University of Gothenburg 
Gothenburg, Sweden Project Description
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.
About the CUL Research School
The CUL Research School is unique in Sweden and is the largest doctoral school at the University of Gothenburg. The programme is delivered in collaboration with the Faculties of Humanities, Fine, Applied and Performing Arts, Social Sciences, and Education, as well as the Faculty of Science and Technology.
The CUL Research School is part of the CULF collaboration organisation, which also includes the government initiative Development, Learning and Research (ULF). The purpose of ULF is to fund and support research based on collaboration between academia and school education.
Teachers with doctoral degrees working in schools help ensure that school education is based on scientific knowledge. Their expertise creates greater opportunities for school and teaching development, as well as systematic quality assurance. It also supports professional development and prepares teachers for senior lecturer positions and work within school-based teacher education placements. Schools and preschools with doctoral-qualified staff will be well prepared for a future in which practice-based research forms part of teachers’ everyday work.
The CUL Research School is opening admissions to doctoral education for applicants who hold a teaching degree and have an employer willing to finance all or part of their doctoral studies. This year’s call includes two types of collaborative doctoral positions. The first category comprises four or more positions for which CUL covers the costs of doctoral education, while you retain your employment and salary from your regular employer throughout your studies. The second category comprises positions for which your employer covers both the costs of doctoral education and your salary for the entire period of study.
Subject Areas and Placement
Applications may be submitted in the following subject areas:
- Child and Youth Studies
- Aesthetic Expressions with a Specialisation in Educational Sciences
- Humanities with a Specialisation in Educational Sciences
- Sport Science
- Information Technology and Learning
- Food and Nutrition Science
- Mathematics with a Specialisation in Educational Sciences
- Natural Sciences with a Specialisation in Educational Sciences
- Educational Work
- Social Sciences with a Specialisation in Educational Sciences
- Subject Didactics, with various specialisations
Doctoral students admitted to a doctoral subject will be based at a department belonging to one of the faculties participating in this call.
Duties
Doctoral education comprises four years of full-time study and leads to a doctoral degree. Collaborative doctoral students normally pursue their studies at 50% of full-time, which means that the programme takes eight years to complete.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the CUL Research School, applicants must hold a teaching degree.
Admission to doctoral education requires general eligibility and, where applicable, the specific eligibility requirements established in the general syllabus for the relevant subject.
General eligibility for doctoral education is granted to applicants who have:
- completed a second-cycle qualification (Master’s degree), or completed course requirements comprising at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits are at second-cycle level, including an independent project at second-cycle level; or
- acquired equivalent knowledge in another way, either in Sweden or abroad.
In addition to the general eligibility requirements, each subject and specialisation has its own specific requirements. Information about the eligibility requirements for each subject is available on the CUL website via the link below:
Assessment Criteria
Applicants who hold a teaching degree and meet the general and specific eligibility requirements will be assessed and ranked. The assessment is based on the applicant’s ability to benefit from doctoral education in the subject applied for. Particular consideration will be given to the applicant’s ability to:
- present relevant and interesting research questions;
- formulate a clearly defined research question within the chosen problem area;
- describe how the research will be conducted and the scientific basis on which it will be founded;
- argue for the relevance of the proposed research in relation to educational research;
- explain the relevance of the research area to professional educational practice and teacher education; and
- formulate a timetable for a doctoral project.
Admission and Funding
As a collaborative doctoral student, your salary during your doctoral studies is funded through employment with an employer other than the University of Gothenburg. You will not be employed by the University of Gothenburg. Instead, your employer will enter into an agreement with the department to which you are admitted. Among other things, the agreement stipulates that your employer will allow you to devote at least 50% of your working hours to doctoral education during working hours. This arrangement must enable you to complete your studies within four years for a Licentiate degree or a Degree of Licentiate in Fine Arts, and within eight years for a doctoral degree or a Degree of Doctor in Fine Arts.
Funding of doctoral education through external employment is based on the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance (Chapter 7, Section 36) and is regulated by Section 5 of the University of Gothenburg’s Doctoral Student Regulations. As a collaborative doctoral student, you are subject to the same regulations governing doctoral education as other doctoral students.
Selection Procedure
Applications to the CUL Research School are assessed and ranked in two stages. In the first stage, applications are assessed by the faculty responsible for the relevant doctoral subject, and the faculties rank the applicants. In the second stage, the CULF Preparatory Committee reviews the faculties’ proposals and assessment processes from an educational sciences perspective, also considering the departments’ ability to provide a suitable research environment for each applicant.
The decision to admit a doctoral student is made by the department where the student will be based, following a decision by the Board of the Faculty of Education regarding the funding of educational costs through CUL.
Applicants will be notified of the outcome in May 2027.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about this call, please contact:
Marie Rydenvald, Director of Studies for CUL
marie.rydenvald@svenska.gu.se
Eva Hasselgren, Administrator for CULF
eva.hasselgren@gu.se
For questions about collaborative doctoral students, please contact:
Ingela Bursjöö
ingela.bursjoo@physics.gu.se
Trade Unions
Information about trade union representatives at the University of Gothenburg is available here:
Application
Applications must be submitted via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their applications are complete in accordance with the requirements specified in this advertisement and are received by the University by the application deadline.
A complete application must include:
- Certificate or diploma confirming a teaching degree
- Certificate or diploma confirming a second-cycle qualification
- Independent project at second-cycle level (at least 15 credits)
- Subject area applied for
- Title of the proposed doctoral project
- Short abstract
- Research proposal
- Proof of funding
- Previous scholarly work
- CV
- Other relevant certificates and transcripts
Application deadline: 29 January 2027
The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.
Salaries are set individually at the University.
In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.
In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.
