Purpose of the funds
OUAS has a dedicated pool of earmarked funds for PhD mobility that cannot be covered by other sources. In this context, mobility refers to research stays abroad that are necessary or advantageous for the doctoral work. The stay should aim to build a research network for the fellow and/or be part of an existing collaboration between the fellow’s academic environment at OUAS and the foreign research environment to be visited. Research stays do not include trips where the purpose is research dissemination, such as conferences.
Application criteria (approval and duration)
To be eligible to apply for these funds, you must be employed at OUAS and admitted to a doctoral education programme. If you are employed at OUAS in a different position than Doctoral Research Fellow, you must be admitted as a PhD candidate to OUAS' PhD programme.
The application must be academically justified by your supervisor and supported by your immediate manager. If parts of the position are linked to other career-promoting work, the submission of the application must also be approved by the person or persons responsible for this.
You must be able to demonstrate that you have explored the possibility of funding the stay partly or entirely from external sources.
Contents of the Application
In the online form, the applicant should describe:
- the research work to be carried out during the stay abroad and its relevance to the doctoral project
- the academic environment you wish to be affiliated with and what this environment can contribute to
- how the stay may be beneficial for the fellow’s future career
Documentation Requirements
- Budget (the budget must specify which costs that are to be covered by the mobility funds and which costs that are to be covered by other funds like Erasmus+)
- Letter of recommendation from the supervisor
- Statement of support from the immediate manager
- Statement of support from the person responsible for career-promoting work (if applicable)
- Confirmation from the host institution (may be submitted later)
For attachments 3-5, a PDF of an email is sufficient documentation.
Application deadlines and processing
For the year 2025, NOK 630,000 is available for this purpose, with applications for funds being assessed continuously. For funds relating to 2026, the application deadlines are as follows:
- Stays of less than two months: no deadline, continuous assessment
- Stays of more than two months: 15 November 2025 and 15 May 2026
The application form can be found here: https://nettskjema.no/a/504285
Applications are received and processed by the research administration. A recommendation for a decision is sent to the Research Director for approval. The estimated response time after receiving an application is 1–3 weeks. Applicants will receive a decision letter as a response to their application.
If prioritisation between applications is necessary, the university college will prioritise stays based on how essential the stay is for the doctoral work.
Allocations must be reported annually to the OUAS management, and the report will be made available on our website.
Rates
OUAS uses the Research Council’s rates for stays abroad for PhD mobility. As a general rule, expenses are reimbursed, but it is possible to apply for an advance if needed.
Contact Persons
These guidelines have been prepared by the Section for Research Administration. Please contact the PhD Advisors Gro Telhaug or Liv Eldbjørg Simensen for assistance and advice: phd-ds@hiof.no . To explore opportunities for funding from external sources such as Erasmus+, you may contact the International Team in the Section for Admissions and Internationalisation.
The guidelines were reviewed by the OUAS management on 11 March 2025 and approved by the Pro-Rector for Research on 13 March 2025. Minor changes has been approved by the Research Director 13.11.2025 and 22.05.2026.