It is possible to carry out a PhD-study in all research groups at DTU Transport within subjects covered by each of the groups. All research groups deal with all transport modes with a strong focus on IT and in many cases by use of GIS.
The Decision Modelling Group with special focus on project evaluation and decision support, the Logistics and Intelligent Transport Systems Group with special focus on transport optimisation – usually by use of operations research based methods -, and the Traffic Modelling Group with focus on traffic forecasts and simulation.
For specific information:
Also for further information on:
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Sea and air transport - contact
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Road transport - contact
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Railways - contact
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Public Transport - contact
PhD-studies are not offered within the area of highway engineering (pavements and road geometry).
About the Study
A PhD-study at DTU is a 3-year study, which normally includes a visit at a foreign university. DTU Transport has exchange agreements with most of the leading foreign universities in this respect; recent visits include CRT (Montreal), MIT (Boston), TuDelft (Holland), KTH (Stockholm) and ITS Leeds (UK).
The educational part of the study must add up to 30 ECTS points, which can be taken either at DTU Transport and/or as part of the visit abroad. 10 of the ECTS points may be graduate master courses, while at least 20 ECTS points must be dedicated to PhD-courses. The course load is equivalent to 6 months studies. Beyond this, a PhD-study is expected to be highly independent and include a large amount of self-study and literature review.
The PhD-study includes some teaching requirements (3 months) and some work requirement on relevant projects (6 months). The study is completed with a thesis, which is defended orally at a public lecture with three opponents. It is expected that the student publishes 3-5 international papers (preferably in journals) during the study.
The student has normally meetings with the advisor on a regular basis. Each 6 months a formal (short) progress report is written. After the first 6 months a study plan is submitted concerning the study. PhD-students at DTU Transport are assigned offices (normally 1 or 2 person rooms) at the faculty floor and an individual PC. Necessary software, travels, ect. are covered if the study is supported by a scholarship. DTU Transport has an informal atmosphere with close interaction between faculty members and PhD-students (as well as graduate students).
Funding Options
DTU Transport offers scholarships which cover tuition fee, study expenses as well as salary. Full scholarships are however scarce and difficult to obtain. It is also possible to fund PhD-projects through projects or in cooperation with external organizations.
Another option is to fund the study oneself. In this case DTU Transport and/or DTU can be applied for covering the tuition feed. Studies can also be carried out on a ¾ base over 4 year. Hereby it is possible to fund living expenses through a ¼-time job as research assistant. This – however – depends on project availabilities and the subject of the study.
Foreign PhD-students may also visit DTU Transport for shorter or longer periods (please refer to the information for " Visiting and Foreign Students").
Admission Requirements and Applications
For admission to the PhD-study, the student must have a minimum average grade from the master study of 8,4 (Danish 7-step scale), B (ECTS scale) or 76 (percent).
Furthermore, to be considered the student must have written a master thesis of 30 ECTS points or equivalent (6 months' work load). For foreign students, the English (or Swedish or Norwegian) version of the thesis must be submitted as well. If agreed upon with the professor, German or French master theses might be considered as well. Although not a formal admission requirement, DTU Transport prefers students with maximum grades in the master thesis (12, A). Students with (7, C) for the thesis may be rejected, or requested to do an individual assignment before applying.
Master studies at some universities do not include a major master thesis work (i.e. the study is only consisting of courses and a small final report). DTU Transport normally expects that applicants have written a Master thesis or another individual report similar to a workload of about at least 6 month. For students who do not fulfil this criteria it is often possible to follow a 6-month individual pre-study at DTU Transport before applying for the PhD-study. If agreed upon with one of the professors, this is normally allowed without tuition fee and DTU Transport offers the same facilities (office space, PC, etc.) as for PhD-students.
For application or requests concerning Ph.D.-studies at DTU Transport, please contact the relevant person:
If the request is relevant the professor will arrange contacts with one of the other professors or associate professors at DTU Transport. It is dissuaded to apply to several professors at DTU Transport simultaneously.
In order to evaluate the applicant's educational background for studying at DTU Transport, an application must be mailed or sent as an email (with documents as scanned files) to:
Lisbet Svane Jacobsen
Head Clerk
DTU Transport
Technical University of Denmark
Bygningstorvet 115
DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Tlf. +45 45 25 15 16
Fax +45 45 93 64 12
E-mail:
The application should include the following:
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A short application (letter or email)
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Curriculum Vitae
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Transcripts of exams and courses
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If finalised a copy of the master-thesis or published English papers
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If possible, a statement from your tutor at your university
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For students from non-English speaking countries, documentation of English courses if available