Doctoral studies
The School of Global Studies offers doctoral programs in Peace and Development Research, Environmental Social Science and Social Anthropology. The aim of our doctoral programs is to enable doctoral students to conduct high-quality research in our three research areas.
Our programs are four years, the first year consists largely of courses and the other three consisting of work on an academic dissertation.
During the doctoral studies, students participate in the department's research seminars and research groups, and have the opportunity to teach.
Archaeological Coastal Heritage: Past, present and future of a hidden prehistoric legacy (ArCHe)
EU HORIZON Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Doctoral Network
ArCHe is a European research program (2024–2027) within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie network, where 10 doctoral candidates are trained to explore the traces of Stone Age hunter-fisher-gatherers in coastal areas across Europe. By combining knowledge from several research fields (archaeology, biology, geology, and the social sciences) the project seeks to understand how these communities lived and how their material remains can best be preserved.
The goal is to develop new and sustainable ways of caring for this fragile cultural heritage, ensuring that important parts of our prehistory can continue to be passed on to future generations.
Two doctoral candidates within the network are based at the School of Global Studies:
Jesper Gulliksen researches how archaeological work in shared landscapes can be more closely connected to the people who live there, made more sustainable, and attuned to how places and societies change. The aim is to identify inclusive and long-term ways to preserve and use the traces of Stone Age hunter-fisher-gatherers in future spatial and community planning.
Read an interview with Jesper.
Rachel Runesson investigates how the traces of Stone Age hunter-fisher-gatherers are transformed into cultural heritage and how this heritage is communicated to different audiences across Europe. She follows the entire process, from archaeological excavation to museum exhibition, to understand how knowledge is produced, interpreted, and translated into narratives for the public.
Just Transitions
Just Transitions is a research school focused on governance and leadership for fair urban and regional climate transitions. Seven doctoral candidates working at the intersection of academia and practice explore how a just climate transition can be achieved at the local level.
Two of the doctoral candidates are based at the School of Global Studies:
Kim von der Heide investigates how to create a fair climate transition in which all citizens—including marginalised groups—can participate and benefit. Her doctoral training is carried out in collaboration with the City of Gothenburg.
Ida Röstlund researches how a just climate transition can be applied within regional spatial planning, with a particular focus on the transport sector in the Västra Götaland Region.
The research school is funded by Formas, a Swedish research council for sustainable development.
Development Research School
The Development Research School is an international collaboration between Lund University, Uppsala University, the University of Gothenburg, and the University of Ghana.
The research school was established in January 2022 and focuses on issues related to sustainable development and poverty reduction in low-income countries, with particular attention to governance, power, and inequality.
The core activity of the Development Research School is to offer jointly developed, interdisciplinary doctoral courses, but it also organises research seminars, policy dialogues, and other capacity-building and skills-training activities.
