4. Admission requirements

The company, the Industrial PhD candidate and the university must each fulfil certain criteria when applying for an Industrial PhD.

The company must:

• be a company in the private sector with divisions or subsidiaries physically located in Denmark,
• be able to financially support the Industrial PhD project for all three years,
• designate a company supervisor capable of supervising the candidate with regard to the industrially related aspects of the project,
• have a professional working environment capable of supporting the project,
• ensure that the project is embedded in the company’s organisation.

About the requirements
Company in the private sector: DASTI assesses whether an organisation is categorised as part of the private or public sector. An organisation is typically categorised as part of the private sector if at least half its revenue does not consist of subsidies from the public sector. However, other factors, such as foundation and/or establishment of purpose by law, may also be decisive. If in doubt, it is possible to ask DASTI to categorise an organisation before applying. 

Company supervisor: The supervisor must have completed an education corresponding to a Danish medium length higher education or above. However, professional academic qualifications are not necessary. The supervisor may be someone on the staff or an external person attached to the project.

Professional working environment: A professional working environment consists of at least 2-3 people in addition to the company supervisor who are capable of taking over the supervisor’s role. If this requirement cannot be met, the company may ask a private third party to serve in this function. Alternatively, the professional support can be assured by several companies collaborating on a project.

Several companies can work together on a joint Industrial PhD project if they:   

• collectively meet the financial and professional requirements,
• enter into a binding cooperative agreement on project financing and allocation of the Industrial PhD candidate’s time.
• base the Industrial PhD project in one of the cooperating companies,
• designate at least one employee to the project capable of supervising the candidate with regard to the project’s industrially related aspects.

The Industrial PhD candidate must:

• hold a master’s degree or equivalent,
• have obtained a weighted grade point average of at least 8.2 on the Danish 7-point grading scale or 9 on the 13-point scale for the entire master’s programme (ie. for both the bachelor’s and master’s studies),
• have obtained at least the grade 10 on either grade point scale for any final thesis or examination project. Applicants with ungraded final projects must submit a written statement or assessment of the project. Special rules apply to applicants enrolled under a ‘4+4’ scheme; see section 7 for more.

A calculation of the weighted grade point average for both the bachelor’s and master’s studies must be included with the application.

In special cases, a candidate with a slightly lower grade point average may be approved if the candidate can document research ability by, for example, peer-reviewed articles published in scientific journals, research-based patents or relevant experience with scientific research; ie. consisting of a longer period of work as a research assistant or with empirical research that meets the demands of scientific research methodology. In addition, progression in grades, top grades (minimum 10) in subjects relevant to the project, and relevant, independent references on the candidate’s research ability may be considered compensation for a grade level slightly lower than required.

Candidates with a non-Danish education at a master’s degree level are required to have attained the same grade levels as applicants with Danish degrees. However, a weighted grade level calculation converted to the Danish 7-step scale is not required. Instead, an assessment arguing that the candidate’s grade levels are at least comparable to those required of candidates with a Danish education must be included in the application. The assessment must be certified by the Head of Studies, Head of Department, Head of PhD programme, Associate Dean, Dean, Pro-Rector or Rector at the enrolling university. If possible, a description of the non-Danish grading scale should be submitted along with the grade assessment.

The project can be started only when the candidate is admitted to a PhD programme at the enrolling university, making it the host university for the Industrial PhD project. Prior admission to a PhD programme at the host university does not place DASTI, the Council or the Programme Committee under any commitment when considering the application.

The university must:

• be a university or institution of higher education in Denmark or abroad. Non-Danish universities must be officially authorised by the country in question to conduct PhD programmes,
• designate a university supervisor for the project. The university supervisor must be a permanent employee at the university and academically qualified to act as the candidate’s supervisor within the project’s field,
• have an academic working environment capable of supporting the project, ie. the university must have several employees working within the field in question who could take over as supervisor if necessary.

If the host university is non-Danish, a Danish university must be attached to the Industrial PhD project as a third party.

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