How to Do a PhD in Denmark: Salary, 4+4/5+3 Routes and Visas

Who can apply

Danish universities run a standard, research-only PhD, and also an industrial PhD done jointly with a private company. Most PhD positions require a recognised master's degree in a relevant field, and a good command of English, since most PhD programmes are taught and examined in English. Each university and PhD school sets its own detailed admission rules, so always check the specific graduate school's page before you apply.

The Danish PhD degree is a 3-year, 180 ECTS research qualification. It combines:

Independent research under a supervisor.
PhD courses (around 30 ECTS credits in total).
Participation in research networks, often including a stay at a foreign research institution.
A PhD thesis, defended orally. The thesis can be one long monograph (commonly cited as being around 200 pages) or a collection of shorter research articles.

Two routes into a Danish PhD: 5+3, 4+4 and 3+5

Denmark offers more than one path to a PhD, depending on when you start:

5+3: You complete a full master's degree first (5 years of bachelor's plus master's study), then enrol in a separate 3-year, salaried PhD position.
4+4: You can start the PhD track after only one year of master's study. "Part A" runs for about two years and is funded through an SU PhD scholarship rather than a salary. After you finish your master's degree and pass a qualifying exam, you move to "Part B," which pays the same salary as a 5+3 PhD fellow.
3+5: Some faculties let a small number of strong bachelor's graduates start a combined master's-and-PhD track immediately after their bachelor's degree, without a separate master's degree in between.

Not every university or faculty offers all three routes. Check the graduate school's own page for the options at that specific institution.

What it pays (2026)

Most Danish PhD fellows (5+3, and 4+4 Part B) are salaried public employees, paid under the collective agreement between the state and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (the "AC agreement"). Pay depends on an AC salary level (4, 5, 6 or 8), set by how much relevant work experience you had after your master's degree, plus a non-pensionable PhD bonus.

At Aarhus University's Faculty of Arts, the monthly pay at the 1 August 2026 level was:

AC level	Base salary (DKK/month)	PhD bonus (DKK/month)	Total (DKK/month)
4	30,264.08	1,580.92	31,845.00
5	32,617.08	1,580.92	34,198.00
6	34,763.00	1,580.92	36,343.92
8	36,877.72	1,580.92	38,458.64

A 4+4 student always starts Part B at level 4, year 1. Two years of relevant work experience after the master's degree can place a 5+3 fellow on level 5 instead of level 4. During 4+4 Part A, students instead receive an SU PhD scholarship worth two SU vouchers a month (one voucher was DKK 7,426 at the 2026 level), funded by the graduate school or the project grant.

Tip: Pay scales and bonus amounts are set centrally and change over time. Always check the current AC agreement, or ask the specific faculty's PhD school, before you budget around a number from this guide.

Figures differ by university and faculty, so treat the table above as an example, not a nationwide rate. Study in Denmark's own PhD page separately cites an average monthly salary of 32,567 DKK for a PhD fellow at the University of Copenhagen, which falls in the same range.

Tuition fees

EU/EEA and Swiss citizens, and most students with full funding, do not pay tuition for a Danish PhD. Students who do not qualify for free tuition and are not otherwise funded pay a tuition fee of 50,000 DKK per year, or 150,000 DKK for the full three years. This fee is not reduced for leave such as parental leave or long-term illness, and your funding body must guarantee payment for all three years at enrolment. It is paid in three instalments: at enrolment, in the first quarter of the following calendar year, and in the first quarter of the year after that.

Visas and residence permits

Non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens need a residence and, usually, a work permit from the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI), part of New to Denmark. SIRI runs separate application routes for different categories of researcher, and the rules and fees differ between them:

Guest PhD (you stay enrolled in a PhD programme abroad and do only part of it in Denmark): normal processing time is 1 month, with a processing fee of DKK 3,060 (2026 level). You must show you can support yourself: a disposable amount of at least DKK 7,426 a month (2026 level), up to a maximum of 12 months.
Researcher (a paid research post where salary and terms must match Danish standards): normal processing time is 1 month, fee DKK 6,810 (2026 level). SIRI's own researcher page states that separate rules apply to guest researchers and to PhD students, and points applicants in those categories to a dedicated page.

If you are enrolled as a regular, salaried PhD student in Denmark (not a guest PhD), SIRI has its own specific permit category and current fee for that route. Check SIRI's "New to Denmark" site directly for the category and fee that match your situation, since these change and the general researcher and guest-PhD figures above do not automatically apply to you. In general, a residence and work permit based on a Danish job or PhD position also allows your spouse or registered partner, and children under 18, to apply to come with you.

How to apply, step by step

Decide which route fits you: a 5+3 position after your master's, a 4+4 track if you are mid-master's, or a self-funded/scholarship PhD.
Search the job banks of Danish universities and the national job portals for open PhD positions, since most are advertised as salaried jobs, not as scholarship calls.
Check the specific graduate school's admission requirements, English-language rules, and required documents.
Prepare a CV, transcripts of your bachelor's and master's grades, and a cover letter or research statement matching the advertised project.
If your funding is not already arranged, confirm it before you submit a full PhD application; most Danish graduate schools require proof of funding at enrolment.
If you are offered a position and are not an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen, start your SIRI residence and work permit application as soon as you have a signed offer or employment contract.

Common mistakes

Assuming "3+5" or "4+4" exists at every Danish university. These combined tracks vary by faculty, so confirm them with the specific graduate school.
Budgeting around one salary figure found online instead of the current AC agreement or the specific university's own pay table.
Applying for a residence permit under the wrong SIRI category (guest PhD vs. researcher vs. regular PhD student).
Forgetting that the tuition fee for non-funded students is charged per year and is not paused for leave.

Where to find open positions

Danish PhD positions are usually posted as regular job vacancies on each university's own careers page. You can also browse PhD positions worldwide and fully funded PhD positions on PhD Atlas. If you need to understand the EU-wide researcher visa route that some Danish positions fall under, see Visas for Doctoral Researchers in the EU, and for health cover while you are there, see Health Insurance for PhD Students and Interns Moving Abroad.