Applying for doctoral studies

Welcome to apply for doctoral education at the School of Health Sciences! Here you will find information about the admission process and the doctoral education programme.

Doctoral education ending with a doctoral degree (Ph.D) comprises 240 higher education credits, equivalent to four years of full-time study. Doctoral education ending with a licentiate degree comprises 120 credits, equivalent of two years full-time study.

For an applicant to be admitted to a doctoral study programme, he or she must meet the general and specific entry requirements. For a full account of the entry requirements, refer to the admissions regulations as well as to the general syllabus for the subject.

A person meets the general entry requirements if he or she:

has been awarded a qualification on the Master’s level,
has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits (four years) of which at least 60 credits (one year) were awarded on the Master’s level, or
has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person with credits or qualifications from undergraduate programmes under the old Swedish higher education system corresponding to the entry requirements above will also be eligible. The university may permit an exemption from the entry requirements for an individual applicant, if there are special grounds.

Specific entry requirements

A person meets the specific entry requirements for the subject if he or she has received a passing grade in courses of at least 90 credits, including an independent project on the advanced course level, in a main field of study of relevance to the subject or specialisation in question. A person who has acquired substantially corresponding knowledge, in Sweden or abroad, also meets the specific entry requirements.

If, for instance, your medical training was completed some years back or you have a foreign qualification, you need to prove that you have acquired the corresponding knowledge in some other way. If that is the case, please attach documents that will facilitate an individual assessment of your skills. These may be reports and papers as well as individual projects and quality and development work undertaken during specialist training.

The admissions regulations contain the provisions applied by the university in matters of application, entry requirements, selection and admission to third-cycle courses and study programmes. Moreover, they include provisions on the way in which decisions are made and on appeal procedures. These admissions regulations therefore contain, in addition to the provisions of the board, information on current provisions in the Higher Education Ordinance and in other university regulations.

The regulations handbook for doctoral education and study programmes at Örebro University summarises all national and local laws and guidelines. It applies throughout the whole study period, from admission to receiving the degree certificate. Each student and supervisor are recommended to take part of the handbook.

You can apply for a doctoral studentship, which is a tailor-made employment to facilitate doctoral studies. You can apply for a doctoral studentship when such a vacancy is advertised, by following the instructions given in the advertisement.

You can apply to doctoral education with external/other types of funding, for example from your current employer. The University makes an assessment regarding the security of the funding for the entire duration of the studies, as well as the applicant's ability to be able to complete the studies with a study rate not lower than 50 %.

Admissions seminar

The admissions seminar is when the doctoral applicant together with the prospective principal supervisor present the proposed doctoral thesis project. The seminar is expected to last about 45 minutes and is chaired by the head of subject/specialisation coordinator. The doctoral applicant opens by presenting their research plan, for about 10 minutes. The presentation is followed by a discussion about the research plan, such as any problematic aspects; what form the supervision will take; the doctoral student’s expected performance; as well as any ethical aspects and the ethics approvals that will be required. Before the seminar is closed, any matters that may need supplementing before a decision on admission should be identified.

Application dates

Admission of doctoral students with external/other types of financing usually takes place two times per semester.

Last day for application for admission seminars in 2025:

9 December for the admission seminars 24 and 26 February
10 March for the admission seminars 5 and 6 May
4 August for the admission seminars 22 and 23 September
6 October for the admission seminars 21 and 24 November

When the last day for application for the upcoming admission seminar has passed, the next period for application will immediately open.

The applicant and intended supervisors should reserve the whole day for the intended admission seminar. After the deadline for submission has passed and the application has been reviewed and is complete, you will be informed about exact starting time for your seminar.

Application and appendices

The following documents are required for your application:

The form Application for/decision on admission to research studies
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Proof of completed higher education; degree certificates if applicable
Independent project (degree project)
Certificate of funding according to template (mandatory)
- Routine for employees who work within Region Örebro County: The application is accompanied by a draft certificate of funding (signed by the applicant, the principal supervisor and the Head of operations (SW: verksamhetschef)) according to template Certificate of funding for research students employed by Region Örebro län (including forskar-AT) (only available in Swedish, separate login to RÖL is necessary). See also Certificate of funding for doctoral students - guideline (only available in Swedish). More information is available on the region's intranet. After the admission seminar, the study and research administration sends the signed draft to the FoU staff at RÖL for approval and final signature. Finalised certificate of funding is returned to the study and research administration.
- Certificate of funding for research students employed by other external employer
Template for research plan
If the applicant wishes to enroll for part-time study, a statement accounting for the grounds for this
Documents enabling an assessment of your skills on an individual basis. You may for instance have achieved additional qualifications or experience since your medical training. This may include publication of significance, or certificates and references regarding profession experience and other qualifications.

Applying via subject area/specialisation

Apply by clicking the link for the relevant subject area (please note that this feature is not available on mobile phones or tablet computers). Read more about the subject areas/specialisations here.

Note! If you are English-speaking, please see information on how to register your account here.

Link to application system

Studera.nu

Are you an international student? Here you find the answer to some frequently asked questions about studying abroad.

How to become a doctoral student

Here you find more information about doctoral studies at Örebro University.

Processing of personal data

In connection with the admission to doctoral studies at Örebro University the research administration will store your personal data for the purpose of administering your studies. The data will be processed until graduation.

More information on how Örebro University processes personal data can be found on the webpage Data protection policy at Örebro University.

Contact

If you have questions and concerns regarding postgraduate education, the application process or supervision of doctoral students, you are welcome to contact the administration: fouadm.HV@oru.se