The Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen announces a number of fully funded PhD positions to commence in February 2026

The Faculty of Law was one of the four original faculties at the founding of the University of Copenhagen in 1479. Ever since, the faculty has educated competent candidates for a broad and diverse labor market in the private as well as the public sector both at home and abroad.

The Faculty of Law delivers high quality legal research in order to enhance the rule of law, a knowledge-based society, sustainable development and a just and rule-based legal system at national, European and global levels.

The faculty has 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students, 45 PhD fellows, and an academic staff of 135 members, and the research at the Faculty of Law explores, challenges and develops the legal foundation for the future Danish and international society. 

The PhD programme   
The goal of the PhD programme is threefold:

(1) to educate a new generation of scholars to produce high-quality independent research;

(2) to equip PhD candidates with analytical and problem-solving skills required for a successful career in academia or in other positions in both the public and private sectors.   

(3) to create societal impact through the production of new knowledge and research skills.

The Faculty of Law offers supervision by highly qualified academics and provides an excellent opportunity to research contemporary legal issues in an intellectually stimulating environment. 

At present, the Faculty of Law is particularly interested in proposals for PhD projects falling within research areas covered by the compulsory courses of the Danish Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) (see further The Bachelor Degree (LL.B.) – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)).

Joint PhD programme in cooperation with the University of Iceland
The Faculty of Law also has a joint PhD programme in cooperation with the Faculty of Law at the University of Iceland. Applicants interested in the Joint PhD Programme are kindly asked to state that they apply for the joint PhD programme when submitting the application.

Please find more information here: https://jura.ku.dk/pdf/forskningsservice/phd/agreement-on-cooperation.pdf.

PhD students are required to:  

• Conduct independent and high-quality research under the supervision of a senior member of academic staff at the Faculty.
• Actively engage in the research environment at the University of Copenhagen, e.g. by participating in national and international conferences, courses, and meetings relevant to their research project. 
• Comply with the formal requirements of the PhD programme.
• Contribute to teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in Danish or English offered by the Faculty of Law.

Qualifications

• Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to master’s level related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Master of Lawa. If you have completed your education in Denmark, you must have a master’s degree covered by the collective agreement for academics in the state sector. If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, you must either have a master’s degree equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years) or as minimum a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor’s degree (three years) and be assessed as having professional qualifications at master's level.
• If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, we will obtain an assessment of your education from the Danish Research Agency.
• If the applicant has a master's degree, we ask that they have obtained a minimum overall grade average of 8.2 or above at the master’s level in accordance with the Danish grading scale (for Danish scale, see here) as well as a master’s thesis graded at 10 or higher (or equivalent for applicants with a foreign educational background).
• Applicants may submit their application before they have completed their master’s degree. The degree must be obtained before the start date.
• Applicants must document an aptitude for research through the meritorious assessment of their final thesis, publications, or academic recommendations in order to show that they are capable of undertaking the demanding task of writing a PhD thesis. 
• Applicants must have excellent language skills in English and have excellent communications skills.

Application procedure 
Click ’Apply now’ below to be taken to the online application form.  

We advise you to have the following documents ready before you begin your online application:  

• Project description: This should include the following: (1) objective(s) of the research, (2) major research questions, (3) review of relevant literature, (4) methodology to be applied in the research, and (5) a timetable that plans for all course requirements to have been met within three years. The project description must elaborate on the value of the proposed research project in terms of its relevance to existing and future research in the field. It is recommended that the project proposal does not exceed 6 A4 pages (excluding bibliography). The document must be in Times New Roman, font size 12, spacing 1.5 with all margins (right, left, top and bottom) set to 2 cm.
• CV (maximum 2 pages). 
• Diplomas and transcripts. Certified copies of original diploma(s) and transcripts (both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree) in the original language and an authorized English translation if they are issued in other language than English or Danish. 
• Grading scale. A certified explanation of grading scale in the original language and an authorized English translation if it is available in other language than English or Danish. 
• Suggested supervisor. The name of a member of academic staff whom you wish to have assigned as your supervisor. You do not need to contact the supervisor but simply make a request in your application. 
• Cover letter. Explaining the choice of the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen as a host institution for the proposed project and outlines how the project fits within the research priorities at the Faculty (maximum 1 page). 

Submit your application electronically in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, or English.   

University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding society and therefore encourages all interested parties regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

The recruitment process 
Following the application deadline the Head of the PhD School, with recommendation from the appointment committee, will pre-select PhD applications that will proceed to the assessment stage. Applicants are pre-selected for further assessment in line with the Faculty’s recruitment needs as described in this job advertisement. This is carried out based on the overall assessment of the applicant’s educational qualifications, the quality of the submitted research proposal and its relevance to the Faculty’s research agenda, and other relevant qualifications (e.g. relevant professional experience, any previous academic publications etc.). 
All applicants are then notified as to whether their application has proceeded to the assessment stage. This assessment is carried out by an expert assessment committee. Selected applicants will be notified of the composition of the assessment committee. When the committee has completed its assessment, each applicant can comment on the assessment.
A number of qualified applicants will be invited for an interview. 

Terms of employment
Successful candidates will be employed in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the Ministry of Finance concerning the salary of PhD students. If you are offered a PhD position, you will receive a regular monthly salary in accordance with Danish law and you will be entitled to an annual research budget. The salary range starts at approximately DKK 30,840 (EUR approx. 4,140) per month before taxes. The Faculty does not provide accommodation. 

The PhD student has a work obligation of up to 840 hours over the 3-year period without additional pay. The work obligation can include for instance teaching. 

General information about the PhD programme and the requirements can be found here: https://jura.ku.dk/phd/how-to-obtain-a-phd-scholarship/admission-requirements/.

Further information about the application procedure is available from HR, e-mail: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk. Please refer to ID number 211-2192/25-2H #2.

Closing date for applications 
The closing date for applications is 1 September 2025, 23:59 CET.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. If all the required documents are not applied, your application will be rejected. 

Interviews are expected to take place in the beginning of December.