Language skills
Programme length
3 years
Study mode
Face-to-face learning
Application status
International students:
Students with Icelandic or Nordic citizenship:
MS degree in Business Administration or equivalent qualification.
No less than 180 credits are required for the PhD degree, requiring three years of full time study. If so advised by the Doctoral Degree Committee, the Faculty can impose limits as to the minimum acceptable progress of study. Should a student fail to meet those limits, the Graduate Studies Committee may revoke the student's enrolment in the programme. The doctoral programme is primarily based on the doctoral candidate's independent research, culminating in the dissertation. However, the candidate's advisor and/or Graduate Studies Committee may require the candidate to take courses in addition to the research. The candidate's advisor will formulate a plan of study and submit it for the Graduate Studies Committee's approval. Some of the required courses may take the form of independent study, for which the Graduate Studies Committee will designate one or more faculty member(s) as supervisor. The faculty member in charge of the independent study will establish the requirements for the course and determine whether they have been fulfilled by the candidate.
The following documents must accompany an application for this programme:
- CV
- Statement of purpose
- Research proposal
- Study plan
- Reference 1, Name and email
- Reference 2, Name and email
- Certified copies of diplomas and transcripts
- Proof of English proficiency
Form for the Letters of recommendation.
Further information on supporting documents can be found here.
Applicants must explain their goals for the doctoral program, and why they believe themselves academically qualified to engage in doctoral studies, e.g., because of good performance in studies, including:
- undergraduate and graduate studies
- participation in research projects
- published articles
- challenging projects
- professional experience
- interesting research
- interest in specific jobs upon completion of their studies, etc.
An applicant must also specify:
Whether studies will be full-time or part-time (percentage)
The courses planned. Here the student states fields of emphasis she/he deems necessary to strengthen.
Financing plan.
Here the applicant reports grant applications, loans, own financing, work or other relevant things.
Request for a supervisor (if relevant) along with reasons. See information regarding professional requirements for doctoral student's supervisors under the quality standards and requirements for doctoral programmes at the University of Iceland.
PhD applicants must hand in:
A brief description of the project in Icelandic and English.
- 100 - 150 words
A description of the planned research project, about 2000-4000 words, in addition to a list of references, in the language in which the dissertation will be written following the faculty's rules.
The following shall be stated:
- goals, the state of knowledge and scientific value
- a description of the implementation (procedures)
- a schedule with information on the main benchmarks and programme completion
- the plan for the publication of the results and the site of publication
- a list of references
The description must be clear, realistic and scheduled (months and quarters). The project name (working title) shall be descriptive of the research. The division of the research into subjects shall be included (a rough summary of the contents), such as division into chapters or division of the dissertation into articles.
A description of the method/methods to be applied in answering the project's research questions. It is imperative to relate and explain how the research proposal and the main research questions differ from existing research (domestic and foreign) for the same or similar research fields, and what the novelty of the research is.
Finally, the applicant must state why he or she deems the research to be important for the research field’s development in the Icelandic and/or international context.
Programme structure
Check below to see how the programme is structured.
This programme does not offer specialisations.
- Year unspecified
- Whole year courses
- Seminar for PhD students in Business Admin
- Seminar on Doctoral Studies
- Fall
- Not taught this semesterSSS - Theoretical Research Foundation and Phenomenology
- Spring 1
- FVS - Theoretical Research Foundation and Phenomenology
- Year unspecified
- Ph.D. Thesis
- Ph.D. Thesis
- Ph.D. Thesis
Year unspecified | Whole year courses
Seminar for PhD students in Business Admin (VIÐ0AEF)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
2 ECTS, credits
Course Description
Seminar for PhD students in Business Administration is a part of the final project. The seminar will assist PhD students in introducing their projects and is attendance reguiered in class.
Language of instruction: Icelandic
Attendance required in class
Year unspecified | Whole year courses
Seminar on Doctoral Studies (FVS701F)
Free elective course within the programme
4 ECTS, credits
Course Description
This seminar is organised for doctoral students at the School of Social Sciences. Experts will give lectures on doctoral studies. Doctoral students will present their research.
Language of instruction: English
Attendance required in class
Not taught this semester
Year unspecified | Fall
SSS - Theoretical Research Foundation and Phenomenology (VIÐ171F)
Free elective course within the programme
7,5 ECTS, credits
Course Description
In this course we will cover: 1) Philosophical research foundations and social science such as ontology, epistemology and ideology; 2) The history, development and how to conduct phenomenological research including interviews and case study; and, 3) The structure, content and how to write a peer review journal article.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this course is to provide students with knowledge and skills in theoretical, philosophical and ideological backbone of research. Moreover, students will obtain competence in analyzing and interpreting data in phenomenological research methods, phenomenology and write a short article for a peer reviewed journal.
Language of instruction: English
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Year unspecified | Spring 1
FVS - Theoretical Research Foundation and Phenomenology (VIÐ291F)
Free elective course within the programme
7,5 ECTS, credits
Course Description
In this course we will cover: 1) Philosophical research foundations and social science such as ontology, epistemology and ideology; 2) The history, development and how to conduct phenomenological research including interviews and case study; and, 3) The structure, content and how to write a peer review journal article.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this course is to provide students with knowledge and skills in theoretical, philosophical and ideological backbone of research. Moreover, students will obtain competence in analyzing and interpreting data in phenomenological research methods, phenomenology and write a short article for a peer reviewed journal.
Language of instruction: English
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Year unspecified | Year unspecified
Ph.D. Thesis (VIÐ561L, VIÐ561L, VIÐ561L)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
0/0/0 ECTS, credits
Course Description
No less than 180 credits are required for the PhD degree, requiring three years of full time study. If so advised by the Doctoral Degree Committee, the Faculty can impose limits as to the minimum acceptable progress of study. Should a student fail to meet those limits, the Graduate Studies Committee may revoke the student's enrolment in the programme. The doctoral programme is primarily based on the doctoral candidate's independent research, culminating in the dissertation. However, the candidate's advisor and/or Graduate Studies Committee may require the candidate to take courses in addition to the research. The candidate's advisor will formulate a plan of study and submit it for the Graduate Studies Committee's approval. Some of the required courses may take the form of independent study, for which the Graduate Studies Committee will designate one or more faculty member(s) as supervisor. The faculty member in charge of the independent study will establish the requirements for the course and determine whether they have been fulfilled by the candidate.
Language of instruction: Icelandic
Self-study
Part of the total project/thesis credits
Year unspecified | Year unspecified
Ph.D. Thesis (VIÐ561L, VIÐ561L, VIÐ561L)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
0/0/0 ECTS, credits
Course Description
No less than 180 credits are required for the PhD degree, requiring three years of full time study. If so advised by the Doctoral Degree Committee, the Faculty can impose limits as to the minimum acceptable progress of study. Should a student fail to meet those limits, the Graduate Studies Committee may revoke the student's enrolment in the programme. The doctoral programme is primarily based on the doctoral candidate's independent research, culminating in the dissertation. However, the candidate's advisor and/or Graduate Studies Committee may require the candidate to take courses in addition to the research. The candidate's advisor will formulate a plan of study and submit it for the Graduate Studies Committee's approval. Some of the required courses may take the form of independent study, for which the Graduate Studies Committee will designate one or more faculty member(s) as supervisor. The faculty member in charge of the independent study will establish the requirements for the course and determine whether they have been fulfilled by the candidate.
Language of instruction: Icelandic
Self-study
Part of the total project/thesis credits
Year unspecified | Year unspecified
Ph.D. Thesis (VIÐ561L, VIÐ561L, VIÐ561L)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
0/0/0 ECTS, credits
Course Description
No less than 180 credits are required for the PhD degree, requiring three years of full time study. If so advised by the Doctoral Degree Committee, the Faculty can impose limits as to the minimum acceptable progress of study. Should a student fail to meet those limits, the Graduate Studies Committee may revoke the student's enrolment in the programme. The doctoral programme is primarily based on the doctoral candidate's independent research, culminating in the dissertation. However, the candidate's advisor and/or Graduate Studies Committee may require the candidate to take courses in addition to the research. The candidate's advisor will formulate a plan of study and submit it for the Graduate Studies Committee's approval. Some of the required courses may take the form of independent study, for which the Graduate Studies Committee will designate one or more faculty member(s) as supervisor. The faculty member in charge of the independent study will establish the requirements for the course and determine whether they have been fulfilled by the candidate.
Language of instruction: Icelandic
Self-study
Part of the total project/thesis credits
Year unspecified
- Whole year courses
- VIÐ0AEFSeminar for PhD students in Business AdminMandatory (required) course2A mandatory (required) course for the programme2 ECTS, creditsCourse Description
Seminar for PhD students in Business Administration is a part of the final project. The seminar will assist PhD students in introducing their projects and is attendance reguiered in class.
PrerequisitesAttendance required in classFVS701FSeminar on Doctoral StudiesElective course4Free elective course within the programme4 ECTS, creditsCourse DescriptionThis seminar is organised for doctoral students at the School of Social Sciences. Experts will give lectures on doctoral studies. Doctoral students will present their research.
PrerequisitesAttendance required in class- Fall
Not taught this semesterVIÐ171FSSS - Theoretical Research Foundation and PhenomenologyElective course7,5Free elective course within the programme7,5 ECTS, creditsCourse DescriptionIn this course we will cover: 1) Philosophical research foundations and social science such as ontology, epistemology and ideology; 2) The history, development and how to conduct phenomenological research including interviews and case study; and, 3) The structure, content and how to write a peer review journal article.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this course is to provide students with knowledge and skills in theoretical, philosophical and ideological backbone of research. Moreover, students will obtain competence in analyzing and interpreting data in phenomenological research methods, phenomenology and write a short article for a peer reviewed journal.
Face-to-face learningPrerequisites- Spring 2
VIÐ291FFVS - Theoretical Research Foundation and PhenomenologyElective course7,5Free elective course within the programme7,5 ECTS, creditsCourse DescriptionIn this course we will cover: 1) Philosophical research foundations and social science such as ontology, epistemology and ideology; 2) The history, development and how to conduct phenomenological research including interviews and case study; and, 3) The structure, content and how to write a peer review journal article.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this course is to provide students with knowledge and skills in theoretical, philosophical and ideological backbone of research. Moreover, students will obtain competence in analyzing and interpreting data in phenomenological research methods, phenomenology and write a short article for a peer reviewed journal.
Face-to-face learningPrerequisites- Year unspecified
VIÐ561L, VIÐ561L, VIÐ561LPh.D. ThesisMandatory (required) course0/0/0A mandatory (required) course for the programme0/0/0 ECTS, creditsCourse DescriptionNo less than 180 credits are required for the PhD degree, requiring three years of full time study. If so advised by the Doctoral Degree Committee, the Faculty can impose limits as to the minimum acceptable progress of study. Should a student fail to meet those limits, the Graduate Studies Committee may revoke the student's enrolment in the programme. The doctoral programme is primarily based on the doctoral candidate's independent research, culminating in the dissertation. However, the candidate's advisor and/or Graduate Studies Committee may require the candidate to take courses in addition to the research. The candidate's advisor will formulate a plan of study and submit it for the Graduate Studies Committee's approval. Some of the required courses may take the form of independent study, for which the Graduate Studies Committee will designate one or more faculty member(s) as supervisor. The faculty member in charge of the independent study will establish the requirements for the course and determine whether they have been fulfilled by the candidate.
Self-studyPrerequisitesPart of the total project/thesis creditsVIÐ561L, VIÐ561L, VIÐ561LPh.D. ThesisMandatory (required) course0/0/0A mandatory (required) course for the programme0/0/0 ECTS, creditsCourse DescriptionNo less than 180 credits are required for the PhD degree, requiring three years of full time study. If so advised by the Doctoral Degree Committee, the Faculty can impose limits as to the minimum acceptable progress of study. Should a student fail to meet those limits, the Graduate Studies Committee may revoke the student's enrolment in the programme. The doctoral programme is primarily based on the doctoral candidate's independent research, culminating in the dissertation. However, the candidate's advisor and/or Graduate Studies Committee may require the candidate to take courses in addition to the research. The candidate's advisor will formulate a plan of study and submit it for the Graduate Studies Committee's approval. Some of the required courses may take the form of independent study, for which the Graduate Studies Committee will designate one or more faculty member(s) as supervisor. The faculty member in charge of the independent study will establish the requirements for the course and determine whether they have been fulfilled by the candidate.
Self-studyPrerequisitesPart of the total project/thesis creditsVIÐ561L, VIÐ561L, VIÐ561LPh.D. ThesisMandatory (required) course0/0/0A mandatory (required) course for the programme0/0/0 ECTS, creditsCourse DescriptionNo less than 180 credits are required for the PhD degree, requiring three years of full time study. If so advised by the Doctoral Degree Committee, the Faculty can impose limits as to the minimum acceptable progress of study. Should a student fail to meet those limits, the Graduate Studies Committee may revoke the student's enrolment in the programme. The doctoral programme is primarily based on the doctoral candidate's independent research, culminating in the dissertation. However, the candidate's advisor and/or Graduate Studies Committee may require the candidate to take courses in addition to the research. The candidate's advisor will formulate a plan of study and submit it for the Graduate Studies Committee's approval. Some of the required courses may take the form of independent study, for which the Graduate Studies Committee will designate one or more faculty member(s) as supervisor. The faculty member in charge of the independent study will establish the requirements for the course and determine whether they have been fulfilled by the candidate.
Self-studyPrerequisitesPart of the total project/thesis credits
If you still have questions, feel free to contact us.
School of Social Sciences
Open weekdays 9 am - 3 pm
PHD Coordinators
Kolbrún Eggertsdóttir,
Head of Quality Administration
Sigrún Daníelsdóttir Flóvenz
Project manager
