Application

The Bergen Summer Research School offers PhD candidates and junior researchers the opportunity to work together with internationally renowned scholars. In order to participate, you need to have a good command of the English language.

Full participation in the course-specific modules, reading of the provided literature prior to the research school, and participation in all plenary events is required. You may take only one of the five parallel courses.

Upon acceptance, you will be asked to submit a short essay of 2-4 pages from your own research on a research question decided by the course leader. This will be used as the base for presenting your research to the rest of the course participants.

Participation at the BSRS will be credited by UiB under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). For 10 ECTS, you are expected to write an essay (in a form of a publishable manuscript of 10-20 pages) to be submitted after the end of the research school. Deadline for submission will be decided by your course leader. It is also possible to participate without writing an essay. This will give you 5 ECTS.

You will have access to the electronic resources of the University Library, from time of acceptance until the end of May 2026.

We offer a limited number of stipends. Stipends are awarded based on academic merit as it appears in your application and the relevance of your research to the course objectives. You must be a registered PhD candidate at an academic institution to be eligible for a stipend.

The stipends are set amounts that will go towards the cost of attending the summer school. There is a predefined ammount for each country. This ammount will be stated in the letter of acceptance. All applicants are asked to purchase tickets and travel insurance themselves. Should you be rewarded a stipend, we will transfer the funds to you by the end of June 2025. 

All applicants are welcome to apply for ONE of the stipends below. You indicate this when filling out the application form. 

• Full stipend should cover air ticket, visa fee, obligatory travel insurance, and accommodation.
• Partial stipend should cover air ticket, visa fee, and obligatory travel insurance or accommodation at Bergen Hostel Montana.

There is no registration fee for BSRS 2025.

Before you start your application, please check that you have the required academic background. Only applicants who meet the requirements will be considered.

The courses are designed for PhD students and are open to:

1. Candidates currently enrolled in a PhD programme 
2. Junior researchers — including those in their last stages of their master programme, with extensive working experience — and those who have recently completed their PhD, or are enrolled in a post-doc programme.

Before you start the application process, make sure you have the following documents:

• Abstract of your ongoing research (maximum 250 words). Please outline main objectives, framework of the research, and method(s).
   
• Motivational letter (maximum 250 words) which should include:
  • Your research interest in the topic of the course of interest
  • Your expectations for the course
  • What you hope to gain from attending BSRS 
     
• Your CV and educational background
  • Your current position
  • Your highest achieved degree and from which institution
  • Educational background (maximum 500 words)
  • Work experience (maximum 400 words)
  • Publications - up to ten publications, if any
  • Proof of your English proficiency. English is the only language of instruction and communication.

Upon submission, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions of how to continue to part two of your application. If you do not receive this confirmation within 24 hours, please check your spam/junk mail before contacting us at bsrs@uib.no

You may start the application, save it, and resume until the application deadline.

Follow the instructions in the confirmation email you receive after you have submitted your application in part one, follow the instruction and the link

In order to register your application at the University of Bergen, you need the following documents:

• The application (pdf) you find attached to the confirmation email
• A scanned copy of your passport
• Transcript/diploma of your highest degree
• A letter of recommendation signed by your supervisor
• A letter verifying your qualifications and current position signed by the head of your institution/department

Please note that the two letters must be stamped and written on official stationary of your institution.

Your application is officially complete when:

1. You have filled in your complete home/residential address
2. You have selected a course(s)
3. You have uploaded all the required documents
4. You have received confirmation by email

You can change or update your application until 1 February 2025. We plan to complete the selection process by the end of March.