New admission to the Research School in protection against accidents
With the support of MSB, we are now conducting a 3rd round of admission of doctoral students to the Research School in Protection against Accidents. Applications must be submitted no later than 1 October and admission will be announced in December. The studies will be carried out half-time 2026-2029, or faster if the pace of studies increases.
An important change is that admitted to the Research School will receive a research grant of SEK 250,000 per year for doctoral students’ salary costs.
How does it work?
- Eligible to apply is a person who is employed by a municipality, region or county administrative board and who is active in the field of protection against accidents.
- The applicant must have reasonable prerequisites for achieving the eligibility requirements for admission to doctoral studies at a higher education institution. The entry requirements are normally 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits are at advanced level. (Corresponds to 160 p and 40 p respectively in the previous system).
- The doctoral students’ research area must be within the scope of the Act on Protection against Accidents, contribute to reducing the negative consequences of fires and be related to the areas of civil defence specified below.
- The doctoral students who are admitted to the Graduate School retain their regular employment, but devote at least 50% of their working hours to research during the period with the goal of a licentiate degree.
- The doctoral students retain their regular employment and the employer is responsible for this cost. However, the employer receives a research grant of SEK 250,000 per year for doctoral students’ salary costs. The graduate school also finances costs for supervision, joint meetings and more.
- The graduate school does not conduct its own doctoral education or award any degree, but this is done by the university where the doctoral student is admitted. The graduate school helps to identify suitable higher education institutions and supervisors and provides support during the admission process to the university. Within the framework of the Graduate School, joint doctoral courses are also arranged.
- The application period is August 15 to October 1. Admission to the Graduate School is expected to be completed in December, and admission to the university is expected to take place in early 2026. The first meeting for those admitted will take place in January or February 2026.
All information is preliminary until the application opens or other information is given.
Research areas
Applications to Research School 3 are made within the framework of the following research areas of relevance to civil defence and the goal of limiting the negative consequences of fires:
- Rescue services under heightened alert
- Preventive fire safety work in crisis and war
- Fire safety in a powerless Sweden
- Protection of essential activities during disruption from crisis or war
- Robustness of building structures with regard to fires after the effect of weapons
- Migration and fire safety in temporary accommodation and gathering places
- Volunteer activities that strengthen fire safety in crisis and war
- International case studies on fire safety in crisis and war, as well as international collaboration for strengthening society in crisis and war
Interested?
If you are thirsty for knowledge and want to gain cutting-edge expertise in this subject area, you should definitely apply! At the same time, you will be a trailblazer who contributes to strengthening the link between academia and practice in the field of protection against accidents.
If you are an employer who wants to invest in your staff and bring your organization to the forefront of knowledge in an important issue for the business, you have a unique opportunity here.
Do not hesitate to contact Marcus, Mattias or Thomas (see contact information in the field to the right) if you have any questions. Or why not listen to one of the doctoral students in the previous admissions.
Application
The application opens on August 15. There you are expected to describe yourself, your merits and why you want to do research, what you want to do research in and whether you already have concrete research ideas and more. In addition, there are a number of formalities including that your employer supports that you should conduct research on at least 50% of your working hours.
Why a Research School?
Brandforsk and MSB have jointly identified a great need for practice-based research that aims both at new knowledge building and at transferring knowledge from existing research to practical activities. By working in parallel in both academia and the public sector, there are very good opportunities to both find important issues and to influence practice.
A doctoral education is also a unique opportunity for the employee to both become a specialist in a certain field and to develop their general analytical skills. The doctoral students will also gain a unique ability to interpret and evaluate research, which will be of great benefit to society for a long time to come.
What is Brandforsk Research School?
The doctoral students who are admitted to the Research School devote at least 50% of their working hours to research during 2026-2029 (faster with increased study pace). The doctoral students retain their regular employment and the employer is responsible for this cost. The Research school provides a research grant of SEK 250,000 per year for salaries to doctoral students and finances costs for supervision and more, and organizes joint meetings that keep the doctoral students together in a group. The group is an important support and network for each other. The Research school does not conduct its own doctoral education or award any degree, but this is done by the university where the doctoral student is admitted. At the start, the Research School helps to identify suitable universities and supervisors and provides support during the admission process to the university. The Research school also offers some joint doctoral courses in collaboration with various universities.
The format of the Research school has been established since 2019 and works well. However, this does not exclude the possibility that other variants that meet the same criteria and objectives may also be applied.
Current Students
Six doctoral students have been admitted to the Research school. Read more about them and their research by clicking on the boxes to the right or click on the link below.
Vad innebär ”tillfredställande och likvärdig skydd” enligt LSO?
Mateusz Sosnowski, Södertörns Brandförsvarsförbund
Doktorand vid KTH, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan
Hur kan beslutsfattare i planprocessen bättre förstå och hantera olika risker och intressen?
Anna Ståhle Bofjäll, Storstockholms brandförsvar
Doktorand vid Avdelningen för Riskhantering och Samhällssäkerhet, LTH