Doctoral Research Fellowships

The Research Council does not award funding for personal doctoral research grants. You may not apply to the Research Council for funding for a doctoral research fellowship yourself. Research fellowship positions funded by us must form part of a research project. This means that only research organisations are eligible to apply for funding for a PhD fellowship via one of our calls for proposals.

The exceptions are the Industrial PhD and Public Sector PhD Project schemes, where a public or private sector employer can apply for funding for the position in collaboration with a degree-conferring research institution.

We can provide funding for one doctoral research fellowship per graduate. 

The Research Council will only provide support to doctoral fellows who have not previously completed a doctoral degree/PhD.

The Research Council provides support for doctoral research fellowship positions for up to three full-time equivalents. Any costs relating to required duties imposed by the degree-conferring organisation must be covered directly by the organisation.

The Research Council’s support for payroll and indirect expenses relating to research fellowship positions may not exceed the amount of the lump-sum allocation; see Rates for Funding of Research Fellowships. Funding of doctoral research positions is to be included in the project costs. The Research Council may provide support for other project-related costs for research fellows, such as use of equipment and travel and accommodation/board.

Doctoral fellows who are intending to complete their degree in Norway are expected to incorporate research visit(s) abroad into their fellowship period.

For research fellows with a registered address in Norway who spend all or parts of their research fellowship period abroad, The Project Owner, which is an research organisation, can apply for funding for stays abroad for up to 12 months. This also applies to doctoral research fellows who are staying and taking their degree at a foreign degree-conferring institution.   

The Project Owner (formal applicant) or a project partner is responsible for the employment of research fellows.

If the organisation serving as the Project Owner does not confer doctoral degrees itself, it must sign a written agreement with the university or specialised university college where the doctoral fellow will be completing his/her degree.