PhD Candidate in Didactics

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.

Employment Information

Employment type: Fixed-term employment
Employment period/start date: Four years starting from 2026-08-15
Extent: Full-time
Number of positions: 2
Application deadline: 2026-02-19
Location: Västerås or Eskilstuna
Academy/unit/department: Educational Sciences and Arts
PhD subject: Didactics

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

The educational position is associated with a full-time employment as a doctoral student during the education period, which corresponds to four years.

Job Responsibilities

As a doctoral student, you will engage in doctoral education consisting of your own research project and courses. After the first year, institutional duties may also occur, in the form of teaching in mathematics didactics courses in teacher education programs. The total extent of institutional duties must not exceed 20%.

The doctoral education is conducted within the framework of the doctoral school REMATH II (Researching Practice-Based Mathematics Teacher Education), which is funded by the Swedish Research Council and is offered in collaboration between Stockholm University, Karlstad University, Linköping University, and Mälardalen University. REMATH II is a further development of REMATH I. The doctoral school's aim is to make visible how mathematics teachers' work and practice, at all levels of the school system, can be made accessible for teacher students' learning. The central question of the doctoral school is what is required for mathematics teacher students to acquire the professional knowledge and skills needed for well-founded and equitable teaching.

The focus of the doctoral school is practice-based mathematics teacher education. This includes examining how teachers' work is made into a learning object for teacher education, and how teacher education can be designed to contribute to a research-based mathematics teacher education. The doctoral school welcomes, for example, projects that map current teaching and learning opportunities in mathematics teacher education, nationally or internationally comparative projects. Systematic studies of how the mathematical content interacts from a didactic perspective with its cultural, historical, and philosophical dimensions in mathematics teacher education are also welcomed, as well as projects aimed at developing today's mathematics teacher education based on research. See also the REMATH website for further examples of the types of projects that can be accommodated within the doctoral school: https://www.su.se/forskning/forskningsprojekt/remath-researching-practice-based-mathematics-teacher-education-en-nationell-forskarskola (https://www.su.se/forskning/forskningsprojekt/remath-researching-practice-based-mathematics-teacher-education-en-nationell-forskarskola).

A total of nine doctoral positions are announced within REMATH II, of which three are placed at Stockholm University; two at Karlstad University; two at Linköping University; and two at Mälardalen University. To be employed at a university, you must have submitted an application to that specific university.

Eligibility Requirements

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

Basic eligibility for doctoral education (according to HF 7 chap. § 39) is met 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 equivalent knowledge in some other way within or outside the country.

Specific eligibility for admission to doctoral education in didactics is met by those who:

have at least 60 higher education credits at the advanced level with educational scientific relevance and
have completed an independent project corresponding to 15 higher education credits with educational scientific relevance, or
have acquired equivalent knowledge in some other way within or outside the country.

Selection Criteria

This advertisement is abbreviated. To see the full advertisement including selection criteria, go to https://www.mdu.se/om-mdu/jobba-med-oss/lediga-jobb (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 requested documents to substantiate eligibility and materials for merit assessment. Degree certificates and/or transcripts must always be attached to the application, and the documents must be officially issued by the 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 a language other than the above) must always be attached.

If the admitted student 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 student cannot present a valid residence permit required for the studies by the date of the start of studies.

Welcome with your application!