Doctoral studies

Any funded doctoral positions at Lund University are advertised on our vacancies page on this website (see link below). Select the category 'Doctoral students'.

When you find a position you are interested in, read the advert carefully to see if you meet the requirements.

Before you apply, we recommend that you also check the relevant faculty's or department's website for any additional information about the application process.

Should you have any questions about a specific position, please contact the contact person(s) listed in the vacancy announcement.

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To be admitted to a doctoral programme, you need to have completed courses of at least 240 credits (of which at least 60 credits must be for Master’s level studies) or acquired equivalent knowledge in some other way.

In most cases, students will hold a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree, with a major in the same subject as the intended postgraduate study. The major must include a degree thesis presenting the results of independent research.

The quality of your thesis/theses is of particular importance and it is important that you demonstrate a capacity for independent thinking in this piece of work.

Candidates must have a very good command of English and you may be asked to include proof of proficiency in the form of a TOEFL or IELTS test, if requested by the individual department.

Admission rules for doctoral education at Lund University | 2024 (PDF 249 kB, new tab)

To apply for a doctoral position, you must create an account in the recruitment system Varbi.

Follow the instructions regarding application documents and procedure in the vacancy announcement.

The application documents that you submit through Varbi, including any supporting documents, are sent directly to the faculty or department that advertised the position. 

If you are self-funded through external scholarships or funding, you do not need to create an account in Varbi. You should instead make direct contact with the relevant faculty or department. 

Applying for a position

Admission to doctoral programmes is based on competition with other applicants. As the number of educational places is limited, competition is often tough.

When admitting applicants, the institution needs to ensure that there is student funding for the entire programme and that the applicant is able to devote sufficient time to complete the programme on time. For a Licentiate degree or Licentiate in Fine Arts, the timeframe is four years, and for a Doctorate degree or Doctorate in Fine Arts, it is eight years.

To safeguard and develop research and education collaborations, Lund University conducts a general risk assessment for recruitment and admission to doctoral programmes. The assessment may include aspects such as data security, intellectual property rights, research ethics, political influence, corruption and poverty. It also looks at the risk of research and products being used for undesirable purposes, such as military ones.

Global responsible engagement

If you are admitted to the programme, you will in most cases be offered employment as a doctoral student as study funding.

Through the programme, you are formally a doctoral student. Through your employment as a doctoral student, you are also covered by the usual terms of employment.

It is often possible to combine your doctoral studies with work, for example teaching at undergraduate and graduate level or administrative tasks. This is called departmental employment and may not exceed 20 per cent of a full-time position.

External employers who fund doctoral studies are, for example, an industrial company, Region Skåne or a municipality. The external employer is responsible for the employment, while Lund University is responsible for the doctoral programme.

When an external employer finances the doctoral studies, an agreement must be established between the employer and Lund University.

Scholarship as a means of financing studies are mainly used in international co-operation. Examples of scholarship funders include EU funding, higher education institutions in other countries or other states.

One of the requirements for scholarship funding is that the funder's conditions towards the doctoral student are clear and transparent.

Lund University informs the scholarship holder about the conditions and social rights that apply in Sweden for scholarship funding in doctoral programmes.

If the doctoral studies are financed by a scholarship, Lund University shall offer the doctoral student the opportunity to apply for a doctoral position when three years remain of the four-year programme.