PhD Scholarships in Theology

Subject to available grants, the Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, hereby announces that two three-year PhD scholarships will be available from 1 September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter. We invite applications within all research areas of the Faculty of Theology, including African Studies.

The awarding of a scholarship carries with it enrolment at the PhD school of the Faculty of Theology.

Introduction
The PhD programme provides PhD students with strong research training which opens a window of opportunity to a variety of careers within the private and public sectors. The programme includes the drafting of a PhD thesis, active participation in research networks, PhD courses, teaching, and other forms of knowledge dissemination.

The granting of the PhD scholarships will take place under the agreement in force between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Under this agreement, a holder of a PhD scholarship is obliged to carry out relevant duties amounting to a total of 840 hours over the three-year period. The scholarship holder must also be prepared to take an active part in the faculty’s research environment. 

Qualifications
To be considered, applicants must have a Master’s degree in Theology (120 ECTS or equivalent) or any other relevant Master’s degree including African Studies or similar qualifications. Besides attention to the scientific quality and the feasibility of the proposed PhD project, the assessment will put emphasis on the talent and potential for independent research demonstrated by the applicant usually through a Master’s thesis or similar.  

The qualifications of applicants with non-Danish Master’s degrees will be assessed to ascertain whether they correspond to the Danish level. For further information, please refer to the website of the Ministry of Education and Research: ufm.dk/en/education/admission-and-guidance.

Duties and Responsibilities
Further information about the PhD programme is available on our website: teol.ku.dk/english/research/phd_programme

The Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD programme at the Universities can be found here:

teol.ku.dk/english/research/phd_programme/hoejreboks/documents/ministerial_order

Applicants should familiarize themselves with the research strategy and the ongoing research at the Faculty before submitting their application. Further information can be found here:

teol.ku.dk/english/research/research-strategy-2020-2023

How to apply
All applications must be submitted online, in PDF or Microsoft Word format, via the link “Apply now” at the bottom of the page. The application must be accompanied by the following appendices (scanned electronically):  

• Documentation of both Master’s degree and Bachelor’s degree including transcripts
• Short CV
• Project description
• Budget for the three years of study

If available, the following documents should also be submitted as appendices:   

• Master’s thesis
• Master’s thesis assessment
• List of publications

Application and documentation can be submitted either in Danish or in English.  

Applicants with a degree from a university where documents are not issued in English, or a Scandinavian language must provide a translation of their diploma and transcript of records verified by the issuing university. The documents must be translated into English, Danish, Norwegian or Swedish. In addition, you must enclose an official description of the grading scale in question (for instance diploma supplement).

The project description must contain a description of the planned research project (max. 5 pages/12,000 keystrokes incl. spaces), and the draft outline of the study programme must be a realistic plan for the fulfillment of requirements under the Ministerial Order on PhD degrees with regard to participation in courses and periods of study at other institutions. The faculty expects the project to be kept within the usual annuum for a PhD fellowship, but any other major expenses must be mentioned explicitly in the application (e.g. travelling, field work, equipment, or external expert assistance necessary for the project).

Please note that it is only possible to upload one document per attachment category. If more than one document must be uploaded in the same category, please make sure that they are scanned, and collected into one file.

Application procedure
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the Dean selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Appointment Committee. The following criteria are used when shortlisting candidates for assessment:

• Research qualifications as reflected in the project description.
• Quality and feasibility of the project.
• Qualifications in relevant disciplines.
• Performance (grades obtained) in graduate and post-graduate studies.
• Whether the Faculty can offer adequate supervision for the research topic in question. 

All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an expert assessment committee. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee and each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself. You can read about the recruitment process at employment.ku.dk.   

The Ministerial Order on PhD degrees and other relevant documents can be downloaded from the faculty homepage at teol.ku.dk or by contacting the Faculty of Theology, Karen Blixens Plads 16, 2300 Copenhagen S.

Further information
If you have questions concerning the PhD scholarships, please contact Head of the PhD school Heike Omerzu (ho@teol.ku.dk).

If you have technical questions concerning your application, please contact HR South and City Campuses, email: hrsc@hrsc.ku.dk. Please state ID number 211-2057/25-2H #1 on request.

International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: ism.ku.dk

The University of Copenhagen wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications for the scholarships from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background. 

Application deadline: 1 April 2025, 23:59 (CEST)

Applications sent by regular mail or by email or received after the deadline will not be taken into account.