Become a doctoral student
The University has the right to award doctoral and licentiate degrees in three different areas: information technology, innovation sciences, health and lifestyle. Within the areas, doctoral education is conducted in five subjects.
Introduction
This information is aimed for those who are interested in doctoral education at Halmstad University.
The University has the right to award doctoral degrees in three different areas:
- Doctoral education in Information Technology
- Doctoral Education in Innovation Sciences
- Doctoral education in Health and Lifestyle
To be admitted to doctoral education, you must have funding (a salary) for the duration of your studies. This is either in the form of a doctoral studentship or employment with another employer. In addition, the University must have the resources to provide supervision and what is otherwise required for you to be able to complete your studies. In addition, you must meet the entry requirements for doctoral education and be considered in other respects to have the ability required to benefit from the education.
Doctoral education comprises four years of full-time study and lead to a Degree of Doctor. In practice, it takes longer to complete the education because doctoral students are usually also involved in other tasks, such as teaching. After half the time (i.e. two years of full-time study), the student can choose to complete the education with a Degree of Licentiate or continue on to the next stage towards the Degree of Doctor. Doctoral education consists of courses, educational components, research and the writing of a licentiate thesis or a doctoral thesis.
Funding
Doctoral studentship
To be admitted to doctoral education, you are normally required to be employed as a doctoral student. This means that you must apply for an advertised doctoral studentship and obtain this position to be admitted. All vacant doctoral studentships are advertised on the University’s website.
How long recruitment takes is difficult to say as it depends entirely on how easy/difficult it is to find suitable candidates and how much time is spent on recruitment preparation. Bear in mind that international recruitment takes longer as you need to factor in the time required to apply for a residence permit and a Swedish personal identity number/coordination number.
Vacant positions at Halmstad University
For further information about appointment as a doctoral student, see Appointments Procedure at Halmstad University:
Appointments Procedure at Halmstad University
Pdf, 300.6 kB, opens in new window.
Employment elsewhere
You can also be admitted to doctoral education if your employer agrees to allow you to study during your working hours. An agreement is then signed between the employer and the University. Your employer must be able to guarantee that you will have funding (a salary) for the entire duration of the education. If you want to pursue doctoral studies as part of your employment, you should contact the director of studies for the subject you are interested in.
Rules for financing of doctoral level studies
General information on financing and resource management for doctoral students
Studies at doctoral level at Halmstad University are normally financed via employment, either at Halmstad University (primarily via a doctoral studentship) or by another employer(external employment). The financing or funding of doctoral studies can also, in exceptional cases, be via scholarships from external financiers or, if student financing can be guaranteed throughout the entire education period, via a retirement pension. The financing of doctoralstudies by other means is not allowed upon admission to a doctoral education at Halmstad University.
In the cases of funding via scholarships or within the framework of external employment, the financial contribution received by the doctoral student shall correspond to the salary paid to a doctoral student at Halmstad University after tax.
Regardless of which funding source is used, the University must assess whether there are financial possibilities for admission as well as in agreement with the Higher Education Ordinance, assess that the required funding is guaranteed throughout the entire education period, and that the required supervisory resources and acceptable study conditions are fully available. In all cases, the undertaken education must be completed within four years in the case of a licentiate degree and eight years in the case of a doctoral degree.
Financing via employment at Halmstad University
Studies at doctoral level at Halmstad University are to be primarily financed via a doctoral studentship. Financing via some other employment position at the University (in addition to a doctoral studentship) may be accepted in cases where the applicant is allowed to work on his/her doctoral education for at least 50% of full-time employment.
Financing via external employment
Financing concerning external employment may be accepted in cases where the applicant's employer agrees that work concerning the student's doctoral education accounts for at least 50% of full-time employment. Agreements of financing concerning external employment shall be governed by an agreement between the financing employer and the relevant school.
Scholarship financing
Funds for doctoral students via scholarships from external financiers is applied with restrictiveness. Scholarship funding is solely to provide funding for studies at doctoral level when the legal criteria for scholarship management are met and the relevant school has insight into the necessary policies and regulations concerning the scholarship and how it is disbursed.
The University will not accept any form of scholarship funding, which includes terms and conditions that may imply that the doctoral student is liable to have to pay back the scholarship.
It is important to note that doctoral students funded via scholarships are not covered by collective agreement benefits such as parental pay, sick pay etc. The doctoral student's situation concerning social benefits depends on citizenship, duration in Sweden etc.
Entry requirements
To be admitted to doctoral education, you must meet the general entry requirements. Specific entry requirements also apply for each subject at the doctoral level. The specific entry requirements are set out in the general syllabus for each subject. Specific entry requirements may include, for example, previous education relevant to the subject at the doctoral level. An assessment is also made as to whether you are considered in other respects to have the ability required to benefit from the education.
General entry requirements Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 7. Section 39
A person meets the general entry requirements for third-cycle* courses and study programmes if they have:
- been awarded a second-cycle qualification
- satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or
- acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.
The higher education institution may permit an exemption from the general entry requirements for an individual applicant, if there are special grounds.
*: doctoral education
Subjects in the doctoral education
Halmstad University currently conducts doctoral education in the following subjects. Each respective subject has a general study syllabus. The general study syllabus provides information regarding the main content of the education, entry requirements, and other important information regarding the doctoral education. You can access the general study syllabus via the links in the list.
- Computer Science and Engineering (area Information Technology) Pdf, 73.2 kB, opens in new window.
- Health and Lifestyle (area Health and Lifestyle) Pdf, 116.9 kB, opens in new window.
- Informatics (area Information Technology) Pdf, 119.3 kB, opens in new window.
- Innovation and entreprenurship (area Innovation Sciences) Pdf, 176 kB, opens in new window.
- Signals and Systems Engineering (area Information Technology) Pdf, 72.2 kB, opens in new window.
Application for admission
Once the requirements for resources, funding and entry requirements have been investigated and met, it is time to apply for admission to doctoral education. The relevant form is completed by the applicant together with the director of studies. You can find the form via the link below. The application is available in both Swedish and English.
The application must be accompanied by certified transcripts, such as degree certificates. In addition, documentation must be attached that clearly demonstrates the availability of the necessary resources (supervision and what is otherwise required for the completion of studies) and how the studies will be financed. The application is signed by the applicant, the dean of school and the director of studies before it is submitted by the director of studies to the Committee for Doctoral Education at Halmstad University. The application and signing can be completed digitally, i.e. online.
Application for admission to doctoral education Pdf, 967.2 kB, opens in new window.
The University’s admission regulations
The University’s admission regulations (in Swedish)
External link, opens in new window.
Decision on admission to doctoral education
The Committee for Doctoral Education at Halmstad University decides on admission to doctoral education. The Committee does this by delegation from the Research and Education Board. The director of studies for the doctoral education in question presents the case to the Committee. Decisions on admission to doctoral education can be made by the Committee on several occasions throughout the year, except during the summer break between semesters. Decisions on admission to doctoral education cannot be appealed. Our official language is Swedish, which means that decisions are made in Swedish.
Being a doctoral student at Halmstad University
We have collected interviews with some of our doctoral students at the University. Take part of the interviews to get an insight into what it's like to be a doctoral student at Halmstad University.
Interviews with doctoral students
Contact
If you would like to know more about Halmstad University's doctoral education and what it is like to be a doctoral student, please contact the Director of Studies of the field you are interested in.
Vaike Fors, Director of Studies for the field of Information Technology
Thomas Magnusson, Director of Studies in the field of Innovation Sciences
Sara Högdin, Director of Studies in the field of Health and Lifestyle
More information
For more general information about doctoral education in Sweden, see the PhD handbook produced by Sweden's United Student Unions’ doctoral student committee.
PhD Handbook from Sweden’s United Student Unions
External link.
