About rights, laws, and regulations

Here you can find links to some of the most important legislation relevant to your life as a doctoral student enrolled at a Swedish university.

We try to cover here the main aspects relevant to doctoral studies, and we hope that this will enable you to better understand your rights and your place in the world as a doctoral student. The overview here is not meant to interpret the law, or even summarize it comprehensively, but to give you an overview, such that you know where to look for answers to your questions.

It is important to note that the law is often supplemented by regulation at the university level. For example, many universities have their own guidelines for research education, more specific and detailed than the law. You may want to consult these if you have specific questions, for example about the exam requirements in your university. You can always ask the administrative staff responsible for doctoral students or for doctoral education.

When it comes to your conditions as an employee, or to your work environment, it is also important to keep in mind that laws are often supplemented by collective agreements. You can ask the HR office at your university or other employer about your rights and conditions more specifically. 

For each piece of legislation mentioned here, we link to the official text on the government’s website. Whenever an English translation is provided by the government offices or by a state agency, there is a link to that translation as well. It should be noted that the translations are not official and not sanctioned by the government, even those who are hosted on the government’s website. You should use the English text as a starting point for navigating the Swedish law and remember that you can always ask for help with understanding the law from support structures such as the administrative staff at your employer, the Ombudsperson for doctoral students (DOMB), the student union, the trade union representative, the director of research education at your department etc.