Doctoral student in English with a specialisation in English literature

Description

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is accepting applications for a doctoral studentship leading to a PhD in English Literature at the Department of Language, Literature and Intercultural Studies. The position is open and not tied to an existing research project. The thesis project should have a clear focus on English literature.

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. You are given the opportunity to deepen your interests in collaboration with others. Teaching and administrative duties may also be included upon agreement, but will not constitute more than 20% of full-time. Work as a doctoral student allows for great freedom and flexibility in terms of how you structure your day. This requires commitment, drive and the ability to structure your work to successfully complete the doctoral thesis. To contribute to a positive work environment and further both the department’s activities and your own development as a researcher, 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, applicants must have been awarded a second-cycle qualification, satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 39).

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 degree project be in the same field as the intended doctoral programme, as applicants will then have a better chance of demonstrating their qualifications for the specific type of research in question.

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). Admission is based on individual assessment.

In the selection of eligible applicants, special weight will be given to the quality of the research plan, as well as the applicant’s ability to evaluate and analyse critically, as demonstrated through independent projects at Master’s level.

Considerable weight will be given to the applicant’s proficiency in English and their ability to collaborate with others.

Weight may also be given to the applicant’s research specialisation in relation to the department’s research environment, existing supervisory capacity and the extent to which the applicant intends to be a physically present and active member of the research environment. Information about current research specialisations can be found on the subject website and the profile pages of individual researchers linked from the main page: https://www.kau.se/en/english/research/english-literature-our-research.

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 1 September 2025, or by agreement.

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:

• a cover letter where the applicant briefly describes themselves and their research interests, as well as explaining why they wish to become a doctoral student at the Department of Language, Literature and Intercultural Studies
• a list of qualifications (CV)
• degree certificate with a complete transcript of the courses included, or a certified list of completed courses with grades and dates
• copy of Master’s thesis or equivalent
• a brief research plan (1,000–2,500 words) in English, including research question, theory and method, materials and a reflection on the relevance of the project in relation to the research environment
• contact details for two references, such as a teacher, academic supervisor or immediate superior
• where applicable, copies of publications, letters of recommendation from supervisors, or certificates for other qualifications

Make sure to 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: 28 April 2025

State the reference number: REK 2025/31.

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.