Visiting PhD Students
Welcome
Bentley University welcomes applications from visiting PhD students. We have hosted students from various locations including Denmark, China, India, Germany and France. Please take a moment to look at our website for courses you might be interested in taking, or for information on faculty you might work with during your stay, bearing in mind the process stated below.
Information for Visiting Students
If you are interested in becoming a visiting PhD student, please contact a potential faculty adviser and ask them to agree to support your visiting application (please see the Bentley faculty list at http://www.bentley.edu/phd/faculty.cfm). Once you have this agreement, the faculty member will apply to the PhD Council, providing a rationale for the visit, so please provide your faculty sponsor with your objectives for visiting Bentley. Your visit is not confirmed until you have authorization from the PhD office. (Please note: not all students who are sponsored by a faculty member are automatically accepted as we need to confirm we have space available.)
As a visiting PhD student, you can take PhD classes, details of which can be found on this web site. Visiting PhD students wishing to officially register for a course and receive credit from Bentley or audit more than one course per semester must pay for the course and fill out a PhD Registration Application. Please contact the PhD office at phd@bentley.edu if you intend to register for a class. Students who are visiting for more than six months are required to provide their faculty adviser or department with 12 hours per week of work.
Visiting Student Policy
Bentley welcomes applications from visiting PhD students. The process for application and acceptance is as follows:
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Application Process: A potential visiting PhD student applies to an individual faculty member to spend some time studying at Bentley. The decision to admit the student is based on the following process:
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The faculty member must decide whether they would like to mentor this student for the period of the proposed visit; this will be based on their knowledge of the PhD visitor’s home supervisor, the reputation of their home institution, and the area of research interest of the visitor. A minimum of a phone conversation is suggested as a mechanism to ensure that there is an alignment of expectations between the proposed visitor and the faculty member.
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If a faculty member would like to accept the visitor, they must apply for permission to the PhD Council, providing a letter indicating the rationale of the visit. Providing that the stated rationale appears to be sound, the PhD Council will make decisions based on the availability of space for the PhD visitor.
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Course Audits: Visiting students can audit any one course if staying one semester or more but are encouraged to work on their research with their Bentley faculty mentor, with the purpose being to write a jointly publishable article. The course to be audited must be approved by their adviser and by the faculty member responsible for teaching the course.
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Course registration: Visiting students wishing to register for a course or audit more than one course per semester must pay for the course and fill out a PhD Registration Application.
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Work Requirements: Students visiting for more than six months are required to provide their faculty mentor or department 12 hours per week of work.
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Reciprocity with other institutions will be encouraged (e.g. internships, faculty or student exchange programs) as a precondition for visiting.
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Visiting students may apply to Bentley after one semester if so desired but must fill out a PhD application which will be evaluated by the PhD Council with other applications in March.
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Visiting students have access to some of the Bentley technology and will be issued a Bentley ID during their stay.
If you are interested in visiting for the Fall semester, please have your signed letter and a copy of your passport picture page sent to the PhD Office by May 15; if you are interested in visiting for the Spring semester, please submit them by September 15.
