Admission to the PhD programme

Previous exam
To be admitted as a PhD student, an applicant must have satisfactory results from one of the following exams: 

  1. A Danish Master’s degree in engineering. (Corresponding to an MSc in Engineering)
  2. A Master’s degree (based on two years of master’s studies equivalent to 120 ECTS points) from a Danish, long-cycle higher educational programme which, in the estimation of the relevant PhD school, gives the applicant the qualifications necessary to complete the course of study in question. An individual evaluation will always be made in relation to the planned PhD study programme.
  3. A degree from abroad which, in the estimation of the head of the PhD school, is equivalent to one of the degrees/examinations mentioned above in 1) and 2).
  4. Or, if the head of the PhD school concludes that the applicant in some other way has acquired the necessary academic qualifications, which may require documentation by means of special tests.  

If you already have a PhD degree, you are not eligible for advertised PhD positions. Instead you may apply as a non-employed, privately funded PhD student, if you find a supervisor at DTU.
 

Admission of international students to the PhD programme
The examinations of international students are evaluated on the basis of information as to the length and content of their studies. Such examinations must at least be at a level equivalent to a Danish examination qualifying the holder for direct admission. The evaluation of the level of an applicant may take place using tests conducted by the potential PhD school and approved by the head of the PhD school.

An official translation of the foreign MSc diploma must be submitted together with the application.

We recommend that if possible, applicants include a statement from their home university regarding their relative ranking (e.g. what percentage of the student population of their year they belong to, e.g. top 5%, or 10th place out of 250).
 
Transfer of credit and work experience
If an applicant has at least two years’ work experience from DTU or another research institution/company, this person may receive a transfer of up to six months of academic credit, although the applicant was not enrolled as a PhD student. In such a case the student will be enrolled for two and a half years.
 
Other rules regarding academic approval, study plans, funding plans, etc. remain in effect.
 
In addition to this, transfer of academic credit is only granted for periods when the applicant has been enrolled as a PhD student at another relevant institution.
 
Transfer of academic credit is approved by the relevant PhD committee. The application is processed together with the application for academical approval.