The programme includes a wide range of fields within physical and process metallurgy with focus on light metals and silicon including solar grade silicon, corrosion, electrochemical energy technology, inorganic materials, ceramics and nano-structured materials.

The goal of a PhD education is to enable the candidate to conduct research at a high international level. The research will be made with sound scientific practice and established standards for research ethics. The PhD candidate will be able to solve complex research problems using creative solutions that will have a social and economic impact on society.

The PhD program in Materials Science and Engineering educates independent researchers at an international level through structured research training in cutting edge research projects within one of the research areas at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE). The research activities are carried out in close collaboration with national and international academic and industry partners from DMSE’s extensive network. Collaborations result in projects on topics of state-of-the-art scientific interest and often with a high degree of relevancy for challenges in industry. 

Research areas

• Metal production and recycling (e.g. light metals, silicon, ferroalloys)
• Materials development and properties
• Materials chemistry and electrochemistry
• Physical metallurgy
• Ferroic materials and phenomena
• Materials for energy technology (e.g. photovoltaics, fuel cells, batteries, catalysis)
• Nanomaterials and nanodevices
• Metallurgical and electro-chemical process engineering 

Read more about the research areas at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering

The PhD education is a structured degree with a nominal duration of three-year full-time study. Some PhD positions may include a fourth year of required duties, usually in the form of teaching, this will be detailed in your employee contract if applicable.

A PhD degree is the highest level of formalised education in Norway.

A doctoral degree from NTNU qualifies you to a range of positions both in the private and public sector. Academia has traditionally been the main career path for doctors, but now an increasing number of doctors are going into leading positions in the private sector.

To be accepted to a PhD programme at NTNU, you must have:

• a funding plan
• completed at least five years of higher education that includes a master's degree or other equivalent degree.
• a strong academic record and a weighted average for the last two years of your master's degree equivalent to a B or higher in NTNU's grading scale.

Applications for admission to the PhD programme must to be submitted through the Department of your subject area 

Read more about how to apply and admission

Administrative contact

Elin Synnøve Isaksen Kaasen
Senior Executive Officer

Academic contact

Andreas Erbe 
Professor of Corrosion and Interface Chemistry of Research at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering