PhD funds must be used in a manner that 

• best supports research at the department
• supports early talent development within the department's research areas.

Applicants who graduated from their Master’s degree programme less than 12 months prior to the time of application. The project’s principal supervisor must have at least 50% employment with the Department of Public Health and the project must be within one of the department's four research areas:

• Applied Public Health
• Clinical Public Health
• Epidemiology, Environment and Biostatistics
• Sport Science
• Centre for Register-Based Research

The annual PhD fellowship is awarded in the spring semester. The application must be submitted to the Department management team at the same time as the application for approval for enrolment as a PhD student is submitted to the graduate school.

Applications are assessed on the following:

• CV of the applicant (40%)
• The significance of the project for the field of research in question at the Department of Public Health, as well as the project's originality and scientific quality (40%)
• Supervision and research environment (20%)

Specific criteria

CV of the applicant (40%)

• Does the applicant have the potential to become an excellent researcher?
• The applicant’s grade for their Bachelor's project and their grades from their Master's degree programme.
• The following criteria can also be taken into consideration
  • Experience with research, e.g. participation in a research project, a research network, affiliation with a research group, involvement in a publication or abstract.
  • Broad experience with teaching and supervision.
  • Experience with scientific or popular research dissemination.
  • Other matters, including work experience, work with associations, other voluntary work.

The scientific quality of the project and its significance for the research area at the Department (40%)

• Does the project contribute new, significant knowledge within one of the four research areas at the Department of Public Health?
• Can the project elevate an existing research area at the Department of Public Health?
• Does the project have the potential for breakthroughs, e.g. new theory or new concepts/new understandings of theory and concepts, new methods or approaches, or results with potentially great significance, e.g. a societal impact?
• Quality and originality of the project description
  • Are background sections comprehensive and do they have updated references?
  • Are the research questions and hypotheses (if relevant) clear?
  • Can the applicant answer the research questions using the proposed methods and materials?
  • Is the research plan clear and concise, and does it contain the necessary elements, e.g. power calculation (if relevant), an account of the applied theory (if relevant), ethical and data security considerations?
  • Is the research plan realistic in relation to resources, e.g. time, staff, data, equipment?

Supervision and research environment (20%)

• Do the proposed supervisors have the right skills?
• Can the research environment help a talented applicant meet their potential?
• Does the research environment provide opportunity to interact with other researchers – both younger and more experienced researchers?
• Are there opportunities for or agreements on research stays at other research institutions in Denmark or abroad?
• Does the project give the applicant opportunity to gain experience in leading a research project?

The assessment committee consists of the department management team and one ad hoc expert per application (or per subject area if two applications are closely related) who has specific competences within the subject area. The deputy head of department for research and talent is responsible for inviting ad hoc experts to join the assessment committee. Ad hoc experts are usually recruited from within the department. The assessment committee has one month to assess the applications. Two assessors from the department management team and the ad hoc expert prepare a written assessment for each application. The written assessment is between half to a full page in length. The department management team will then have a meeting to discuss the applications without the participation of the ad hoc experts.

The final decision will be made immediately after a response is received from the Scholarship Committee at Health. The number of fully financed PhD fellowships that are assigned to a principal supervisor is also taken into consideration.

The principal supervisor and co-supervisor included in an application cannot be members of the assessment committee. This also applies to any collaboration partners on the project. Any other conflict of interest is based on individual assessment.

The procedure and criteria will be evaluated after a two-year period. This includes assessing whether the 12-month cap at the time of application and the fact that the fellowship is only awarded once a year puts some applicants at a disadvantage.