Doctoral studies

Doctoral Studies in the History of Science and Ideas

Uppsala University offers excellent conditions for doctoral research. Our PhD positions are fully funded, and doctoral students are employed and salaried. The Department is highly oriented toward the international research community, and it is common that our PhD candidates write their theses in English. No prior knowledge of Swedish is expected, although we do require that non-Swedish speakers study the language and acquire basic language skills within two years from the date of admission.

Our doctoral programme lasts for four years, which corresponds to 240 ECS, of which 180 are credited for the dissertation, and 60 for course work. All doctoral students are assigned a primary as well as a secondary supervisor. Course work is usually pursued in the first years of the programme and consists in a combination of obligatory courses and electables. Subject to prior agreement, you may also follow courses at other departments and universities. We expect active participation in our departmental research seminars, as well as independent and original dissertation work.

For more information about PhD studies at the Department, please contact the Director of Studies for doctoral studies.

Courses at the Doctoral Level

All PhD students at Uppsala's Faculty of Arts follow the course Professional Training in the Arts and Humanities, 7.5 ECP.

In addition, we offer a range of electable, thematic courses, available to students at the doctoral level and in some cases also available to advanced students at the Master's level. The courses are closely related to research at the Department, and change depending on the available expertise. In the academic year 2023–2024, we offer the following courses:

• Concepts of Environmental Crisis, 7.5 ECP
• History and Sociology of the Social Sciences and the Humanities: Boundaries, Persona and Knowledge Circulation, 7.5 ECP
• History of Science and Ideas in Practice (in Swedish), 7.5 ECP
• Histories of Scientific Racism, 7.5 ECP
• Introduction to the History of Political Thought, 7.5 ECP
• Introduction to the Medical Humanities, 4–6 ECP
• The Market as Political Category, 7.5 ECP
• The Market: History of an Idea, 7.5 ECP
• Publishing Interdisciplinary Research, 3 ECP
• Public Humanities, 7,5 ECP (for more information, contact: Sven Widmalm)