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Enrolment
Choice of subject and institution of higher education
Most PhD students proceed to a doctoral programme at the institution at which they were awarded their second-cycle qualification. The decision is often prompted by the encouragement of a teacher who may even able to arrange funding within the framework of a research project.
Before you submit your formal application
If you apply for a doctoral programme on your own initiative, it is a good idea to contact supervisors, other researchers and preferably also other doctoral students at the department to discuss your plans before you submit your formal application. This gives you an opportunity to form an idea of how research is carried out at the department in question, the projects that are being conducted or planned for the future, if funding is available and future prospects in the subject field.
Find out what can be offered
The department you have in mind may not have supervisors with specialized knowledge of the field in which you are interested. For this reason it may be worth investigating programmes offered by other departments and other universities - including foreign ones.
Admission to Licentiate studies
Since 2002 it is possible to admit applicants to third-cycle studies who intend to take only a Licentiate degree.
The idea is above all to provide more opportunities for people in employment to acquire further training. Many employers are currently sceptical about funding an employee for an entire PhD programme or do not find it practically feasible to do so. Interest in taking licentiate degrees has also increased markedly in the past decade.
You can apply to continue
There is nothing to prevent someone admitted to studies for a Licentiate degree from applying to continue doctoral studies after taking the degree. If such an applicant is admitted, then the period of Licentiate studies will be deducted, and a studentship can be offered for the remaining period of study.
A study undertaken by the Swedish National Agency - Enrolment to postgraduate programmes aiming at licentiate degrees - shows, however, that some applicants are being enrolled in third-cycle programmes aiming at licentiate degrees even though they really want to take a PhD.
About 750 students are enrolled on licentiate programmes every year. Most of these are admitted to the Karolinska Institute and the Royal Institute of Technology.
Eligibility requirements
To meet the basic entry requirements for doctoral programmes applicants must have a second-cycle degree or have completed studies for at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or have completed a corresponding programme in some other country or have equivalent qualifications.
Transitional regulations
Those who met the basic entry requirements before 1 July 2007, i.e. had completed a programme of higher education for at least 120 credits or the equivalent, will continue to do so until 30 July 2015.
Specific entry requirements Specific entry requirements vary from subject to subject as they are laid down by each faculty board. These requirements must be totally necessary for a student to be able to complete the programme. Often these requirements stipulate knowledge acquired in higher education but specific vocational experience may also be required.
General syllabus
Get in touch with the Head of Department or another member of staff responsible for doctoral programmes at the department you are interested in, if you wish to know more about specific entry requirements. This information should be available in the general syllabus for the subject in question.
The funding requirement
In the admission process the faculty board is obliged to assess whether a doctoral student has sufficient funding for the entire programme.
Two ways of funding your studies
Study funding is of two kinds: On the one hand students may be offered a PhD studentship or a study grant, on the other they will have 'other funding', such as a stipend, a study loan from CSN, paid leave of absence from other employment or some other kind of guaranteed income for the entire programme.
Part-time study
Doctoral students with 'other funding' are often referred to as part-time doctoral students - and although this need not always be the case, it is common for these students to study part-time, that is to say at least fifty per cent.
Students with' other funding' may only be admitted if the faculty board or department considers their funding to be guaranteed for the entire programme and that the students in question can devote a sufficient amount of time to their studies to enable the completion of a Licentiate degree in four years or a PhD in eight. This has proved to be a difficult matter to determine in advance. (see also Funding).
Admission procedures
The Higher Education Ordinance, which contains the regulations that apply to all higher education funded by the state, certain requirements must be fulfilled before a student may be admitted:
The number of doctoral students admitted to third-cycle courses and study programmes may not exceed the number that can be offered supervision and otherwise acceptable conditions for study and whose studies are funded pursuant to section 36. Section 34 of Chapter 7 of the Higher Education Ordinance Admission to third-cycle courses and study programmes.
The faculty board may only admit applicants to third-cycle courses and study programmes who have been appointed to doctoral studentships or awarded doctoral grants. The faculty board may, however, admit applicants who have some other form of funding for their studies if it considers that the funding can be guaranteed during the entire period of study and that the applicants can devote enough time to their studies to enable their completion within four years in the case of a licentiate degree or eight years in the case of a PhD. Section 36 of Chapter 7 of the Higher Education Ordinance Admission to third-cycle courses and study programmes.
The provisions that apply to third-cycle courses and study programmes lay down stringent requirements about the responsibility assumed by the higher education institutions for their students, supervision and funding.
Advertising doctoral studentships
When a position as a doctoral student that is wholly or partly funded by an institution of higher education falls vacant, the institution must advertise the appointment (or provide information about it to the same effect) so that anyone interested is able to apply within the stipulated time. Many institutions of higher education also advertise externally funded positions.
This regulation was introduced to make sure that an institution's own students were not given preference. It is possible to waive this main regulation, for instance when a doctoral student is to undergo a programme within the framework of a post with an employer other than the specific higher education institution.
Ranking/selection
If there are more eligible applicants than places available, a selection will be made. The Higher Education Ordinance stipulates that selection must be based on the applicants' capacity to benefit from the training provided. In practice, this means that the applicants' previous academic achievements are examined and assessed - including undergraduate term papers or degree projects. This academic ranking must be done without taking the funding available to the different applicants into account.
The faculty board determines on what basis the assessment is to be made in such cases. In practice this means that the applicants' previous attainment, for example their degree projects, etc. are evaluated.
If admission takes place on a given date during the term — and not sporadically as resources become available — it is easier to draw up this kind of academic ranking.
In its report The faculty boards' supervision of third cycle (doctoral) programmes from the perspective of legal rights (2008:5 R) summary in english, the Swedish National Agency emphasises that it is important for all those involved in admissions procedures to be familiar with the current regulations and that representatives of doctoral students and other students should be included in the bodies that deal with admissions. In other words the process of selection and admission should not in practice be left to the supervisors.
Admission procedures
The board of governors of each higher education institution offering a doctoral programme has to establish special admission procedures for these programmes. These procedures must cover the rules to be applied locally for such matters as application, entry requirements and selection, as well as the method of deciding who is to be admitted. The procedures must be accessible to everyone.
The board of governors of each higher education institution has to establish special admission procedures to be applied locally for such matters as applications, entry requirements and selection, as well as the method of deciding who is to be admitted. The procedures must be accessible to everyone.
Improved legal rights
This regulation was included in the Higher Education Ordinance because many institutions of higher education neglected to establish rules for admission to third-cycle programmes, sometimes delegating such decisions all the way down to departmental level. The purpose of introducing a set of procedures for admission is to make information more accessible and to increase the legal rights of students.
In the National Agency's study Survey of doctoral students, 2008:23, doctoral students express a great deal of criticism of the prior information they receive about admission the programmes themselves.
Applications
More and more departments are making use of fixed application periods for third-cycle programmes. However many departments still admit doctoral students one by one during the academic year as and when supervisory capacity becomes available, positions for doctoral students fall vacant or applications are received from students with 'other funding'.
Applications to third-cycle programmes are made directly to the department in question. There are often special forms for applying for a doctoral studentship and for admission to the programme itself. Ask the department secretary or someone with responsibility for third-cycle programmes. You are often required to include a funding plan for the duration of your studies with your application.
'Shadow' doctoral students
Students pursuing third-cycle programmes must be enrolled as doctoral students. But there are examples of departments that attempt to circumvent the regulations by allowing students to begin their third-cycle studies before they have been enrolled. This may be because of lack of funding, or a desire to extend the period of study or it may be viewed as some form of probationary period. You can read more about this in the National Agency's reports Surreptitious research - dreams and everyday life for "shadow" PhD students, 2005:34 R (summary in English), 2005:34 R and in Antagning till forskarutbildningen, 1999:15 R (admission to doctoral studies), only in Swedish.
Students who embark on such a period in the hope of being admitted to a regular third-cycle programme are known as shadow doctoral students, or grey-zone doctoral students.
In its report The faculty boards' supervision of third cycle (doctoral) programmes from the perspective of legal rights (2008:5 R) summary in english, the Swedish National Agency asked the higher education institutions what needs could be seen and what advantages and disadvantages could be envisaged if a legal 'probationary' period for potential doctoral students was introduced. Analysis of the responses and the current legislation indicated that there were overwhelming arguments against such probationary periods. The Agency pointed out that everyone had more to gain from using the possibilities that exist of arranging admission procedures in which students' rights can be guaranteed and high standards maintained combined with effective, thorough and equitable monitoring of the performance of doctoral students.
40 per cent began studying before being admitted
In Survey of doctoral students, 2008:23 R, summary in English, 40 per cent of the doctoral students state that they began their studies before being admitted. This figure has declined to some extent since 2003 when the first survey was made.
No social security
Such shadow doctoral students are often very vulnerable. They are frequently funded by scholarships, which give them no social insurance benefits or the legal guarantees accompanying a study grant. There are also examples of students doing experiments while not covered by the institution's insurance policies, since they have not been formally enrolled. What is more, there is no guarantee that they will eventually be admitted to such a programme. (You can get more information from the interview with Karin Broberg, once a 'shadow" doctoral student herself).
More frequent at faculties of technology and medicine
The National Agency does not know how many shadow doctoral students there are at higher education institutions in Sweden as both the students themselves and their departments or supervisors have a shared interest in not revealing the true purpose of their cooperation. The National Agency considers however that there is evidence to suggest that shadow doctoral students are not uncommon, in particular in the faculties of technology and medicine.
According to the Higher Education Ordinance no period of 'shadow doctoral studies' may be required for enrolment. Certain institutions of higher education have tried to deal with the problem by introducing local rules forbidding this kind of arrangement.
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