Doctoral candidate positions in Performance Practices

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The University of Gothenburg tackles society's challenges with diverse knowledge. 58 000 students and 6800 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract researchers and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

The Artistic Faculty comprises two departments: HDK-Valand - Academy of Art and Design and the Academy of Music and Drama. As a faculty that unites art and learning, we are an independent, visionary and critical force in the necessary work of creating a more open and sustainable society.

Read more about the Academy of Music and Drama here:

gu.se/en/music-drama

Subject area description

Doctoral projects in the subject area of Performance Practices explore questions with relevance for the field of the performing arts, artistic research, and society. Critical reflection on one's own practice is a vital tool for knowledge development and renewal in the field. The doctoral education is aimed at performers in a wide range of disciplines and genres (for example in theatre, music drama, choreography, dance or performance).

This call for applicants is aimed at practitioners of performance who explore the critical boundaries of what, for example, theatre, dance, music drama or performance are and could be. This might take the form of experimenting with the audience contract in children's theatre, examining choreography as a collective way of writing, or problematising the body as artistic material within performative installations. The call for applicants is also aimed at practitioners who test out the performance of artistic works in the new public forums of our time, both within and outside the artistic institutions. The focus here might be on an artistic practice that works to decolonise public spaces or on exploring how digital platforms promote the technification of humanity and stretch the boundaries between reality and representation.

In recent years, critical and experimental performance practices have, through the creation of new forms, methods and institutions, encouraged polyphonic and critical discourse. By exploring the underlying conditions for art and performance practices, they seek to promote democratic spaces where different and often opposing voices are given a chance to be heard. Recent years have also seen the discussion about new public spaces - not least with regard to the growing importance of social media and the digitalisation of traditional media - take on a new role in an increasingly hard-line and segregated social climate. The digital sphere has, furthermore, rekindled debate about the value of the physical place when it comes to the performative and immersive potential of performance practices. These societal transformations also present new challenges and opportunities for performance practices that seek to advance the positions inherent in their experimentation in order to drive art forward

Duties

The doctoral education in Performance Practices consists of 240 higher education credits, which equates to four years of full-time study and leads to a doctoral degree. The education consists of a course component for 60 higher education credits, and a dissertation for 180 higher education credits. The course component is in part organised through obligatory basic courses, seminars and conferences at a research school run in partnership with HDK-Valand within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Gothenburg, and in part through subject-specific courses.

As a doctoral student, you will be part of the drama team at the Academy of Music and Drama, and you will be expected to contribute to teaching at first- or second-cycle level. Similarly, your active participation in the research environment at both the department and the faculty entails being physically present and taking part in its day-to-day work.

A doctoral student with a doctoral studentship may have departmental duties during their doctoral studies. If the department and the doctoral student agree on departmental duties, these must be structured so as not to have a detrimental effect on the studies and may constitute a maximum of 20% of full time distributed over the period of study. Doctoral students who teach at first- or second-cycle level must have completed the course Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 1: Basic course (PIL101) or, alternatively, an equivalent faculty-specific course, no later than one year after admission. For doctoral students with other training in teaching and learning or other higher education qualifications in teaching and learning, an equivalent assessment can be made. Training in teaching and learning in higher education shall also be offered to doctoral students who are not going to teach at first- or second-cycle level. The faculty board is to decide whether the training in teaching and learning in higher education shall be completed within the framework of the student's departmental duties or as a credit-bearing activity within the study programme.

Research environment

Over the past decade, the Artistic Faculty at the University of Gothenburg has built up an environment where research and education are able to interact - an environment that permits research projects that cross-fertilise across subjects and faculties, and projects firmly focused on deepening artistic understanding in a specific area. Doctoral students meet regularly in broad artistic forums within the department and at faculty level.

The Academy of Music and Drama and the Artistic Faculty are involved in numerous international networks, with partners all over the globe in fields such as performance practices, music, education and artistic research.

A good command of English is essential since the research and doctoral studies take place in an international environment.

Eligibility

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must meet both the general and, if applicable, specific entry requirements. A person meets the general entry requirements for doctoral studies if they:

1. have been awarded a second-cycle qualification,
2. have satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or
3. have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

The Dean of the Artistic Faculty may grant an exemption from the general entry requirements. However, to meet the entry requirements, the applicant must be considered in other respects to have the ability required to complete the doctoral programme.

A person meets the specific entry requirements for doctoral studies in Performance Practices if they:

• have at least 120 higher education credits (or equivalent) in subjects that are deemed relevant to the doctoral studies in the subject, or equivalent knowledge.
• have made documented study choices that cover subjects addressing relevant questions within performance practices.
• have documented artistic practice at a high level within the performing arts field.

A person also meets the specific entry requirements if they have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

Assessment criteria

Candidates will be selected from the applicants who meet the general and specific entry requirements based on their overall ability to benefit from the studies, as per the selection criteria stated in the doctoral subject's general syllabuses. The assessment will give priority to research projects relating to the focus of the current call for applicants, which is place, public spaces and everyday living environments.

Interviews form part of the selection process.

For qualifications and desirable skills, see the general syllabuses for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Performance Practices or the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Arts in Performance Practices:

https://www.gu.se/en/music-drama/doctoral-studies/performance-practices

Both doctoral degrees focus on artistic research, but the weighting of the artistic work and the form that it takes differs slightly. The doctoral student's choice of degree will be discussed prior to admission.

Employment

Form of employment: Fixed-term employment, 4 years
Scope: 100%
Location: Academy of Music and Drama. Gothenburg
Start date: 2026-09-01

Following appointment for education at third-cycle level, you will be employed as a doctoral student. The provisions for employment as a doctoral student can be found in ordinance SFS 1993:100. For a more detailed description of this, see the document Rules for Doctoral Education - Doktorandreglerna, reference number GU 2024/2777.

Initial employment as a doctoral student may apply for a maximum of one year. Employment may be renewed by a maximum of two years at a time. In total, an individual can be employed as a doctoral student for a maximum of eight years. However, the total period of employment may not be longer than the equivalent of full-time education at third-cycle level for four years.

Those who only apply for admission to doctoral studies, and not a doctoral studentship funded by the department, must enclose a certified funding plan for the entire period of study (four years for full-time study and a maximum of eight years for part-time study). The conditions for alternative funding of doctoral studies are described in the Rules for Doctoral Education - Doktorandreglerna, section 5, pages 5-7 (see above).

The University applies a local agreement on salaries for doctoral students.

Doctoral students at the Academy of Music and Drama are required to be physically present for their studies. If the chosen candidate requires a residence permit in order to study in Sweden, the Academy of Music and Drama has the right to withdraw its decision on admission in the event that the candidate is unable to present a valid residence permit on the date that the studies begin.

Appointment procedure

The work of the recruitment group is led by the head of subject for Performance Practices. The recruitment group also includes researchers with doctoral degrees at the department/faculty, a doctoral student representative, a postgraduate studies officer and an external expert. Each application is read by more than one person. The applicants with the highest-ranking applications will be called for interview.

Contact information

For general questions about admission, contact:
Nora Bermark Tamura, Education Officer, nora.bergmark.tamura@hsm.gu.se

For specific questions about Performance Practices, contact:
Josefine Wikström, Head of Subject, Performance Practices, josefine.wikstrom@hsm.gu.se

Unions

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here:
https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/jobba-hos-oss/hjalp-for-sokande

Application

Submit your application for doctoral studies via the University of Gothenburg's recruitment portal. As an applicant, you are responsible for ensuring that your application is complete in accordance with the advertisement and that it is received by the University no later than the closing date for applications. Candidates will be selected on the basis of the qualifications stated in the application.

The application must include:

1. A personal letter supporting your application and summarising your competences.
2. A CV that includes your professional experience, along with a list of publications/performances/activities in the dramatic arts, accompanied by documentation of these or links to documentation online. In certain cases, the assessment panel may request access to artistic works.
3. Copies of degree certificates/proof of study and any other certificates that may be relevant for the application. Degree certificates in languages other than Swedish and English need to be translated into English. Note that applicants with "equivalent knowledge" need to clearly detail and document this.
4. A research project plan (max 6 pages) setting out what you have in mind for your future thesis work. This shall include a description of the research project's purpose, problem area, methods and implementation, plus a timetable. The description must contain a reflection on the relevance of the project and its significance for the artistic field. If you are writing in Swedish, you also need to include a brief summary in English.

For further information on education at doctoral level at the University of Gothenburg, including the University's Rules for Doctoral Education, go to https://www.gu.se/en/doctoral-studies

The application must be received by:2026-02-01

Information for International Applicants

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. Thus, to give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner please visit:

https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services
https://www.movetogothenburg.com/

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden's regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.