It’s summer 2022 and I know that during the autumn semester I will get questions about what to consider if you want to become a PhD student or later do research in our subjects, and since I have access to an abundance of competent people here at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History in Lund, I have asked some of them to give me their thoughts and tips on the application process.
We will hear from new PhD students, PhD students in the middle of their research, PhD students at the end of their research and recent PhD graduates. This round of posts is then rounded off by two teachers and researchers here at the department, answering some questions from their point of view. Some of the interviews were conducted in Swedish and I have published both the Swedish text and an English translation, while others were conducted directly in English and only the English text is available.
The texts will be published over the next two weeks with both the Swedish and English text (when both are available) on the same day. We all hope this will be useful!
First a few words about the premises:
The reason we share advertisements for PhD positions at other universities here on the blog is because there is a lot of competition for a few positions. That in itself shouldn’t be a deterrent if this is your dream, but it’s good to know that it may take a longer move to find a place within or outside of Sweden. The benefits of looking at a wider range of options are that the subject you have chosen may be an even better fit for another institution, or the prior knowledge you have will meet the requirements of other universities. It’s also a good idea to apply several times to get feedback on your application and be able to refine it for your next attempt.
We, and I mean the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History in Lund, usually have the opportunity to announce two PhD positions each year and have four subjects to distribute them over, so that means (about) one position per subject every two years.
The positions are announced in January and the deadline for applications is February to start in August-September. There is far too little time between the call and the deadline to wait until then to write your application. Working on the application is a longer process and requires a lot of preparation, in addition to the basic requirements that each department sets for its posts.
The first basic requirement is to read the advertisement carefully so that the application is not rejected out of hand just because of an easily corrected mistake. In our case, for example, be sure to apply in the subject you are qualified for. An application is never passed between departments, so it is important to send it to the right reference number and the right subject. As we advertise two posts each year, mistakes can easily be made, so please pay attention. Another basic requirement is to meet the prerequisites listed in the call. A full Master’s degree is a must, and the different subjects then have a few specific prerequisites on top of that. For ancient historians it may be helpful to know that we are the only department in the Sweden that currently has requirements for ancient languages. Those applications that do not meet the requirements of the advertisement will be discarded without being read in full, and then the project plan will not receive any feedback, which is the same as a wasted application.
Another thing to concider when applying for a PhD position is the financial side. Here it is important to see what the funding model of the advertising university is. In Sweden, it is generally not the case that students finance their own doctoral studies, but the positions advertised are salaried positions. It is therefore a four-year position, with three years spent on research and one on studies. It is not uncommon for it to take longer to complete one’s thesis than the four paid years, as we will see in discussions with our own PhD students and newest PhDs, and then the extensions also become personal solutions. Regardless, all advertisements specify how the salary or position is funded and it is important to keep that in mind when considering where you want to do your PhD.
So if you’re thinking about applying, now is a good time to start working on your application, and to read the posts in the coming weeks.