Alliance Scholarships - FAQ
Is co-funding (i.e. a similar scholarship and PhD student) needed from a partner university?
Applicants who have demonstrated reciprocity, i.e. that the partner university has awarded a similar scholarship, will be preferred over applicants where no PhD scholarship has been awarded.
How technical and detailed should the application be?
Keep the application short and simple. It must be written at a level that is understandable by any professional employee at DTU.
Can I be awarded a full scholarship rather than 2/3?
You can only be awarded a 2/3 scholarship, the remaining 1/3 must either be provided by the department or be funded externally.
What should I focus on in the application?
- You can make it clear how the two PhD students (respectively at DTU and at the partner university) will interact on the projects and that a stay at the partner university is planned. A simple project model can be useful.
- You can account for reciprocity. No actual statement or Letter of Intent is required from the partner, so please make it clear in the application what is promised/agreed upon/expected with the partner.
- You can provide information about any external funding. Please note a specific call or other funding opportunities if funding for the last 1/3 of the scholarship is not funded by the department.
Please note specific requirements regarding duration of research stay if the PhD student is covered by one of DTU’s collaboration agreements. Read more
Should there be new contacts and projects?
We prefer projects that open for collaboration between research groups that have not previously collaborated.
In the assessment of applications, priority will be given to projects with reciprocity that is not attached to existing projects and where a PhD is not already employed at a partner university. Likewise, "new funding" is preferred to already allocated funding.
Does your choice of scientific focus in the application affect your chance of getting funded?
Your scientific focus in the application and in your collaboration with an alliance partner is to a lesser extent important in the assessment. What is essential is collaboration. However, as a final aspect of the assessment, emphasis may be placed on the convergence of professional focus in the application and in the alliance.
The focus areas are:
- EuroTech focuses on Entrepreneurship & Innovation; Health & Bio-engineering, Sustainable Society; Additive Manufacturing; and AI for Engineering Systems.
- Joint research areas between DTU and the University of Queensland are quantum technology, renewable energy, biotechnology, health technology/advanced imaging, water re-sources/wastewater management and food innovation.
- There are no specific focus areas agreed for the other strategic partner universities.
Please note that we are always looking for new areas where we can collaborate with our strategic partners.
Is it possible to split the scholarship between two departments?
It is good if departments work together on PhD projects. However, a PhD is always employed by one department or center, who should then receive the scholarship. When two departments work together, they need to agree on which of the departments will enroll the student and it is this department which receives the scholarship. Please note that the enrollment is for the entire three-year period.
What costs does the scholarship cover?
The scholarship covers salary and tuition fee equal to 2/3 of 590,000 DKK per year (in 2025) paid to the department in monthly installments. Your department is responsible for the remaining 1/3, perhaps through external funding.
What are my chances of getting a scholarship and what should I do to increase them?
Projects that address all the criteria for an Alliance PhD scholarship have the greatest opportunity to be supported. It is also an advantage if the project is innovative and is not based on already established research collaboration. In addition, a distribution of the grants is sought between departments and partners. For example, if your department has already received several scholarships to cooperate with TUM in the past few years – or if you know that others from your department will also apply to TUM this year – it may be beneficial to explore opportunities to collaborate with another partner. Alternatively seek external funding for the intended project with TUM.
Why did I not get a scholarship? Can I complain?
You can contact the secretariat at alliancephd@dtu.dk for an explanation of the distribution of scholar-ships and any non-compliance with requirements. There is no official right to complain.