Doctoral students in Human Rights Law, specializing in Migration Law - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Faculty of Law is offering at least one doctoral student position for a Doctor of Laws Degree within Human Rights Law with focus on Migration Law. The doctoral student position(s) is financed by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and is integrated into a larger research project ‘The Borders Within. The Multifaceted Legal Landscape of Migrant Integration in Europe’. See also ‘The Borders Within’. Intended supervisor is Associate Professor Vladislava Stoyanova.

The research project aims to analyse and interconnect multiple legal areas that affect the integration of asylum-seekers and refugees: migration law, refugee law, human rights law, EU law, anti-discrimination law, labour law, family law and welfare law. Human rights law will be at the core of the analysis. The most important questions to answer to understand how the selected relevant legal frameworks find a balance between conflicting interests (those of the migrants and those of the host society) and the different considerations that might manifest themselves in the area of integration, are the following: What obligations do these legal frameworks impose for facilitating migrant integration? How do they limit state discretionary immigration control powers that might have negative role for migrant integration? How do the Europeanisation (the existence of relevant European laws) and the judicialisation (adjudication of cases before national and international courts) of this domain limit state discretionary migration control powers that might negatively affect migrant integration?

The doctoral student will take part with an individually designed project within the larger research project ‘The Borders Within.’ The doctoral project will focus on a topic within the field of human rights law and migration law that engages with some of the above mentioned questions. Other, but related questions, can also form the basis of the doctoral project.

“The Borders Within” project is led by associate professor Vladislava Stoyanova and is based on her appointment as a Wallenberg Academy Fellow 2019.

Job assignments

Those appointed to doctoral studentships shall primarily devote themselves to their studies.

Those appointed to doctoral studentships may, however, work to a limited extent with educational tasks, research and administration. Before a doctorate has been awarded, however, duties of this kind may not comprise more than 20 per cent of a full-time post (Higher Education Ordinance, chapter 5, section 2).

The researchers and teachers at the Faculty are expected to contribute to a dynamic research environment as well as to other Faculty activities, and to perform work primarily in the workplace provided by the Faculty.

Eligibility/Entry Requirements

Only those who are or have been admitted to third-cycle courses and study programmes at a higher education may be appointed to doctoral studentships. (Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 section 3).

A person meets the general entry requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she:

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification,
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

(Higher Education Ordinance, chapter 7, section 39)

The special requirements are fulfilled by those who have completed a law programme and obtained the degree Master of Laws (juris kandidatexamen/juristexamen). The special requirements may also be fulfilled by those who can demonstrate other educational or particular professional experience where this is judged to provide the necessary qualification for doctoral studies comparable to that provided by the degree of Master of Laws (juris kandidatexamen/juristexamen regarding both the subject for doctoral study and general legal education of importance for that subject.

Applicants with Swedish juristexamen/juris kandidatexamen degrees must have attained a grade average of Ba in the compulsory courses of the undergraduate programme. Applicants holding other degrees must have attained in principle an equivalent grade average in comparable portions of the degree programme. Only where very special circumstances apply may the Faculty Board approve exemption from this rule.

The applicant must have obtained the degree of Master of Laws or the equivalent no later than 17 March 2021.

Basis of Assessment

For regulations concerning employment of Doctoral Students etc., see Higher Education Ordinance, chapter 5, sections 1-7.

For regulations concerning admission to third-cycle courses and study programmes, see Higher Education Ordinance, chapter 7, sections 34-41.

Admittance of a doctoral student is based on an assessment of the candidate’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies (Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, section 5 and chapter 7, sections 35, 41).

The applicant’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies and research will be assessed with reference to the selection criteria stated in the general study plan for third-cycle studies at the Faculty of Law, which are given in no particular order of importance.

The applicant’s general competence will be assessed with reference to the following criteria:

- the quality and content of the applicant’s previous written work, such as a master’s thesis

- the ability to participate actively in the faculty’s research environment

- relevant educational background and grades/grade average. International educational experience gained, for example, in connection with an undergraduate or graduate degree pursued abroad is considered a strong asset

- relevant work experience

- the ability and experience of working well in teams

The scientific quality of the project description is assessed with reference to the following criteria:

- excellent ability to describe, question and discuss the current state of research

- appropriate clarity in the formulation of the aim and the research questions

- stringency of legal reasoning and analysis

- adequate selection of theory and methods

- capacity for creativity and innovation in the formulation of the research questions and approaches

- clear expression and excellent attention to detail.

Appointment Procedure

Applications should be submitted through Lund University job application portal.

Applications should contain a curriculum vitae, grade transcripts, project description, a master thesis or similar degree project, one or two references (supervisor, tutor, manager etc.) and any other documents that you wish to submit.

The project description, enclosed in the electronic application, must not exceed 15 000 characters including spaces, footnotes, list of references and must be written in English, Swedish, Danish, or Norwegian (see Guidelines for the project description).

The Committee on Doctoral Education will call a limited number of candidates to interviews to be held on 5 May 2021, either in person or by video conference/telephone. Those invited for an interview will be notified no later than 22 April 2021. The interview will be based on the project description and is intended to give the research committee an opportunity to assess each applicant’s capacity for research and ability to complete the project described.

Type of employment

Limit of tenure, four years according to HF 5 kap 7§.