The purpose of this policy is to provide equal conditions and requirements for both those doctoral students funded by the faculty as well as those funded by external means. The policy is directed towards those externally funded (henceforth referred to as “project doctoral students”), but several foundational principles apply to all doctoral students.

The standard procedure for recruiting project doctoral students should be through an announcement connected to the announcement for regular doctoral students. This should be followed by a coordinated assessment by a joint application committee. Occasionally,  a separate announcement may be accepted after consultation with the director of doctoral studies and the head of the department; who should always be members of the application committee.

Project doctoral students may only be recruited through a public announcement (“öppen utlysning”). This announcement should clarify any special requirements the project doctoral students need to fulfill, for example with respect to the content of the doctoral thesis or participation in project related activities. As a rule, research assistants should not be involved in the writing of applications for grants intended to fund doctoral students. Should this still be the case, the director of doctoral studies and the head of the department must be informed beforehand. Research assistants should then also be paid for their work and informed that project doctoral students are only hired after a public announcement.

Unless exceptional circumstances apply, project doctoral students should start their doctoral studies at the same time as faculty funded doctoral students.

With regards to employment conditions, the standard procedure should be to treat project doctoral students the same as faculty funded doctoral students. This implies that they should primarily be seen as employed by the department, not the project. It also implies that under normal circumstances up to 20 percent of their employment should be comprised of services to the department (“institutionstjänstgöring”, i.,e., teaching or similar activities), which makes them eligible for extended time of employment (“förlängning”). Services that make them eligible for extension cannot stem directly from their doctoral thesis work and must be funded by the department. Authority to grant extended time of employment on other grounds rests with the head of the faculty of social sciences (“dekanus”). The purpose of these regulations is to provide equal opportunities to all doctoral students when it comes to their ability to assemble merit qualifications as part of their doctoral studies.

Project related services performed by project doctoral students should always be relevant to their doctoral thesis, even if these services include work that does not contribute directly to the thesis (such as dissemination of information to the public). Administrative tasks that could be accomplished by a research assistant should not be performed by project doctoral students. In cases of conflict, doctoral study courses and education should be given priority over project related activities. In order to avoid an excessive workload, project doctoral students should consult their supervisor, assistant supervisor and (in case that is a different person) the project manager before engaging in project related activities that do not directly contribute to their doctoral thesis. The same goes for regular doctoral students, who should always consult their supervisors before engaging in activities not directly related to their thesis. If cases of larger commitments arise, the head of the department and director of doctoral studies should also be consulted.

Project doctoral students should have at least one supervisor not involved in the project.

As a rule, project doctoral students should have access to at least the same sum of money from the project funds as regular doctoral students receive for thesis related expenses. In order to facilitate planning and transparency, these funds should be made available to project doctoral students at the beginning of the project, as is the case for regular doctoral students.