• The Ministerial Order No. 1039 of 27th of August 2013 in Danish
• The Ministerial Order No. 1039 of 27th of August 2013 in English
• The Ministerial Order No. 1039 of 27th of August 2013 with the Doctoral Schools comments

The PhD plan is a crucial element of your PhD study. It must be completed in collaboration and agreement with your supervisor. Make sure to discuss and align mutual expectations with your supervisor. You must use the template provided by the doctoral school. The template thoroughly explains the requirements for the PhD plan.

The PhD plan must be uploaded through the PhD manager portal no later than 2 months after the enrolment date. An AAU email/login is required.

12 MONTHS' UPDATED PHD PLAN

After approximately 10 months of your PhD study, you must start preparing an updated version of your PhD plan reflecting the progress during the first part of your PhD and possible changes of plans relative to the initial plan. The template for the PhD plan contains explanation and points of attention (in italic) regarding the update. The updated PhD plan should be uploaded via the PhD manager portal after the 11 months’ status seminar (see below) and no later than 12 months after the enrolment date.

THE 11-MONTHS’ ORAL STATUS SEMINAR

The purpose of the seminar is to improve the evaluation of the first 11 months of the PhD study and the 12 months’ update of the PhD plan. The seminar is moreover an opportunity for the PhD student to present and discuss with a broader audience of colleagues the results obtained so far and the ideas for the future research. A more detailed description of the 11 months’ seminar can be found here.

TIMEFRAME

2 months: deadline for submission of 2-months’ PhD plan
10 months: start preparing the status seminar and the 12-month’s PhD plan
11 months: status seminar
12 months: deadline for submission of 12-month’s PhD plan

The document found below contains information for 4+4 PhD students and is based on typical questions related to this type of PhD.

FAQ 4+4

• Application for enrolment

Forms applied during the PhD study

• PhD plan template
• Portfolio document
• Status seminar template
• Status seminar process
• 10 months' status talk (former one year)
• Supervisor student agreement (discuss and complete when commencing the PhD study)
• Paradigm for outcome of a study circle
• Paradigm for outcome of conference participation

Forms in connection with submission

• Co-author statements
• Supervisor statement
• Declaration of good scientific practice

MISCELLANEOUS

• Application for financial support - E-form, no signatures needed.
• Application for extension of your PhD study (enrolment)
  • You do not need to use the full duration of the extension.
  • You can always submit your thesis - also if you are not enrolled.
  • Make sure all signatures are present when submitting the application.
  •  If applicable you also need to renew your work/residence permit.
• Application for leave of absence

The Ministerial Order requires that the Doctoral School continuously monitors the progress of the individual PhD studies. You are therefore requested to comment on a progress report made by your supervisor after 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months.

You will be notified automatically by email when a progress report is ready for your consideration.

Progress reports are found in PhD manager.

RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE
 
The Doctoral School of Engineering and Science recommends an ongoing discussion between the student and supervisor(s) to track the progress of the PhD study. To support the progress reports done every 6 months, the Doctoral School suggests the following procedure:

The student gives an oral presentation for all supervisors (main- and co-supervisors) to secure that the supervisors are kept up to date with the status of the project. The presentation should cover:

• 15-20 minutes presentation of the project work performed within the last 6 months
• Possible changes relative to the study plan
• In which courses has the PhD student participated?
• The extent of working obligations performed by the PhD student? (number of hours and types of working tasks)
• External/internal collaboration

DISCUSSION

• The work performed by the PhD student
• Future research plans
• Future course participation
• Future working obligations
• Future external/international collaboration
• Possible revisions of the study plan following the discussion

EVALUATION OF THE SUPERVISOR-STUDENT COLLABORATION

A meeting is suggested between the student and the main/co-supervisor that the student is mostly in contact with (or including all supervisors if one of the parties want this) where the methods of supervision and the collaboration are discussed. If the supervisor or the PhD student wants it, a 'third' party can be invited to lead the discussion.

Points for structuring and inspiring the discussion:

• How is communication established and maintained between the PhD student and the supervisor?
• Has it been difficult to establish meetings/contact between the PhD student and the supervisor?
•  How was the structuring and outcome of the meetings?
• What does the student expect from the supervisor? And has that been fulfilled within the last 6 months?
• What does the supervisor expect from the PhD student? And has that been fulfilled within the last 6 months?
•  The supervisor and PhD student are encouraged to update the PhD plan with possible decisions regarding the future collaboration

According to the Ministerial Order on the PhD education you must complete PhD courses totalling 30 ECTS. Project specific courses and general PhD courses should each cover at least 10 ECTS. In general, no single course should exceed 6 ECTS credit points.

General courses concern PhD relevant competencies of relevance across several PhD-programs. Examples are courses regarding statistics as a tool in scientific research, courses on dissemination skills, or courses on career planning. Project specific courses cover topics specific to the PhD-program that the student belongs to, including topics of direct relevance for the student’s PhD project.

All courses must be at PhD level at identifiable institutions.

Two PhD courses are mandatory:

• Introduction to the PhD Study
• Applying the Danish Code of Conduct

Conference participation can count up to 6 ECTS as course activities. PhD courses can also be in the form of study circles or upgraded master courses. More information regarding these options is given in the template for the PhD plan.

Applications for financial support in connection with studies abroad should be submitted to the Doctoral School. The application form below must be duly filled out and signed by both the applicant and the supervisor.

• Apply for funding for stays abroad (online form no signatures required)
• Apply for funding (PDF)

By signing the application, the supervisor annotates the application with a positive recommendation. Please note that the application should be submitted well in advance and no later than one month prior to the commencement of studies abroad.

The support covers transport (one roundtrip), tuition fees (up to a maximum of 15,000 DKK) and an amount to cover own expenses for food and small necessities according to the rules in the Tax Assessment Act (Ligningsloven) Section 9 A.

The transport should be the cheapest reasonable way. Extra services which are not essential, such as preferred seats or priority boarding cannot be refunded.

According to AAU’s internal guidelines, the monthly grant amount is maximum 4,300 DKK per month in Europe and maximum 5,000 DKK per month overseas. When accompanied by spouse/cohabitor and child(ren) the monthly amount for the PhD student can be increased by 1,000 DKK and 500 DKK per child.

The monthly grant is paid in advance and calculated according to the whole duration of the study abroad. The Doctoral School provides financial support between 1-6 months. 
If the stay abroad is shortened, the monthly grant will be reduced accordingly.

The amount is paid as an advance. A final settlement with the university must therefore take place immediately upon return (no later than 10 workdays after return according to AAU’s guidelines). It is extremely important that this deadline is met for AAU to comply with SKAT’s guidelines for correct filing.

In some cases, it is possible to obtain a tax deduction (Differencefradrag). However, it is not possible to calculate this before the end of the stay abroad and final settlement with the university. If you wish to get a tax deduction (and are eligible to a deduction) the Doctoral School must be contacted.

The application for a tax deduction takes place by contacting SKAT directly bringing along the final settlement from AAU (Please do not contact SKAT before talking to the Doctoral School).

A PhD student may apply for leave of absence from the Doctoral School. Applications for leave of absence must be sent to the Doctoral School using this form. A leave of absence will normally be granted in relation to the following: 

• Illness
• Childbirth
• Military service etc

Leave of absence means that the applicant’s PhD program is prolonged by the duration of the leave of absence.

If the leave is due to PhD related activities, the leave must be for a period of minimum three months. Please note that an application for leave must generally be received by the Doctoral School no later than one month before the beginning of the leave.

Please note that if you are employed, the HR department will require additional forms to be completed.

If you have any questions regarding a leave of absence, please contact Maria Bredvig at the Doctoral School

When your PhD study is about to expire you will receive information from the Doctoral School about the application for an extension - you can apply for an extension two times.

FAQ

• You do not need to use the full duration of the extension.
• You can always submit your thesis - also if you are not enrolled.
• Make sure all signatures are present when submitting the application.
•  If applicable you also need to renew your work/residence permit.

Download the application for extension

ENROLMENT

When applying for enrolment it is required that you fill out the application for enrolment template. Please ensure that all required enclosures and signatures are present.

PREPARATION OF A PHD PLAN

No later than 2 months after enrolment the PhD student must upload a PhD plan for approval through the PhD manager portal. The PhD plan is prepared by the PhD student in co-operation with the principal supervisor.

STATUS SEMINAR AND UPDATED PHD PLAN

After 10 months of studies the preparation of an updated PhD plan should begin. The updated PhD plan is discussed at the 11 months status seminar. Comments from the status seminar must be incorporated into the plan. The updated PhD plan must be uploaded through the PhD manager system.

EVALUATION OF THE PHD STUDY 

According to the Ministerial Order, the Doctoral School must ensure that the PhD student is making progress according to her/his approved PhD plan. This requirement is met by the progress reports through PhD manager. The evaluation is conducted automatically through the system and all parties will be informed when an evaluation is pending.

RE-ESTABLISHMENT

If the performance during a study program is not satisfactory, this must be declared to the Doctoral School through the progress reports. This declaration must be accompanied by an explanatory statement. Together with the principal supervisor, the PhD student prepares a detailed plan of action to ensure that her/his performance becomes satisfactory after a 3-month period. Subsequently, it is the duty of the principal supervisor to judge whether the student is back on track. If this is not the case, the registration of the student will be cancelled.

COMPLETION OF THE PHD STUDY PROGRAM

The PhD program is completed with the preparation of a PhD thesis. The thesis is submitted to the Faculty and must be publicly presented and defended. The thesis and its defence must be evaluated by an assessment committee. The appointment of the assessment committee must take place before the PhD thesis is submitted to the Faculty. Before the appointment of the assessment committee, the principal supervisor must fill out a declaration that all other components of the program have been successfully completed.

The assessment committee is appointed by the Dean upon recommendation from the PhD Board and consists of 3 members, of which 2 must be extramural. Supervisors may assist the committee’s evaluation but without voting rights. The assessment committee performs its recommendation in two stages. A preliminary assessment must be completed at least three weeks prior to the date of the planned defence. In case of a negative assessment, the committee may recommend that the thesis is revised and resubmitted in which case the defence is postponed. After the defence of the thesis, the assessment committee completes a final evaluation of the thesis.

After the Academic Council has awarded the PhD degree, the secretariat will prepare a PhD diploma in Danish and English.