• The Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions (PhD Order) No 1124 of September 19, 2025 - In Danish
• Rules and guidelines for writing your PhD thesis

Previous regulations:

• Ministerial Order No. 1039 of 27th of August 2013 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions (PhD Order)
• The Ministerial Order No. 1039 of 27th of August 2013 with the Doctoral Schools comments

Forms applied when starting your PhD

• Application for enrollment
• Student - supervisor agreement: A basis for inspiration aimed at increasing communication on difficult topics in the relationship between PhD student and supervisor. A summary must be presented in the study plan and in the updated study plan
• Template for the PhD plan (2 & 11 months)

Forms applied during the PhD study

• Procedure for the status seminar
• Template for the status seminar - must be uploaded with the 11 month PhD plan as a merged document
• Portfolio document
• Application for financial support  E form
• Application for leave of absence
• Paradigme for outcome of conference participitation
• Paradigme for study circle participitation
• Application for extension of the PhD study

Forms applied prior to submission of your thesis

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

According to the requirements defined by the Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme, a PhD study programme must include organised course activities of one half of an academic year's duration.

This is deemed to be equivalent to 30 ECTS credits. You must acquire 10 ECTS from general courses, 10 from specific courses and the remaning 10 are free to be distributed.

All courses must be at PhD level at identifiable institutions. In general, no single course should exceed 6 ECTS credit points.

In some cases, conference participation can be considered equivalent to course activities. This necessitates that the PhD student produces a thorough report from the conference and that the PhD supervisor provides a written statement that the conference participation is equivalent to course activity.

Course activities can include courses offered by Aalborg University or by other institutions, e.g., as part of a research co-operation.

A total of 6 ECTS can be achieved from conference participation and the like - activities beyond the 6 ECTS must be approved by the PhD Study Director.

There are two mandatory PhD courses:

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

To sign up for a course within the Doctoral School use https://phd.moodle.aau.dk/ After a course has been completed you will receive an email with a link to an evaluation form. A diploma will not be issued before the evaluation is completed.

Below you will find a display of course activities offered by the Doctoral School and in Denmark.

The Doctoral School's Course Catalogue

PhD Courses in Denmark

Applications for financial support in connection with studies abroad should be submitted to the Doctoral School no later than two months prior to the commencement of the study abroad. 

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

The support for stays abroad can only be granted within the 3 year regular timeframe for the PhD study.

The form will afterwards be forwarded to your supervisor. By approving the application, the supervisor annotates the application with a positive recommendation.

What the funding covers

The support covers own transport (one roundtrip), tuition fees 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.  

According to AAU’s internal guidelines the monthly grant amount is maximum 3,000 DKK per month in Europe and maximum 3,500 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.

Transport should be booked in the most economical reasonable manner. Non-essential extras, such as priority boarding or first-class tickets, are not eligible for reimbursement.
We recommend that flights are booked as round‑trip tickets through CWT and well in advance (typically 4–6 weeks before departure) to ensure reasonable prices.

Payment process

Once the approved amount has been confirmed, detailed information on the payment procedure will be provided.
For PhD students employed at Aalborg University, the monthly grant can be paid in advance.
For PhD students not employed at Aalborg University, the monthly grant can be reimbursed based on rent receipts.
If the stay abroad is shortened, the monthly grant will be reduced accordingly.

Final settlement

A final settlement with the university must take place immediately upon return (no later than 10 work days after return according to AAU’s guidelines). It is extremely important that this deadline is met in order for AAU to comply with SKAT’s guidelines for correct filing.

Tax deduction (differencefradrag)

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 take 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 the form found under forms and templates. A leave of absence will normally be granted in relation to the following: 

• Illness
• Childbirth
• Military service etc

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

If the leave is due to circumstances other than above mentioned, the leave must be for a period of minimum one month. 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

ENROLLMENT

When applying for enrollment it is required that you fill out the application for enrollment template. Please ensure that all required appendix and signatures are present. The template can be downloaded here.

PREPARATION OF A PHD PLAN

No later than 2 months after enrollment 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.
This provisional outline of the PhD programme must satisfy the requirements of the general programme for the particular field of research in which the applicant wishes to participate. It is a precondition that research in the chosen area takes place within the Faculty. The PhD study plan must follow the template found here.

PREPARATION OF AN UPDATED PHD PLAN

Before the completion of the first year of the PhD program (after 12 months), an updated PhD must be uploaded throuh the PhD manager system.
The updated PhD plan must comprise a description of the academic progress and a precise indication of the undertakings during the remainder of the program. The updated PhD study plan must follow the template found under forms and templates. Comments from the status seminar must be incorporated into the plan.

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 trough 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 in order 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 performance progress has been re-established. If the PhD student is unable to recover lost ground, the registration of the student will be cancelled at the end of the 3 month period.

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 do not participate in the assessment committee with voting rights, but the principal supervisor should nevertheless always participate in the committee's evaluation. The assessment committee performs its recommendation in two stages. Prior to the assessment committee deciding on the date for the public defence, it must have formed an opinion as to whether the thesis qualifies as suitable for defence. Should the assessment committee view the thesis negatively, the assessment committee shall state in the recommendation whether the PhD thesis may be resubmitted in a revised version. After the defence of the thesis, the assessment committee sends a general evaluation of the thesis and its defence to the department as well as a recommendation as to whether the degree should be awarded or not.

The Academic Council confers the PhD degree. Hearings are conducted weekly, with responses issued every Tuesday.

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

Figure of a standard PhD study

4+4 Phd Programme Guidelines