How can I become a doctoral student?

Do you plan to finance your studies with a personal scholarship? SLU accepts funding through scholarships until such a date when, according to the individual study plan, the remaining period of study corresponds to three years of full-time study before the award of a doctorate.

There are restrictions on the types of scholarships that are accepted, for more information please read the SLU admission regulations for doctoral education. Swedish universities do not charge for tuition, but SLU requires applicants to have a certain amount of money per month available for living expenses – please see the Doctoral student salary agreement. The amount should be calculated less tax, which is approximately 32.2% of the income (average rate). 

Please note that admission is preceded by a detailed evaluation process, and it is the faculty board that admits new doctoral students to third-cycle studies. Consequently, you should not sign any scholarship contract before you have a formal letter of admission from a faculty board.

Applicants for doctoral studies at SLU must meet certain English language requirements. For students from Swedish upper secondary schools, this is English B/English 6. Alternatively, applicants must hold an internationally recognised English language qualification (TOEFL, IELTS, and Cambridge ESOL). More information is available on www.universityadmissions.se.

All TOEFL test results must be sent to SLU directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Use the SLU institution code 1185.

There are certain exemptions from the above requirements. These can be found via www.universityadmissions.se.

Qualifications from Swedish higher education institutions are verified through Sweden’s admissions system or attested copies. We require attested copies of your university credits if they are unavailable in the admission system (for example, for credits awarded before 2007). Alternatively, if you are in Sweden and have the original copies of your documents with you, you can follow the instructions below.

Attesting documents is when a person certifies that the copy corresponds with the original. A person who has seen both the original document and the copy will attest the copy by signing it and including their name and telephone number, enabling SLU to contact them if necessary.

Please note that:

• Each page of the copy must be attested separately. SLU must be able to contact the attester if necessary.
• Stamps stating “Certified true copy” are not accepted.
• Copies of copies are not accepted.
• You must submit a copy of your documents in their original language. You must provide an official (sworn) translation if your documents are in a language other than Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, French or German. This translation needs to be into one of the following languages: Swedish, English, French or German.

If you have questions about the attestation process, please contact antagning@slu.se.  

Never submit original documents. Original documents will not be returned. The authenticity of any copies must be attested by the original issuing higher education institution or a notary public. No other copies will be accepted. You can take your documents and their copies to a Swedish notary public’s office, who can then attest the documents regardless of the language they are in. They will charge a fee. Attested copies must be copies of original documents. Copies of copies will not be accepted.

You must present both the original document and its copy to the person attesting your documents. Copies must be individually attested and clearly show:

• the signature of the attesting official;
• the stamp of the issuing higher education institution or notary public;
• the name and address of the attesting official, and (if possible) their registration number.

This information must be legible, and SLU must be able to contact the official if necessary. A stamp of “Certified true copy” or similar will not be accepted.

Please note the following:

• You must submit a copy of your documents in their original language. You must provide an official (sworn) translation if your documents are in a language other than Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, French or German. This translation needs to be into one of the following languages: Swedish, English, French or German.
• If your degree was awarded in Cameroon, Canada, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria or the USA, your transcript of records must be sent directly from your university to the SLU Registrar and contain the vacancy reference number. If you send your transcript yourself, it will not be accepted.
• Certain countries have specific requirements. Please visit www.universityadmissions.se to find out more.

If you have questions about the attestation process, please contact antagning@slu.se.