PhD Scholarships at the Faculty of Law

The Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen hereby announces a number of fully funded PhD positions to commence in September 2022.  

Founded in 1479 as one of the four original faculties of the University of Copenhagen, the Faculty of Law boasts a long-standing reputation for excellence in teaching and research. The Faculty offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate degree programmes in law. Through research-based education the Faculty ensures that law graduates acquire the necessary skills to succeed in their legal careers in the private or public sector both at home and abroad. With 5000 undergraduate and graduate students, over 60 PhD fellows, and an academic staff of more than 80 members, the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen is a vibrant, diverse and intellectually stimulating academic environment.  

The PhD Programme 

The goal of the PhD Programme is threefold: to prepare candidates for a continuing career in teaching and research; to educate a new generation of scholars to produce high-quality independent research; and to equip them with the analytical and problem-solving skills required for a successful career in both the public and private sectors.   

The Faculty of Law offers supervision by highly qualified academics and provides an excellent opportunity to research contemporary legal issues in an intellectually stimulating environment. 

The Faculty of Law welcomes both original project proposals and proposals for PhD projects falling within the framework projects of the Research Centres. PhD topics of particular interest to the each Research Centre are described on the individual Research Centre’s website.
Please find the Research Centres listed here: https://jura.ku.dk/phd/english/applicants/research-centres/

Successful PhD candidates are required to:  

• Actively engage in the research environment at the University of Copenhagen; participate in international conferences, courses and meetings relevant to their research project; 
• Comply with the formal requirements of the PhD programme ;
• Contribute to teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in Danish or English offered by the Faculty of Law 
• Conduct independent and high quality research under the supervision of a senior member of academic staff at the Faculty.

Qualifications

• Applicants must have obtained a degree that corresponds to the Danish Master of Laws degree which is a second cycle 120 ECTS degree (two years of full-time studies), that builds on a 180 ECTS bachelor’s degree (three years of full-time studies) or equivalent qualifications. Applicants with a non-Danish Master's degree will have their degree assessed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science in order to establish, if the Master's degree is equivalent to a Danish Master's degree. 
• It is possible to start the PhD process while studying for your Masters (called the 4+4 or 3+5 schemes). In the 4+4 scheme, you start 12 months after the beginning of your Masters' studies. In the 3+5 scheme, you start on an integrated Masters and PhD process straight after graduating with your Bachelors. The possibility of enrolment under the 3+5 and 4+4 schemes only applies within Public law and Property law and only for students who can be admitted to/are admitted to the Master Degree in Law (cand.jur) programme (in Danish only).
• Applicants must have obtained a minimum overall grade average of 8.2 or above at the Master’s level in accordance with the Danish grading scale as well as a master’s thesis graded at 10 points or higher (or equivalent for applicants with a foreign educational background).
• Applicants may submit their application before they have completed their Master’s Degree. The Master’s degree must be obtained before the start date.
• Applicants must document an aptitude for research through the meritorious assessment of their final thesis, publications or academic recommendations in order to show that they are capable of undertaking the demanding task of writing a PhD thesis. 
• Applicants must have excellent language skills in English and have excellent communications skills. Applicants must be able to teach at an academic level in Danish or English and to follow PhD courses in English. Documentation of English level can for instance be documented by an excellent IELTS or TOEFL test. More information is available here: https://jura.ku.dk/phd/english/applicants/language-requirements/   

Application procedure 

Please click the above 'Apply' button to access the online application.  

We advise you to have the following documents ready before you begin your online application:  

• Research project proposal: This should include the following: (1) objective(s) of the research, (2) major research questions, (3) review of relevant literature, (4) methodology to be applied in the research, and (5) a timetable that plans for all course requirements to have been met within three years. The project description must elaborate on the value of the proposed research project in terms of its relevance to existing and future research in the field. It is recommended that the project proposal does not exceed 6 A4 pages (excluding bibliography). The document must be in Times New Roman, font size 12, spacing 1.5 with all margins (right, left, top and bottom) set to 2 cm
• Curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages). 
• Diplomas and transcripts. Certified copies of original diploma(s) and transcripts (both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree) in the original language and an authorized English translation if they are issued in other language than English or Danish. 
• Grading scale. A certified explanation of grading scale in the original language and an authorized English translation if it is available in other language than English or Danish. 
• Supervisor. The name of a member of academic staff whom you wish to have assigned as your supervisor. You do not need to contact the supervisor but simply make a request in your application. 
• Letter of motivation.  Explaining the choice of the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen as a host institution for the proposed project and outlines how the project fits within the research priorities at the Faculty (maximum 1 page). 
• Documentation of English level. Documentation of English level can for instance be documented by an excellent IELTS or TOEFL test.   

Submit your application electronically in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian or English.   

University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding society and therefore encourages all interested parties regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

The recruitment process 

Following the application deadline the Associate Dean of Research will pre-select PhD applications that will proceed to the assessment stage upon the recommendation of the Appointment Committee. Applicants are pre-selected for further assessment in line with the Faculty’s recruitment needs as described in this job advertisement. This is carried out based on the overall assessment of the applicant’s educational qualifications, the quality of the submitted research proposal and its relevance to the Faculty’s research agenda, and other relevant qualifications (e.g. relevant professional experience, any previous academic publications etc.). 

All applicants are then notified by the HR Centre as to whether their application has proceeded to the assessment stage. This assessment is carried out by an expert assessment committee. Selected applicants will be notified of the composition of the assessment committee. When the committee has completed its assessment, each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the assessment. A number of qualified applicants will be invited for an interview. 

Terms of employment

Successful candidates will be employed in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the Ministry of Finance concerning the salary of PhD students. If you are offered a PhD position, you will receive a regular monthly salary in accordance with Danish law and you will be entitled to an annual research budget. The salary range starts at DKK 27.871,40 per month before taxes. The Faculty does not provide accommodation. 

The PhD student has a work obligation of up to 840 hours over the 3 years period of time without additional pay. The work obligation can include for instance teaching. 

If you are offered the position a certificate of criminal record must be submitted.

General information about the PhD programme and the requirements can be found here: https://jura.ku.dk/phd/english/applicants/

Further information about the application procedure is available from HR officer Lotte Strandberg, e-mail: [email protected], please refer to ID number 211-0919/21-2H #1

Closing date for applications 

The closing date for applications is 17 January 2022, 23:59 CET   

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. If all the required documents are not applied, your application will be rejected. 

Interviews are expected to take place in April.