The searchable doctoral courses offered by the faculty are listed in a course catalogue. Registration for spring courses opens at the end of October. Registration för autumn courses opens at the end of April.
Application for courses during spring term 2025
Information about the spring courses can be found in the course catalogue. The last day to register was November 29, 2024. Late registration is done through the respective course-giving department. Contact information can be found in the course catalogue.
Year 2025
For more information, please look at the Swedish version of this page "Anmälan till kurser vårterminen 2025"
Compulsory courses
Doctoral studies consists of a faculty-wide part and an individual part.
The common part consists of a doctoral education programme in medical science comprising 25 ECTS. For a doctoral degree, at least 30 ECTS of coursework are required.
Compulsory courses/modules
The faculty-wide doctoral education programme, 25 ECTS, applies to all doctoral students:
To achieve the individual learning objectives, additional subject-specific educational activities may be required, such as elective doctoral courses, active participation in the department’s seminars and journal clubs, further presentations at national/international conferences, research stays at other institutions, and participation in higher education pedagogical training. Decisions regarding subject-specific educational activities are made in consultation between the doctoral student, supervisor, and examiner and are documented in the individual study plan.
Elective credit-bearing activities may include:
The structure of the doctoral programme
The programme’s goals are to support individual progression towards the degree objectives, offer opportunities for exchange across subject and departmental boundaries, and provide doctoral education on equal terms. The programme is structured on three different levels: cohort, base group, and individual levels.
Activities at the cohort level primarily consist of mandatory courses according to the programme’s schedule. The purpose of the cohort level is to support individual progression by providing a knowledge base concerning generic knowledge and skills and common perspectives for all doctoral students.
The base group level consists of groups of approximately 8 students from the same cohort who progress together throughout the programme. The base group level provides a concrete platform for interdisciplinary exchange. The aim is to support individual progression through the application and deepening of knowledge and skills introduced in courses, and to facilitate dialogue around the doctoral students’ scientific outputs aa well as challenges in interaction with other doctoral students. The base groups meet outside of class time 1-4 times per term according to a flexible schedule. The base group meetings are conducted in seminar form with predetermined content, based on the scientific work produced by the doctoral students.
The individual level corresponds to each doctoral student’s individual doctoral studies, which preferably takes place at their respective department, with the aim of providing specialised subject and methodological knowledge within the research area. The programme includes only one credit-bearing component at the individual level in the form of a pre-doc exchange. However, the individual level is an important starting point for activities at the cohort and base group levels and is thus formative for the structure and content of the doctoral programme.
Overview of the programme’s content
The content of the doctoral programme is based on national and local learning objectives. The content can be broadly described through three intertwined pedagogical themes: sustainable development, interdisciplinary competence, and knowledge translation.
Stage I: In the introductory course, doctoral students are introduced to the working methods of the programme and base group work, and to the content of philosophy of science, sustainable development, scientific methodology, and scientific communication. Subsequent base group meetings deepen these themes. Stage I also includes a course in research ethics. Base group meetings focus on the presentation and discussion of doctoral projects.
Stage II focuses on various forms of scientific communication and interaction, introduced through courses in academic writing and oral presentation techniques. These courses will also cover the skill of giving and receiving feedback. During base group meetings, doctoral students will present article manuscripts in their base groups for presentation and discussion. In preparation for the mid-seminar, base group activities will include practice presentations, where doctoral students will also act as reviewers of each other’s oral presentations and written summaries. The feedback can vary in focus, from addressing the specific scientific content of the texts to general comments on the academic writing and presentation.
Doctoral students also undertake a so-called pre-doc exchange in another different scientific environment from their home institution. This can be scheduled at any time during the programme, but a term free of courses during Stage II is provided to allow for this component. The pre-doc exchange can be carried out either through an individually arranged exchange at another institution within or outside Sweden, or an exchange with another base group member’s department, amounting to at least 1 week full-time. The pre-doc exchange at another institution provides an opportunity to support internationalisation.
Stage III focuses on activities relevant to the completion of the dissertation, the defence, and the period after the defence through courses in grant writing and knowledge translation. During base group work, ideas and early drafts for future applications will be presented and discussed, as well as preparations for the completion of the dissertation, with a focus on the structure and general content of the thesis summary.
Individual doctoral courses
Admission, selection for courses and other credit-bearing components
Credit-bearing components comprising at least 5 ECTS beyond the doctoral education programme are required to achieve a total of at least 30 ECTS.
To achieve the individual learning objectives, additional subject-specific educational components may be required, such as elective doctoral courses, active participation in the department’s seminars and journal clubs (maximum 3.5 ECTS), additional presentations at national/international conferences, research stays at other institutions, and participation in higher education pedagogy training. Decisions regarding subject-specific educational components are made in consultation between the doctoral student, supervisor, and examiner, and are documented in the individual study plan.
In doctoral studies, credit-bearing components of at least 30 ECTS are required for a doctoral degree. These are achieved through participation in the faculty’s doctoral education programme, mandatory doctoral courses, and other credit-bearing activities:
Credit Transfer
Only doctoral courses taken at Umeå University after admission to doctoral education are registered as doctoral courses in LADOK. All other courses and activities are handled as credit transfers. It is the responsibility of the doctoral student to prepare and submit the application for credit transfer. For more information, see the Procedures for Credit Transfer of Doctoral Education at the Faculty of Medicine.
For credit transfers applied for and decided upon in connection with admission to doctoral education, a special procedure applies as outlined in the Admission Regulations for Doctoral Education at Umeå University.
Credit Transfer
This procedure was established by the Council for Doctoral Education (then FUT, now RUF) on 11 October 2016 and applies to all credit transfers for doctoral education except those decided upon in connection with admission to doctoral education.
Background
According to the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100) Sections 6-8, a university must, upon application from a student, assess whether previous education or education at another university can be accepted for credit transfer. For undergraduate and advanced level education, the Vice-Chancellor has established a procedure for handling credit transfers. However, for doctoral education, there is no corresponding university-wide procedure. Regardless of the level of education, the same regulations apply to credit transfers, and the same administrative law rules also apply, such as those concerning incoming documents, decision-making, dispatching decisions, and so on.
This procedure aims to ensure that the faculty’s handling of credit transfers at the doctoral level complies with all applicable rules and regulations as outlined in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100) and the Administrative Procedure Act (1986:223) regarding credit transfers.
In the study documentation system Ladok, only doctoral courses taken at Umeå University after admission to doctoral education are registered as doctoral courses. All other courses and activities are handled as credit transfers.
Exceptions
For credit transfers applied for and decided upon in connection with admission to doctoral education, a special procedure applies as outlined in Chapter 5 of the Admission Regulations for Doctoral Education at Umeå University.
Procedure
Application
The doctoral student is responsible for preparing and submitting the application for credit transfer. The designated form must be used for the application. The form is available in both Swedish and English. On the form, the doctoral student must fill in which course, or equivalent, the credit transfer is based on, including the Swedish or English translation of the course title if applicable, the course’s scope in terms of ECTS, the institution and country where the course was examined, the date of the course, and whether the course should be credited as a specific course at Umeå University or as ECTS within a subject at the doctoral level.
In cases where the course on which the credit transfer is based replaces a compulsory course in the general study plan, the option of credit transfer against the course should be used. In all other cases, credit transfer of higher education ECTS within the subject at the doctoral level should be used.
The doctoral student should attach a copy of the course certificate or equivalent, as well as any other documents the student wishes to refer to in the matter. The student then signs the application with their signature and the current date. The application is then submitted to the department administrator.
Receipt of the application
When the application has been received by Umeå University, the date and the name of the person who received the application should be noted on the form.
The department administrator is responsible for subsequently referring the application to the relevant examiner for a statement.
Examiner’s decision
The examiner should indicate on the form whether the credit transfer is approved, or alternatively, wholly or partially rejected. In the case of rejection, the examiner must provide a justification for the decision. In the case of partial rejection, the examiner should specify which parts of the requested credit transfer are approved and which are rejected, and provide a justification for the rejection. The examiner then signs the form with their signature and the current date.
Reporting in Ladok
The department administrator is then responsible for documenting the decision in Ladok if the application is wholly or partially approved. The examiner must also approve and sign the designated archive list for Ladok. The department administrator notes on the form the date when the credit transfer is finally documented in Ladok.
Dispatch of the decision
When the decision is finally documented in Ladok, the department administrator is responsible for archiving all documents in the matter according to a specific order, and for dispatching the decision to the doctoral student. The dispatch is done in the form of a copy of the signed form showing the decision, along with the current Ladok extract. The department administrator should document on the form the date when the decision was dispatched.
According to the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100) Chapter 12, Section 2, a decision on credit transfer is a decision that can be appealed to the Higher Education Appeals Board (ÖNH). Therefore, if the decision is wholly or partially against the doctoral student, and the student believes the decision is incorrect, they have the right to appeal the decision. The decision dispatched to the doctoral student must therefore include an appeal reference.
Procedures for course registration in doctoral education
Courses within the doctoral education program
When applying for admission, the doctoral student indicates when they intend to start the doctoral education program. The student is then automatically called to the first course, ‘Joint Perspectives in Theory, Methodology, and Practice in Medical Science’. After that, the student is called to the courses in the order they are offered.
If the doctoral student, for any reason, does not complete a course in the decided order, it is up to the student to register for the course. Registration for spring courses can be done by January 15th at the latest, and for autumn courses by September 1st annually. Registration is done by emailing foutb@adm.umu.se.
Courses advertised in the course catalogue and offered by the departments
Registration for the courses listed in the course catalogue is done according to the instructions on this page. The final registration dates for the spring and autumn semester courses are also announced here.