1-2 Doctoral studentships in human geography

Job assignments:
The doctoral candidate program amounts to 240 credits (equivalent to four years of full-time study). It formally ends with the doctoral candidate publicly defending his/her printed doctoral thesis. The holder of a doctoral position has as primary obligation to successfully fulfil the third cycle education ending with a PhD degree. Regulations concerning appointment as a full-time doctoral student can be found in the Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 5, 1-7 §§.

The holder of a doctoral position is expected to participate actively in the research and teaching environment of the department and may perform departmental duties, above all teaching, amounting to about 20 per cent of full time.

The holder of the position should direct research to the fields of human geography, preferably complementing ongoing research activities at the department. For further information see: https://www.keg.lu.se/en/start

More information on the PhD program at the Department of Human Geography is available at https://www.keg.lu.se/en/research/phd-education/phd-human-geography

Eligibility/Entry Requirements:
To be eligible for third cycle studies an applicant must:

• Have been awarded a second cycle degree
• Have completed studies the equivalent of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 credits are at the second cycle level, or
• Have acquired comparable qualifications in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

In addition to the requirements described above, the specific entry requirements for the PhD program in Human Geography is a master’s degree in human geography or another relevant discipline. Exams must include independent work of at least 30 higher education credits, of which at least half is at the second cycle level. The applicant must also have proficiency in spoken and written English corresponding to English B from Swedish upper secondary school. The assessment will be based on national guidelines.

The employment of doctoral students is regulated in the Swedish Code of Statues 1998: 80. Only those who are or have been admitted to PhD studies may be appointed to doctoral candidate positions. When an appointment to such a position is made, the ability of the student to benefit from PhD studies shall primarily be taken into account. In addition to devoting themselves to their studies, those appointed to doctoral positions may be required to work with educational tasks, research and administration, in accordance with specific regulations in the ordinance.

Basis of Assessment:
In accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 5, paragraph 5, particular emphasis for admission shall be placed upon the applicant’s ability to successfully complete PhD studies, as indicated by academic qualifications and merits.

Applications will further be reviewed according to the following criteria:

• Pertinence (and originality) of the proposed research in relation to human-geographical theory/methodology and debates/problems.
• Ability to write and structure an academic text.
• Ability to engage coherently and realistically with theory and methodology.
• Possible contribution to the department and the department’s ability to support the proposed research.

The Department of Human Geography encourages project proposals that complement rather than duplicate existing research at the department and in human geography more generally. In other words, the department is less interested in empirical applications of well-established perspectives and values proposals suggesting possibilities for advancing human-geographical research.

Application:
The application must contain:

• Answer to the question: What do you want to research and why is it important and interesting? You can include key references (author and year, full reference in separate box below). Max. 4,000 characters (with spaces) in type-in box.
• Answer to the question: How does your proposed research engage with human-geographical theory/methodology and debates/problems? You should include key references (author and year, full reference in separate box below). Max. 4,000 characters (with spaces) in type-in box.
• List of references. Max. 10 references in type-in box.
• Name and contact information of 2-3 people we may contact for personal references (in type-in box).
• Curriculum vitae. Upload as a single pdf-format file.
• Copies of examination certificates and grades. Upload as a single pdf-format file.

No other material should be uploaded or entered into the application.

Selected candidates will subsequently be asked to supplement their application with a concise research proposal and an example of written academic work, typically a master’s thesis.

The application must be in English and entered into the Lund University job application portal.

Type of employment
Limit of tenure, four years according to Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 5, paragraph 7.

The Department of Human Geography (Institutionen för kulturgeografi och ekonomisk geografi) at Lund University is a research-intensive academic unit within the Faculty of Social Sciences. It combines long academic traditions with modern and highly internationalised research and education. The department hosts a broad portfolio of education at undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels, including internationally oriented programmes such as the Master’s in Human Geography.

The department comprises a diverse faculty. The exact staffing varies, but the department currently employs 55–60 academic and administrative staff. The department educates roughly 400 full-time students across bachelor’s and master’s programmes, and it employs about 15 doctoral students.

The research environment is strongly oriented towards external funding and has been successful competitively at national and European levels. The department’s research and education activities have received very favourable assessments in internal and external evaluations, positioning it among Lund University’s leading disciplinary domains.

Lund University as a whole performs prominently in global rankings. According to the most recent QS World University Rankings, Lund University is placed #72 globally and achieves strong subject-level positions, including in fields related to human geography and environmental sciences. Lund University also ranks #1 in the world for sustainability in the same ranking, reflecting its strengths in socially and environmentally relevant research and education.