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PhD

Entry requirements

To gain admission to the PhD Programme, an applicant must formally apply to be accepted into the PhD Programme at BI Norwegian Business School.

Applicants must:

  • Hold a Master of Science (MSc) or comparable degree within the fields of economics and business administration or an area in which BI offers a PhD specialisation.
  • Have minimum B (4) in Grade Point Average (GPA), five-point scale (A=five, B=four, C=three, D=two, E=one).
  • Hold a Master's degree that includes thesis work (15 to 30 ECTS).
  • Have an adequate level of academic and English language proficiency. This may require specific documentation by proficiency tests such as TOEFL or IELTS. Applicants will be informed if this is needed.
  • In particular cases, GMAT or GRE tests may be required. Applicants will be informed if this is needed.

An MBA degree does not fulfill the requirements for admission.

 

Minimum test scores are:

GRE/ GMAT

BI will need percentile scores and raw scores for the Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical Writing sections of the GRE or GMAT to consider your application. Incomplete sections or partial scores are not sufficient to consider your application. Arrange to have official score reports sent directly to BI. Photocopies and/or examinee copies of score reports are not acceptable.

A "good score" is generally considered to be 85% and higher. However, there is no minimum cutoff score for the GRE/GMAT in order for your file to be reviewed.

TOEFL / IELTS 

Students are required to have a good command of the English language. The following applicants will be considered to fit with this profile:

  • Applicants whose native language is English
  • Applicants with a qualifying master degree from a Nordic (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish or Icelandic) institution
  • Applicants with a qualifying master degree where the language of tuition was English

All other applicants must take either TOEFL or IELTS. The minimum standard for test scores that BI accepts 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

TOEFL / IETLS scores must be from within the last two years. Exemptions to the TOEFL / IELTS requirement may be granted for certain applicants. Please see the announcement. To apply for a TOEFL / IELTS waiver, please download the waiver application form and submit it with your admission documents.

PLEASE NOTE: Test results must be sent directly to PhD Administration at BI from the test centre. 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

For further information on entry requirements please see the PhD regulations.