项目介绍

2026年6月12日

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 58 000 students and 6800 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract researchers and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

The Department of Education and Special Education (IPS) is one of four departments within the Faculty of Education. Key areas of interest at the department include education and society, educational systems, school development and educational leadership, adult education, inclusion, learning, language and assessment, as well as grading and evaluation issues. A significant part of the department’s undergraduate education is conducted within various teacher education programs, but we also offer education at bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels within our fields of study: educational science, workplace learning, educational leadership, communication, school development, didactics, and teaching.

For information about the Department of Education and Special Education:
https://www.gu.se/en/education-special-education

For more information about doctoral education at the Department of Education and Special Education (IPS):
https://www.gu.se/en/education-special-education/doctoral-studies

Subject

The Department of Education and Special Education is announcing a doctoral student position in the Education. More information about the subject can be found at:
https://www.gu.se/en/learning-leadership-health/our-doctoral-education

Education is a doctoral subject focusing on education, teaching, upbringing, socialisation, and learning. The subject has a particular interest in the relationship between individuals and society, and the conditions under which institutional arrangements operate and have operated over time. Research in education examines processes of influence and their significance for the relationship between structure and agency, both within and outside the formal education system.

Research Environments

IPS hosts several strong research environments that contribute to increased dynamism between research, education, and collaboration with society. These environments include FUR, LUBS, PRIS, SKUL, KRIT, POP, and FYRK, each with its own distinct profile but sharing a common commitment to educational issues:
https://www.gu.se/en/education-special-education/research-environments

The doctoral student position will be affiliated with the department’s research environments and preferably connected to ongoing research projects.

The FUR research environment focuses on classical educational questions within three main areas: individual conditions for education, the organisation and resources of education, and educational outcomes at both individual and system levels. LUBS, with its focus on learning, teaching, and assessment in language education, works to integrate these aspects into both internal and external activities, including teacher education and collaboration with actors outside academia. PRIS seeks to bring together issues in special education with aspects of school development and leadership. SKUL focuses on school development and leadership, with particular attention to what teachers and school leaders do to promote children’s and students’ development and learning. It also addresses how preschools and schools manage processes of change and improvement. KRIT engages with research questions related to power, subjectivity, and resistance within educational institutions and is grounded in a critical sociology of education tradition. This environment employs methods such as critical ethnography, policy studies, and narrative analysis. POP studies the political dimensions of educational phenomena, drawing on traditions in curriculum theory, comparative education, and analyses of educational processes and systems. FYRK is a relatively new research environment focusing on research questions in vocational education and training.

The Doctoral Project

The Department of Education and Special Education at the University of Gothenburg hosts the national longitudinal infrastructure Evaluation Through Follow-up (UGU). The doctoral student position is specifically linked to UGU’s activities and the challenges associated with managing, developing, and analysing longitudinal individual-level data.

UGU is currently in a dynamic phase in which development work concerning missing data, the construction and application of weights, and longitudinal analyses is of particular importance. The doctoral student will have the opportunity to participate in all aspects of UGU’s work—from questionnaire design, piloting, and collaboration with teachers to the analysis and presentation of survey data.

This means that the doctoral project may include substantive topics within the UGU framework concerning constructs such as motivation, engagement and school-related well-being as well as methodological and analytical components. An important aspect of the project concerns ensuring robust methodological approaches for designing and analysing longitudinal educational data and advancing methods for addressing the challenges posed by extensive non-response in large-scale survey studies.

Duties

The doctoral student will engage in doctoral education. In collaboration with supervisors, the doctoral student will formulate and carry out a dissertation project and complete coursework consisting of both compulsory and elective doctoral courses in accordance with the general syllabus and an individual study plan. During the doctoral period, the dissertation work will be presented and discussed in seminar form with an invited discussant on at least three occasions. The doctoral student is expected to participate actively in the department’s research environment.

The department encourages and supports the presentation of dissertation work at national and international conferences.

In addition to pursuing the doctoral studies within the prescribed time, departmental duties (maximum 20%) may be assigned in teaching, research commissioned activities, and administration in accordance with applicable regulations. The employment period will then be extended accordingly.

The studies will be conducted within the doctoral subject area of Education.

Eligibility and Qualifications

Applicants admitted to doctoral education will receive a four-year doctoral studentship at the department.

To be admitted to doctoral education, applicants must meet the requirements for both general and specific eligibility and be deemed to possess the ability otherwise required to benefit from the education, in accordance with Chapter 7, Section 35 of the Higher Education Ordinance.

General eligibility is granted to those who have completed a second-cycle degree or completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 credits are at second-cycle level. General eligibility is also granted to those who have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way, either in Sweden or abroad.

For specific eligibility in Education, 90 credits in Education are required, of which at least 30 credits must be at second-cycle level. The qualifying education must include an independent degree thesis of at least 15 credits at second-cycle level.

Eligibility may also be granted to applicants who have acquired equivalent knowledge through other means, in Sweden or abroad.

Selection Criteria

Selection among applicants who meet the eligibility requirements shall, according to Chapter 7 of the Higher Education Ordinance, be made with regard to the admissions committee’s assessment of the subject’s relevance to the department and the applicant’s ability to benefit from doctoral education.

The selection will be based on the following assessment criteria:

• Quality of the qualifying degree theses (or equivalent document)
• Quality of the submitted research proposal

Given the orientation of the project, experience and knowledge of the Swedish school system are required. Experience of research work, quantitative analyses, and scientific writing are considered merits.

Particularly meritorious are experience of working with longitudinal individual-level data such as UGU data, methodological development in large-scale studies, and analytical work.

Significant weight will also be given to personal suitability.

Good proficiency in both English and Swedish, spoken and written language, is required.

Admission is competitive and based on an overall assessment of the submitted application materials. The applicant’s ability to benefit from doctoral education will be the primary consideration. Central to this assessment are previous theses and degree projects, as well as a clearly formulated research proposal presenting the applicant’s intended dissertation area.

If a qualifying work has multiple authors, the applicant’s individual contribution must be clearly specified.

The dissertation research proposal will be assessed on the basis of its scientific relevance, whether it addresses justified and researchable questions, and whether it proposes appropriate methods for implementation.

Applications will be reviewed by an admissions committee whose task is to rank the applicants. Interviews may be conducted with selected applicants.

The final admission decision is made by the Head of Department.

The department will primarily consider the applicant who, after an overall assessment, is deemed to have the best potential to benefit from doctoral education, considering the department’s ability to provide supervision.

According to Chapter 7, Section 41 of the Higher Education Ordinance, the possibility of receiving credit for previous education or professional experience may not give an applicant priority over other applicants in the selection process.

Employment

Applicants admitted to doctoral education will be employed as doctoral students. Regulations concerning doctoral student employment are found in Ordinance SFS 1993:100.

The initial employment may be valid for a maximum of one year and may be renewed for up to two years at a time.

A doctoral student may be employed for a maximum of eight years, but the total period of employment may not exceed the equivalent of four years of full-time doctoral education.

Type of employment: Fixed-term employment corresponding to four years of full-time doctoral studies

Extent: 50–100%

Location: Department of Education and Special Education, University of Gothenburg

Starting date: 1 October 2026, or by agreement

Reference number: PAR 2026/527

The University applies a local salary agreement for doctoral students.

Doctoral education at the Department of Education and Special Education requires physical presence to complete the studies. If an admitted applicant requires a residence permit to study in Sweden, the department reserves the right to revoke the admission decision if the applicant cannot present a valid residence permit by the start date of the program.

Selection Process

Applications will be reviewed by an admissions committee. The final admission decision is made by the Head of Department. The position is subject to the necessary formal decisions being made. More information about doctoral admissions at the University of Gothenburg can be found here:
https://www.gu.se/en/learning-leadership-health/doctoral-studies

Contact Information

Director of Doctoral Studies:
Daniel Bergh, daniel.bergh@gu.se, 0766-18 21 09

Trade Union Organisations

Information about trade union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here:
https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/work-at-the-university/support-for-applicants

Application

Applications for admission to doctoral studies must be submitted through the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their application is complete according to the advertisement and received by the university no later than the closing date. Application documents should, whenever possible, be submitted in digital form.

The application must include:

1. A cover letter with a brief motivation for applying (maximum one A4 page)
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Academic transcripts and documentation demonstrating general and specific eligibility (LADOK transcript or equivalent)
4. A thesis/degree project comprising 15 credits at second-cycle level and no more than one additional research-related text (e.g., article, report, or equivalent)
5. One (1) preliminary research proposal, maximum five A4 pages (see guidelines below and assessment criteria above)
6. References
7. Any additional merits the applicant wishes to invoke

The preliminary research proposal (maximum 5 pages, 12-point font, excluding references) should address research questions relevant to the dissertation project, subject context, state of research, material and methodological issues, and reflections on the project’s relevance.

All submitted documents must be in Swedish or English.

Scientific publications, reports, and similar materials not available in electronic form should be marked with the reference number and sent to:

University of Gothenburg
Department of Education and Special Education
Ivana Nikolic
Box 300
SE-405 30 GOTHENBURG
SWEDEN

Application deadline: 1 August, 2026