Investigating your field of interest at DTU
Investigate your field of interest using the department web sites. Here you will find information about the departments' field of research and staff. The right side of this page has a link to the web sites of all DTU's departments.
If you have questions, please contact the relevant department or potential supervisor, preferably by e-mail to begin with. Please note that only the best students will be considered for the PhD programme at DTU.
New PhD projects are advertised on DTU’s web site as vacant positions. Positions can also be created when a potential PhD student finds a department and a topic and the department decides to apply for a national government stipend on behalf of the student.
Finding a supervisor
Candidates for PhD studies must find and establish contact with a principal supervisor (associate professor or professor) who is associated with the PhD study programme to which the applicant would like to seek admission. DTU places great emphasis on finding the right supervisor for the individual PhD project and thus also on personal contact between the student and supervisor. It is important that the supervisor knows the student well before the PhD studies are begun. As a minimum, DTU requires that a supervisor has had a personal interview with the PhD Student.
Applications can be submitted any time throughout the year.
Academic approval
Applicants must of course present evidence of having completed an academically rigorous master degree programme with honours. When DTU grants academic approval, we look into the applicant’s qualifications in relation to the proposed project.
Funding
One third of all DTU’s PhD students are funded by national government grants. The departments at DTU regulary advertise PhD scholarships on DTU's homepage. Other PhD students are funded in variety of ways – through grants from the Research Councils, companies and grants co-funded by the national government. The industrial PhD initiative is an example of the latter. You can find more information about this arrangement at the Ministry of Science' web pages on the Industrial PhD programme.
In contrast to PhD studies in many other countries, PhD students in Denmark receive a substantial stipend (salary) while carrying out the PhD project.
When to start
Students can start when the funding and the academic plan have been approved.
Useful information
PhD students are considered an important resource at DTU, and the relations between professors and students are direct, informal and productive. English is required as the working language of any PhD position. Although most people speak English in Denmark, learning Danish is useful, especially for interacting with the broader society. Departments can provide additional information about working and living in Denmark. Furthermore, the web site www.workindenmark.dk provides easy access for knowledge workers to information on moving to, working and living in Denmark.