PhD student in language and culture

We are now looking for two PhD students in language and culture.

Your work assignments

Your main task will be to write a doctoral dissertation. You will write the thesis in English or Swedish and you yourself will have the opportunity to formulate a research project which will be suited to our research environment in Language and Culture, preferably specialising in language/interaction or comparative literature/literary studies. We also welcome interdisciplinary projects which include one or more of these specialisations. Irrespective of specialisation you will be encouraged to make use of the interdisciplinary expertise of our research environment.

As a PhD student, you devote most of your time to doctoral studies and the research projects of which you are part. Your work may also include teaching or other departmental duties, up to a maximum of 20 per cent of full-time.  A high level of presence at your workplace is expected so that you will be able to benefit and contribute to the lively intellectual climate that characterises Language and Culture.

Your qualifications

You have graduated at Master’s level or completed courses with a minimum of 240 credits, at least 60 of which must be in advanced-level courses. Alternatively, you have gained essentially corresponding knowledge in another way.

 120 credits (ECTS), or the equivalent, of your total credits must be in a subject of central importance to the PhD Programme in Language and Culture, such as comparative literature, general linguistics, Swedish, English and Nordic languages. Furthermore, you must also have a good command of English, and preferably also of other languages. Anyone admitted who doesn’t have a command of Swedish will be expected to learn Swedish during the first two years of the Programme.

Applicants will be assessed on the basis of their ability to successfully carry out doctoral studies. This assessment will be primarily made on the basis of your submitted documentation. Particular importance will be given to your previous theses or other academic production (e.g. published articles) as well as your planned research project. The following assessment criteria will be taken into consideration in the selection process: creativity, maturity, the ability to make independent judgements and carry out critical analyses, as well as any specialised knowledge and experience that the applicant possesses, such as professional experience that may be of relevance to successfully carrying out doctoral studies. The top candidates will be called for an interview, which will also provide a basis for the final selection. In the assessment of the applicant’s ability to successfully carry out doctoral studies considerable attention will be paid to the competence and expertise possessed by the teachers associated with the PhD programme.

Your workplace

The doctoral position is located in the research environment Language and Culture, an interdiciplinary meeting place for research on language and literature, which is unified by an interest in the interplay between language and culture in everyday, literary, media, artistic and professional contexts. Please read more about us here: https://liu.se/en/research/language-and-culture.

We look forward to hearing how you and your project can contribute to our research environment.

The employment

When taking up the post, you will be admitted to the program for doctoral studies. More information about the doctoral studies at each faculty is available at Doctoral studies at Linköping University

The employment has a duration of normally four years’ full-time equivalent. Extension of employment up to five years is based on the degree of teaching and institutional assignment. Further extensions may be granted in exceptional circumstances. You will initially be employed for one year, after which your employment will be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time, depending on your progress through the study plan. 

 Starting date 1 February 2026.

Salary and employment benefits

The salary of PhD students is determined according to a locally negotiated salary progression.

More information about employment benefits at Linköping University is available here.

Union representatives

Information about union representatives, see Help for applicants.

Application procedure

Apply for the position by clicking the “Apply” button below. Your application must reach Linköping University no later than 13 October 2025.

Applications and documents received after the date above will not be considered.

When you prepare your application, please consult our website (https://liu.se/en/research/language-and-culture) to learn more about our areas of research.

Your application must also include a personal covering letter (an account of why you wish to do a doctoral degree) of no longer than one page, a statement of intentions (a description of your proposed research project) of no longer than three pages, as well as your publications, e.g. essays/theses/articles of merit for the appointment, including master dissertation(s), or the equivalent.