How to apply for the PhD in Applied Micro- and Nanosystems

The PhD programme in Applied Micro- and Nanosystems is standardized to a 3 year full-time study. To be admitted to the programme, it is required that you have funding for the entire period (3 years full-time). There are three possible ways to finance PhD studies in this programme: financing by the Norwegian Ministry for Education and Research, financing by employer or self-financing.

To be qualified and accepted into the PhD program in Applied Micro- and Nanosytems:

  • Applicants must hold a Master of Science degree in technology, electronics, bioelectronics or equivalent. Students currently enrolled in a master programme are also welcome to apply, but must expect to have earned their degree before the appointment begins.
  • Applicants must have achieved grade B or above (minimum B on the Master’s thesis)
  • Applicants must have an excellent command of written and spoken English. Norwegian or another Scandinavian language will be an advantage.
  • Applicants must be able to cooperate with fellow students and faculty staff, and to work independently on academic topics.

Funding

For positions funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, the admission process is twofold. Firstly, the candiate needs to follow the advertised PhD student-positions at the USN job board and apply for a vacant PhD position. Secondly, if you are offered the position applied for, you must (within 3 months) apply for admission to the PhD programme.

If funding sources are private or come from your employer, admission is ongoing and has no particular deadlines. In case of funding from your employer, we recommend you and your company to explore the Research Council of Norway’s Industrial Ph.D. scheme. This scheme exists specifically for companies who wish to finance their employees seeking to pursue a PhD. Your company can submit the application to the Research Council of Norway (NFR) at any time (ongoing deadline for submission and short processing times). 

The PhD program in Applied Micro- and Nanosystems also accept private financial support (i.e. scholarships). A financing contract will have to be made between the self-financing candidate and the home institution before the applicant can be admitted to the PhD programme. This requires special documentation with a recommendation from one of our professors/supervisors, and administration – contact the PhD Coordinator for further information.

Admission

Admission to the PhD programme requires that the applicant has completed a relevant 120-credit master's degree - based on a bachelor's degree of 180 credits - with good results, or an integrated master's degree of 300 credits. An individual assessment of the competence of applicants with a master's degree of less than 120 credits may be done. Other education equivalent to missing credits in the master's degree must be documented. Admission requirements are the same for all candidates regardless of the source of funding

The application

The application for admission consists of the Application form with attachments.

The following information must be included in the application:

  • Documentation of previous relevant education that will serve as the basis for admission to the PhD programme (bachelor's degree and master's degree diplomas and transcripts of records)
  • Project description, including topic, research questions and choice of theory and research methodology. The project description must be formulated in consultation with the main supervisor and be signed by the candidate's all supervisors. 
  • Progress plan for completion of education, publications and writing the thesis
  • Financing Plan
  • Name of supervisors and signatures
  • Plan for compulsory residence duty and possibly a stay at another institution in Norway or abroad
  • Plan for the educational component
    • Please, note that, in order to be included in the educational component, the courses must be at PhD-level.
    • The plan must contain a list of all courses (totaling 30 credits) that will be included in the educational component of the programme.
    • Only in subject areas where no institutionally established PhD courses exist, an individual curriculum of 5-7,5 credits may be approved. If you intend to include an individual curriculum type of course in your educational component, you must at least specify the field of study in your application (eventually, you will have to write a more detailed course description and get it approved by your main supervisor before sending it for approval by the Programme Board).

Incomplete applications will not be considered.