PhD Programme

About the programme

The Copenhagen Bioscience PhD Programme is an initiative funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, offering motivated international students funding to join a four-year rotation PhD programme at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Research Centres in Greater Copenhagen. All the supervisors involved with the Copenhagen Bioscience PhD Programme are based at one of the Research Centres and students joining the Programme apply to one of the four centres and are employed at that centre. However, the Copenhagen Bioscience PhD Programme and its curriculum spans across all centres. The programme is divided into a pre-doc year followed by three years of PhD training.

Since the Copenhagen Bioscience PhD Programme began in 2016, it has granted funding to 109 students from 39 different countries. The students have contributed to over 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers, including articles in journals Science, Nature and Cell. Graduates of the Copenhagen Bioscience PhD Programme have moved on to positions including: A Group Leader; post-docs in Denmark, the USA, and Israel; a consulting associate; a science grant manager; a patent attorney; and scientists in industry.

For the time being, the Novo Nordisk Foundation Science Cluster is not enrolling new PhD students. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us, should you have any questions regarding the programme.

Copenhagen Bioscience PhD Programme activities

Besides the programme curriculum, all students are welcome to participate in all of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Science Cluster activities as well as to participate in an annual retreat, student organised seminars and the interview visit for the next year students.

What is it like to be a PhD student in Copenhagen?

Meet PhD student Daria Sergeeva from The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability and learn about how she got enrolled in the NNF Copenhagen Bioscience PhD Programme. Also, you will learn about how she got her wallet stolen on her first day in Denmark, what challenging intellectual game she plays in her spare time and what a Kalashnikov has to do with her upbringing. Listen to her podcast here.