Auditing PhD Scholarship 2026-2027 in Denmark: Fully Funded PhD at CBS

Auditing PhD Scholarship 2026-2027 in Denmark: Fully Funded PhD at CBS

Copenhagen Business School (CBS) in Denmark is offering a PhD scholarship in Auditing at its Department of Accounting. The position runs for three years and is fully salaried under the Danish collective agreement. Monthly pay is currently around DKK 30,264 to DKK 36,877 depending on seniority, with an 18.07% pension contribution on top. Applications close on 11 November 2026.

University	Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Denmark
Department	Department of Accounting
Position	PhD scholarship in Auditing
Duration	3 years
Funding	Fully salaried; DKK 30,264-36,877/month; 18.07% pension
Covered	Tuition fees, office space, course and travel costs
Teaching	416 work hours over the three years
Deadline	11 November 2026
Nationality	Open to all nationalities; no restriction stated

What the position is about

The Department of Accounting at CBS invites applications for a PhD position in Auditing. CBS describes the department as one of the oldest and largest accounting departments in Europe, with an international research environment. The successful candidate joins the department’s auditing research group and works closely with supervisors.

CBS lists six research themes for proposals and especially welcomes qualitative methods and new approaches:

• How emerging technologies such as generative AI reshape the audit profession
• Audit firm ownership, including private equity acquiring stakes in audit firms
• Auditing and assurance in sustainable development
• Regulator-auditor interaction and public oversight practices
• Client-auditor interaction, including audit committees and auditor-client negotiation
• Audit firm organization and governance, including quality management and professional judgment

CBS wants proposals that engage with firms and professionals, not only with academic literature. The research should feed into academic, public, professional, and company-level debates.

The auditing research group mixes researchers with accounting and auditing backgrounds and researchers from other academic fields who study auditing. You work in close collaboration with your supervisors in an international environment.

PhD students at CBS also attend international research conferences and spend time at another research institution as a visiting PhD student.

How the funding works

A Danish PhD scholarship is an employment contract. You become a CBS employee with a monthly salary.

The salary is currently around DKK 30,264 to DKK 36,877 a month depending on seniority, roughly EUR 4,050 to 4,950 at current exchange rates. CBS adds a pension contribution of 18.07%. Tuition fees, office space, and course and travel costs are covered under the CBS agreement.

In return, the position includes teaching obligations of 416 work hours across the three years.

Scandinavia uses this salaried model widely. For a second example, see these salaried PhD positions in Scandinavia at Umeaa University in Sweden. Two more funded doctoral routes worth a look: the Vocal Biomarkers Scholarship 2026 in Norway and the PhD Co-Tutelle Scholarship 2026 in Europe.

Who can apply

CBS gives priority to applicants with high grades. To be considered you must:

• Hold a master’s level education (the 3+2 Bologna process)
• Have received grade 10 or equivalent for your master’s thesis on the Danish 7-point scale (10 is the second-highest grade)
• Have a weighted GPA of at least 8.2 for bachelor’s plus master’s combined, or at least 9.5 for the master’s alone; if you miss this, documentation that you are in the top 40% of your class is also accepted, and in rare cases the grade requirement can be waived
• Have completed the master’s programme before starting the PhD at CBS
• Master academic English at a high level in writing and speaking

The Danish 7-point scale uses the grades -3, 00, 02, 4, 7, 10, and 12. A 10 is the second-highest grade, roughly a strong A. Convert your own grades honestly, and ask the contact professor if your country’s grading system makes the requirement unclear.

The posting names no nationality restriction. The programme is described as highly international, so Pakistani applicants compete on the same academic criteria as everyone else.

For Pakistani applicants: your master’s must be finished before the PhD starts, so final-year students should plan their timeline around this. Applicants with accounting or auditing degrees are welcome, and so are applicants from other social sciences who want to research auditing.

The five-page project description

The core of your application is a project description of up to five pages. It must include:

• An original research question
• The initial theoretical framework and method
• The proposed empirical material
• A work plan for the three years

Write it for researchers. The CBS PhD handbook says the description should use concise technical language and show a clear focus. Frame it as research that still needs to be done.

Start this document early. It decides whether you get shortlisted.

How to strengthen your proposal

Four things from the official posting that most applicants overlook:

• Name one of CBS’s six research themes and build your question around it. Proposals that fit the listed themes get a fairer read.
• Show how you will engage with audit firms or professionals during the research. CBS asks proposals to demonstrate this potential.
• Consider qualitative methods. CBS says it especially welcomes them, and most applicants default to quantitative designs.
• Email Professor Thomas Riise Johansen a one-paragraph sketch of your idea before you apply. CBS explicitly invites informal discussion, and early feedback beats a blind submission.

Documents to submit

Along with the project description, include copies of:

• Diplomas and grade transcripts for your bachelor’s and master’s degrees
• Documentation that you are in the top 40% of your class (only if the grade requirements are not met)
• A concise CV
• A list of articles and publications, if you have any
• One example of a written work, such as your master’s thesis

How to apply

Follow these steps:

• 1. Read the official vacancy page on cbs.dk in full.
• 2. Contact Professor Thomas Riise Johansen (trj.acc@cbs.dk) for an informal discussion before you apply. CBS explicitly encourages this.
• 3. Draft your five-page project description and gather the documents listed above.
• 4. Submit everything through the CBS online application link. CBS must receive all material, including appendices, by the application deadline.

Deadline and timeline

The application deadline is 11 November 2026, as reported across scholarship listings. Confirm the exact date on the official CBS vacancy page before you submit, since CBS requires all material to arrive by the deadline.

After the deadline, a Recruitment Committee shortlists two to five applicants for assessment. An assessment committee then evaluates them, and selected applicants may be invited for an interview. Every applicant is notified of the outcome.

Frequently asked questions