8a Status

One of the objectives named in Aarhus University's Strategy for 2008-2012 is an increase in the number of researchers educated and developed at the university. According to the key figures for Aarhus University, a total of 1,430 PhD students were enrolled in 2008.

The goal for total PhD admissions in 2010 in the Aarhus University Development Contract is 523 students. By comparision, 426 students were admitted in 2007, and 466 were admitted in 2008.

An overview of the distribution of active PhD students across the university's main academic areas as of 30 September 2008 is shown in the table below.

Many challenges must be overcome in order for Aarhus University to achieve the ambitious goals set for the PhD area. One of the most important of these is finan-cing. While PhD education in Denmark is clearly expensive, it is difficult to arrive at a precise and broadly accepted method of calculating the universities' costs in this area.

For example, in 2009 the Danish Appropriations Act divided PhD scholarships into salary-related expenses and an annual ‘education expense’ of DKK 145,000 (EUR 19,488) for experimental study programmes (broadly speaking, technical, scientific and medical programmes) and DKK 97,100 (EUR 13,040) for non-experimental study programmes (broadly speaking, humanities and social sciences programmes).

The national research councils provide funding for PhD scholarships on the same principles employed by the Appropriations Act: that is to say, covering the rates for 'education expenses' named above in addition to an average salary plus overhead. Some research councils traditionally subtract the salaried work component of salary expenses when allocating grants for PhD scholarhips.

It is important to point out that many PhD student positions which are ostensibly fully funded by Appropriations Act PhD scholarships or state research councils are in fact only partially funded, as the university is responsible for extraordinary expenses connected with maternity/paternity leave, illness, extraordinary courses and operating expenses.

An Industrial PhD scholarship covers an annual subsidy to the host university of DKK 120,000 (EUR 16,116) for experimental study programmes and DKK 84,000 (EUR 11,281) for non-experimental study programmes in addition to a salary subsidy to the private-sector partner business. This subsidy is expected to cover expenses related to supervision of the PhD student, work facilities, coursework and the assessment of the PhD thesis.

 Based on these rates of subsidy (excluding overhead) for PhD scholarship expenses and with 1,430 active PhD students in 2008, the university's total costs associated with the operation of PhD programmes in 2008 can be estimated at approximately DKK 772 million (EUR 104 million) (approximately 586 DKK mill. (EUR 79 mill.) to PhD scholarships and approximately DKK 186 mill. (EUR 25 mill.) to PhD education).

The absence of effective IT systems support for financial management in the PhD area makes it difficult to make a precise calculation of the costs associated with PhD education at Aarhus University.

Finally, it is clear that very few PhD positions are fully funded by scholarships from sources such as the Appropriations Act and research councils. The great majority of positions are co-financed on the basis of myriad ad hoc agreements concerning the composition of and appropriate uses for funding. The number and nature of such agreements varies greatly from graduate school to graduate school.

While all graduate schools currently practice early recruitment (admission to PhD programme before graduation from Master's programme), there are differences with regard to funding of these students, who are not covered by collective pay agreements.

The number of foreign PhD students at Aarhus University is steadily increasing, and in most cases the costs associated with their studies are precisely the same as for Danish students. However, there are exceptions. Aarhus University accepts a number of PhD students on DANIDA fellowships, which entails reduced salary costs without education subsidy. In addition, specific problems are linked to the admission of students without Master’s degrees from non-EEA countries, as they are liable to pay study fees in full as Master’s students according the current interpretation of the legislation governing this area.

8b Objectives

Naturally, the central objective in this area is for Aarhus University to achieve its ambitious goals with regard to enrolments in the area of PhD education. A number of conditions must be met in order for this to become possible, Financing is one of the greaest challenges

Aarhus University’s objectives for initiatives regarding enrolment targets and financing are to ensure that

• the university strategy document’s goal of a strong increase in the number of PhD students is achieved;
• full coverage of the real costs associated with PhD education is achieved;
• the necessary resources for supervision, infrastructure, etc. are guaranteed;
• the proportion of financing from external sources increases; and
• a greater degree of clarity regarding the actual costs associated with PhD education is achieved.

8c Initiatives

The calculation of costs 

Aarhus University should initiate the development of accurate models for calculating the costs associated with PhD education (both internally and by the eight Danish universities). The goal of a more accurate calculation of costs is both to gain a more precise overview of actual costs in the context of the current political debate on funding for PhD education and to provide a common point of reference for negotations with external partners on co-financing of PhD positions.

The online PhD administration system should be expanded to become an effective financial management tool for the entire PhD area as soon as possible.

In addition, a general framework for agreements regarding external participation in and co-financing of PhD positions should be developed, including guidelines for the rights and obligations of the participating parties

Agents: University management, the main academic areas and the graduate schools

Programme size 

Each graduate school should develop a long term plan for its expected contribution to the achievement of Aarhus University’s goal of increased admissions in the PhD area.

A survey of the resources necessary for Aarhus University to meet its targets with regard to admissions PhD area should be carried out.

A survey of financial resources is most relevant here. Each graduate school should develop a concrete plan for funding their proportion of the total PhD student body over the next five years.

Similarly, each graduate school should develop plans to ensure the availability of the remaining necessary resources, including supervisor capacity and physical infrastructure.

Finally, the heads of the graduate schools should collaborate to produce a general plan to ensure the availability of all necessary resources.

Agents: University management, the main academic areas and the graduate schools

Increased external funding 

Aarhus University’s goal of a strong increase in the number of PhD students cannot be achieved without additional funding of both scholarships and other educational costs. For example, the agreement on increased PhD admissions Aarhus University has signed with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation contains an increase in scholarship funding alone, not of the remaining educational costs.

Therefore, it is important to work to promote a general increase in external funding of PhD education at AU. A large range of initiatives could be considered, from larger contributions from private and public foundations to the university as a whole or to individual graduate schools, to small grants to individual PhD projects.

As a consequence of the graduate schools’ legal responsibility for the PhD education they offer, they will be increasingly called upon to play the role of fundraiser. The first example of this trend is the grant application process for national funding for the PhD area administered by the Danish Research Coordination Committee in 2009, for which the application pool was soley comprised of the heads of graduate schools. The heads of the graduate schools should participate actively and visibly in efforts to increase the proportion of external financing of PhD education at Aarhus University.

Aarhus University has a remarkably low rate of participation in the Industrial PhD Programme. All graduate schools should take steps to increase their participation. In addition, Aarhus University should work to promote the increased flexibility of the Industrial PhD Programme, both with regard to rules and administration, including a revision of the mandatory programme elements outside the sphere of the university. There is room for closer collaboration between the graduate schools and the Research Support Office, and more can be done to bring its services to the attention of researchers and PhD students. In addition, the ability to attract foreign applicants to PhD programmes and mobility in this area will be significant in terms of strengthening applications for external funding of the PhD area to the research council system.

Agents: University management, the main academic areas and the graduate schools

[1] DJF began independent admission of PhD students in 2007