There are two main categories of PhD candidates; Those who are employed at the faculty and those who are employed elsewhere but admitted to the PhD programme (often refered to as external candidates). There is also a third category at the faculty which consists of a few PhD students with scholarships.

It is common to call all PhD candidates stipendiater, but strictly speaking this is not accurate. It is only the PhD candidates who are employed at the university who has the title stipendiat (research fellow). In Norway, PhD candidates are in general not considered students.

The term “PhD candidate” is used when referring to anyone who is enrolled in a PhD programme at an academic institution, regardless of how or by whom their doctoral project has been funded.

The term “research fellow/stipendiat” is used when referring to a certain type of employment category at universities, university colleges or research institutes where the main purpose of the employment is to complete a PhD programme.

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