Research courses/PhD courses for external candidates

Research courses/PhD courses for external candidates

Applicants who do not have a study right at NTNU, need to apply for this to take research courses at NTNU.

PhD candidates at NTNU who want to register for courses that are not included in their education plan, should also apply as described here.

You can apply for admission to research courses through NTNU's Søknadsweb (choose "Single courses" → "PhD courses for external candidates"). Choose the right application alternative (see "Which application alternative should I choose?") and write the course code(s) in the comment section.

Admission information

Admission information

PhD candidates at NTNU who are waiting for admission to a PhD programme, as well as external PhD candidates, should choose one of the application alternatives with a faculty name (e.g. 9425 Ph.d.-kurs/forskerkurs ved MH). This will generate an exemption of the semester fee.

Applicants who are not a PhD candidate, or are PhD candidates at NTNU who wish to take courses outside of their study plan, should pay the semester fee, and must choose 9690 Ph.d.-kurs/forskerkurs for eksterne kandidater). If you have completed a master's degree at NTNU, you can apply for an active student status via Søknadsweb instead.

  • If you are attending a PhD programme, you have to upload a confirmation of admission from your institution.  You do not have to document that you fulfill the English language requirement. 
  • If you are not attending a PhD programme, you have to upload documentation of your master's degree (both in the original language and a certified translation to English/a Scandinavian language).
    • If you have education from a country outside Norway/the Nordic countries, you also have to upload documentation showing that you cover the English language requirement.
  • If you apply for courses with previous knowledge requirements, you have to upload documentation showing that you fulfill these requirements. You can find information about previous knowledge requirements on the course web pages.

All documentation must be uploaded to "My Documents" in Søknadsweb

Semester fee

You will be exempted from paying the semester fee if:

Other applicants have to pay the semester fee, which you can do on Studentweb after having received admission. Please note that you have to pay the semester fee if you want to take courses that are not a part of your PhD programme.

You can send questions about payment of the semester fee to kontakt@sa.ntnu.no.

Tuition fees

If you have a citizenship from outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland and are not a PhD student, you may be charged tuition fees. You can find more information on NTNU's web page about the tuition fees

External candidates from educational institutions outside the EU/EEA who are on research stays at NTNU can apply for PhD courses if they document their research stay/cooperation with NTNU (e.g. with a confirmation from a department at NTNU).

Other applicants from countries and educational institutions outside the EU/EEA are referred to PhD exchange agreements, and should contact the  Unit for International Relations at NTNU.

You need to apply through Søknadsweb if you want to take courses that are not a part of your PhD programme. Choose "Single courses" → "PhD courses for external candidates". Please note that you then have to pay the semester fee. 

If you have completed a master's degree at NTNU, you can apply for an active student status via Søknadsweb instead.

Useful links

Useful links


Important dates

Important dates

Autumn semester

  • You can start applying from 15 June.
  • 15 September: Application deadline

Spring semester

  • You can start applying from 1 October.
  • 1 February: Application deadline

We will send you the admission result once your application has been processed. 

Tuition fees

Tuition fees

Tuition fees will be charged to international students with citizenship from outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland.

NTNU does not offer any scholarships that cover tuition fees.

You can find more information on our website: NTNU Tuition fees


Contact Admissions Office

Contact Admissions Office

Email: opptak@ntnu.no

Telephone: +47 73 59 77 00
Monday to Friday
09:00 to 11:30 (Norwegian time)