Call for PhD position

The call for proposals is closed.

PhD position in performative and media-based practices

Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH) provides education and conducts artistic research in the subject areas of circus, dance, dance pedagogy, film, media, opera, performing arts and acting. The breadth and scope of art forms enables unique opportunities for cross-artistic co-creation and development. Through strengthening connections between education and research, we support artistic  practice as a site for academic knowledge, nurture the next generation of artists and researchers, and advocate for art’s ability to meet the challenges of and developments in society. The university has 24 doctoral students, approximately five hundred BA and MA students and two hundred and fifty employees. We are currently located in five different buildings on Gärdet and Östermalm with plans to move into a custom designed joint building in Slakthusområdet in 2029.

Do you want to contribute to a vibrant study, research and working environment? As a doctoral student you will join an environment where leading artists, researchers, and educators, are creatively contributing, via artistic practice and research, to an active and ongoing dialogue with the society we are all a part of. Together we look to create a culture with a strongly demonstrated sense of responsibility, trust, empathy and commitment.

Five PhD positions in performative and media-based practices

SKH announces five doctoral positions in the third-cycle subject Performative and media-based practices with a start date of 20 January, 2025. We welcome artistic research applications which centre and emerge from artistic practice, projects which relate to, bring together and/or expand upon the many art and artistic research practices manifest at SKH see: 
SKH's website
About research
Research project search

Third-cycle subject performative and media-based practices

The subject Performative and media-based practices accommodates research in artistic practice. It offers possibilities for artists with higher education or equivalent qualifications to reflect in, on and through artistic practice. This is done by situating a specific enquiry to relevant knowledge and methods within artistic practice, resulting in a documented artistic research project (doctoral thesis).

The aim of the doctoral programme Performative and media-based practices is to educate the artists and artistic researchers of the present, in both practice and theory, as they endeavor to make meaningful contributions to the art, culture, and society of the future. Programme aims include promoting dialogue about art in and with society, as well as developing collaborations and exchanges between artistic research and other fields of research.

The education qualifies the doctoral student for artistic practice and research in artistic and/or academic contexts nationally and internationally.

General syllabus for third-cycle studies in performative and media-based practices

Terms and Conditions

Third-cycle studies is comprised of four years of full-time study and leads to a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Arts in Performative and Media Based Practices. The education is conducted on SKH's campus and begins January 20, 2025. As a doctoral student, you need to reside in Sweden and participate on site at SKH.

Third-cycle studies consists of courses corresponding to one year of full-time study and the conception, development, and production of a documented artistic research project (doctoral thesis). As a doctoral student, you are expected to participate and contribute to internal and external research environments, for example in the context of seminars, workshops, conferences, and expositions at SKH, nationally and internationally.

The program will be fully financed through your employment as a doctoral student at SKH. Departmental duties, up to 20 percent full time, can be included in your doctoral employment. Usually, departmental duties include teaching at first and second cycle level.

Information about being a doctoral student at SKH can be found here: Being a doctoral student 
Information about relocation can be found here: Relocation for doctoral students   

Eligibility requirements

To be admitted to third-cycle studies in performative and media-based practices, the applicant is required to fulfil the general and specific entry requirements in accordance with the general syllabus. Entry requirements shall be fulfilled at the time of application.

General entry requirements are met if the applicant has: 

• been awarded a second-cycle qualification,
• completed course requirements comprising at least 240 ECTS, of which at least 60 ECTS awarded at second-cycle level, or
• otherwise acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in Sweden or abroad.

Specific entry requirements are met if the applicant has:

1. been awarded a degree comprising at least 240 ECTS in educational programmes that are relevant to the subject area performative and media-based practices or have experience of artistic work comparative therewith,
2. demonstrated continuous and on-going artistic activities and carried out independent artistic work,
3. good knowledge in English, both written and spoken.

Selection and basis of assessment

Selection of applicants who meet the eligibility requirements will be based on the applicant’s qualifications at the time of application and their ability to profit from third-cycle studies according to the selection criteria.
In connection with the application, the applicant shall present a research plan outlining their intended artistic research project. The plan shall contain a description of the research project, a sketch of its proposed execution and a preliminary budget. Work samples may be attached to the application.

The following criteria form the basis of assessment of the applicant’s ability to profit from third-cycle studies:

1. the research plan’s content in relation to an assessment of the applicant’s earlier qualifications and the applicant’s suitability for artistic research work,
2. the feasibility of the project according to the research plan within the given time frame (a period corresponding to four years of full-time study) and allocated project budget,
3. the research plan’s artistic quality regarding the subject’s delimitation, relevance, originality, research questions, ties with and relevance to the collective area of knowledge and its method development,
4. the research plan’s content in relation to the existing research expertise and research fields of SKH as well as good research practice, and the university’s possibilities for adequate supervision, and
5. documented good collaboration skills.

The most qualified applicants will be called to interview between13-17 May 2024.

Admission process

The call is open from 15 December 2023 to 14 February 2024 accessed via SKH's digital application system. 

The admission process is carried out in several steps: Complete applications undergo an eligibility assessment. Applications which pass the first selection go on to an external assessment process. After which, applicants who have passed a second selection are invited to interview, scheduled for May 13-17, 2024.

During the admission process, a principal supervisor, employed at SKH, is proposed for the research project. The second supervisor is decided within two months after the start of the program.

After the interviews, the proposed applicants are contacted for admission and employment.

Employment as a doctoral student

Those admitted to third-cycle education are employed as doctoral students at SKH. This means that you are an employee of the university and part of an academic environment. SKH is a Swedish government agency, and your employment is therefore subject to the employment rules regarding public employees in Sweden.

Regulations for employment as a doctoral student can be found in Chapter 5 of the Higher Education Ordinance.
Read more here: Higher Education Ordinance 
and
The-Higher-Education-Ordinance/#chapter5 (unofficial translation).

The initial appointment as doctoral student may apply for no longer than one year and SKH's practice is to extend the employment one year at a time. The total period of employment may be no longer than that equivalent to full-time third-cycle studies of four years.

SKH operates in accord with local salary agreement for doctoral students. The starting salary for doctoral students is currently SEK 29 000/month.

Contact details

If you have questions, please refer to the FAQ from the last round of doctoral admissions. You can also email your question to: phdpositions@uniarts.se

Information meetings on zoom

Are you interested in applying or have you applied for a PhD position at SKH? Do you have questions about the application process or the content and structure of the doctoral program? Welcome to one of our digital information meetings for applicants: January 11, 2024, at 16-18 or January 12, 2024, at 9-11, Swedish time, on Zoom. 
Zoom-link to the meeting

Trade unions

Personnel organisations

For this recruitment, we have made our advertising choice and therefore do not want to be contacted by advertising salespeople, recruitment agencies or any similar organizations.

Application

SKH welcomes the qualities that meetings between different perspectives and experiences bring to the organization. We particularly encourage applicants who complement our organization in terms of gender equality and ethnic diversity.

Application for admission to doctoral studies here: SUBMIT HERE

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their application is complete in accordance with the call, see detailed instructions here: How to write your application.

Submit only digital material. You may be asked at a later stage of the admission process to provide physical work samples or other material by post.

Application documents with attachments become public documents. SKH handles its public documents in accordance with the Swedish National Archives' regulations.

The application must be submitted no later than: February 14 at 23.59, Swedish time.

We welcome your application!