You’ve completed your PhD studies

If you become unemployed after completing your PhD, you may be eligible for the highest unemployment benefit rate (dagpengesats).

Even though a PhD is a course of study, we consider you an employee while you’re working on your PhD. If you become unemployed (ledig) after submitting your PhD thesis, you may – depending on your average gross income – be eligible for the maximum benefit rate rather than the lower rate applicable to new graduates.

However, to qualify, you must have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund (a-kasse) and employed for at least a full year before completing your PhD. You must also have earned a minimum of DKK 273,504 (2025) over the past three years, during which you must have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund.

If you’ve received unemployment benefits (dagpenge) within the past three years, you must first have worked 1,924 hours – equal to a year of full-time work – to qualify for unemployment benefits again.

If you haven’t been a member for at least a year when you complete your PhD, you can apply for membership as a recent graduate, which will allow you to bypass the one-year membership requirement to qualify for unemployment benefits.

In this case, you will receive the rate for recent graduates, which is somewhat lower than the regular unemployment benefit rate for recent PhD graduates. Being a member while working on your PhD can pay off.

Register as unemployed

As long as you register as unemployed on jobnet.dk, you can receive unemployment benefits whether you’ve been a member for over a year or joined within 14 days of finishing your PhD.

On your first day of unemployment, you must register as unemployed on jobnet.dk or at your local job centre – and otherwise follow the steps described in our Guide til ledige. Once you’ve done that, we’ll assess your eligibility for unemployment benefits.

If you’re not a member of an unemployment insurance fund while working on your PhD, you can become a member as a recent graduate and become eligible for unemployment benefits after just one month. Just make sure to apply for membership no later than 14 days after completing your PhD, or you risk losing your right to unemployment benefits after finishing your studies. 

Step-by-step instructions on what to do when you become unemployed

Read about the importance of joining within 14 days of completing your PhD

You can finish your PhD in two different ways

Your PhD studies are considered completed once you have:

Defended your thesis

Received your diploma

It’s essential to know the exact date you completed your PhD because you need to register as unemployed on jobnet.dk the following day to receive unemployment benefits from your first day of unemployment.

If you interrupt or do not finish your PhD thesis within three years

If you interrupt your PhD studies or have not finished your PhD thesis within the usual three-year contract, you can still receive unemployment benefits if you become unemployed.

However, this requires that you:

Are entitled to unemployment benefits.
Have been a member of the unemployment insurance fund for at least a year when you interrupt your studies or your contract expires.
Have worked at least 1,924 hours (equivalent to one full-time year, or FTE) during your membership period. Most PhD students have, as a PhD programme is considered regular full-time paid work.

If you interrupt your PhD programme without completing your thesis

You can still receive unemployment benefits even if you don’t complete your PhD, as long as you sign a declaration stating that you are no longer working on your thesis. You’ll also need to provide us with documentation confirming that you’re no longer enrolled in the programme.

While receiving unemployment benefits, you must meet the general requirements for unemployed members – this includes being registered on jobnet.dk, actively seeking work, and attending the sessions scheduled by us and the job centre.

If you want to finish your PhD thesis without pay

If you plan to complete your thesis while receiving unemployment benefits, you must no longer be enrolled in your PhD programme. You’ll always be able to receive benefits from the day after you’ve submitted your thesis – even if you re-enrol later to defend it. You cannot, however, receive unemployment benefits on the day of your defence.

Non-EEA citizens can receive unemployment benefits too

If you’re a PhD student from a country outside the EEA, you can become a member of an unemployment insurance fund and receive unemployment benefits under the same rules that apply to employees. You can apply for a residence and work permit from SIRI (the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration) while receiving unemployment benefits.

To qualify, you must have been a paying member of an unemployment insurance fund for at least a year before finishing your studies. You must also have completed the equivalent of 1,924 hours of paid work during your membership period – for instance through your PhD work which counts as paid work.

Note that your right to benefits depends on a residence permit allowing you to work full-time. If you have a student residence permit, you cannot receive unemployment benefits – even during the summer when full-time work is permitted.

Once you’ve finished your PhD, you may be eligible for a residence permit in the form of a graduate set-up card (Etableringskort). This allows you to work full-time and receive unemployment benefits, provided you’ve been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for at least a year while working on your PhD.

Would you like to switch to Akademikernes A-kasse?

If you’re already a member of another unemployment insurance fund and want to switch to Akademikernes A-kasse, the rights you have in your current unemployment insurance fund transfer with you. You won’t need to complete a full membership year to re-qualify for unemployment benefits.

However, you mustn’t cancel your membership with your current unemployment insurance fund first. Simply sign up with us, and we’ll notify your current fund about the transfer.