Doctoral grants being phased out
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Uppsala University will be phasing out doctoral grants as a source of income for doctoral students, from January 2015. This has recently been decided by the University Board.
At Uppsala University, as well as on a national level, work has been ongoing for several years to improve conditions for doctoral students. As a part of that strive, with equal treatment as the guiding principle, the upper limit for funding with doctoral grants was lowered at Uppsala University in 2010 from two years to one year. After that time a doctoral studentship should be offered, which entitles the student to social security in the form of sick pay and pension.
Now Uppsala University is following the example of several other universities and abolishing doctoral grants from the year 2015.
– This is because Uppsala University must be able to offer attractive conditions in order to nationally and internationally compete for doctoral students. It is also a question of equal treatment among our doctoral students within the University, says Vice-Chancellor Eva Åkesson.
The Disciplinary Domains have already to some degree stopped using doctoral grants, but it has varied from department to department. There will exist a limited possibility of exemption from the new rules to protect smaller and economically vulnerable departments’ possibility to develop and grow. The University Board will annually follow up on how exemptions are being used.