Doctoral student in Risk and Environmental Studies

Description

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is accepting applications for a doctoral studentship leading to a PhD in Risk and Environmental Studies at the Department of Political, Historical, Religious and Cultural Studies. Risk and Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary subject that draws upon perspectives from the social sciences, humanities, medicine, and the natural sciences. The subject is primarily grounded in environmental science, injury prevention, and disaster risk management, as well as issues connecting these tracks. Environmental science research applies a sustainability perspective to understand and manage current and future environmental problems and risks. Injury prevention is about understanding the individual’s vulnerability and their capacity to handle various threats, as well as how society manages these risks. Disaster risk management focuses on the study of climate-related risks and their consequences for society, ecosystems, and human life and health. The subject is closely tied to two research centres at Karlstad University: The Centre for Societal Risk Research, CSR (https://www.kau.se/en/csr), and the Centre for Research on Sustainable Societal Transformation, CRS (https://www.kau.se/en/crs).

Education in risk and environmental studies is primarily offered through the bachelor’s programme in environmental science with a specialisation in risk management and the master’s programme in risk management in society. The subject currently has eleven active doctoral students. The subject has a total of 25 staff members. For more information on research and the doctoral programme in Risk and Environmental Studies at Karlstad University, go to: https://www.kau.se/en/risk-and-environmental-studies

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. You will, for the most part, be conducting doctoral studies in the form of an original thesis project as well as coursework. Your thesis project is valuable in many ways, for example, by contributing to furthering the subject’s theoretical foundation, which will benefit the wider community as well as future students. 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 work. 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.

More information about doctoral studies is available on the University website: https://www.kau.se/en/research/doctoral-studies.

Entry requirements and admission

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 Risk and Environmental Studies, the applicant must hold a Degree of Master (60 credits), or equivalent qualifications, in a subject of relevance to Risk and Environmental Studies.

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.

 Assessment criteria

The assessment of eligible applicants is based on the criteria listed below.

Special weight will be given to:

• The research plan and its focus area, quality, and relevance to the subject’s research themes. The research plan should be informed by one or more of the subject’s research themes (injury prevention, environmental science, and disaster risk management) and preferably demonstrate connections between these tracks. The research plan, comprising 3–5 pages, should describe a proposed specialisation for a future doctoral thesis, including a research design to demonstrate the potential outline of a thesis project. The research plan is not binding. The successful candidate will finalise their research plan in consultation with a supervisor.

Considerable weight will be given to:

• Results from previous studies.
• The quality of any independent written assignments included in previous studies.
• A high level of proficiency in spoken and written English.
• The extent to which the applicant intends to be physically present and active in the research environment.
• Personal qualities such as being independent, persistent, proactive, and possessing good teamwork skills.

Valuable qualifications:

• Proficiency in Swedish. If you are not proficient in Swedish, you are expected to acquire the language skills within two years in order to collaborate successfully with societal stakeholders.

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 consisting of research only. If teaching or other departmental duties become relevant, the appointment will be extended by a corresponding period, up to a maximum of five years full-time. The position is fixed-term, one year initially, followed by possible extensions of a maximum of two years at a time (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5). 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.

Additional information

The doctoral programme in risk and environmental studies focuses on social science and interdisciplinary perspectives. We do not have access to laboratories or laboratory-based supervision, which means we cannot provide support for projects that require extensive experimental or laboratory methods.

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 (no more than 2 pages) describing your qualifications in relation to the advertised position, and the reasons behind your interest in the position
• an account of language skills
• 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 research plan (3–5 pages) with a proposed specialisation for a future doctoral thesis, including a research design to demonstrate the potential outline of a thesis project. The research plan is not binding. The successful applicant’s plan will be finalised in consultation with a supervisor.
• 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-avdelningen
HR-administratör
651 88 KARLSTAD

Application deadline: 2026-01-13

State the reference number: REK 2025/186

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.