Everything You Need To Know About The PhD Studies In Denmark
And why you should apply for one
By Nhut Nguyen
Software Engineer | Educator | Content Creator
Photo by For many years, few Asian students, like me, have considered Denmark for their PhD studies.
Years ago, Denmark was off my map when I was looking for a PhD position in Europe. What I knew about the country was that there were only one or two famous fairy tales of H. C. Andersen, the Laudrups brothers, and Peter Schmeichel in football.
Denmark is a small country, so it is underrated when Asian people think about science and technology. A dozen years ago, a Vietnamese student like me would have favoured larger, more prominent countries like the USA, England, Germany, or France for her advanced study.
However, when I was accepted for a PhD position at DTU (the Technical University of Denmark), I quickly realised it was one of the best fellowships in the world.
Here is why.
A PhD Programme Takes Only 3 Years
It is one of the shortest PhD programs in the world. With a Master’s degree, it takes only three years to complete.
You have to conduct all the following duties within this duration.
Research
Absolutely. Publications are the most critical outcomes when you complete your PhD You must focus on your research and the planned project right after starting the program.
You have to do experiments and find solutions. Failed. Repeat. Failed. Try again. Succeed. Finally, you have something to publish papers on and present at conferences.
Three years is not long enough to produce many publications. Most professors would understand that and accept you might have only a few papers when finishing your study.
Take courses
You must complete coursework for 30 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) points.
In Europe, you don’t have to take courses at only the university you belong to. Even summer schools worldwide can count toward your coursework.
My 30 ECTS points consisted of different types of coursework. Twenty of them were the three PhD-level courses at DTU. 7.5 points were counted for my three summer schools in Belgium, Turkey, and Brazil. And 2.5 was about the Presentation and Writing skills course.
All my courses followed a simple pass/fail structure.
Teaching Assistant
You might have to assist your professor in tutoring some of their courses.
It was about helping you gain some experience working with students. This is especially true for those who want to apply for positions with teaching duties after their PhD Your CV must include some teaching experience.
Such an experience was not my problem; I spent seven years with thousands of students in Vietnam. The thing was, students here studied primarily in Danish. Luckily, all of them could discuss their Danish assignments in English, and I could understand their Danish assignments in math.
External research
Denmark supports PhD students going to any university worldwide for a few months to research.
Most (Danish students) would choose the USA for 3 to 6 months. However, it depends on the research topic and your professor’s network.
Alp Bassa was one of Peter’s best coauthors, so we agreed that I would spend around two months on an external stay at Sabancı University in Istanbul (Turkey).
PhD thesis
Your thesis is the most critical outcome of a PhD. You have to finish it and hand it in at the end of the program. A PhD committee of 3–5 professors from different countries will read and accept your thesis before your PhD defence.
Writing a PhD thesis is a difficult task. Especially when you choose to write the entire monograph, you have to write everything from the background to the methods and results. Depending on the fields, an average monograph could end up with 150 pages. Such a lengthy thesis could take at least 3 months to complete.
However, within only three years, I would spend more time writing publications and attending conferences than writing my thesis.
So, I chose another type for my PhD dissertation—the article compilation.
My 52-page PhD thesis in mathematics consisted of just five parts.
- Introduction, where I wrote an overview of my project and told a story to connect three of my publications.
- The first article.
- The second article.
- The third article.
- Conclusion, where I summarized the results I had achieved from my research.
You Are Paid A Salary
A PhD student in Denmark is not a student. PhD students are considered employees. The university pays you a salary for working for them.
In Denmark, you can also apply for an industrial PhD program, where a company will pay your salary as you work for them.
It is a good type of collaboration between the academy and the industry. You solve a real problem (that can make a lot of money) using the advanced techniques you are researching.
Very nice.
Your PhD salary is low compared to other job titles. However, it is very high for a student compared with the PhD scholarships you get from different countries.
As of October 2023, the monthly salary, including pension for a PhD student with no seniority amounts to approx. DKK 32,000.
If you are single, you can save a lot of money.
If you are married and have children like me, it is still manageable for your family with a single income. (That was why my wife left her good job in Vietnam and decided to go with Mai-Khanh and me to Denmark for my studies.)
As an employee, you don’t have a deduction on transportation like students in other countries, but you have many benefits.
Pension
Like the US 401(k) plan, a Danish university contributes around 15% of your gross salary to your pension plan, while you contribute about 5%.
If you continue to work and contribute to your pension plan, you won’t worry about money when you retire at 68. The only thing to worry about is your health.
Parental leave
If you are a mother and give birth to a new baby during your study, you can be at home for one year taking care of your baby. No study. Your entire salary is unchanged.
When the baby is one year old, you can put her in daycare and return to your studies.
If you are the father, you get 3 months of parental leave. That was my case when Khanh-Chi was born in 2014.
The mother’s PhD study is extended for one year or three months for the father, who receives a full salary.
That parental leave scheme is applied to everyone who is working in Denmark.
Travel expense
As an employee, you are paid for the travel related to your job.
Conference fee. Hotel. Flight. Transportation. Everything.
You are also given money for private breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Very nice.
I love attending and presenting at conferences and summer schools. During my three years of the PhD, I attended more than six conferences and three summer schools, most in Europe, one in China, and one in Brazil. That experience made me many friends around the world.
5 weeks of holidays each year
Oh yes. A lot.
The employment gives you at least 5 weeks of paid holidays. That provides you with many vacations during the year.
For many Vietnamese, holidays are saved for extended visits to Vietnam during the summer or winter break.
How To Find A PhD Position And Apply
Like a job, a PhD programme in Denmark can start at any time during the year. The job starts immediately when the money for the project is ready, and the professor has found a candidate.
Anyone who has a Master’s degree and can communicate well in English can apply for a PhD study in Denmark.
You can find PhD positions in your university of interest’s job vacancy, like this, or from the job portal of your research topic.
I found my PhD position in the Open Positions in Cryptology, a job portal for focused on cryptography (my research topic 10 years ago).
The application process acts as the job procedure, too. Apart from the documents, you should discuss your understanding or ideas about the proposed project with the professor. This proves that your background is best matched for the job.
You will be called for an interview or two if you are on the shortlist.
The head of the PhD school and a PhD committee will decide whether you are accepted.
There are many institutions in Denmark. However, only the eight most prominent universities have PhD programs. Their job portals list current open PhD positions and other positions, e.g., PostDoc, Researcher, Professor, etc.
University of Copenhagen (KU)
Founded in 1478. With over 38.000 students and over 9.000 employees, KU is one of the largest research and education institutions in the Nordic countries. Today, ten Nobel Prizes have been awarded here.
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
(My university) Founded in 1829, DTU is the leading technical university in the Nordic countries and one of the best technical universities in Europe and the world.
Copenhagen Business School (CBS)
Established in 1917. CBS is one of the largest business schools in Europe. Its recognized graduate programs attract many of the best international students and leaders worldwide.
Aarhus University (AU)
Founded in 1928. AU attracts a lot of international students for its rich courses in English.
Aalborg University (AAU)
Established in 1974, AAU is a relatively young university, but it is already ranking amongst the world’s best and most acknowledged international universities.
University of Southern Denmark (SDU)
Established in 1966. SDU is one of the top fifty young universities in the world.
Roskilde University (RUC)
Founded in 1972. Ranked 101–150 in the Times Higher Education Young Universities Rankings.
IT University of Copenhagen (ITU)
The IT University of Copenhagen is an independent educational and research institution focusing on information technology. It has various graduate programs and research at the highest academic level.
Conclusion
PhD studies in Denmark are considered jobs. You are paid to work, so the money is higher than PhD scholarships from other countries.
The program duration is short, requiring you to accomplish many tasks within just three years. It is tough. You have to have a good plan. Peter helped me a lot during my studies to finish it on time.
Denmark is a small but wealthy country with an excellent infrastructure for conducting research at the highest levels.
Denmark is an excellent place to consider if you are looking for a PhD position.
