PhD student in Social Anthropology

The Department of Social Anthropology is Sweden’s largest in the field. It has a dynamic and internationally renowned faculty and offers programs on the undergraduate, masters, and PhD levels. 

More information about us, please visit: the Department of Social Anthropology.

Subject area

The doctoral candidate’s dissertation work will be carried out within the field of social anthropology. The programme provides the advanced theoretical and methodological knowledge within the discipline that is required to conduct critical and independent research. The programme is divided into a coursework component (amounting to 60 credits) and a dissertation component (180 credits).

Qualification requirements

In order to be admitted to postgraduate education, the applicant must have the general and specific entry requirements. The qualification requirements must be met by the deadline for applications.

You meet general entry requirements if you have completed a second-cycle degree, or completed courses equivalent to at least 240 higher education credits, of which 60 credits must be in the second cycle, or have otherwise acquired equivalent knowledge in Sweden or elsewhere.

In order to meet the specific entry requirements, for being accepted into the PhD program in Social Anthropology, the applicant must have completed courses equivalent to at least 120 credits in Social Anthropology or a comparable subject, of which 60 credits must be in the second cycle. At least 15 credits in the second cycle must constitute a thesis project.

The PhD program is in English. Understanding Swedish is not a requirement at the time of admission. The applicant should, however, be able to carry out teaching and administrative tasks in Swedish within two years of beginning the program.

Selection

The selection among the eligible candidates will be based on their capacity to benefit from the training. The following criteria will be used to assess this capacity:

• Independent judgement and academic rigor displayed in previous research
• Ability to formulate research questions
• Ability to work within a given time frame; Methodological and scientific maturity
• Ability to analyse material critically
• Ability to structure one’s material using anthropological concepts and methods
• Ability to conduct an analysis in an original and scientific manner (where originality lies in the analysis rather than the material)
• Ability to carry out ethnographic methods and reflections
• Ability to cooperate and communicate with others.

Admission Regulations for Doctoral Studies at Stockholm University.

About the employment

Starting date: September 1, 2026.

We offer a fixed-term employment as a doctoral student according to Chapter 5 of the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100). The period of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education for four years. As a doctoral student, you should primarily devote yourself to your own doctoral education, but the employment may include work with education, research and administration to a limited extent (maximum 20 %).

A new employment as a doctoral student is for a maximum of one year, the employment is then renewed for a maximum of two years at a time.

Doctoral students employed at the Department are expected to be in Stockholm during term time.

The starting salary is currently 31,600 SEK per month. It comes with standard employment-based benefits provided by the Swedish social security system, including sickness benefits, a rehabilitation allowance, and generous parental-leave insurance.

Stockholm University strives to be a workplace free from discrimination and with equal opportunities for all.

Contact

For more information, please contact Director of Studies for the PhD programme, Mark Graham, mark.graham@socant.su.se, phone: +46 8 16 21 44, or Head of Department, Renita Thedvall, renita.thedvall@socant.su.se, phone: +46 70 283 54 62.

Application

Apply for the PhD student position at Stockholm University's recruitment system. Attach a personal letter and CV as well as the attachments requested in the application form. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the job advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline.

The instructions for applicants are available at: How to apply for a position.