To become a PhD Research Scholar you need to apply for an announced scholarship. As a PhD Research Scholar you are both a student and an employee, which means that you will receive a standard contract of employment and a personnel form before your employment period commences. “PhD Research Scholar” is the official job title.

The annual salary for the PhD research scholar position will be NOK 550 000 (equivalent to approximately EUR 46 780 or USD 49 410) pr. August 2025. For particularly well-qualified applicants, a higher salary may be considered. Thereafter annual adjustment of minimum 3%.

The salary ensures a fair standard of living in Norway, and is subject to Norwegian taxes and benefits, including health care provision and membership of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

PhD research scholars cannot have paid employment outside NHH during the contract period, unless approval is given by the PhD programme/your department of affiliation. 

You are expected to mainly reside in Bergen during their contract period. However, you may apply to be a visiting PhD Research Scholar at another school. In such case, you need a formal approval from your department. Note that you might be eligible for “additional scholarships”, please read below. 

The scholarship normally lasts for a period of four years. A four-year scholarship requires the candidates to combine their studies with 25% work as a teaching and/or research assistant. This requirement averages out to less than 9 hours on a weekly basis. A three-year scholarship does not require such a commitment.

This teaching and research experience during the four-year programme, gives our PhD Research Scholars valuable teaching/pedagogical/research experience for a further academic career. As a PhD Research Scholar you will assist faculty members to:

• Provide research assistance for faculty members.
• Teach selected sessions at master-level courses.
• Grade assignments and exams of students in the masters programmes.
• Supervise master-level students’ theses.

If you submit your thesis before the expiring date of the contract of employment, you will be granted a bonus of 30 000 NOK. You will receive the compensation after you have received your conferment of the PhD degree. 

You may apply for enrolment to the PhD programme if you can document external funding, from another norwegian academic institution.

Furthermore, you must be found qualified to enter our PhD programme

As an external PhD candidate you will be granted a PhD student/PhD candidate status and sign a PhD-contract with the PhD programme at NHH, but you do not have an employment contract with NHH.

The Research Council has established the Industrial and Public Sector PhD Scheme to boost research efforts and long-term competence-building for Norwegian trade and industry through the recruitment of doctoral candidates.

Under the Industrial and Public Sector PhD scheme may apply for support for a period for an employee seeking to peruse an ordinary doctoral degree. The Research council support is limited to maximum 50 per cent of total project costs. The rates are adjusted on an annual basis and may therefore change at the beginning of a new year.

Firstly, you must be found qualified to enter our PhD programme, then you and the company must apply to The Research council for funding. The company/organisation and NHH sign a common agreement prior to enrolment in the PhD programme.

Admission to the PhD programme is formalised in a written PhD contract signed by the PhD candidates, the supervisor(s), NHH and any external parties.

Within the three first months of your studies, you and your principal supervisor or mentor need to fill out the PhD contract and submit it to the department.

The contract regulates the parties’ rights and obligations which includes e.g. the contract period, requirements relating to the training component, progress, milestones, and supervision-related matters. 

PhD Contract (PDF 280kb)

During the first semester, you will be appointed a principal supervisor or a mentor from the department where you are affiliated, which is formalised in the PhD contract regulated by the PhD regulations. 

A supervision committee consisting of at least two members will be appointed. At least one member of the committee must be a NHH employee and at least one member should be a person not employed by NHH in a full-time position. 

Supervision is one of the doctoral programme's leading educational tools. A long lasting, continuous contact with a qualified scientist is valuable for promoting the development of the PhD project

During your PhD period you may have to update or revise your PhD contract. The most common changes are to replace/add new courses, add co-supervisor(s), and change your principal supervisor.

Before you make any changes to your contract, please consult with and obtain the approval from your principal supervisor and PhD coordinator. Changes in part A of the PhD contract must also be approved by the Vice Rector for Research. This approval is obtained after the Vice Rector for Research has received a signed copy of the revised PhD contract.

Any changes or additions to the contract during the period covered by the contract are to be documented by using the form “Revision to the original PhD contract”.

Replace/add new courses in your PhD contract

If you plan to take courses that are not stated in your current contract, these will normally be added to Part B of your contract.  

Changes in part A of the PhD contract must be approved by the Vice Rector for Research. Note that courses in Part A can normally only be replaced by equivalent courses.

If recommended by your supervisor/department, you may partake in PhD courses at other institutions. Should these courses not award any ECTS, then it is necessary to obtain prior approval from the Vice Rector for Research, regardless of whether these courses are in Part A or Part B of your contract. The department must estimate how many ECTS should be awarded.

Changes to your supervision committee

In the event that you are not appointed a co-supervisor when you first sign your PhD contract, it is required to submit the “Revision to the original PhD contract” form once a co-supervisor(s) has been appointed. Appointment of co-supervisor(s) are added to Part B of your contract.  

If it is desirable or necessary to replace the principal supervisor, the PhD candidate and the principal supervisor may individually contact the department (PhD coordinator or Head of department) with such a request. The appointment of a new principal supervisor must be approved by the Vice Rector for Research after recommendation from the department.

The principal supervisor may not withdraw until a new principal supervisor has been appointed. Appointment of a new principal supervisor is changed in Part A of your contract.

Why do I have to report on my progress?

• The PhD candidate must normally complete the training component within two years.
• The PhD candidate must pass a mid-term evaluation (proposal defence). The proposal defence should normally be held in the third or the fourth semester.
• The PhD candidate must complete a course in pedagogy (the course gives no credits) prior to submission of the thesis. 
• Vice rector for research may add additional obligatory milestones in case of delayed progress. 

How is my information used and who handles it?

Details of the progress report process

Step 1. Each year the PhD student, the main supervisor of the student submit individual progress reports to the Department. 

Step 2. The PhD Coordinator of the different departments usually have individual meetings with the PhD students to discuss the individual progression and other matters. The department also submit individual reports on progress of each of their PhD students and any issues or measures required to the Vice Rector for Research. 

Step 3.The  together with the Vice Rector for Research evaluates the information from the student, main supervisor and the department and prepare overviews to be discussed with the departments. At the dialogue meeting, the progression of the first year PhD students will also be discussed even though a progress report was not submitted. At the time of the meeting, results from the courses taken the previous fall will be available, therefore the progression of the first year students will also be discussed in the dialogue meeting that usually take place in February/March. 

Step 4. The Vice Rector for Research, the Office of Research Administration and the Office of Human Resources hold dialogue meetings with the six departments. At these meetings, each student’s progress is assessed, and, if necessary, individual measures are implemented as needed. There is a strong focus on early detection of delays in progression and to quickly provide assistance to PhD students to get them back on track. 

In regards to the specialisation in finance, please find more information at the department's web site.

A stay abroad during your PhD period can be enriching in many ways. Such a stay usually lasts between 3 months and one year and is decided in dialogue with your supervisor(s) and the PhD coordinator at your department.

Start discussing the issue with your supervisor(s) and PhD coordinator early to determine when an appropriate time is for such a stay, where you should go and what you want to achieve with the research stay. Often the research stay abroad takes place during the later stages of your PhD period.  

The research stay should include participation in some form of academic activities. This could be co-writing of papers and work with a co-supervisor, as well as formal activities organized by the host institution.

Normally funding is provided through NHH funds.

The hosting institution may also have formal requirements for visiting scholars. Don’t forget that formal processes, for instance related to visas, may take a lot of time, so start your planning early.  

The evaluation committee gives their recommendation on whether the thesis is worthy of being defended for a doctoral degree within three months. You may submit comments to their report to the vice rector for research within two weeks upon receiving the recommendation.

The vice rector for research based upon the committee’s recommendation, decide whether the thesis is worthy of being defended. If the thesis is rejected, the candidate may resubmit the thesis for a new evaluation after six months, and within two years.  If the committees recomends minor revisions and this is granted, the candidate is normally given three months to revice the thesis. 

If your thesis is accepted for public defense, you will be asked to write an abstract in English (and Norwegian), and send it to the department of communications for use in press releases.

• is in the forefront of knowledge within his/her academic field, and can challenge established knowledge and practice in the field
• masters the field´s philosophy of science and methods
• can evaluate the expediency and application of different methods and processes in research

• can formulate and analyse problems
• can plan and carry out research in accordance with international standards

• can identify relevant ethical issues and carry out his/her research with integrity
• can present and discuss own research in relevant academic forums
• can lecture in his/her own academic field at the university level