Admission
Here you will find relevant information about the requirements for the admissions application and information for completing the admission process once you've been admitted to the PhD programme in Veterinary Science.
The general qualifications required for admission to a ph.d.-program at NMBU is set forth in the PhD-regulations. In addition to the general requirements the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has defined spesific requirements for the PhD programme in Veterinary Science in our supplementary rules.
To be admitted to the PhD programme you need to have a relevant five-year education at the master's level or equivalent, a strong academic background, English language proficiency and funding for the PhD. Below you will find further details about these requirements and necessary documentation.
You must have a relevant academic education corresponding to a five-year master's degree or a cand.med.vet. degree, with a learning outcome corresponding to the descriptions in the Norwegian Qualification Framework, second cycle. The faculty may after special consideration approve other equivalent education as a basis for admission.
You must have a strong and relevant academic background from previous studies.
For applicants with a cand.med.vet. degree from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine you need an average grade of C or higher.
For applicants with other higher education the following requirements apply:
- The average grade for subjects which are part of the master's are to be B or better, or the equivalent in differing grading systems
- The master's thesis is to be graded B or better, or the equivalent in differing grading systems. If the education does not include a master's thesis, the candidate should be at an equivalent level.
- Education from institutions outside Norway must meet NOKUTs requirements.
The faculty can grant dispensation from the requirements for a grade of B or better if you document that you have a strong academic background by other means. Such documentation should include a supporting evaluation from a relevant authority at NMBU (e.g. your prospective supervisor). A request for such dispensation will be assessed individually and decided by the body with the power to grant admission.
You must document that you have the necessary proficiency in the English language in one of the following ways:
- English at upper secondary level 1 from a Norwegian upper secondary school (140 hours) with a grade of 4 or higher, or in-depth English from upper secondary level 2 or 3 with a pass grade, or an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.
- English language test:
- Test of English as a Foreign Lanaguage (TOEFL) with a result of at least 580 points for the Paper-based test (PBT) or 92 points for the internet-based test (IBT), eller
- IELTS Academic test with a score of at least t 7.0, or
- Cambridge Certificate, C1 Advanced eller C2 Proficiency, with a grade of C or better, or
- Pearson Test of English (PTE Academic) with a score of at least 65 points.
- Completion of at least one year of university studies in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the USA, Canada, New Zealand or Australia. A completed bachelor's degree, or minimum one completed year of a master’s degree programme, with English as the language of instruction, in a Nordic country.
English skills at a level corresponding to that described above and documented in other ways may in special cases be approved by the Faculty based on an individual assessment of the applicant’s documentation.
Nordic applicants: English at upper secondary level 1 (140 hours) in a nordic country with a grade corresponding to the Norwegian grade 4 or higher may be approved by the faculty. You find information on Samordna opptak's website.
Completed english language university education in other countries where English is the main language can usually be approved as equivalent to pt. 3 in the list above.
You must be able to document provision of full funding for the entire contract period (i.e. 3 years full-time study). The most common form of funding is the appointment to a PhD Fellowship position.
PhD Fellowship position
A PhD Fellowship is entails employment in a temporary position with the goal of completing a PhD. PhD Fellowship positions normally have a duration of 3 years with no extra work duties or 4 years with extra work duties. To be appointed to a PhD Fellowship position at the Faculty you must apply to one of our advertised positions. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine advertises PhD Fellowship positions as they become available.
External funding
You can also be admitted to the PhD programme with other forms of funding like:
- Employment in a PhD Fellowship position at another institution. Notably The Norwegian Veterinary Institute occasionally advertise PhD Fellowship positions for taking a PhD in Veterinary Science.
- Employment in another position with sufficient time for research. The Norwegian Research Council offers financial support for PhD-education for both the private and public sectors.
- Stipend to take a PhD in Norway
If you're applying for admission with external funding you must document full funding for the entire programme period including necessary operating expenses.
Candidates who have their workplace outside NMBU's campus are required to have residency in a relevant academic environment at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine for a total of at least 12 months during the PhD education. The residency may be divided into upto 3 individual stays. When recommended by the relevant Head of Department the faculty can grant dispensation from the residency requirement.
The work on your PhD project is done under supervision. The faculty and the supervisors are responsible for including you in a relevant and active research environment with senior researchers and other PhD candidates.
The supervisory team consists of a main supervisor and usually one or two co-supervisors. All the supervisors must hold a PhD degree or equivalent in a relevant field of study. The main supervisor is your primary contact and is responsible for overseeing your work and academic advancement. The co-supervisors also provide supervision and share in the responsibility for overseeing you.
The main supervisor must be an employee of NMBU and have previous experience or training in serving as supervisor for PhD candidates. When academic considerations specifically require, an external main supervisor may be appointed. The reasons must be given in the application, and the appointment must be based on a written agreement between the main supervisor’s employer and NMBU. A co-supervisor from the Faculty must be appointed if the Faculty appoints an external main supervisor.
It is not possible to apply for admission to the PhD program without having a supervisor employed at NMBU.
NB: If you with to register to take PhD courses at NMBU before you've gained admission to the PhD programme you can apply for access to single subject studies.
PhD Fellows at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (internal candidates)
Admission the PhD programme is processed in connection with employment in a PhD fellowship position. When you're employed the PhD Advisors register you in FS, our administrative system for studies.
External candidates
All PhD candidates not employed in a PhD Fellowship position at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine must follow the rules and procedures for external candidates. This includes candidates who are employed at a research institute, in a private company, in a public ägency, in another position at NMBU, etc.
The application for admission must include documentation of the education which forms the basis for the admission, english language proficiency and full funding of the entire programme period.
Complete the form NMBU 1.1 Application for admission in collaboration with your supervisors and send the completed form along with all supporting documents to the PhD Advisors phd.radgiver.vet@nmbu.no within two (2) months of the start of your PhD funding period.
Some of the information requested should not be sent through regular, unencrypted email. We therefore ask you to submit your personal information and sensitive documentation through our digital form for personal information.
The application must include the following documentation:
- Certified copy of original diploma for master's degree, diploma or equivalent
- Documentation of english language proficiency as outlined above
- Passport if the applicant is not a Norwegian citizen
- Full financing of the entire PhD programme period
- Project outline including an academic description of the project and a progress plan (approximately 1-3 pages)
- Description of any special needs for professional and material resources, such as access to the necessary infrastructure to carry out the PhD project
- Information about planned main place of work
- Information on any intellectual property matters and an account of any legal and ethical issues raised by the project
- Information on whether the project depends on permission from research ethics committees, permission to process personal data or other permissions. Such permissions should, if possible, be enclosed with the application.
In addition the following documentation should be attached to the application where necessary:
- For foreign education: assessment of education from the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills
- For foreign education: official description of the grade system from the institution where the education has been completed
Infrastructure: For candidates who receive external funding or are employed outside NMBU a contract is entered between the institution and the external party for the individual research project. This contract must exist before the candidate can be admitted.
Application deadlines
The faculty's PhD Council evaluate and decide applications for admission to the PhD programme in Veterinary Science. The PhD council meets 7 times a year. The deadline to submit cases for each of the PhD Council's meeting is given on their webpage.
Admission to the PhD programme is formalized through a written agreement as well as an education plan and a data management plan no later than four (4) months after the start of your PhD funding period.
The form NMBU 1.2 PhD contract is used to form an agreement between the PhD candidate, the supervisors, the department and any external parties involved. The completed and signed contract is submitted to the PhD Advisors phd.radgiver.vet@nmbu.no. The PhD contract regulates the parties' rights and obligations within the contract period and mentions, among other things, funding, supervision, reporting, publication and ownership of results.
The form NMBU 1.3 Education plan should be submitted to the faculty along with the signed PhD contract and the data management plan no later than four (4) months after the start of your PhD funding period. The education plan contains a project outline and progress plan for the the work on the PhD project, a plan for the coursework component, a plan for publication of scientific papers and a plan for stays at other institutions.
There is a separate site with additional information about the coursework component.
The data management plan (DMP) describes the type and extent of research data is generated in the PhD project. It also describes how the data is stored while the project is ongoing and how the data will be archived and, if applicable, made available once the project is completed.
We recommend that you use either Sikt's DMP tool or the Data Stewardship Wizard (DSW) to create your data management plan. DSW is designed for research data within the field of life sciences.
The data management plan is a living document and may be updated throughout the project. The PhD candidate and supervisors should, at a minimum, look over the and make necessary updates to the data management plan in when submitting the annual progress report.
The data management plan is sent to the faculty along with the signed PhD contract and education plan no later than four (4) months after the start of your PhD funding period.
If you are immigrating to Norway you need to make sure you have the necessary permit. Which permit you need depends on your citizenship and the specific circumstances of your PhD education. The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration is responsible for processing applications to work or study in Norway. There is a simplified process for citizens of EEA (EU) countries and an even simpler process for nordic nationals. You will find the necessary information by following the links to the relevant UDI webpage and entering your citizenship.
If you are being employed in a PhD Fellowship position or another position where you're expected to complete a PhD, you need to apply for work immigration to Norway. Your employer can help you with filing this application and provide any additional documents that are needed in the process. If you're being employed in a PhD Fellowship position at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, our HR section can help you.
If you are receiving a stipend to take a PhD in Norway rather than being employed in a position, you need to apply for a study permit. You may need a confirmation that you have been admitted to the PhD programme for your application, the PhD Advisors phd.radgiver.vet@nmbu.no can help you with this.