NFI PhD scholarship programme

Scolarships

The scholarship is 200,000 NOK per academic year. The scholarship is awarded annually with a possibility of renewal for the period of the PhD programme at the host institution, but limited to five academic years in total. The scholarship amount will be reviewed by the NFI on an annual basis.

Eligibility

Applicants must fulfill the following minimum criteria to be considered for the programme: 

1. The applicant is a Norwegian national, or an EEA-national who is a resident of Norway and has resided in Norway for a continuous period of at least five years prior to the time of application, and
        a. has employee status in Norway; or
        b. has a permanent residence in Norway; or
        c. is a spouse/cohabitant with or a child of a person mentioned in a) or b).
    
2. The applicant has been accepted at a top-ranked PhD programme in financial economics at, for example, one of the educational establishments listed below, or another equally top-ranked PhD programme at a comparable establishment (as recommended and approved on a case-by-case basis by the NFI based on advice from the Scientific Advisory Board). 
    
3. The applicant has been admitted with full tuition waiver or similar  arrangement. 

In addition to fulfilling these criteria, applicants will be subject to the NFI’s discretionary evaluation , which particularly takes into account the expert assessments and recommendations of the Scientific Advisory Board.

Assessment and selection of educational institutions

The NFI assessment and selection of the educational institutions and PhD programme quality will be based on the recommendations of the Scientific Advisory Board, which will evaluate whether the relevant educational institution and PhD programme is of the highest academic standard and can produce top academic placements in financial economics for its graduates.

According to the recommendations from the Scientific Advisory Board, the NFI has identified an example list of educational establishments that normally qualify for elegibility for the scolarship.  

Educational establishments

The following, all of which offer top-ranked PhD programmes in financial economics, represent examples of educational establishments that may fall within the eligibility requirement set forth above:

• University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
• University of Chicago (Booth)
• New York University (Stern) 
• Columbia University
• Stanford University 
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)
• Harvard University 
• Northwestern University (Kellogg) 
• University of California–Berkeley (Haas) 
• University of California–Los Angeles (Anderson) 
• London Business School
• Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)
• London School of Economics
• Swiss Finance Institute PhD programme
• Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• Duke University (Fuqua)

 
These establishments constitute examples of educational establishments that normally fall within the eligibility requirement set forth above; however, the applicants are invited to document that the relevant educational establishment and PhD programme has demonstrated that it can produce top placements in financial economics for its graduates.

The NFI’s decision on whether other educational establishments and PhD programmes are of the requisite high quality as those listed above will be based on the assessment and recommendation of the Scientific Advisory Board. 

Assessment of applications and renewals

The applications and renewals will be evaluated by the NFI administration.

The NFI administration, as advised by the Scientific Advisory Board, shall at its own full discretion consider the educational establishment and programme to which the applicant has been accepted on a case-by-case basis.

The NFI will aim to award scholarships to applicants when the eligibility criteria are satisfied and the Scientific Advisory Board recommends that the relevant educational institution and PhD programme can be considered to be of the highest academic standard and can produce top placements in financial economics for its graduates.

There is a possibility of renewal for the period of the PhD programme at the host institution, but limited to five academic years in total. The applicants have to request yearly renewals in a progress report where they document good standing and progress. The deadline for  submitting a progress report and request for annual renewal is 1 September each year.

All scholarship awards are subject to available funding under the NFI scheme.

Application period

Applications may be submitted  from 1 January to 1 April each year.  

Obligations of the recipient

The recipient must enter into an agreement with the NFI (Agreement), which sets out the obligations of the applicant toward the NFI. The host institution may also as far as required be part of this agreement.  The agreement governs inter alia:

• Period of PhD project
• Compliance with host institution requirements
• Payment details
• Progress reporting and request for renewal
• IPR and publishing
• Termination
• Limitation of liability for the NFI (i.e. related to tax)