项目介绍

2026年8月24日

The Department of Law invites applications for a PhD position in Environmental Law, specialising in nuclear power, funded by ANItA (Academic-industrial Nuclear technology Initiative to Achieve a sustainable energy future). The PhD student will be employed by the Department of Law and admitted to the doctoral programme leading to a Doctor of Laws degree.

Field of Research

The transition towards climate neutrality has renewed interest in nuclear power across Europe, making the legal regulation of nuclear licensing a highly relevant research area. As the European Union implements the objectives of the European Green Deal and strengthens its climate and energy policies, nuclear power has re-emerged as an important component of the transition to a low-carbon energy system. Subject to specific conditions, certain nuclear energy activities have also been recognised within the EU sustainable finance taxonomy as contributing to the transition towards a climate-neutral economy. These developments have intensified discussions on how permitting systems can facilitate investment in new nuclear power while maintaining high standards of environmental protection, radiation safety, public participation and legal certainty.

Against this background, the licensing of new nuclear power remains one of the most legally complex regulatory processes in Sweden and in many comparable jurisdictions. Multiple authorities exercise overlapping responsibilities under environmental, nuclear safety, radiation protection and planning legislation, while international and EU law impose additional procedural and substantive requirements. The interaction between these legal frameworks creates significant challenges for coordination, predictability and legitimacy.

The doctoral project will examine how Swedish, EU and international law structure the legal framework governing the licensing of new nuclear power. It aims to develop a comprehensive legal understanding of how complex permitting regimes are designed and coordinated, and how legal rules governing institutional responsibilities, procedural sequencing and decision-making influence efficiency, legal certainty and legitimacy.

A comparative perspective will form an important part of the research. The project is expected to analyse selected jurisdictions, currently reviewing or reforming their nuclear licensing systems.

ANItA

The position forms part of ANItA (Academic-industrial Nuclear technology Initiative to Achieve a sustainable energy future), a national collaboration founded by the Swedish Energy Agency bringing together Swedish universities, industry and public actors to strengthen research and competence relating to new nuclear technologies.

ANItA currently includes Uppsala University, Chalmers University of Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Vattenfall, Uniper, Framatome, Westinghouse Electric Sweden, Studsvik Nuclear and the Swedish Energy Agency.

The doctoral student will become part of an interdisciplinary research environment and will have opportunities to interact with researchers and practitioners from both academia and industry.

Duties
An employed doctoral student must primarily devote his or her time to his or her own doctoral research (4 years full-time). Other duties may be included, such as teaching students, working in teaching teams, and administration (no more than 20% of the position) in which case the position may be extended to a maximum of 5 years. Rules governing doctoral students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7, in Uppsala University’s rules and guidelines, and in the general study plan for doctoral studies at the Department of Law.

Requirements and assessment
In order to be admitted to doctoral studies, the applicant is required to meet the following qualifications. To qualify as an applicant with the Department of Law, the applicant must either

1. in Sweden, have completed a Master of Laws degree or completed a law programme, or
2. in Sweden or abroad, have acquired knowledge equivalent to the degrees mentioned in 1).
   In evaluating whether the knowledge is sufficient, consideration must be given to what is required to successfully benefit from the doctoral programme in the specific subject.

Applicants must have adequate knowledge of Swedish or English.

The overall purpose of the doctoral studies is to provide future newly qualified doctors of law with good prospects for a successful career within or outside of higher education. This includes in-depth knowledge of the chosen subject in the field of research, a capacity for independent and critical thinking, proficiency in scientific methods and modes of working, an ability to identify interesting and researchable issues, teaching skills, and the ability to express himself or herself well both orally and in writing, an ability to operate in an international context and an ability to understand and deal with ethical issues concerning research.

Admission is based on an evaluation of the applicant’s capacity to successfully complete the doctoral studies. The evaluation is primarily focused on the project description as well as the scientific written material (published or not published). Analytical ability, the ability to structure the material and to independently work on the proposed project, and the project’s news value, are paramount. In addition to the written material, other merits, such as grades, diplomas, completed courses, etc., may also be of importance in the assessment. Further, the applicant’s capacity to cooperate in different ways, e.g. with teaching colleagues, may be taken into consideration. 

The application shall include:

• Personal letter (required document)
• CV in Swedish or English (required document)
• Relevant diploma with grade transcripts (required document) and other relevant certificates in Swedish or English
• Project description with time plan in Swedish or English (required document) The project description should include the research question(s) of the proposed research, the relationship between the research topic and the relevant area of research, research already undertaken in this field, a reflection upon material and method, a time plan, and the possible scientific value and contribution of the proposed project. The project description should include considerations on the trans-/cross- or multidisciplinary character of the project, i.e. a statement on why, and how, social science perspectives and law perspectives (such as theories and/or methods) will be combined in a coherent scientific project. The project description must comprise no more than 35,000 characters including spaces (approximately ten A4 pages).
• Popular summary in Swedish or English (required document). The project summary must include a brief popular summary in Swedish or English, no longer than 2,000 characters including spaces.
• Written scientific work (electronic copy of books, articles, undergraduate essays, manuscripts, etc.)
• Letter of recommendation and/or references (e.g. a university teacher or employer). Note that a statement from a potential supervisor regarding the project should not be submitted. That will be obtained by the department for priority applications.
• Application formsfor admission to doctoral studies, and employment as a doctoral student.

Decisions on admissions to the doctoral programme are made by the Research Committee at the Faculty of Law. As part of the admission procedure, references may be taken and interviews may be held with a limited number of applicants.

Only complete applications will be taken into consideration. Applications must be submitted as described in this advertisement.

Employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Extent of employment 100%.

Salary: according to local agreement for doctoral students.

Starting date: 2027-01-01 or as agreed.

Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position and the doctoral programme: please contact the Director of Research Studies Rebecca Söderström, email: rebecca.soderstrom@jur.uu.se and, for information about the focus of the research and the underlying project, Project Leader (Uppsala) Henrik Josefsson, email: henrik.josefsson@jur.uu.se.

Kindly submit your application, including the required documents, no later than 1 October 2026.