Deadline: 18-Aug-2026
The Doctoral Programme Grant supports Swedish higher education institutions in establishing and strengthening national graduate schools focused on crime research. The programme funds interdisciplinary doctoral education across humanities and social sciences, artistic research, medicine and health, natural and engineering sciences, and educational sciences. Funding is available for four years from January 2027, with annual grants ranging from 1,000,000 SEK to 10,500,000 SEK.
Overview
The Doctoral Programme Grant supports the development of national graduate schools that build long-term scientific competence in crime research.
The grant is designed for Swedish higher education institutions that can coordinate structured doctoral education across multiple institutions.
The programme promotes interdisciplinary research, stronger doctoral training, and collaboration between universities and external societal stakeholders.
Purpose of the Grant
The purpose of the grant is to establish and strengthen national doctoral programmes in crime research.
It aims to build research capacity, improve doctoral education, and develop evidence-based knowledge that can support crime prevention, justice systems, rehabilitation, and social policy.
The programme encourages cross-disciplinary and intersectional approaches to understanding crime, victimisation, justice, sanctions, and social control.
Key Focus Areas
The programme focuses on humanities and social sciences, artistic research, medicine and health, natural and engineering sciences, educational sciences, crime research, crime processes, causes and consequences of crime, crime prevention, crime control, justice system practices, victimisation, sanctions, rehabilitation, desistance, social control, economic crime, environmental crime, welfare fraud, war-related crime, interdisciplinary research, intersectional analysis, and evidence-based justice methods.
What the Grant Supports
The grant supports national doctoral programmes that strengthen structured doctoral education and research environments in crime studies.
Supported activities may include:
- Establishing national graduate schools
- Strengthening existing doctoral education environments
- Developing interdisciplinary doctoral courses
- Organising seminars and graduate school activities
- Supporting doctoral student salaries
- Coordinating national doctoral education activities
- Building collaboration between Swedish higher education institutions
- Engaging external societal stakeholders
- Developing evidence-based approaches to crime prevention and justice systems
The programme is intended to support long-term competence development in crime research rather than individual short-term research projects.
What Is Crime Research in This Programme?
Crime research refers to the study of crime, criminal behaviour, victimisation, justice systems, sanctions, social control, and crime prevention.
In this programme, crime research may cover many types of crime and justice-related issues, including:
- Crime processes
- Causes of crime
- Consequences of crime
- Crime prevention and control
- Justice system practices
- Victimisation
- Sanctions and punishment
- Rehabilitation
- Desistance from crime
- Social control
- Economic crime
- Environmental crime
- Welfare fraud
- War-related crime
The programme encourages research that connects several academic disciplines and contributes to evidence-based policy and practice.
Funding Amount
The grant is provided for a four-year period.
Annual funding ranges from a minimum of 1,000,000 SEK to a maximum of 10,500,000 SEK.
The funding includes indirect costs.
The total budgetary framework for the programme is 84,000,000 SEK.
Grant Period
The grant period begins in January 2027.
Funding is available for four years.
Applicants should design a graduate school structure, budget, and activity plan that can be implemented across the full grant period.
What the Funding Can Cover
The grant may cover costs related to:
- Doctoral student salaries
- Coordination of the graduate school
- Course development
- Seminars
- National doctoral education activities
- Graduate school administration
- Collaboration activities
- Related research training activities
The budget should clearly show how the funding will strengthen doctoral education and national cooperation in crime research.
What the Funding Cannot Cover
The grant does not fund:
- Scholarships
- Departmental duties performed by doctoral students
- Activities outside the approved purpose of the graduate school
Applicants should ensure that all proposed costs are directly connected to doctoral education, coordination, research training, and graduate school activities.
Who Is Eligible?
Eligibility is restricted to Swedish higher education institutions.
Eligible applicants must be Swedish higher education institutions authorised to award third-cycle qualifications.
The institution submitting the application must act as the coordinating organisation and take responsibility for the graduate school.
Partnership Requirements
The application must include at least one additional Swedish higher education institution.
This means the graduate school must involve:
- One coordinating Swedish higher education institution
- At least one additional Swedish higher education institution
- Designated representatives from each participating institution
- Active institutional involvement in doctoral education activities
The partnership should demonstrate national-level cooperation and interdisciplinary development.
Doctoral Student Requirements
The graduate school must include at least nine doctoral students.
These doctoral students must be employed by the participating higher education institutions during their studies.
The programme should provide doctoral students with structured training, access to strong research environments, and opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary crime research.
Coordinator Requirements
The coordinator must be employed by the administering organisation at the start of the grant period.
The coordinator is responsible for:
- Overall graduate school management
- Coordination between participating institutions
- Reporting
- Activity planning
- Communication
- Ensuring implementation of the doctoral programme
- Supporting quality and accountability
The coordinator plays a central role in ensuring that the graduate school operates effectively across all participating institutions.
Role of Participating Institutions
Each participating higher education institution must contribute actively to the graduate school.
Their involvement may include:
- Providing doctoral students
- Contributing supervisors
- Hosting courses or seminars
- Supporting research environments
- Participating in governance
- Providing academic expertise
- Engaging in interdisciplinary collaboration
- Supporting external stakeholder engagement
Each institution should have a clearly defined role in the application.
External Stakeholder Collaboration
The programme emphasises collaboration with external societal stakeholders.
Relevant stakeholders may include organisations connected to:
- Crime prevention
- Criminal justice
- Social services
- Public health
- Education
- Rehabilitation
- Victim support
- Law enforcement
- Policy development
- Civil society
- Evidence-based practice
External collaboration should strengthen the relevance and practical value of doctoral education and research.
Why It Matters
Crime research is important for understanding how crime emerges, how it affects people and communities, and how societies can respond effectively.
Strong doctoral education in crime research can improve evidence-based approaches to prevention, rehabilitation, justice, victim support, and social policy.
This grant matters because it helps Swedish higher education institutions build long-term research capacity across disciplines. It also supports cooperation between universities and societal stakeholders working on real-world crime and justice challenges.
How to Apply
Applicants should prepare a complete institutional application that explains the graduate school’s purpose, structure, partnerships, doctoral student plan, budget, and expected contribution to crime research.
Step 1: Confirm Institutional Eligibility
The applying institution must be a Swedish higher education institution with authority to award third-cycle qualifications.
It must also be prepared to act as the coordinating organisation for the national graduate school.
Step 2: Build the Institutional Partnership
The application must include at least one additional Swedish higher education institution.
Applicants should clearly identify all participating institutions and describe their roles in the graduate school.
Step 3: Appoint a Coordinator
The coordinating organisation must appoint a coordinator who will be employed by the administering organisation at the start of the grant period.
The application should explain the coordinator’s role, responsibilities, and capacity to manage the programme.
Step 4: Define the Graduate School Theme
Applicants should clearly explain the crime research focus of the graduate school.
The theme may relate to crime processes, prevention, justice systems, victimisation, sanctions, rehabilitation, desistance, social control, or specific areas such as economic crime, environmental crime, welfare fraud, or war-related crime.
Step 5: Design the Doctoral Education Structure
The application should describe how doctoral education will be organised.
This may include:
- Joint courses
- Seminars
- Research training activities
- Interdisciplinary learning
- Supervision structures
- Cross-institutional collaboration
- External stakeholder engagement
- National graduate school activities
The structure should show how the programme will strengthen scientific competence and doctoral training.
Step 6: Include at Least Nine Doctoral Students
The graduate school must include at least nine doctoral students employed by participating institutions.
Applicants should describe how doctoral students will participate, how they will benefit, and how the programme will support their development.
Step 7: Prepare the Budget
Applicants may request between 1,000,000 SEK and 10,500,000 SEK per year.
The budget should include indirect costs and clearly explain planned expenses for doctoral student salaries, coordination, courses, seminars, and graduate school activities.
Step 8: Explain External Collaboration
Applicants should describe how the graduate school will collaborate with external societal stakeholders.
This section should show how the programme will support evidence-based methods in crime prevention, justice systems, rehabilitation, or related areas.
Step 9: Submit the Application
The coordinating Swedish higher education institution must submit the completed application with all required information, budget details, partnership descriptions, and programme plans.
The application should be clear, structured, and aligned with the programme’s focus on national collaboration and interdisciplinary crime research.
Evaluation Considerations
Applications are likely to be assessed based on quality, feasibility, relevance, and national value.
Key assessment areas may include:
- Strength of the graduate school concept
- Relevance to crime research
- Interdisciplinary scope
- Quality of doctoral education activities
- Strength of participating institutions
- Coordinator capacity
- Inclusion of at least nine doctoral students
- National-level cooperation
- External stakeholder collaboration
- Contribution to evidence-based crime prevention and justice systems
- Feasibility of the budget and four-year plan
- Long-term scientific competence development
Tips for a Strong Application
A strong application should show why the graduate school is needed and how it will strengthen crime research in Sweden.
Applicants should:
- Present a clear national doctoral education model
- Demonstrate strong institutional collaboration
- Include a well-defined crime research focus
- Show interdisciplinary and intersectional relevance
- Explain how doctoral students will benefit
- Include meaningful external stakeholder engagement
- Provide a realistic four-year activity plan
- Build a clear governance and coordination structure
- Ensure the budget aligns with eligible costs
- Show how the programme will build long-term scientific competence
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid submitting applications that lack national scope or clear doctoral education structure.
Common mistakes include:
- Applying without third-cycle degree-awarding authority
- Failing to include at least one additional Swedish higher education institution
- Including fewer than nine doctoral students
- Providing an unclear coordinator role
- Submitting a weak or narrow crime research focus
- Not showing interdisciplinary value
- Missing external stakeholder collaboration
- Requesting funding for scholarships
- Including departmental duties as funded doctoral student costs
- Providing an unclear budget
- Not explaining how the graduate school strengthens long-term competence
FAQ
1. What is the Doctoral Programme Grant in Crime Research?
It is a grant that supports Swedish higher education institutions in establishing and strengthening national graduate schools focused on interdisciplinary crime research.
2. Who can apply?
Swedish higher education institutions authorised to award third-cycle qualifications can apply as coordinating organisations.
3. How many institutions must be involved?
The application must include at least two Swedish higher education institutions: one coordinating organisation and at least one additional participating institution.
4. How much funding is available?
Annual funding ranges from 1,000,000 SEK to 10,500,000 SEK, including indirect costs. The total budgetary framework is 84,000,000 SEK.
5. When does the grant period start?
The four-year grant period starts in January 2027.
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 their studies.
7. What costs can the grant cover?
The grant may cover doctoral student salaries, coordination, course development, seminars, and related graduate school activities. It does not fund scholarships or departmental duties performed by doctoral students.
Conclusion
The Doctoral Programme Grant supports the creation of national graduate schools that build long-term competence and interdisciplinary expertise in crime research. With four-year funding from January 2027 and annual grants of 1,000,000 SEK to 10,500,000 SEK, the programme helps Swedish higher education institutions strengthen doctoral education, research environments, and collaboration with societal stakeholders. Successful applications should demonstrate strong national cooperation, at least nine doctoral students, clear coordination, interdisciplinary crime research focus, and a practical plan for evidence-based contribution to crime prevention and justice systems.
For more information, visit Swedish Research Council.
