Doctoral education at MedS

Doctoral Education

If you are looking for more general information on doctoral education, see the Doctoral education site at the KI Staff Portal Doctoral Education.

Admission of Doctoral Students

The process for admitting doctoral students is described on the Doctoral education site at the KI Staff Portal  Admission to doctoral education.

Prospective principal supervisors must apply to establish a doctoral position

The form “Establishment of Doctoral Position,” “Green Light,” and the Financing Plan can be found on the page Forms and Documents within Doctoral Education.

The application is jointly assessed by the Department’s Director of research education and the doctoral education officer, the Head of Administration, the Chief Accountant, and, if necessary, by the Deprtment’s doctoral education committee. Supervision and the doctoral education environment are assessed according to KI’s rules for doctoral education.

The application should include:

1. Establishment of Doctoral Position.
2. Green Light application.
3. Research plan (about 5 pages including references) Plan for the doctoral education projects.
4. CVs of all supervisors (max 2 pages per supervisor).
5. Description of the roles of the supervisors: 
   a. Does the main supervisor have the ability to provide good supervision? 
   b. Can the proposed co-supervisors contribute complementary expertise?
6. Description of the doctoral education environment: 
   a. What is the presence of the supervisors in the group (full-time or part-time, physical workplace, etc.)? 
   b. How many doctoral students are currently being supervised? 
   c. Is there an opportunity for contact with other doctoral students and researchers, e.g., through networking activities, seminars, etc.? 
   d. Is there support for the doctoral student’s studies, e.g., in the form of postdocs, statisticians, biomedical analysts, and other researchers? 
   e. Are there opportunities for international exchange/contacts?
7. Financing Plan.
8. If there is an exemption from the announcement requirement – documents that support any exemption from the announcement requirement, e.g., employment certificate.

Applications can be submitted continuously to Eva Noréns, and we will need approximately two to three weeks from the application for establishment to the decision.

Recruitment

Additional information about recruitment, selection, and assessment criteria can be found on KI’s central website Recruit Doctoral Students. Recruitment for an approved doctoral position which also requires employment at KI is done through announcements and advertisements. For recruitment, contact the officer Eva Noréns.

Exemptions from announcements are only granted when:

1. The doctoral student will undergo doctoral education within the framework of employment with an employer other than the university (e.g., Region Stockholm, another university, or a company).
2. The doctoral student has previously started their doctoral education at another institution.
3. There are similar special reasons, such as educational positions where the doctoral student has already been selected in a competitive recruitment process.

Assessment of Eligibility

Information about eligibility for doctoral education can be found on KI’s central website Entry Requirements to Doctoral Education.

Eligibility is assessed as follows for announced doctoral positions:

1. Applicants upload documents in the recruitment system Varbi according to the instructions in the advertisement.
2. Officers at the Joint Operational Support (GVS) assess the eligibility of all applicants.
3. Selection process, see Assessment of Suitability and Ability below. Note that selection is only made among eligible applicants.
4. When a candidate has been selected, GVS officers issue an eligibility statement for the relevant person. This should then be attached as a basis for the admission decision.

Eligibility is assessed as follows when exemptions from the announcement requirement apply:

1. Supervisors contact Eva Noréns, the doctoral education officer at the department, who gives the doctoral candidate access to the recruitment system Varbi.
2. The doctoral candidate uploads the requested documents according to the instructions in Varbi.
3. Officers at the university administration assess the eligibility of the relevant person.
4. If the applicant is eligible, an eligibility statement is issued, which should be attached as a basis for the admission decision.

Admission Decision

Before the admission decision, the form “Decision on Admission to Doctoral Education” is used:

The application should include:

1. Admission form.
2. Eligibility statement from the university administration.
3. Description of the selection process.
4. The doctoral student’s CV.
5. Certificate of supervisor training.

The Head of the department (Prefekt) decides on admission to doctoral education on the recommendation of the department’s Director of research education. Decisions are made continuously when a candidate is selected and the recruitment is completed, without any long waiting period. Note that the date of the head of the department’s decision does not have to be the same as the start date of studies (e.g., if the candidate has not yet arrived in Sweden).

After admission, a decision on employment may also be made. For more information about employment and funding of doctoral students, see Study funding for doctoral students.

Establishment of Individual Study Plan (ISP)

Every doctoral student must have an individual study plan (ISP) that describes the scientific project, the courses and other learning activities planned, and how the doctoral student will achieve the goals of their doctoral education. The study plan becomes the “map” that the doctoral student and supervisor will follow. A well-prepared ISP ensures clear expectations and good conditions for effective supervision.

Information and user manuals for the system can be found on the page ISP Individual Study Plan.

Procedure:

• No later than one month after the start of studies, a draft ISP must be available in the ISP system.
• The Director of research education and the doctoral education officer checks that the ISP is correctly filled out and well-prepared.
• ISP seminar (see below).
• The Director of research education establishes the individual study plan. All doctoral students must have an established ISP no later than three months after the start of studies.
• Support in course planning can be found at: course requirements and choice of courses for doctoral students.

ISP Seminar

Purpose of the seminar:

• To serve as a start seminar and welcome the new doctoral student.
• Presentation of the research project from the doctoral student’s perspective with the opportunity for feedback.
• A learning moment for the doctoral student. Note that the seminar should be held in English.
• To facilitate the institution’s ensuring that everyone has an ISP.

The ISP seminar should be held as an open seminar, preferably within the research division’s regular seminar activities or as an open extra seminar. Invitations should be made in the most appropriate way to reach participants even outside the research group. A suitable duration is 20-30 minutes. Focus on the research plan in the presentation and describe the background, project/goals, timeline, and models to be used. It is also good to mention how the proposed supervisors are expected to contribute to the doctoral education.

After the ISP seminar is completed, notify Eva Noréns by email before finalizing the ISP. The approved ISP must be updated every year!

General Study Plan

All doctoral students at KI are admitted to the doctoral education subject of medical science. The general study plan for medical science that was current at the time of admission must be followed. When establishing the individual study plan, the course and knowledge requirements of the general study plan must be considered. Link to General syllabus for doctoral education.

Annual Follow-up

Must be done every year, see information on the page Annual Follow-up. Note in the ISP under section 6.1.

Half-Time Review

A Half-Time Review must be conducted for every doctoral student who is to obtain a doctoral degree and should take place two years after registration or when the equivalent of two years of full-time doctoral education has been completed. Information about the Half-Time Review with instructions and application form can be found on the page Half-Time Review.

Thesis Defence

See information on the page Time to defend your thesis.

We need the defence application D1-D6 about 5 working days before it is to be submitted to the dissertation committee. Check courses against the general study plan. The dissertation application must be signed by the doctoral student and all supervisors before it is sent to Eva Noréns at eva.norens@ki.se.

Doctoral Education Administration’s Summer Break

The department does not have staffing for doctoral education administration during the summer vacation period, so we are not available for credit transfers and reporting points to Ladok, etc.! Dissertation applications for the committee’s first autumn meeting in August must be regularly administered before the summer break! Before the summer break, specific information about relevant dates is provided by email.

Director of Doctoral Education, Chair of the Doctoral Education Committee