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PhD

Read all about PhD at CBS

CBS of­fers a wide range of re­search areas

At CBS we com­bine clas­sic fields with­in busi­ness eco­nom­ics with a num­ber of oth­er aca­dem­ic areas.
This makes CBS range of re­search areas unique.

Clas­sic fields with­in busi­ness eco­nom­ics

CBS cov­ers all of the clas­sic fields with­in busi­ness eco­nom­ics con­nec­ted with the man­age­ment and op­er­a­tion of pub­lic and private com­pan­ies such as e.g. mar­ket­ing, fin­ance, ac­count­ing, man­age­ment ac­count­ing and or­gan­isa­tion.

Chal­lenges faced by com­pan­ies

We also carry out re­search in a num­ber of areas ne­ces­sary for un­der­stand­ing the chal­lenges that com­pan­ies face in the glob­al know­ledge so­ci­ety such as e.g. busi­ness law, in­form­at­ics, in­ter­na­tion­al eco­nom­ics, in­ter­cul­tur­al un­der­stand­ing and me­dia re­search.

Vari­ous fields of study

We also com­bine the clas­sic fields with­in busi­ness eco­nom­ics with more un­tra­di­tion­al fields for a busi­ness school such as e.g. philo­sophy, psy­cho­logy, polit­ic­al sci­ence, design, art, an­thro­po­logy, and busi­ness his­tory.

Dif­fer­ent routes to a PhD

Requirements for a PhD degree

The PhD programme is a research degree where students are trained to carry out research. The core of any PhD programme is:

  • work with the project
  • participation in courses
  • research communication 

The formal requirement for obtaining the PhD degree is: 

  • an approved thesis
  • a number of successfully completed courses

Entry requirements 

To become a PhD student you must: 

  • have completed an academically relevant 3-year bachelor degree (180 ECTS points)
  • have completed an academically relevant 2-year master degree (120 ECTS points)*
  • have a minimum weighted grade point average of at least 8.2 on the Danish 7-point grading scale for the entire programme (i.e. for the full bachelor and master studies together)
  • have obtained at least the grade 10 for the final thesis or equivalent final examination project.

*You can apply for enrolment before the completion of a master degree. In this case, you must have completed your master degree successfully by the time of enrolment.

Entry requirement for the 4+4 PhD programme

To become a 4+4 PhD student you must: 

  • have completed an academically relevant 3-year bachelor degree (180 ECTS points)
  • have completed one year of an academically relevant master degree (60 ECTS points).
  • have a minimum weighted grade point average of at least 8.2 on the Danish 7-point grading scale for the entire programme (i.e. for the full bachelor and one year of the master studies together)
  • have obtained at least the grade 10 for the bachelor project or equivalent final examination project.

If you do not meet the grade requirements 

If you do not meet the minimum grade requirements, you can apply for enrolment if you are within the top 40% of your class. You must include documentation for being in the top 40% of the class with your application.

In rare cases, an exemption from these rules can be granted by the head of PhD school, if the assessment committee at the department evaluating the application package provides sufficient reasons why the applicant has sufficient academic qualifications to complete the PhD studies successfully.

Hvis du ikke opfylder minimumskarakterkravene, kan du søge om indskrivning, hvis du er inden for de bedste 40% af din klasse. Du skal vedlægge dokumentation for, at du er i top 40% af klassen til din ansøgning.

Foreign degrees

Corresponding qualifications, including foreign study programmes, may be assessed to be equivalent to the specified requirements. 

Foreign degrees may be sent to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science for assessment of the degree’s equivalence to a Danish degree at the same level.

5 dif­fer­ent ways of be­com­ing a PhD stu­dent

There are sev­er­al ways to enter a PhD pro­gramme. CBS of­fers 5 dif­fer­ent ways of be­ing a PhD stu­dent. Read more about each op­tion here:

Re­search fel­low

Research fellow is a job title

A research fellow is an official job title with a salary set by collective agreement, equivalent to other publicly employed academics. PhD fellowships may be funded by CBS’ own research funds, by external funds or by a combination of the two.

To become a fellow you must apply for an advertised scholarship.

Find a scholarship

CBS advertises all PhD scholarship together with other vacant positions. See Vacant positions

You can also typically find CBS' positions in other media such as DJØF-bladet, Magisterbladet or similar. Most fellowships are advertised within specific academic fields, some within relatively narrow academic areas.

Employment as a research fellow

As a research fellow you are employed in a position at CBS. At the same time you are also a student at CBS and enrolled in the PhD programme.

As an employee you are offered a workspace, and as a student you are offered teaching and supervision.

A research fellowship also typically involves an obligation to contribute to teaching at CBS by teaching yourself.

The employment period is three years because the programme is designed to last three years.

4+4 PhD stu­dent

The 4+4 scheme is a four-year PhD programme

As a 4+4 PhD student you are enrolled as:

  • a master student and PhD student for the first 2 years
  • a PhD student for the final 2 years

How to enrol

To be admitted as a PhD student under the 4+4 scheme you must apply for a vacant PhD position where the 4+4 scheme is stated as an option.

To be enrolled in the 4+4 scheme you must also be eligible for enrolment in a relevant master programme at CBS. CBS assesses which master programme you can be enrolled in.

Read more in Guidelines for the 4+4 PhD programme at CBS

In­de­pend­ent PhD Stu­dent

What is an independent PhD Student?

The number of PhD fellowships is limited. This is why you can become a PhD student at CBS as an independent student. Being an independent PhD student does not involve employment and therefore no salary from CBS.

As an independent PhD student you are affiliated with CBS as a PhD student. You have no teaching obligation, so you do not have to teach at CBS at the same time.

Tuition fee

As an independent PhD student you must pay a tuition fee.

The tuition fee includes overhead to cover CBS’ indirect costs. The PhD programme can be pursued full time or part time, and the price depends on the length of your enrolment:

Price:

  • 354,000 DKK for 3 years
  • 364,000 DKK for 4 years
  • 374,000 DKK for 5 years

If the independent PhD programme extends beyond the period agreed at the start of the enrolment, an additional tuition fee of 10,000 DKK must be paid for each subsequent year.

The tuition fee can be financed personally, by an employer or another external funding provider.

Requirements for enrolment

The requirements for enrolment as an independent student are the same as for other PhD Students. Requirements.

Since you are not employed, you do not need to relate to a specific job advertisement with a description of the research area. Instead, you are free to choose your research topic within CBS’ overall research field.

In­dus­tri­al PhD Fel­low

What is an industrial PhD?

As an industrial PhD student you are enrolled at CBS as a PhD student while being employed in a company or organisation.

You therefore receive your salary from another organisation, and you will typically also have your workspace there.

You are expected to spend approximately 50 percent of your time in the company. You will typically spend longer periods at CBS, particularly during courses and intensive writing periods.

Since you are not employed at CBS, you have no teaching obligation at CBS, but you do have a general dissemination obligation.

Requirements and application for an industrial PhD

To become an industrial PhD student you must be in contact with both a company and the CBS PhD School.

You must then apply for funding for your salary (50 percent can be covered) and the tuition fee from the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.

Read more about the industrial PhD programme on Industrial researcher on Innnovation Fund Denmark

Vis­it­ing PhD Stu­dent

If you are a PhD student from another Danish or international institution and wish to spend a period at a department at CBS, you must contact the relevant department.

Together with the department you can make agreements on supervision, course participation and workspace.

Find all departments under Departments at CBS

PhD Courses

CBS PhD School of­fers a wide range of PhD courses. The courses in­clude re­search design, qual­it­at­ive and quant­it­at­ive meth­ods and spe­cial­ised courses in areas such as or­gan­isa­tion­al ana­lys­is, mar­ket­ing, fin­ance, man­age­ment, eco­nom­ics and polit­ic­al sci­ence.

Most courses are in­tens­ive one-week courses, but oth­er formats are also avail­able. The PhD courses are open to stu­dents from oth­er coun­tries and in­sti­tu­tions, al­though there may be pre­requis­ites for par­ti­cip­a­tion.

Sign up for a PhD course

How to ap­ply

Application deadlines

CBS has two annual admission rounds for new PhD students with application deadlines on:

  • 1 February
  • 1 September

There may, however, be flexibility in special cases.

Specific information for the industrial PhD

If you are applying for the industrial PhD programme you must be pre-approved for enrolment in the CBS PhD School before you can submit your application to the Innovation Fund Denmark.

Read more about the industrial PhD programme on Industrial researcher on Innnovation Fund Denmark

The application process depends on the type

If you want to apply as a researcher fellow or as a 4+4 PhD student, you must upload your application online via the advertised PhD positions.

If you want to apply as an industrial PhD student or as an independent student, you must send your application directly to the department you wish to apply to.

Read more about the different types above.

The application

All applications must include:

  • Copy of diplomas and grade transcripts (both bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, including any grades achieved at the time of application if a programme has not yet been completed)
  • Documentation that you are in the top 40 percent of your class (only if the grade requirements are not met)
  • Curriculum vitae (CV)
  • List of written work (if relevant)
  • Example of written work (for example a master’s thesis)
  • Short project description (maximum 5 pages)

Together with diplomas, grade transcripts and your CV, the project description is the most important basis for assessing the application. The project description outlines the research project that will form the core of the PhD programme.

The project description

The project description must provide an overview of your proposed PhD project and your motivation for choosing the topic. It must include clear research questions and give a clear sense of how you intend to approach them.

The project description must convince the reader of the originality of the project and demonstrate how it contributes to existing literature and research within the relevant field or fields.

Both the content and the form of the project description are taken into consideration when assessing the proposed research project and the applicant.

Con­tent of the pro­ject de­scrip­tion

The project description must not exceed five pages and should include:

  • a brief explanation of the purpose of the project
  • an account of the research problem and the hypotheses or research questions the PhD student will work with
  • a positioning of the project within the department’s research field
  • a description of state-of-the-art research within the project’s research area
  • an account of the theories on which the project is based
  • an account of the methods to be applied
  • an indication of the project’s potential contribution to scientific development
  • a brief work plan describing the main phases of the project, including the planning of the elements of the PhD programme

Form and re­quire­ments of the pro­ject de­scrip­tion

The project description must not be written as a popular account but in a way that is informative for a researcher within the relevant research area.

The project description must not assume that you already know the answers to the questions posed. It should reflect that it describes a project that requires further research.

The project description must demonstrate that it is likely that you will be able to contribute significantly to answering or clarifying the research questions within the framework of the PhD programme.

The project description must show that the project has a clear focus and be written in precise academic language in English or Danish.

Bedøm­melse

Assessment of the applications takes place at the relevant department.

The applications are checked to ensure that all formal requirements are met and can then be forwarded for assessment. The applications may be shortlisted.

Assessment committee

Applications that are sent for assessment are evaluated by an assessment committee consisting of at least two members of the academic staff employed at minimum associate professor level. The assessment committee evaluates whether the project has academic quality and whether the applicant appears capable of completing the project.

The CV, diplomas, grade transcripts and other documents are reviewed. The assessors prepare a written evaluation for each application, which is also sent to the applicant for information.

Decision

The decision on whether an applicant is offered enrolment depends not only on the applicant’s individual competences but also on whether the necessary financial resources and supervisory capacity are available for the PhD student and the research project.

The PhD Committee

The departments send the applications and the assessments of suitable applicants to the PhD Committee for approval for enrolment in the CBS PhD School. Applicants are informed of the outcome by the departments.

CBS PhD School

CBS PhD Shool

CBS PhD School of­fers a broad range of aca­dem­ic fields.

The pur­pose of the CBS PhD School is to cre­ate an act­ive na­tion­al and in­ter­na­tion­al re­search en­vir­on­ment of high qual­ity that provides the frame­work for de­vel­op­ing all PhD stu­dents as re­search­ers at CBS.

CBS PhD School – purpose and focus

CBS PhD School aims to support PhD students in creating new knowledge within their research field and in continuing their professional research careers either within or outside academia in private companies or public institutions where research competences are in demand.

CBS PhD School is closely connected to all active research environments at CBS.

CBS PhD School places strong emphasis on:

  • supporting a sufficient and relevant selection of up-to-date PhD courses across all research fields and methods at CBS
  • ensuring a high academic standard in the PhD programmes through continuous quality assurance and development of existing PhD courses
  • supporting the development of new courses
  • developing and quality assuring PhD supervision
  • supporting PhD students in presenting their projects at international conferences, publishing their research and studying abroad
  • attracting leading international researchers to the PhD School’s activities as lecturers, as discussants in work-in-progress seminars, as supervisors and as members of assessment committees for PhD theses
  • establishing institutionalised collaboration agreements with international researchers and research environments
  • establishing and maintaining a forum for idea development and best practices to support PhD activities at the different departments at CBS

More about the PhD programme at CBS

Rules and regulations

Ph.d.-uddannelsen er reguleret i følgende: