phd in public health in sweden

Department of Public Health Sciences

Doctoral level studies in public health sciences.

Our third-cycle education emphasises perspectives that shed light on how inequalities in health arise; how different life conditions and opportunities influence the health of individuals throughout their lives; and how structural factors, individual actions and biopsychological mechanisms jointly affect these processes. Public health policy and practice is also studied.

The study programme

Doctoral studies in Public Health Sciences are structured so that they involve four years of full-time study, and amount to 240 higher education credits. One semester of full-time study is equivalent to 30 higher education credits.

The doctoral study programme consists of courses equivalent to 75 higher education credits and of these a minimum of 22.5 higher education credits must be method courses. The doctoral thesis corresponds to 165 higher education credits.

Admission to doctoral studies

Opportunity to apply for doctoral studies in Public Health Sciences are given twice a year, resources permitting. The application deadline is March 15th and October 15th, and vacancies are announced one month in advance of the application deadline.

Criteria for entry

The general requirements according to the Higher Education Ordinance are:

• a university degree at advanced level, or
• 240 hp (ECTS) credits, of which a minimum of 60 credits must be at advanced level, or
• the equivalent

and the specific entry requirements for Public Health Sciences are:

• a minimum of 7.5 credits in quantitative or qualitative methods of relevance to Public Health Sciences (graduate level), or in any other acquired the equivalent knowledge
• good knowledge and skills in in the English language, spoken as well as written.

When and where to apply?

Opportunity to apply for doctoral studies in Public Health Sciences are given twice a year, resources permitting. The application deadline is 15 March and 15 October, and vacancies are announced one month in advance of the application deadline.

Please see the Stockholm University's webpage for Vacant PhD Student Positions .

Doctoral level courses

Courses at the doctoral level includes 75 credits for a doctoral degree and 45 credits for a licentiate degree. At least 22.5 credits for a doctoral degree and at least 12 ECTS for a licentiate degree, should be method courses.

The doctoral level courses at our department are open for applicants from other departments or universities. Please check the information for the different courses on how to apply.

Doctoral level courses Autumn term

Introduction to Public Health Sciences: A brief overview (PH018F1)

Theory of knowledge and ethics in Public Health Sciences (PH020F1)

Research and theoretical and analytical perspectives in Public Health Sciences (PH019F1)

Alcohol- and drug research from a social science perspective (PH005F1)

Health and policy in the welfare state (PH008F1)

Stress, recovery, and health (PH009F1)

Social inequalities in health (PH004F1)

Global health in a changing world (PH010F1)

Embodiment of the social world (PH012F1)

Data Analysis and Causal Interference in Observational Studies for Social and Medical Research (PS1DA01)

Doctoral level courses Spring term

Management and description of quantitative data (PH014F1)

Basic statistical analysis (PH015F1)

Statistical data modelling (PH016F1)

Data analysis for the social sciences in R (PH003F1)

Early life conditions, health development, and child public health (PH006F1)

Life-course perspectives on ageing and health (PH017F1)

Person-oriented methods (PH021F1)

Faculty PhD Courses

The Faculty of Social Sciences presents courses within the doctoral level education. These courses are open for PhD students within departments of the Faculty of Social Sciences. The courses are divided in "Method courses" and "Other courses".

Institutionsövergripande forskarutbildningskurser (General information in Swedish)

General Study Plan

General study plan for doctoral education in the subject of public health sciences..

The General Study Plan for education in Public Health Sciences on doctoral level is decided on by the Board of Faculty of Social Sciences at Stockholm University, on 12 June, 2013 and revised 16 December, 2022.

The current General Study Plan is valid from 1 January, 2023.

Individual study plan (ISP)

Forms and guidelines for the Individual Study Plan can be found at the Swedish webpages of Human Science (forms in Swedish and English)

For the attachments referred to in the General Study Plan, please see Forms and regulations

Guidelines, rules and regulations at University and Faculty level

    Rules and regulations for PhD Education at Stockholm University     Guidelines for the public defence of doctoral theses at the Faculty of Social Sciences

Networking during your studies

Introducing equinode.

The board of Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS) at the Department for Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University, has initiated the formation of a new collaboration for PhD students interested in health equity: EQUINODE – Doctoral Students in Health Equity Research.

National platform for collaboration

The purpose of this collaboration is to provide a platform for doctoral student exchange on matters concerning health equity research. Examples of activities include seminar series, journal clubs, and workshops.

Are you interested in joining EQUINODE?

The collaboration is open for doctoral students at Swedish universities with an interest in health equity research. Please get in touch with coordinator Karl Gauffin ( karl.gauffin@su.

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Last updated: September 13, 2024

Source: Public Health Scicences

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Last updated: October 15, 2024

Source: Department of Public Health Sciences

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Admission to doctoral education at the Department of Global Public Health

This page describes the admission process for doctoral education at the Department of Global Public Health (GPH).

How to become a doctoral student at the department

To become a doctoral student at the Department of Global Public Health, you start by applying for one or more of the advertised doctoral positions at the department. For questions regarding the doctoral education position, you may contact the contact person in the advertisement.

If you have your own funding, in form of an external scholarship, you can still apply for any of the announced projects but you can also try to establish contact with a research group at the department .

If the scholarship has been earned in competition with others the project might not have to be announced like the other projects. Please be aware that the research group still might have to pay for you if the scholarship is not high enough. About external scholarships .

There are also other ways into doctoral education, for example for medical doctors employed at one of the hospitals.

In order for you to be eligible to doctoral studies at KI you are required to meet both the general and the specific entry requirements .

Admission process

The admission process at the Department consists of several steps:

• Establishment of a doctoral position
• Advertise and recruit for a doctoral position
• Admission decision by Head of the Department

When the admission process is completed, an Individual Study Plan (ISP) is established.

Advertised doctoral positions

Available doctoral positions at our department, all advertised positions for doctoral education at ki.

If the list is empty, there are no available doctoral positions at our department. Find all available positions at KI.

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Doctoral studies

The Umeå International School of Public Health offers PhD opportunities in four subjects, namely: 'Epidemiology and Public Health', 'Public Health', 'Family Medicine and Epidemiology' and 'Global Health'

Our division is involved in research and research training in collaboration with a number of universities, departments and NGOs in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States, which is an important part of our international profile. In recent years, about half of our PhD students have been international, with a fairly even distribution of men and women. The majority of our PhD students are recruited from our Masters Programme or from international collaborations.

Within our division, PhD training is largely centred around a specific research project and courses are chosen according to the needs of the project. The course content is individually tailored for each doctoral student.

Several research students also have other affiliations - for example with a clinical department or with universities in another country - and corresponding representation of two or more departments is often found among the advisors to the research students.

Our division is responsible for a major part of the basic research training courses provided by the Medical Faculty.

Study Director/Administration

PhD Studies

The department has PhD students conducting studies, research and teaching within our various research areas. We also offer a number of PhD courses.

Our vacant doctoral positions are advertised through the university's central website. In the advertisements, we provide relevant information about the position and the programme.

You can find information about eligibility/admission, content/structure, degrees, and future career paths, among other things, on the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy website.

Vacancies at Uppsala University

Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy