Deadline: 18-Aug-2026
The Swedish Research Council is inviting applications for a National Doctoral Programme Grant to establish and strengthen graduate schools in the humanities and social sciences. The grant supports structured doctoral education, national collaboration between Swedish higher education institutions, and international cooperation with separately funded foreign graduate schools. Funding of up to 7,500,000 SEK per year is available for four years, starting in January 2027.
Overview
The Swedish Research Council National Doctoral Programme Grant supports the creation and development of graduate schools in the humanities and social sciences.
The grant is designed to improve research capacity, strengthen doctoral education, and promote collaboration between Swedish higher education institutions.
The programme supports structured doctoral training through joint courses, seminars, coordinated supervision, and collaborative research environments.
Purpose of the Grant
The purpose of the grant is to strengthen graduate schools and doctoral education in humanities and social sciences.
The grant helps Swedish higher education institutions work together to build national doctoral programmes that improve scientific quality, educational structure, research collaboration, and skills supply in the field.
It also supports the development of new research areas and the strengthening of expertise within specific disciplines.
Key Focus Areas
The grant focuses on humanities and social sciences, national doctoral programmes, graduate schools, doctoral education, research capacity building, structured doctoral training, national collaboration, international collaboration, joint courses, seminars, coordinated supervision, research environments, skills supply, new research areas, and discipline-specific expertise.
What Is a National Doctoral Programme Grant?
A National Doctoral Programme Grant is funding that allows Swedish higher education institutions to jointly develop a graduate school across multiple universities.
The grant supports structured doctoral education rather than individual doctoral projects.
It helps participating institutions coordinate courses, seminars, supervision, research training, and quality assurance for doctoral students.
The programme must operate across at least two Swedish higher education institutions and may also collaborate internationally with foreign graduate schools that have separate funding.
Funding Amount
The grant provides funding of up to 7,500,000 SEK per year.
The funding period is four years.
The grant period starts in January 2027.
What the Funding Can Support
The grant may be used to support:
- Partial funding of doctoral student positions
- Coordination activities
- Joint doctoral courses
- Seminars
- Graduate school activities
- Salary of the graduate school coordinator
- Indirect costs according to the administrating organisation’s model
The grant is intended to strengthen the structure and quality of doctoral education across participating institutions.
Funding Restrictions
The grant has specific restrictions on how funds may be used.
Funding may cover up to 60 percent of doctoral student salary costs.
The grant cannot be used for:
- Scholarships
- Departmental duties carried out by doctoral students
- Costs outside the approved purpose of the graduate school
Applicants should ensure that the budget follows these rules and clearly explains how funds will be used.
Who Is Eligible?
Eligibility is restricted to Swedish higher education institutions.
Eligible applicants must be:
- Swedish higher education institutions
- Institutions with degree-awarding powers at third-cycle level
- Approved administrating organisations for Swedish Research Council grants
- Institutions capable of coordinating a national graduate school
The application must be submitted by one organisation acting as the coordinator.
Partnership Requirements
The graduate school must involve at least two Swedish higher education institutions.
Each participating institution must designate a contact person as a participating researcher.
The coordinator must be employed by the host institution for the full duration of the grant period.
International collaboration is allowed with foreign graduate schools, but those foreign graduate schools must have separate funding.
Doctoral Student Requirements
The graduate school must include at least nine doctoral students.
These doctoral students must be employed by the participating Swedish higher education institutions during the funding period.
The programme should provide them with structured doctoral training, access to relevant academic environments, and opportunities to participate in joint courses, seminars, and coordinated supervision.
Organisational Requirements
The graduate school must have a clear organisational structure.
Applicants should describe:
- Leadership arrangements
- Coordination model
- Roles of participating institutions
- Responsibilities of contact persons
- Quality assurance mechanisms
- Supervision structure
- Course and seminar planning
- Access to research infrastructure
- Integration with strong research environments
The structure should show how the graduate school will maintain high scientific and educational quality.
Why It Matters
Strong doctoral education is essential for the long-term development of humanities and social sciences.
This grant matters because it supports national collaboration, improves doctoral training, and helps institutions build stronger research environments.
By funding graduate schools across multiple universities, the Swedish Research Council encourages shared expertise, better supervision, broader course access, and stronger academic networks.
The programme also helps improve skills supply by training doctoral students in structured and collaborative research environments.
How to Apply
Applicants must submit an organisational application through a Swedish higher education institution acting as the coordinating organisation.
Step 1: Confirm Institutional Eligibility
The coordinating organisation must be a Swedish higher education institution with third-cycle degree-awarding powers.
It must also be an approved administrating organisation for Swedish Research Council grants.
Step 2: Build the Graduate School Partnership
The proposed graduate school must include at least two Swedish higher education institutions.
Applicants should identify all participating institutions and confirm their roles in the programme.
Each participating institution must appoint a contact person as a participating researcher.
Step 3: Define the Programme Purpose
The application should explain the purpose of the graduate school.
It should describe how the programme will:
- Establish new research areas
- Strengthen expertise in specific disciplines
- Improve doctoral education
- Build collaborative research environments
- Support national and international collaboration
- Improve skills supply in humanities and social sciences
Step 4: Design the Doctoral Education Structure
Applicants should present a clear plan for structured doctoral training.
This may include:
- Joint courses
- Seminars
- Workshops
- Coordinated supervision
- Research training activities
- National access to programme activities
- International collaboration opportunities
The programme should be available nationally and preferably internationally.
Step 5: Show Research Environment Strength
The application should demonstrate that the graduate school is connected to strong research environments.
Applicants should explain how doctoral students will access:
- Qualified supervisors
- Research groups
- Academic networks
- Relevant infrastructure
- National and international collaboration opportunities
Step 6: Prepare the Organisational Plan
The organisational plan should define how the graduate school will be managed.
It should include:
- Leadership structure
- Coordination responsibilities
- Governance model
- Quality assurance procedures
- Role of the coordinator
- Role of participating institutions
- Communication and decision-making processes
Step 7: Prepare the Budget
The budget may request up to 7,500,000 SEK per year for four years.
The budget should clearly explain how funds will support doctoral student positions, coordination, joint courses, seminars, and coordinator salary.
Applicants must ensure that funding for doctoral student salaries does not exceed 60 percent of salary costs.
Step 8: Submit the Application
The coordinating organisation must submit the completed application with all required programme, budget, organisational, and partnership information.
The application should clearly show how the graduate school will deliver high-quality doctoral education and long-term research capacity.
Evaluation Considerations
Applications are likely to be assessed based on the quality, relevance, feasibility, and collaborative strength of the proposed graduate school.
Important evaluation factors include:
- Relevance to humanities and social sciences
- Strength of the research environment
- Quality of the doctoral education plan
- National collaboration between institutions
- Clear organisational structure
- Quality assurance mechanisms
- Access to courses, seminars, and supervision
- Integration with research infrastructure
- Contribution to skills supply
- Feasibility of the budget and implementation plan
- Potential for long-term impact
Tips for a Strong Application
A strong application should clearly show why the graduate school is needed and how it will improve doctoral education.
Applicants should:
- Present a clear academic and educational purpose
- Demonstrate strong collaboration between institutions
- Show how the programme strengthens research capacity
- Include a structured course and seminar plan
- Explain how supervision will be coordinated
- Ensure at least nine doctoral students are included
- Define leadership and quality assurance mechanisms
- Show access to relevant infrastructure
- Include a realistic four-year budget
- Explain the national and international value of the graduate school
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid submitting applications that lack clear structure or collaboration.
Common mistakes include:
- Including only one Swedish higher education institution
- Not showing third-cycle degree-awarding capacity
- Failing to include at least nine doctoral students
- Providing an unclear organisational structure
- Missing quality assurance mechanisms
- Weak explanation of joint courses and seminars
- Not showing how the programme is nationally available
- Requesting funding for ineligible costs
- Using funds for scholarships
- Exceeding the 60 percent limit for doctoral student salary support
- Not demonstrating strong research environment integration
FAQ
1. What is the Swedish Research Council National Doctoral Programme Grant?
It is a grant that supports Swedish higher education institutions in establishing and strengthening national graduate schools in humanities and social sciences.
2. Who can apply?
Only Swedish higher education institutions with third-cycle degree-awarding powers and approval as administrating organisations for Swedish Research Council grants can apply.
3. How much funding is available?
Funding of up to 7,500,000 SEK per year is available for a four-year period.
4. When does the grant period begin?
The grant period starts in January 2027.
5. How many institutions must be involved?
The graduate school must involve at least two Swedish higher education institutions.
6. How many doctoral students must be included?
The graduate school must include at least nine doctoral students employed by participating higher education institutions during the funding period.
7. What can the funding be used for?
The funding may be used for partial doctoral student salary support, coordination activities, joint courses, seminars, graduate school activities, coordinator salary, and eligible indirect costs.
Conclusion
The Swedish Research Council National Doctoral Programme Grant provides major support for building strong graduate schools in humanities and social sciences. With funding of up to 7,500,000 SEK per year for four years, the grant helps Swedish higher education institutions strengthen doctoral education, improve research collaboration, and build long-term research capacity. Successful applications should present a clear organisational structure, strong research environments, national collaboration, structured doctoral training, and a realistic plan for high-quality graduate school activities.
For more information, visit Swedish Research Council.
