays etc. must be completed in the enrolment period and before you hand in your dissertation. You cannot get study elements approved if they are taken during leave from the PhD study or completed after enrolment end date.
If you are employed at AU, absence due to maternity/paternity or adoption leave allows the period of employment to be extended for a period that equal to the time you have been absent.
If your employment expires during your leave, the period of employment can only be extended for a period equal to the time you have been on leave within the original period of employment.
The extension of your employment will take effect when you return from leave.
Please find more information about parental leave on AU’s staff sites
If you are going on maternity/paternity leave, you need to notify your workplace.
In order to have your PhD enrolment period extended, you need to inform the PhD administration of your maternity/paternity leave by submitting an application for maternity/paternity leave.
Once we know the start and end dates of your leave, you will receive an email informing you of your new submission date.
Applications for maternity/paternity must be submitted before the period of leave starts.
You may, during the education, apply for unpaid leave of absence and, thereby, postpone your deadline for submission of your dissertation. We assess all applications for leave of absence individually. In the assessment, we will consider whether there is an academic motivation for such application, whether the project can be completed within the original time frame despite the leave of absence, whether leave of absence is desirable for the project, and whether the project has otherwise made reasonable progress.
Your enrolment may also be extended in case of absence taken to complete (parts of) a clinical basic education or a medical specialty training programme. This type of absence should, as far as possible, be arranged/planned already at the start of your employment.
If you want to take leave from your PhD study, you must complete the form "Application for leave – professional reasons" and send it to graduateschoolhealth@au.dk. In the application you need to clearly state which professional reason(s) there is behind the wish for leave.
If you want to work part-time, you need to submit the form "Application for part-time" to graduateschoolhealth@au.dk. In the application you need to clearly state the reason behind the wish for part-time.
Applications for leave and part-time must be submitted before the period of leave or part-time begins.
Please note that....
Your period of enrolment cannot exceed six years in total and that you need to be enrolled at least half time, i.e. 18,5 hours per week.
If you want to apply for an extension, you need to fill out and submit the form "Application for extension" and send it to graduateschoolhealth@au.dk.
It is not possible to extend your PhD degree programme once the assessment committee has been appointed.
In the application you need to clearly state which professional reason(s) there is behind the wish for extension.
Any extension always needs to be financed. The graduate school does not extend PhD scholarships awarded by the graduate school.
Remember, if you during the extension period will be employed at AU, you also need to submit the form "Recommendation for employment as a PhD fellow and/or application for pay supplement".
Denmark’s new Holiday Act came into force on 1 September 2020. Find more info about the rules at the AU HR website.
When you plan your holiday, remember to clarify with your workplace.
AU has prepared common guidelines for registering and taking holidays. Read about registration and taking holidays.
If you get sick, you should always notify your workplace in accordance to the rules that apply to your department.
In case of long-term sickness absence, you always need to inform the graduate school at graduateschoolhealth@au.dk as soon as possible.
If you are off work sick for more than 30 days consecutively and your period of sickness proves to have delayed the studies, you may get an extension of your PhD study. Enrolment and employment may be extended by a period of no longer duration than the sickness period and no more than a period corresponding to the remaining employment period.
We reserve the right to deny an extension, if the sickness absence is not reported in time.
If you are employed at AU, we need to be informed about your sickness absence within 21 days after your first sick day. You will only be able to apply for an extension if we are informed of your absence in time to obtain sickness benefits (from “Kommunen”).
If you are not employed at Aarhus University, you have to apply for extension of your PhD study. Use the form "Application for extension of enrolment due to sickness absence, not employed by Aarhus University".
