Swedish higher education regulations require that applicants who wish to be admitted to the doctoral program must meet certain basic requirements. Each postgraduate program also has additional requirements that are specific to that program, and the applicant must also demonstrate the ability to pass the program.

What are the basic requirements?

Qualified applicants must have at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 must be for advanced level education. Alternately, they must have equivalent knowledge in their chosen field of postgraduate study, acquired either inside or outside of Sweden. Exceptions can be made to the basic eligibility requirements if there are special circumstances. Requirements that are specific to a postgraduate program can be found in that program’s study plan.

About doctoral student employment

Applicants who meet all of the requirements will be evaluated in the context of the applicant pool, and the best candidate for the job will be offered employment. The employment is for a limited period of time, lasting until the student obtains either a licentiate degree (120 higher education credits) or a doctoral degree (240 higher education credits).

Doctoral student employment includes a maximum of 20% departmental service (for example, teaching), with the rest of the time devoted to the doctoral program. Postgraduate education can also be offered to a person with another employer (so-called industrial or professional doctoral students). In these cases, the education is usually conducted on a part-time basis.

Read more about what it's like to be a PhD student at The Department of The Computer and Information Science