Doctoral education

The doctoral position in a historical context

First, a very brief historical overview, to place the position of the doctoral student in a historical context. In 1969, the four-year doctoral degree was introduced, which differed from the previous system, where, for example, there was no time limit. Under the four-year programme, it was stipulated that doctoral students had to complete a certain number of courses to be awarded a degree, in addition to their approved doctoral thesis. The number of higher education institutions offering doctoral programmes has since grown exponentially, from ten institutions in 1977 to 34 today. Shortly before the turn of the millennium, requirements for structured student funding for doctoral students were introduced. This is therefore a statutory requirement and a unique form of employment, but it is also the outcome of a political process that entails a kind of professionalisation of the research profession. The process is in line with more neoliberal views on research, compared with a previously more education-oriented approach.

With the so-called autonomy reform of 2011, responsibility for drafting many of the regulations was transferred from the state to the higher education institutions. At many higher education institutions, this decentralisation has continued, so that faculties and departments are now responsible for allocating funds to doctoral positions, as well as for setting entry requirements, admission criteria and the educational structure for their respective doctoral programmes.

The doctoral position today

Today, doctoral students find themselves in a neoliberal university environment, where production demands and the pace of work have increased significantly in recent decades. The role of universities in society has shifted towards a clearer alignment with market forces, with a focus on employability and relevance to economic growth rather than on democracy and education. A neoliberal order also entails a change in the governance of universities, from a previous focus on academic principles to measurability, utility and competition. This shift in the role of universities affects both research and education, and consequently, to a great extent, doctoral education and the situation of doctoral students.

Since the turn of the century, the Swedish higher education sector has been characterised by political demands for ‘internationalisation’, which has had an impact on the cohort of doctoral students conducting research in Sweden. As a result, doctoral students today find themselves in an internationalised research training environment with a growing proportion of international doctoral students, as well as demands and expectations regarding international mobility.