Doctoral studies School of Education

Doctoral Studies Regulations at the School of Education 

Standards and Requirements for Doctoral Programmes at the University of Iceland

Those who have completed a Master's degree or equivalent qualification from a recognised university may apply for admission to a doctoral programme. Applicants shall generally have completed a 30-ECTS Master's thesis. When admitting students, applicants’ academic performance and work experience shall be taken into account.

Students wishing to commence a doctoral programme directly after completing a Master's degree may apply before they obtain their degrees if it can be confirmed that they will complete their programmes with a satisfactory level of performance before the doctoral programme begins.

Applicants should show a strong proficiency in English and proof thereof through a certificate, i.e. a TOEFL exam.

Funding is not a prerequisite for acceptance to doctoral studies, but applicants are asked to report how they will support themselves.

Guidelines for application

All applications go through the electronic application form:

The electronic application form

A key to a successful application is a research plan of good quality. It is of advantage to have been in contact with, or be able to name a possible supervisor already in the application.

Testimonials

In addition to the electronic application form and supporting documents, two testimonials must be submitted to the School of Education directly from the applicant's referees. Form for the testimonial.

The names and contact information of two referees must be included in the electronic application form. These must be from people who are familiar with your qualifications for studies or research.

Fill in Page 1 of the form, copying and pasting your statement of motivation (item 4 in the application) and a short description of your intended research (item 8 in the application) directly from the documents you have created for this application and then forward to your referees.

Referees are to complete the form and return it by email to admission@hi.is or mvs@hi.is.

Next step: Follow carefully the application and supporting documents below.

Please deliver the following documents with your application form.

Section A – Applicant

1. Resume. An overview of your study and work experience. List institution, field of study, degree earned/credits or courses taken and year completed for your education, and institution, position held, and period for each workplace. List each in chronological order, newest item first.

2. Published works. Include a detailed list of all published works such as books, articles, essays, and reports. Also include copies of/extracts from significant works, i.e. those that best demonstrate your proficiency and research experience in the field.

3. Professional activity. In 300 – 400 words, describe your past research experience and other professional activity in your chosen field.

4. Statement of motivation. Prepare a statement in which you discuss the importance you believe participation in the doctoral programme at the School of Education will have for you. Why are you applying to this programme?

5. Transcripts/Diplomas. Include official/certified copies of diplomas and transcripts from all your previous higher education. You should send originals or re-issues issued by the original institutions. This should be handed to University of Iceland, Service Desk, University Centre, or by mail to:

University of Iceland
Registration Office
Sæmundargata 4
102 Reykjavík
Iceland

Original documents will be returned to the address you provide.

Transcripts/Diplomas must be issued in Icelandic, English, Danish, Norwegian or Swedish – or be accompanied by a certified translation in one of these languages. Note that transcripts/diplomas are only needed if they are from other universities than University of Iceland. 

Section B – Research Plans

6. A working title of the research project

7. Short description of the research topic or proposed research. Prepare a short description, about 200 words, of your proposed research. This description will be used by committees and boards which are involved in doctoral studies within the University of Iceland.

8. Preliminary research proposal. The research proposal can be either in English or Icelandic. About 1,800-2,200 words.
The research proposal should contain:

Introduction

• State your research problem/question
• Briefly illustrate the purpose and scientific value of your proposed project
• Present your rationale in choosing your particular research problem/question, and demonstrate how it relates to your previous experience and/or your future plans

State of the art (Literature review)

• Define your theoretical approach and key concepts, as needed
• Briefly outline the outcome of previous related research by others – i.e. what do you already know?
• Lines of inquiry – i.e. what do you want to find out?

Methods and methodology

• How will you design your research and what methodology do you plan on using?
• Data collection – how or where will you collect data, and what are your subjects or who are your participants?
• Address possible ethical concerns    

9. Preliminary study plan. Consider your own strengths and weaknesses in your chosen field of research and discuss how you intend to plan your doctoral studies.

• When do you expect to take courses at the University of Iceland, and which courses?
• When do you expect to spend time at a university abroad?
• What do you need to do to be adequately prepared to commence your research project?

This is a preliminary study plan – upon acceptance, you will begin work on your final study plan, in cooperation with your advisor.

Note that doctoral courses and the research project are expected to take 3 – 4 years of full-time study or 6 – 8 years of part-time study.  

Additional documents should be emailed to: admission@hi.is.

If some documents are not available in digital form, hand them in to the University of Iceland Service Desk at the University Centre or send them by mail to:

University of Iceland
Registration Office
Sæmundargata 4
102 Reykjavík
Iceland 

If an application does not fulfil the above requirements, it will not be processed.

Applicants who are short-listed for admission will be invited to an interview before the final decision is made. Applicants will be notified of decisions in writing.

More on supporting documents and deadline for documents.

The School of Education is a member of a Nordic network for doctoral studies, further information is on NORTED.

The structure of doctoral studies at the UI School of Education is largely based on the international network of its academic staff. Candidates are encouraged to write their dissertations in English to enable international scholars at overseas universities to both sit on doctoral committees and act as external examiners in the doctoral defence. This is done in order to counteract the shortcomings that are a result of the small Icelandic scholarly community.

Doctoral candidates shall spend some time at a university outside of Iceland or participate in an equivalent formal collaboration with foreign academics during the course of their studies. This encourages the formation of ties to international scholarly communities. Examples of universities that UI SoE doctoral candidates have spent time at during the course of their studies include McGill University in Canada and Oxford and Exeter in Britain. Emphasis is also placed on collaboration with universities in the Nordic countries.

Doctoral Studies Handbook 2024

Graduated Doctors from School of Education 

Doctoral programmes at the School of Education are organised across the School's faculties. The School board shall make decisions on matters pertaining to doctoral studies on behalf of faculties. The School of Education doctoral studies committee shall manage matters pertaining to doctoral studies on behalf of the School board.

The current members of the Doctoral Board

July 1 2024 to June 30 2026

Annadís Greta Rúdólfsdóttir, Chair.
Íris Ellenberger, Faculty of Subject Teacher Education
Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, Faculty of Education and Pedagogy.
Erlingur S. Jóhannsson, Faculty of Health Promotion, Sport and Leisure Studies
Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir, Faculty of Education and Diversity.
Steingerður Ólafsdóttir, Administration
Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir Kolka, Students' Representative

Deputy members

Atli V. Harðarson
Rannveig Björk Þorkelsdóttir

The Graduate School

The Graduate School upholds the quality of graduate programs at the University of Iceland, ensures that they measure up to international standards, and promotes graduate studies in accordance with the decisions of the University Council, with the goal of promoting a dynamic scholarly environment and robust, internationally competitive graduate research.

Visit the Graduate School's page for further information.