How to become a doctoral student
Do you want to become a doctoral student?
Örebro University offers doctoral education at all three faculties. In order to be admitted to doctoral studies you have to meet the general entry requirements.
Eligibility and admission
To be admitted to doctoral studies it is required that you meet the general entry requirements. A person meets the general entry requirements for doctoral studies if he or she
- has been awarded a second-cycle qualification,
- has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, 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 previous higher education system corresponding to the entry requirements above will also be eligible. The University may make exemptions from the entry requirements for an individual applicant, if there are special grounds for this.
In addition, there may be specific entry requirements for each subject. These specific entry requirements are found in the general syllabus of each subject.
Programme content and structure
There are two types of research level degree.
- Doctoral degree, 240 credits equivalent to 4 years (48 months of full-time study).
- Licentiate degree, 120 credits, equivalent to 2 years (24 months of full-time study).
The study period can be extended in special circumstances specified in the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 6, e.g. parental leave or sick leave.
Part-time studies, no less than 50 % of full time, apply primarily to persons with other forms of financing such as salary from their employer, scholarship, or professionals who wish to combine research education with continued professional activity in their regular jobs.
Doctoral studies consists of courses and the doctoral thesis (for studies leading to a doctorate) or scholarly essay (for studies leading to a licentiate degree). The student is expected to participate in seminars and other supporting elements during the study period and is encouraged to attend national and international conferences. The content and structure of the programme is stated in the general syllabus for each subject.
For each doctoral student at least two supervisors are assigned, one of them is the main supervisor, who will provide support for the doctoral student during the study period. The studies are specified in detail in the individual study plan.
Application and admission
Study programme vacancies are advertised on the university's website www.oru.se. This applies both to targeted advertisements as well as information on fixed admission times at certain schools. For information on admission to doctoral education in Medical Sciences, Disability Research or Sport Science, please go to the School of Medical Sciences website or the School of Health Sciences website.
In addition, applicants may be admitted without prior announcement if he or she has own study funding arranged through own employers, has begun training at another university, or if there are other similar special grounds.
The application form is found here (pdf). (Please make sure to print the form single-sided)
More information about admissions is found in Örebro university admissions regulations (pdf)
Doctoral studentship
The university may only admit applicants who are offered doctoral studentships (the funding requirement in the Higher Education Ordinance). The doctoral studentship is a special type of employment for doctoral studies. It guarantees a minimum of 80 % study tempo and thus maximum 20 % of departmental duties (teaching, etc.).
The university may, however, admit applicants who have some other form of funding for their studies, if it is deemed that the funding can be secured for the duration of the programme and that the applicant will be able to devote a sufficient amount of his or her time to his or her studies in order to complete the programme in four years in the case of a degree of Licentiate, or eight years in the case of a degree of Doctor.
Contact
If you have questions regarding the subject or programme content and structure etc. please contact the subject representative. For questions regarding application and admission, please contact the research education administrator at the school of interest.