PhD Scholarships – Communication

The Department of Communication and Culture at BI Norwegian Business School is currently inviting applications for multiple four-year doctoral scholarships, set to commence in August 2025. Prospective candidates are free to propose their own research projects, that should fall broadly within the larger research interests of the department.

The Department of Communication and Culture, where the candidate will be based, is currently home to about 50 faculty. The Department is highly international in its faculty composition as well as its ongoing research and industry collaborations. The department hosts research groups within Internet and Society, Corporate Communication, Creative Industries and Education. Ongoing research in the department is for instance concerned with the role of the arts in the digital transformation, the structural changes of the creative industries, the roles of communication technologies in shaping the future of work and new forms of labour and organizations, online organizing and communities, social legitimacy of technological transformations, and innovation in education management.

The members of the department regularly publish on such issues in the field’s top journals, including among others the Journal of Management, Journal of Management Information Systems, Human Relations, Organization Studies, California Management Review, Work, Employment and Society, Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Management Studies, and Business Ethics Quarterly.

The four-year program is designed for talented students who wish to pursue an international career within academia and who can contribute to the international arena with their research and publications. The recruitment of our PhD students is an important element of the department’s research agenda, as part of our goal to meet BI’s vision of being one of the leading business schools in Europe.

Eligible applicants must have completed a Master of Science degree with thesis work, a research masters/M. Phil degree, or a comparable degree relevant for the specialization in Communication (comprising such disciplines such as management, communication studies, political sciences, psychology, sociology, and philosophy) by the early summer of 2025. An MBA degree does not fulfil the requirements for admission. Final year Master of Science students are encouraged to apply.

Accepted applicants will be offered close supervision and follow-up by the research faculty.

The four-year scholarships are currently NOK 572 800- per year (will be adjusted during 2025). The positions provide for automatic membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (Statens Pensjonskasse). The scholarships require 25% of the teaching responsibilities of a full-time professor position. PhD candidates will have their place of work at BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo, Norway.

Additional information about the doctoral programme, admission requirements and the application can be obtained from the Doctoral Administration at BI Norwegian Business School (Email: phd@bi.no) and the department’s website.

Candidates are asked to upload the following information with their application:

• Certificate of a Master of Science degree or equivalent, including transcripts of grades
• Certificate of a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, including transcript of grades. Please note that BI requires a two year master program and average grades of B and up to be eligible.
• A Diploma Supplement or a similar document describing in detail the study and grade system and the rights for further studies associated with the obtained degree. Other relevant certificates and transcripts
• An original project proposal (5-10 pages including topic, proposed method, schedule). If generative AI is used to generate any text this needs to be clearly stated and cited.
• CV
• Letters of recommendations from relevant employers/professors/supervisors providing evidence of your skills as a researcher (a minimum of 2 letters)
• Certificates from previously completed courses at the doctoral level, if requesting approval of these for the PhD programme at BI Norwegian Business School (see section 2 in our PhD Regulations). Approval form can be found here: Approval form
• A complete list of all publications and/or other documented relevant activities
• Signed verification document. Template to be found here: Verification document
• Applicants must take either TOEFL or IELTS. The minimum standards for test scores acceptable for admission are:
  • TOEFL – a total score of 575 points for the written test or 233 for the computer-based version or 90 points on the internet based test
  • IELTS – a score of 6.5
• Exemptions are made for applicants:

1. whose native language is English
2. who have two years or more of higher education where the language of instruction was English
3. from a country which is a member of the EU/EEA and/or the Council of Europe/UNESCO- Cepes, who have English as the first foreign language taken over a period of at least 7 years in primary school, secondary school and upper secondary education.

Under certain circumstances, applicants may request a waiver for the TOEFL or IELTS when applying for admission. To request a TOEFL/IELTS waiver, the applicant must submit a waiver form.

TOEFL / IETLS scores must be from within the last two years. The codes for BI Norwegian Business School are as follows: GMAT 0529, TOEFL 0529, GRE 7365. For IELTS we accept copies as long as the TRF number is visible.

Please note that all documents must be uploaded in the electronic application. Documents may not be submitted by e-mail. Furthermore, note that any documents forwarded after the application deadline will not be considered. Exceptions will only be made for students who are completing their master’s degree in 2025 and do not have a final certificate when applying. Please note that you will not be able to revise your application once it has been submitted.

Candidates may, at a later stage, be asked to forward further information and/or be called in for an interview.

Candidates who are accepted for the program, must provide a more detailed progress plan with milestones and courses for the four years of study.