Preparation for application

Applicants must find a supervisor with an interesting project and well-defined research questions.Before considering doctoral studies, applicants must have realised their field of interest.When applying they must have an agreement with a supervisor, who is employed at the School of Health Sciences.Applicants often find a research project after discussing it with teachers, scientists or experts at the University of Iceland or other institutions. If the project is led by an expert outside of UI, a tutor within the University is appointed.Master's study research projects sometimes also extend into doctoral projects. When scientists receive grants for specific research projects they often advertise for doctoral students' participation.

To apply for PhD studies at the School of Health Sciences applicants must submit an electronic application form through the Application portal. Please contact the relevant Faculty Office if the application form is not accessible.The PhD applicant and the supervisor send the application with or without a detailed research proposal to the relevant faculty office, along with supporting documents.The faculty standing committee assesses whether the faculty can provide sufficient knowledge and facilities and whether the budget has been set and then reports to the faculty office.If an application with a detailed research proposal meets all the requirements, including the faculty´s admission requirements, and is correctly filled in, it is forwarded to the School of Health Sciences Doctoral Studies Committee (DSC). If an application without a detailed research proposal meets all the requirements, the faculty notifies the DSC that the application has been approved and the student is enrolled in doctoral studies. The student must then submit the research proposal (use “Application form with a detailed description of the research project”) within 6 months of enrolment which is then processed in the same way as an application with a detailed research proposal. Note: Applications to the Faculty of Medicine are only subject to the approval of the faculty’s standing committee.At the next DSC meeting, possible reviewers are discussed. After a reviewer has been nominated, the review usually takes 2-4 weeks.If the application is approved, the applicant is invited for an interview along with the prospective supervisor(s). In some cases, the applicant is given the opportunity to reply to the comments before the interview. If the reviewer makes significant comments on the research proposal the applicant has four weeks to turn in a revised proposal.During the interview, the applicant gets 10-15 minutes to present the project in their own words, without using any prepared slides. This is followed by 15-20 minutes of discussion. The supervisor is usually present at the interview along with the chairman and the secretary of DSC. After the interview, the review is finalized and sent to the faculty.The applicant receives the interview comments and an enrolment letter.Enrollment and collection of the student registration fee. If the application is approved, a contract on the PhD studies is signed between the student and supervisor/supervisory teacher.