Doctoral Student in English

Description

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is accepting applications for a doctoral studentship leading to a PhD in English at the Department of Language, Literature and Intercultural Studies.  The thesis project should have a focus on subject-specific education – either in English linguistics or English literature. Each specialisation follows a general syllabus with courses in either English linguistics or English literature. The thesis project should be clearly focused on one of the specialisations as well as a didactic question of relevance for teaching and learning in English in relation to the Swedish school context (preferably primary and secondary school). The research plan can also, but does not have to, connect to one of the current research projects in subject-specific education in English, see www.kau.se/en/english.

Research environment

At Karlstad University, the discipline of English covers research within a variety of areas related to language use, language learning, language teaching, and English literature across different time periods. It is also closely linked to the university’s teacher education programmes, where subject-specific education is a highly prioritised research area. The doctoral student will be specifically connected to the interdisciplinary research environment Centre for Language and Literature Education (CSL, www.kau.se/en/csl). Doctoral students and researchers active in CSL come from various disciplines and belong to different departments at Kau. The doctoral studentship in question will be based with the Department of Language, Literature and Intercultural Studies. CSL also has close connections to the interdisciplinary research group ROSE, Research on Subject-specific Education (www.kau.se/en/rose).

Duties

As a doctoral student, you will primarily dedicate time to your own studies. The doctoral programme comprises 240 credits for a Degree of Doctor and 120 credits for a Degree of Licentiate. The doctoral appointment is a paid position that offers a combination of studies and work, and a great opportunity for a potential career in academia. Doctoral students are expected to work independently and be prepared to contribute to the activities and development of the discipline and the department. Teaching and administrative duties may also be included upon agreement, but will not constitute more than 20% of full-time work. Work as a doctoral student allows for great freedom and flexibility in terms of how you structure your day. It takes commitment, discipline and a structured approach in order to successfully complete a doctoral thesis. Experienced supervisors offer guidance and support along the way. In order to contribute to a positive work environment and help further the subject’s activities, we expect you to be a present and active part of the day-to-day operations and workplace community.

Qualification requirements

To be eligible for a doctoral studentship, applicants must meet the general and specific entry requirements (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35).

To meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must have been awarded a master’s level qualification; satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were at master’s level; or acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad. The Faculty board may permit an exemption from the general entry requirements for an individual applicant, if there are special grounds.  (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 6)

To meet the specific entry requirements, the applicant must have completed 30 credits in English at Master’s level, including a degree project of 15 credits. It is generally recommended that the Master’s level degree project be in the same field as the doctoral programme applied to (linguistics and literature, respectively), as applicants will then have a better chance of demonstrating their qualifications for a specific type of research.

Admission and assessment criteria

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must be considered to have the ability required to benefit from the programme (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35). The doctoral studentship involves admission into the third-cycle subject area of English. Admission is based on individual assessment of the applicant’s qualifications, and demonstrated ability to benefit from the doctoral programme. Special emphasis is placed on the applicant’s results in previous studies and the quality of independent written work included in these studies, as well as the applicant’s proficiency in English and Swedish. Assessment is also based on the research plan, in which the applicant provides an account of the planned thesis project, as well as the extent to which the applicant intends to be a physically present and active member of the research environment. Applicants should have good social skills and the ability to work independently as well as in a group. We value applicants with a teacher degree. Previous experience in English education as part of independent projects is considered a valuable qualification.

Terms

Upon admission to doctoral studies, the person will be offered the appointment of doctoral student (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5, Sect. 3). The position comprises four years of full-time studies, or five years at a study rate of 80% with 20% teaching or other departmental duties. The position is fixed-term, one year initially, followed by possible extensions of a maximum of two years at a time. Start date as agreed by both parties. The salary for the doctoral studentship corresponds to the standard level of salary for doctoral students and progresses in accordance with a local collective agreement.

Application

Submit the application via the University’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi. Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement, for providing translations of any documents written in a language other than Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or English, and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications.

The application should include:

• CV, including any teaching qualifications
• degree certificate with a complete transcript of the courses included, or a certified list of completed courses with grades and dates
• copy of degree projects and any other publications (no more than 3)
• a cover letter where the applicant briefly describes themselves and their research interests (no more than 2 pages)
• a research proposal (no more than 3 pages). The research proposal must be written in English.
• any other documents to which the applicant wishes to refer
• any letters of recommendation two references, such as a teacher, supervisor, or former or current manager.

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content. Documents that cannot be submitted electronically should be sent to the following address:

Karlstads universitet
HR-administratör
651 88 KARLSTAD

Application deadline: 16 March 2025

State the reference number: REK 2025/26

Applicants with qualifications from abroad

If you have qualifications from a university outside Sweden or if they have not been recognised by a Swedish authority before, it is important that you attach degree certificates and official transcripts to facilitate the recognition of foreign qualifications. Provide a contact for the degree-awarding institution (phone number or email) who can verify your qualifications.

We look forward to your application!

Karlstad University has chosen advertising channels for this recruitment and firmly declines any contact with advertising or recruitment agencies.