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Two scholarships for early career historians announced at the Department of Thematic Studies

01 September 2026

Jenny Widén

Thanks to a donation, two early career researchers will have the opportunity to devote three years to historical research at the Department of Thematic Studies. Applications are now open.

Two women sitting at a desk talking to each other. Photographer: Maskot Bildbyrå AB

Thanks to a donation from the Catharina Högbom and Michael Cocozza Foundation for Research and Cultural Purposes in the Municipality of Linköping, the Department of Thematic Studies is now able to announce two scholarships for early career researchers specialising in historical studies. One scholarship is linked to the Department of Child Studies (Tema B) and the other to the Department of Technology and Social Change (Tema T).

The scholarships provide funding for three years of full-time research and are aimed at researchers who obtained their doctoral degree within the past five years. Each scholarship amounts to SEK 1,965,000 in total.

The department's management wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the foundation for making this initiative possible.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to give early career researchers the long-term conditions they need to develop their research. We are extremely grateful for the foundation’s generosity and confidence in our research environment,” says Thomas Kaiserfeld, Head of Department at the Department of Thematic Studies.

Encouraging collaboration across research environments

Both scholarships have a historical focus while welcoming a broad range of research projects. At Tema B, the call is aimed at research on children’s and young people’s living conditions, experiences, culture and history, as well as changing perspectives on children, childhood and family over time. At Tema T, applicants may connect their projects to any of the department’s research environments within historically oriented research.

The calls also highlight that applicants who can establish links with research environments at other themes within the department will be viewed particularly favourably. The ambition is to encourage new encounters and collaborations between researchers with different perspectives and areas of expertise.

Open to early career researchers

The scholarships are open to researchers from Sweden and abroad and are not restricted to individuals already affiliated with Linköping University. To be eligible, applicants must be able to conduct their research within one of the research environments at Tema B or Tema T and reside in the Municipality of Linköping during the scholarship period.

The application deadline is 1 November 2026. Interested? Read more in the documents below.

More information about the scholarships

Contact

Photo of Thomas Kaiserfeld

Thomas Kaiserfeld

Head of Department, Professor

Organisation

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Child Studies (TEMAB)

Education and research at Child Studies is about childhood and family with a focus on interaction and language, children's culture and consumption, and childhood over time and space, all to better see the perspectives of children and young people.
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Technology and Social Change (TEMAT)

So much of our lives depend on technology. The development and use of technology creates possibilities as well as social, ethical and political dilemmas. That’s what we study at Tema T – Technology and Social Change.
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Department of Thematic Studies (TEMA)

In an increasingly complicated world, there is a need for researchers that can handle both breadth and depth, and can collaborate across disciplinary borders. Major societal questions are studied from an interdisciplinary perspective at TEMA.

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