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Services and support for doctoral students

On this page you will find various services and support functions relevant to your daily work as a doctoral student.

Useful resources

See below for a list of useful resources related to your employment and responsibilities as a doctoral student. 

As an international doctoral student in Sweden, the following guides may be relevant to you: 

Different terms are used to describe doctoral education and related topics, and they often mean roughly the same thing. We understand that this can sometimes be confusing, so we have compiled some of the most common ones below.

Doctoral | PhD | Postgraduate | Research | Third-cycle

The terms above are all used, to a greater or lesser extent, at different faculties and departments. The following example shows that there can be a wide variety of terminology for a single concept:

  • doctoral education
  • doctoral programme
  • doctoral studies
  • postgraduate education
  • postgraduate programme
  • postgraduate research studies
  • postgraduate studies
  • research studies
  • third-cycle education
  • third-cycle studies
  • PhD education
  • PhD programme
  • PhD studies

Some of these terms may also occur with other nouns, such as 'courses' (i.e., 'doctoral courses', 'PhD courses', 'postgraduate courses', 'third-cycle courses', etc.).

Main supervisor | primary supervisor | principal supervisor

These are all different ways of referring to the same role and person: your academic supervisor, to whom you turn to to discuss matters relating to your doctoral studies and thesis work.

Thesis | Dissertation

The final thesis, which is a compulsory part of a doctoral programme, is referred to by the following synonyms:

  • doctoral thesis
  • doctoral dissertation
  • dissertation
  • research thesis

Doctoral degree | Doctorate

The doctoral degree is the highest university degree you can obtain, after successfully completing the 240 ECTS doctoral programme. It is also known as a doctorate.

Academic Writing in English (AWELU) is an online resource for academic writing in English developed at Lund University. We also offer a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) called 'Writing in English at University', which you may find useful. 

Through our Research Portal, you can find research-related information, including information on:

  • active researchers, including doctoral students
  • research outputs, for example publications
  • research projects
  • research infrastructures
  • research units

Lund University's internal research information system is called LUCRIS. The Research Portal is the external interface to LUCRIS.

Libraries and librarians

Lund University have 25 libraries on campus and around 200 expert librarians. Ask them questions about starting research, referencing, or simply navigating the library website and online databases and resources.

Lund University Libraries website

Unions and representatives

There are several unions and representatives that you can contact for support or advice, both at Lund University and nationally.

There are two doctoral student unions at Lund University that specifically represent doctoral students and their interests. You can become a member of the union associated with your faculty and receive advice and support, or play a more active role.

All faculties except Engineering | Lund's Doctoral Student Union (LDK)

Lund's Doctoral Student Union (LDK) provides advice, information and support throughout your time as a doctoral student. The union organises doctoral students at eight of the University’s nine faculties (not at the Faculty of Engineering, LTH):

  • Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts.
  • Faculties of Humanities and Theology
  • Faculty of Law
  • Faculty of Medicine
  • Faculty of Science
  • Faculty of Social Sciences
  • School of Economics and Management, LUSEM

Lund's Doctoral Student Union website

Faculty of Engineering, LTH | Teknologkåren (TLTH)

At the Faculty of Engineering, doctoral students are organised by the student union Teknologkåren at LTH, or TLTH for short.

Teknologkåren website

If you have a problem or issue as a doctoral student, you can also contact an impartial doctoral student representative, the Doctoral Student Ombudsman, for advice. In Swedish, this role is called 'Doktorandsombudsmannen', or 'DOMB' for short.

This service is provided by Lund's Doctoral Student Union in agreement with Teknologkåren at the Faculty of Engineering.

Email: domb [at] ldk [dot] lu [dot] se (domb[at]ldk[dot]lu[dot]se)
Meet the Doctoral Student Ombudsman – Lund's Doctoral Student Union website

SULF, the Swedish Association of University Teachers, is a national trade union that deals with issues relating to the salary conditions and professional situation of university teachers, researchers and doctoral students. The SULF website provides information for doctoral students on everything from legislation and supervision to practical advice and unemployment benefits.

SULF website

ST, the Union of Civil Servants, is the largest trade union in Sweden. Its members work for government agencies, state-owned companies, universities and colleges. ST also organises doctoral students and works on issues related to doctoral education. All employees at Lund University are welcome to join, regardless of their educational background or position.

ST website

Research impact and commercialisation

If you are wondering how your research can benefit society, have questions about innovation or patents, are considering starting a business or have concerns about collaborating with external parties, LU Innovation can provide you with guidance and support.

LU Innovation website

External funding applications

Research Services provides support and assistance to researchers and research teams on issues relating to external research funding from specific funders and funding programmes.

Research funding