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KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has grown to become one of Europe’s leading technical and engineering universities, as well as a key centre of intellectual talent and innovation. We are Sweden’s largest technical research and learning institution and home to students, researchers and faculty from around the world. Our research and education covers a wide area including natural sciences and all branches of engineering, as well as architecture, industrial management, urban planning, history and philosophy.

Project description

Third-cycle subject: History of Science, Technology and Environment

The PhD education takes place in the ERC-funded project “The Rise of Global Environmental Governance:  A History of the Contemporary Human-Earth Relationship” (GLOBEGOV). GLOBEGOV is a historical study of how humanity’s relation to planetary conditions and constraints became understood as a governance issue since the twentieth century. The key argument is that Global Environmental Governance (GEG) is inseparable from the rise of a planetary Earth systems science and understanding of global change that has affected international politics and broad communities of practice.

The project will study international, regional and national organizations, including governments, businesses, universities, and Non-Governmental Organizations, that have played roles in GEG. Research in GLOBEGOV will be based on multiple sources: archives, libraries, databases, other collections, the world wide web, and interviews with politicians, diplomats, civil servants, scholars and scientists, activists, members of NGOs, business leaders or representatives, journalists, or others.

Based at KTH in Stockholm the three PhD students may, depending on their individual research tasks, pursue part of their work in different world regions in close collaboration with senior GLOBEGOV researchers at the University of Cambridge, UC Berkeley, California, and at the University of Sydney.  More information about GLOBEGOV  is available at: More information about GLOBEGOV you’ll find here

What we offer

• The possibility to study in a dynamic international research environment in the Division of History of Science, Technology and Environment, including its KTH Environmental Humanities Laboratory. With some 50 employees and a large number of visiting scholars, the Division and the EHL form an interdisciplinary research arena in the integrative humanities. We conduct historical research on a range of topics, often with a look at contemporary issues linked to environment, climate, energy, infrastructures, migration, heritage, gender, social movements and political ecology, and the role of science, technology and innovation in modern societies.
• Access to research and library resources across the many universities and higher education institutions in the Stockholm-Uppsala region and the opportunity to spend research time at our partner institutions in Cambridge, Berkeley, and Sydney as part of the PhD training.
• A personal study plan to support your development within your areas of interest.
• Help to relocate and get settled in Sweden and at KTH.

Eligibility

To be admitted to postgraduate education (Chapter 7, 39 § Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility in accordance with the following:

• passed a degree at advanced (master/MPhil) level,
• completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education (ECTS) credits, of which at least 60 higher education credits at advanced (master) level, or
• in any other way acquired within or outside the country acquired essentially equivalent knowledge.

To be admitted, the applicant must also have special eligibility in accordance with the following:

• completed course requirements of at least 60 higher education (ECTS) credits at advanced (master/MPhil) level or higher in a history subject or in other humanities or social sciences subject that are deemed relevant. These criteria may be regarded as fulfilled also if the applicant can demonstrate a similar level of competence gained in other ways.
• ability to read and write scientific English and speak English with a high level of proficiency.
• a documented ability to write a substantial scientific paper/thesis within the subject area (at least one such paper/thesis should be part of the application).

Selection

We welcome applications from students with a background in any relevant field or sub-field of history, as well as students with a background in other relevant humanities and social sciences disciplines or fields, including but not limited to geography, political science, international relations, public policy, gender studies, post-colonial studies.

In addition it is a merit if you:

• can pursue professional research work in any other major world language than English, especially Mandarin, Spanish, French, or Arabic.
• have experience of archival research, including digital research, or oral history.

In order to succeed as a doctoral student at KTH you need to be goal oriented and persevering in your work. In the selection of the applicants, the following capacities will be assessed:

• to work independently,
• to collaborate with others,
• to have a professional approach and
• to analyse and work with complex issues.

Target degree:

Doctoral degree, PhD.

Information regarding admission and employment

Only those who are or have been admitted to third-cycle studies may be employed as a doctoral student. The term of the initial contract may not exceed one year. The employment may be extended for a maximum of two years at a time. However, the total period of employment may not exceed the equivalent of four years of full-time study. Decisions on employment as a doctoral student may not be appealed.

Eligibility, selection and admissions are regulated in antagningsordning till utbildning vid Kungl. Tekniska högskolan and the program description for the doctoral program and current subject syllabus available on KTH’s website.

Doctoral students should primarily devote themselves to their own education, but may engage in teaching, research, and administration corresponding to a maximum of 20 % of a full-time position.

Union representatives

You will find contact information for union representatives on KTH’s website.

Doctoral section (Students’ union on KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

You will find contact information for doctoral section on the section’s website.

Application

Apply for the position and admission through KTH:s recruitment system. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the advertisement.

Applications must be received at the last closing date at midnight, CET / CEST (Central European Time / Central European Summer Time).

Applications must include the following elements:

• CV including your relevant professional experience and knowledge.
• Statement of purpose: Why do you want to pursue a Ph.D., what are your academic interests, how do they relate to your previous studies and future goals, what is your particular interest in the research that will be pursued in this project; maximum 2 pages long.
• Copy of the degree certificate(s) and transcripts of records from your previously attended university-level institutions. Translations into English or Swedish if the original documents are not issued in one of these languages.
• Representative publications or reports. For documents longer than 10 pages (e.g. master thesis), please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text.

Other

We firmly decline all contact with staffing and recruitment agencies and job ad salespersons.

Gender equality, diversity and zero tolerance against discrimination and harassment are important aspects of KTH´s work with quality as well as core values in our organization.