BI’s Industrial PhD is a full-time doctoral route delivered jointly by BI Norwegian Business School and an employer. The research must address the company’s needs while meeting BI’s academic standards.
The candidate divides time between BI and the employer under a formal agreement covering attendance, funding, and responsibilities. BI asks prospective candidates to make contact only after employer funding and confirmation are in place.
Benefits & funding
- BI charges no tuition fee for its PhD programme, but self-funding is not accepted.
- The candidate must be employed by the Project Owner throughout the project: full-time for a three-year project or at least 75% for a four-year project.
- For 2026, Research Council support is capped at NOK 715,000 per year for a three-year project or NOK 536,000 per year for a four-year project; support cannot exceed 50% of approved project costs.
- Eligible project costs can include salary and personnel costs, research services, equipment, literature, conference travel, and research-school participation.
Eligibility
- Hold an MSc or comparable degree in economics, business administration, or a field covered by a BI PhD specialisation, with at least a B average.
- The qualifying master’s degree must include a thesis worth 15–30 ECTS; an MBA alone does not satisfy BI’s admission requirement.
- Meet BI’s academic and English-language standards; TOEFL, IELTS, GMAT, or GRE evidence may be requested in particular cases.
- Be the named candidate when the company applies, hold an approved master’s degree, and not already hold a doctorate.
- Be employed by the Project Owner for the project period; the employer must be registered in Norway, conduct economic activity there, and meet the call’s staffing requirements.
- No nationality restriction is stated, but this is an employer-led route rather than a direct individual funding application.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Education required
Master
Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.
We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Secure funding and written confirmation from the employer, then contact BI at info@bi.no about the Industrial PhD route.
- 2Agree the research project, supervision, time split, costs, and intellectual-property terms with BI and the employer.
- 3Start BI’s PhD admission process and prepare the required degree certificates, transcripts, CV, verification document, and at least two research-focused recommendation letters.
- 4The employer submits the funding application through My RCN Web with the candidate and degree-conferring institution named.
- 5If funding is approved, provide final BI admission and the signed collaboration agreement before the Research Council contract is issued.
Program timeline
Open-ended
The Research Council receives and processes 2026 applications while funding remains.
Earliest permitted project start.
10 August 2026
Latest permitted project start.
4 January 2027
Latest permitted project completion.
3 January 2031