Responsible unit: Office of the President

Contact: Rikard Skårfors and Ellinor Sigelfeldt

To read the document, please open the attached file below.

Introduction

Stockholm University conducts education at first-, second- and third-cycle level. This document sets out the regulations and rules that apply nationally to third-cycle education. The document also establishes the university-wide local rules that apply to third-cycle education and summative assessment at Stockholm University.

The fundamental (national) regulations are contained in the Higher Education Act (1992:1434) and the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100). Other laws and regulations referred to in this document include the Language Act (2009:600), the Work Environment Act (1977:1160), the Ordinance on the Expulsion of Students from Higher Education (2007:989), the Discrimination Act (2008:567) and the Administrative Procedure Act (2017:900). The decisions rendered by the Swedish Higher Education Authority (formerly the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education) and the Higher Education Appeals Board, e.g., in response to student complaints, as well as the recommendations drafted by the Swedish Higher Education Authority or the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education in connection with inspection visits are also considered to constitute national rules.  

The regulations of this document complement the national regulations and also follow the recommendations of the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF). The document also refers to several University Board and Presidential decisions that can be found in Governing Documents at Stockholm University – Rules & Regulations, which is available on the staff intranet: admission regulations for third-cycle education, local degree regulations, rules for retirement and employment after retirement, rules and procedure for credit transfer, rules and procedure for disciplinary matters, rules of employment for the recruitment and Promotion of Teachers (AOSU), guidelines for scholarships at Stockholm University, rules for student influence, language policy, anti-harassment policy pursuant to the Discrimination Act, rules for study and career guidance, procedure for handling student complaints regarding education, procedures for withdrawing a doctoral student's right to supervision and other resources, procedures for dealing with suspected research misconduct, rules and procedures for establishing and discontinuing courses and study programmes, rules for auditing courses and study programmes, procedures for concluding cotutelle agreements at Stockholm University and procedures for preparing decisions on educational cooperation (or research cooperation that includes education) leading to a joint, double or multiple degree. In addition, reference is made to the Studying with a disability page and the resource page of the Centre for the Advancement of University Teaching on the University's website, as well as the Legal Secretariat's case-management handbook.
Individuals studying in a third-cycle programme are referred to as doctoral students, but several of the general provisions on education in the Higher Education Act and the Higher Education Ordinance use the term ‘student’. These provisions apply to doctoral students as well, except where their application is explicitly restricted to first- and second-cycle education. The term doctoral student also includes third-cycle students admitted to a licentiate degree programme.

Third-cycle education can lead to two degrees of different scope: a licentiate degree (of at least 120 credits) and a doctoral degree (of 240 credits). The outcomes for these degrees can be found in Annex 2 of the Higher Education Ordinance (System of Qualifications). Both degrees require a programme consisting of a combination of course work and thesis work. The Degree of Licentiate concludes with an approved licentiate thesis of at least 60 credits. The Degree of Doctor concludes with an approved scientific dissertation (a doctoral dissertation) of at least 120 credits. The doctoral dissertation must be defended orally at a public defence. Stockholm University is not authorised to award the Degree of Doctor in fine arts, applied arts or performing arts

Overall division of resposibilities

Ultimate responsibility for third-cycle education rests with the University Board, which decides on the admissions regulations, and with the President, who can decide to withdraw resources (Chapter 2, Sections 2 and 3 of the Higher Education Act; Chapter 2, Sections 2 and 3 and Chapter 6, Sections 3, 30, 31 and 36 of the Higher Education Ordinance). In other respects, the President has delegated all decisions about third-cycle education to the respective area committees, which means that each area committee is responsible for education in its area, unless otherwise specified (see also Besluts- och delegationsordning in the Governing Documents at Stockholm University – Rules & Regulations). The area committees thus have overall responsibility for the quality, effectiveness, organisation, syllabi and supervision of education, as well as course coordination and supervisor training. The area committees are also responsible for the general supervision of third-cycle courses and study programmes.

In addition to the regulations of this document, which are approved by the President, the area committees can decide on additional rules for education and summative assessment that apply to the activities in their area. Doctoral students wishing to report deviations from these rules are primarily referred to the head of the department to which they were admitted but can also contact the student/doctoral student representatives at Stockholm University Student Union.