PhD Candidate in Political Science

Södertörn University is an institution in Stockholm that educates, researches, and collaborates for sustainable societal development. Approximately 14,000 students study here across about 80 programs and over 300 courses. Education and research are conducted in the fields of humanities, social sciences, engineering, and natural sciences. The university also offers teacher education with an intercultural profile and police education. Much of the research focuses on issues related to the Baltic Sea and Eastern Europe. At Södertörn University, subjects, perspectives, people, and experiences are blended. Here, you will find the curious and the questioning, those seeking unexpected combinations, development, and challenges.

We are now seeking a PhD candidate in Political Science within the research area of Educational Sciences (UVS).

Political Science at Södertörn University

Political Science at Södertörn University is a dynamic environment for political science research and teaching. Within the subject, we are interested in questions about democracy, power, and human rights from a Swedish, European, and global perspective – issues that have a direct connection to the school system's overarching focus on educating future democratic citizens. The environment includes researchers and teachers specialized in, among other things, the theoretical and practical design of democracy in times of democratic backsliding, the political socialization of young citizens, citizenship policy, the challenges of the welfare state in a multicultural society, peace processes after war and conflict, and the emergence of populist parties in the Nordic countries. There is also research on social studies didactics and students' political socialization. Researchers and PhD candidates in political science are engaged in national and international research networks and participate in multidisciplinary collaboration. The collaboration with other subjects within the doctoral education area of Educational Sciences opens perspectives towards broader multidisciplinary research fields within educational science.

Description of the PhD Position

You will defend your thesis and conduct your doctoral studies in the field of political science at the Department of Social Sciences, where the multidisciplinary environment surrounding UVS also constitutes an important context for your research and studies.

Political Science is part of the doctoral education area of Educational Sciences (UVS), which is a multidisciplinary research environment. The area encompasses research on how culture, knowledge, and values are transmitted and developed between generations within the framework of formal education. More specifically, there is a focus on didactic research, including general didactics and subject didactics, as well as on how research problems arising from the teaching profession can and should be understood.

For complete information about the PhD position, please visit the following link: PhD Position (https://www.sh.se/ledigajobb?rmpage=job&rmjob=9395&rmlang=EN).

Admission and Employment

The announcement involves both admission to doctoral education and employment as a PhD candidate at the Department of Social Sciences for a maximum of four years full-time. The doctoral education corresponds to 240 higher education credits and aims to lead to a doctoral degree. The employment can be extended for a maximum of one year with institutional duties in teaching, research, and administration (corresponding to a maximum of 20% of full-time). Other reasons for extended employment include leave due to illness, service in the total defense, elected positions within trade unions/student organizations, or parental leave. Regulations regarding PhD positions can be found in the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 5, Sections 1-7.

Start date: September 1, 2026.

Application deadline: February 11, 2026, at 23:59.

Contact Us

If you have questions, please contact:
Linda Ekström, lecturer in political science, subject representative in the UVS steering group, [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Liza Haglund, research coordinator Educational Sciences, [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Liudmila Voronova, director of doctoral studies, Department of Social Sciences, [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Lovisa Uttman, HR generalist, Department of Social Sciences, [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])