Doctoral student in civil law

Description

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is accepting applications for a doctoral studentship leading to a PhD in civil law with a specialisation in family law at Karlstad Business School. We also welcome applications that extend from family law to other areas of law (preferably children’s law).

Law is one of 26 subjects at Karlstad University that offer doctoral studies. The doctoral position will be tied to the subject of law at Karlstad Business School, Karlstad University.

Karlstad Business School has 130 employees and 3,200 students spread across 18 degree programmes. Since 2017, Karlstad University offers a complete law degree (270 credits), making it the seventh law programme in Sweden. The subject of law has a current staff of approximately 25 employees, including three professors and seven doctoral students. More information is available on our website: https://www.kau.se/en/law.

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 for doctoral studies in Law, the applicant must have completed a Degree of Master of Laws or satisfied the requirements for courses in law comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle. An applicant can also meet the specific entry requirements by in some other way having acquired equivalent knowledge or professional experience in the country or abroad, regarding both general knowledge of law and the necessary expertise related to the proposed research specialisation.

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.

The assessment will focus on the applicant’s performance in previous studies, the quality of any independent projects completed during these studies, the research plan and whether the applicant intends to be a present and active part of the research environment. The research plan must outline the intended thesis project with a particular focus on aim, theory and method.

Special weight will be given to the applicant’s research specialisation and its relevance to the subject, as well as their ability to cooperate, contribute to a positive work environment, contribute to their own and the organisation's development, work autonomously, take initiative and show commitment. Considerable weight will be given to proficiency in spoken and written English. A good command of Swedish is seen as a particularly valuable qualification. Studies at Master’s level with a specialisation in civil law are valuable qualifications. We also value research within this specialisation conducted after graduation.

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 by a maximum of two years at a time. Start date 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 details the reasons behind their interest in the position
• 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
• where applicable, copies of publications or certificates for other qualifications
• a brief research plan (1,000–2,500 words)
• any letters of recommendation
• two references, such as a teacher, supervisor, or previous or current superior.

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: 10 June 2025.

State the reference number: REK 2025/82.

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.