PhD Candidate in Work Life Science or Public Health Science

Mälardalen University (MDU) is Sweden's newest university. With our vision to be a progressive and collaborative university where we together shape a sustainable future, we want to make a real difference.

Do you want to contribute to our development?

Together we contribute to a more sustainable future through knowledge and innovation. We believe that new knowledge and perspectives are best created and achieved in collaboration with others - colleagues, students, industry, and the public sector both nationally and internationally.

At the Academy of Health, Care and Welfare, our students study to become behavioral scientists, public health scientists, physiotherapists, nurses, social workers, and specialist nurses. We have a research focus on health and welfare. Our work takes place in collaboration and in strategic agreements with regions, municipalities, and companies in the region.

Employment Information

• Employment Type: Fixed-term employment
• Employment Period/Start Date: 2026-03-01 or by agreement
• Extent: Full-time
• Number of Positions: 1
• Application Deadline: 2026-01-25
• Location: Västerås
• Academy/Unit/Department: Academy of Health, Care and Welfare (HVV)
• Research Subject: Work Life Science or Public Health Science

PhD Candidate in Work Life Science or Public Health Science for the project: Preschool as a Health-Promoting Arena - a Collaborative Approach to Strengthen Children's Mental Well-Being.

Admission to the doctoral program is governed by the university's admission regulations, which compile national and local rules applicable for access to doctoral education at Mälardalen University. Read more about doctoral education at MDU here (https://www.mdu.se/utbildning/forskarutbildning).

The educational position is associated with a full-time employment as a PhD candidate during the study period, which corresponds to four years.

Job Responsibilities

This position encompasses a PhD project, which is specified below. The employment is fixed-term - corresponding to full-time studies for four years - with the goal of obtaining a doctoral degree in Work Life Science or Public Health Science. In the event of any academic duties of 20%, the employment period will be extended accordingly. The doctoral education in health and welfare is conducted in English, meaning that all courses, seminars, and other components are conducted in English. Salary is applied according to the doctoral salary scale. Planned project start 2026-03-01 or alternatively 2026-04-01.

The project aims to strengthen the preschool's role as a health-promoting arena by developing and evaluating a collaborative approach to promote children's mental well-being. Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to investigate how engagement, pedagogical atmosphere, and collaboration affect children's mental health.

Eligibility Requirements

To be admitted to doctoral education, the applicant must have basic eligibility and the specific eligibility required by the subject, and the applicant must be assessed to have the ability otherwise needed to benefit from the education.

Basic eligibility for doctoral education (according to HF 7 chapter § 39) is held by those who:

• have obtained a degree at the advanced level,
• have completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 higher education credits at the advanced level, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way, within or outside the country.

Specific Eligibility

Specific eligibility for admission to Work Life Science and/or Public Health Science is held by those who have:

• the necessary knowledge from higher education or equivalent education and/or professional experience assessed based on relevance to the research project,
• the necessary language skills in English, both oral and written,
• assessed ability for independent work and ability to formulate and tackle scientific problems.

Selection Criteria

This advertisement is abbreviated. To see the full advertisement, go to: Job Openings – Mälardalen University (https://www.mdu.se/om-mdu/jobba-med-oss/lediga-jobb)

Application

You make your application by clicking the “Apply” button below.

You as an applicant are responsible for ensuring that the application is complete in accordance with the advertisement and received by the university no later than the application deadline. The application should include the documents requested to substantiate eligibility and materials for merit evaluation. Degree certificates and/or transcripts must always be attached to the application, and the documents must be officially issued by the educational institution.

Submitted materials can be written in Swedish or English. Documents regarding merits (certificates, grades, and degree certificates) in other languages must be translated by an authorized translator into Swedish or English. However, a copy of the original document (if in another language than above) must always be attached.

If the admitted candidate needs a residence permit to stay in Sweden and pursue their studies, and the studies require physical presence at Mälardalen University, the university reserves the right to revoke the admission decision if the admitted candidate cannot present a valid residence permit required for the studies by the date of the start of studies.

Welcome with your application!

Union Representatives:

Saco-S [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Susanne Meijer ST-OFR/S, tel: 021-10 14 89

We kindly ask for no contact with salespeople regarding advertisements. We have made our strategic choices for this recruitment.