- For Researchers
- For Doctoral Students
- Postgraduate courses
Postgraduate courses
Your doctoral education contains several different elements. Here you will find information about courses at the undergraduate and advanced level, course fees, credits and how to apply for courses at the doctoral level.
General about doctoral courses
The doctoral programme includes a dissertation part and a course part. The course part consists of a number of course points. The course content is determined by the general study plan of the doctoral subject and is documented in the individual study plan. Elective courses or courses that are not regulated by the general study plan are determined in consultation with the supervisor and examiner. All courses included in the individual study plan must be documented in Ladok in order to be included in the doctoral degree.
Course descriptions
For courses in doctoral education, with the exception of individual reading courses, there must be a course description. The course description informs about course objectives, content, prerequisites, teaching methods, forms of examination, course evaluation, literature and any other teaching materials.
Course examiner
Each doctoral course must have a course examiner. The course eaxaminator must have at least associate professorship. The course is graded by the person who has been appointed as a course graduate. The course examiner is responsible for ensuring that grades on the course are reported in Ladok. For more information, please contact the faculty's research secretary or administrator for the doctoral programme.
Instructions on management in Ladok for doctoral studies can be found via this link
Course grade
Completed courses in doctoral education are assessed with the grades failed or approved. The grade is set by the teacher who has been appointed as a course graduate.
Course evaluations
Course evaluations give the doctoral student an important tool to be able to influence their and others' education. According to the Higher Education Ordinance (Chapter 1, Section 14), all students must be given the opportunity to express experiences and views on courses they have participated in or completed. The course evaluations can be carried out in writing or orally. The higher education institution is responsible for compiling the results of the course evaluations and that the results and possible measures are reported. This also applies to doctoral courses.
Applying for a postgraduate course
As a doctoral student, you can apply for postgraduate courses on lnu.se. There are also links to courses at other universities.
- Linnaeus University's third-cycle courses https://lnu.se/forskning/forskarutbildning/
If you find a course you are interested in taking, you need to anchor your choice with the supervisor and examiner. The course must fit into the general study plan of your subject. If you come to the conclusion that the course should be included in its education, it should be included in the individual study plan.
To apply for the course, contact the person listed as the contact person on the course page. The same person can answer your questions about the course. If the course has a cost, it must be stated in the course description. In that case, the costs are paid by your faculty or with the help of your doctoral student backpack.
Principles for internal charging of doctoral courses
Doctoral students shall, subject to availability, be offered access to doctoral courses at Linnaeus University free of charge. The teacher's time and other costs for the course should, to the extent possible, be financed by the faculty that provides the course. In exceptional cases, the principle of free courses may be waived. This may, for example, be relevant if the course is primarily aimed at doctoral students outside their own faculty or if particularly high costs are added for each participating doctoral student. If charging is necessary, the cost should be clearly communicated on the course page before the start of the course on the course page.
Taking courses at undergraduate or advanced level
Courses at first and second cycle level can be included in the education unless the general study plan says otherwise. The scope of such courses is planned in consultation with the supervisor and examiner based on the general study plan and the individual education.
For those who are doctoral students: to take courses at first and second cycle level
If you as a doctoral student need to take a course at undergraduate or advanced level within the framework of your doctoral education, this must be determined in consultation with the supervisor, examiner and course coordinator. The course should be planned into your individual study plan.
Since you are admitted to doctoral studies, you should not apply for such courses through antagning.se. The course coordinator will help you register for the course and access the course material.
The above instructions do not apply if you are studying courses at undergraduate or advanced level outside the framework of your doctoral programme. Then you search through antagning.se.
Course fees for doctoral students
Doctoral education is free of charge in Sweden. As a doctoral student, you should therefore not pay for courses that are part of your doctoral education.
As a doctoral student, you should not be liable for a fee if you take courses at Linnaeus University. Therefore, you should not apply for courses through antagning.se. If you as a doctoral student within the framework of your doctoral education need to take a paid course at another higher education institution, this can be financed by the doctoral student's backpack or other faculty funds. Contact your supervisor and examiner to find out what applies in your case.
If you, as a fee-liable doctoral student, choose to take courses at undergraduate or advanced level outside your doctoral education, you must pay a course fee. Read more about who is obliged to pay registration and tuition fees on antagning.se.
When reading courses at other higher education institutions, the application is made in accordance with the practice of the higher education institution in question.
Credit transfer of course
The Higher Education Ordinance regulates that all students, regardless of level, have the right to apply for credit (Chapters 6, Sections 6-8). Although the practice of credit transfer in doctoral education differs from that at first and second cycle level, the regulation also applies to doctoral students. This means that there are formal requirements for what an application for credit transfer should look like and how the decision should be communicated to the doctoral student.
Crediting
Section 6 If a student at a higher education institution in Sweden has gone through certain higher education with an approved result, the student has the right to credit this for higher education at another university. However, this does not apply if there is a significant difference between the courses. […]
Section 7 A student has the right to credit education other than that referred to in section 6, if the knowledge and skills relied on by the student are of such a nature and have such an extent that they mainly correspond to the education for which they are intended to be credited. A student may also be credited with the corresponding knowledge and skills acquired in professional activities. Regulation (2006:1053).
A credit transfer is always made against something in the existing training. This means that what is credited replaces a scoring part that is specified in the general study plan. It can be a course or part of a course, part of a research work or other knowledge that is relevant to the current education.
Doctoral courses that are included in the doctoral student's individual study plan do not need to be credited. This applies regardless of whether they have been studied at Linnaeus University or another Swedish higher education institution. On the other hand, courses on basic and advanced courses need to be credited.
Applying for credit transfer
As a doctoral student, you are responsible for applying for credit transfer. This also applies when you and your supervisor have agreed that it should be included in your education. You always have the right to apply for credit transfer, but your application is examined by the examiner against the general study plan. The university can never require you to credit previous education.
The doctoral student makes a decision on credit transfer after an individual assessment of the application and notifies you of the result. The decision must contain the date of the decision and instructions on how the decision can be appealed. If the application is rejected in whole or in part, the decision must also contain a justification. The examiner then reports the decision so that the score can be documented in Ladok.
For you who are a doctoral student: guidance when assessing credit transfer
Your task is to make an individual assessment of the application for credit transfer and make decisions based on it. The Board of Appeal for higher education (ÖNH) has in several decisions stressed that there is no room to reject an application for credit transfer on the basis of general positions of the higher education institution or in local rules (see e.g. ÖNH: decision 2019-01-18, reg. no. 241-1377-18).
About credit transfer in Local rules for doctoral education:
Decisions on credit transfer must be made by the doctoral student based on documentation in the form of, for example, Ladokutdrag, course certificate and other information about the content of the course, such as syllabus or course description with literature list. The decision shall be communicated to the applicant in writing or contain the date of the decision and an appeal reference. In the event of refusal or partial refusal, the decision shall contain a justification. The credit transfer is documented in the individual study plan and in Ladok. Credited credits do not receive grades. Each application for credit transfer shall be examined individually. Courses at first or second cycle level can be credited after approval and must be registered in Ladok in order to be included in a doctoral degree.