Employment

At Södertörn University, most doctoral students are both admitted to and employed at the university, but there are some who have been admitted to other universities and/or have their employment funded in other ways. Read more about the different categories of doctoral students and forms of employment below.

Categories of doctoral (third-cycle) students

Doctoral education for a doctoral student takes four years of full-time study and is worth 240 credits. The equivalent for a licentiate degree is two years of full-time study and 120 credits. Employment as a doctoral, or third-cycle, student is governed by Chapter 5 of the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance External link. (page in Swedish). Your employment as a doctoral student at Södertörn University is also governed by the university’s Guidelines for Doctoral Studentships External link, opens in new window.. A doctoral studentship is a fixed-term position that runs for one year at a time.

Doctoral students may fall under the following categories:

Employment as a doctoral student at Södertörn University

It is important for you to understand that you have the same benefits and responsibilities as other staff employed by the university, such as paid holiday, occupational injury insurance, parental leave, income on which pension and unemployment insurance is based and an obligation to report secondary employment. You are also entitled to sick pay, reimbursement for medicine and access to occupational health services. You can read more about all this on the My job page below.

Presence at the university

You are expected to participate actively in seminars and other meetings within the framework of your doctoral programme (see your general syllabus), but please remember that your presence at the university is also important in other contexts. Various forms of knowledge exchange between colleagues often contribute to more clarity and better study results, so you should participate in the meetings to which your subject coordinator, head of department, director of studies or head of school invites you, e.g. staff meetings and departmental days, to get information about what’s going on at the university and in your department.

Leave and part-time work

As a doctoral student, you have the right to part-time employment, but no less than 50% of a full-time position. Discuss any requests for part-time work with your principal supervisor and contact your local HR officer well in advance of your employment contract being renewed.

Doctoral students all have the same rights as all the other employees at the university for parental leave, caring for close relatives, funerals, etc. However, there are restrictions on leave from employment. You can read more about the various forms of leave on Annual leave and parental leave or contact the HR generalist at your academic school.

Reporting sick leave

If you are off sick, you must report this to your head of department and inform your principal supervisor. At the same time, register your first sick day in Primula. More information on how to report sick leave is available below.

Extension to employment

As a doctoral student, your employment can last no longer than four years of full-time study, or two years if you are studying for a licentiate degree. However, your employment as a doctoral student may be for longer than this. Activities that are grounds for extending employment on a doctoral studentship are provided below and are in the provisions of the Higher Education Ordinance and in the university regulations. An extension is calculated according to a specific template used by the university – contact your local HR officer if you want to know more about how it is done.

If you defend your thesis and completely finish your studies before the end of your final year of employment, your employment will not be extended due to departmental duties or other exceptional reasons for extension. You must therefore consult the HR generalist at your academic school before accepting departmental duties in you final year of employment.

Planning and evaluation meetings

As a doctoral student, you are entitled to a planning and evaluation meeting, an appraisal, every year. The meeting is with your line manager, your head of department. However, planning your studies is done in consultation between all supervisors, the director of studies and the steering committee, which is why your appraisal focuses on the work environment, how supervision is working out and any departmental duties.

You will also be offered regular meetings with your director of doctoral studies. The purpose of these meetings is to bring up and discuss issues linked to your doctoral studies. Each research area for doctoral studies has one or more directors of studies who takes overarching responsibility for education at doctoral level within the area and its subjects. The director of studies can answer questions for which the supervisors are not responsible.

Salary scale for doctoral students

Doctoral students do not have salary negotiations. Your salary is regulated via a local collective bargaining agreement, “doktorandstegen” – the salary scale for doctoral students. This is set by the university after negotiations with the unions.

Approved leave from studies and non-completion of studies

Approved leave from studies is for a limited period of time; you then continue your studies when your leave is completed.

Notification of non-completion means that you are terminating your studies on the doctoral programme and can only be submitted by you, as a doctoral student. It also means that you cannot resume your doctoral studies at a later date. If you want to resume your doctoral studies, in most cases you will have to reapply for an advertised doctoral position on the same terms as other applicants.

Form, notification of non-completion (available soon)

Unemployment insurance funds: a-kassa

Employment on a doctoral studentship entitles you to unemployment benefits (a-kassa), but please be aware that conditions differ depending on whether you have submitted your thesis for publication or whether you have terminated your studies. As a doctoral student, "Akademikernas a-kassa" considers you to be a student while you are enrolled on a doctoral programme; you will only be considered unemployed and be eligible for benefits from them when you have completed your studies.

You must have been a member of your a-kassa (unemployment insurance fund) for at least 12 months before the end of your employment. Remember to sign up well in advance, so you avoid any gaps in your income and so the payment you receive is based on your income over your last 12 months in employment. You can read more about unemployment insurance on the Swedish Association of University Teachers and Researchers’ website (SULF).