The PhD study programme 

The PhD study programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences is an individually planned study programme which is carried out in close collaboration with a supervisor, the department at which you are enrolled and, to some extend, the PhD Study Committee.

First and foremost the PhD study programme trains you to become a skilled researcher at a high international level. This is achieved through the personal effort put into the academic work with your thesis and through participation in courses and conferences.

Teaching and/or knowledge dissimination and stays at foreign institutions also play an important role.

It will also give you the opportunity to participate in courses and research projects, present your research to students and other interested parties, and you get to work with professors on an international level.

Once the different elements of the PhD study programme have been completed satisfactorily, the PhD student is ready to hand in the PhD thesis, which is first assessed by an assessment committee. If accepted by the committee, the thesis is publicly defended. The degree is awarded by the Faculty of Social Sciences.

The organisational framework for the PhD study programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences is laid out by the the Copenhagen Graduate of Social Sciences which was established in February 2008. The Graduate School has the overall responsibility for the PhD study programmes at the Faculty. However, when you enrol as a PhD student, you still enrol at one of the Faculty's five departments. Each departments offers a PhD degree within their respective field of research; i.e. anthropology, economics, political science, psychology and sociology.

The rules applying to the PhD study programme are laid down by the Danish University Act, The Ministerial order on the PhD programme a thte Universities and the General rules and guidelines for the PhD degree programme at the University of Copenhagen. Read more about the legal basis.