PhD fellowship in collection-based Natural History Research
The Project
The Natural History Museum Denmark offers 1-2 fully funded PhD positions within Collection-based Natural History Research. The successful candidate will conduct 3 years of collection-based research. The PhD project is part of the Museums strategic aim to expand research on unknown species and taxonomic groups that are not well defined and described to provide crucial natural history understanding, data and expertise for developing solutions to planetary challenges, including climate change and biodiversity loss. Potential projects could include but are not limited to dark taxa and unknown species, preferably including representatives of the flora, fauna or geology of Denmark, Greenland or the Faroe Islands.
About the Natural History Museum Denmark
The Natural History Museum Denmark is the Danish national museum for nature. We work to empower citizens to connect with nature with the aim to create positive change for people and planet. We want to inspire, engage, and enable people to enjoy, understand, and care for the diversity of the natural world. The impact of climate change and anthropogenic forces on biodiversity has reached a critical point. We firmly believe that natural history museums can and should play a key role towards a more sustainable relationship with nature.
We are currently completing a new Danish national museum for nature in the Botanical Garden, in the center of Copenhagen. The new museum building will open to the public in spring 2027 and will host state-of-the-art laboratories, outstanding research collections, new public galleries, and combined facilities for programming, education, and citizen science. It is an ambition for the museum to enhance natural history and inspire curiosity, knowledge, and empowerment for the future.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for candidates with interests within the field of collection based natural history research. Applicants must have a background from biology, geology or related natural sciences, corresponding to a Danish 2-year Master degree (120 ECTS) preferably with a background and interest in systematics and taxonomy. The ideal candidate has experience with natural history collections, planning and conducting individual fieldwork, a solid knowledge of systematics and taxonomy, and strong communication skills to diverse audiences in English. The preferred principal supervisor must be indicated among the museums Faculty staff who are also scientific curators of the collections and should be consulted for relevant research ideas and knowledge on the collections and facilities. The preferred scientific curator should be named in the application and a host letter attached.
The PhD Programme
A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.
Qualifications Needed for the Regular Programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. biodiversity, geodiversity, natural history collections. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
Terms of Employment in the Regular Programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years. Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant with the help of the supervisor. A scientific curator at NHMD should be consulted to discuss project ideas before applying and named in the application.
Further Process
After the deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessment committee. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/. Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held online on 18 September 2026.
Contact Information
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact Director of Research, Professor Anders P. Tøttrup, aptottrup@snm.ku.dk. Please put “PhD position inquiry” in the subject of the e-mail.