General suitability and the ability to collaborate
I. Assistant professor – career development position (tenure track)
II. Associate Professor
III. Professor

In this document, we list regulations and criteria for assessing the research and teaching skills of candidates applying for positions as assistant professor, associate professor or professor. The national regulations can be found in the Higher Education Ordinance (HEO) Chapter 4 and general local regulations, common to all faculties, in the Rules of Employment at Stockholm University (AOSU). In addition to these general regulations and criteria, the Faculty of Science has decided on additional, specific, regulations and criteria for these positions, approved by the Faculty Board of Science (FN). 

General suitability and the ability to collaborate 

All teaching positions at Stockholm University require the ability to collaborate and the general ability and suitability to perform one’s duties. Although the degree of collaborative ability and general suitability may vary depending on the position, this is a basic requirement for employment at the University.

I. Assistant professor [1] – career development position (tenure track)

National regulations, 4:4a HEO

In order to qualify for the position as assistant professor, the applicant must have a doctoral degree or equivalent research qualification. In the first instance, an applicant should be considered who has received a doctoral degree or equivalent qualification no more than five years before the deadline for applications. However, an applicant who has received a doctoral degree or equivalent qualification earlier may be considered under special circumstances.  

National regulations, 4:12a HEO

An assistant professor may be employed until further notice, but no longer than a period of at least four and at most six years/.../. The aim of the position is to give the assistant professor the opportunity to develop independence as a researcher and gain the research and teaching qualifications necessary to qualify for employment as associate professor.  

Local regulations, AOSU 2.2.1

Assistant professor is a career development position.

The faculty board specifies the relevant criteria and the period of employment in advance of advertising the position. The criteria should be objectively defined on the basis of strategic needs and what the position entails. 

Before a position as assistant professor is advertised, the faculty board must also determine the criteria to be used in the review of an application for promotion to associate professor as well as when such an application needs to be submitted.

II. Associate Professor [2]

National regulations, 4:4 HEO

In order to qualify for employment as an associate professor /.../ the applicant must have demonstrated good teaching skills and have a doctoral degree, equivalent research expertise, or other professional skills of relevance to the subject area and the main responsibilities of the position /.../. The assessment criteria for appointment as an associate professor shall relate to the expertise required for the position. As much attention should be given to the assessment of teaching skills as to the assessment of other criteria specified in the first paragraph. Each higher education institution determines what other assessment criteria should apply to the appointment of an assistant professor.
 

Local regulations, AOSU 2.2.2

Research skills should be demonstrated through independent research.

Teaching expertise at the level of associate professor should normally have been demonstrated through teaching in first- and second-cycle programmes and be well documented.

Completed training in teaching and learning in higher education, or equivalent knowledge, should be given credit. Such knowledge may have been acquired through, for example, other training or experience of teaching and pedagogical development at the university level.

An applicant who has not completed at least 15 higher education credits of teaching and learning in higher education, and is not considered to have otherwise acquired the equivalent knowledge, should undergo such training within their first two years of employment. 

The faculty board may specify additional criteria besides those described in HEO and the preceding paragraphs. These criteria have to be objectively defined on the basis of department needs and what the position entails.

Area-specific regulations – Faculty of Science, approval FN June 10, 2013

At the Faculty of Science, research skills should have been demonstrated through research at a high level. This means that the applicant’s research publications should be of high quality and have been published in high-level, international peer-reviewed journals to an extent that far exceeds the requirements for a doctoral degree. 

Other important quality indicators include demonstrated independence and participation in the international research community, for example at conferences or as a reviewer for journals, applications, etc.

The applicant should actively conduct documented research, preferably supported by external funding.

Teaching skills should have been demonstrated through teaching of high quality at the university level.

In addition, documented experience of the following is an advantage: 

  • Coordination and development of courses or course elements in the first and/or second cycle.
  • Individual supervision of degree projects and in third-cycle programmes.


III. Professor

National regulations, 4:3 HEO

A person who has demonstrated both research and teaching expertise is qualified for employment as a professor. /.../ The assessment criteria for appointment as a professor shall be at the level of the kind of expertise required as a qualification for employment. As much attention shall be given to the assessment of teaching expertise as to the assessment of research /.../ expertise. Each higher education institution determines what other assessment criteria should apply to the appointment of a professor. 

Local regulations, AOSU 2.2.3

Research expertise should have been demonstrated through independent research that far exceeds the requirements for qualification as an associate professor or docent, both in terms of quality and quantity. The planning and coordination of research should also be considered.

Teaching expertise at the level of professor should normally have been demonstrated through teaching in first-, second- and third-cycle programmes and be well documented.

In the selection of qualified applicants, completed training in teaching and learning in higher education, or equivalent knowledge, should be given credit. Such knowledge may have been acquired through, for example, other training or experience of teaching and pedagogical development at the university level. 

An applicant who has not completed at least 15 higher education credits of teaching and learning in higher education, and is not considered to have otherwise acquired the equivalent knowledge, should undergo such training within the first two years of employment. 

The faculty board may specify additional criteria besides those described in HEO and the preceding paragraphs. These criteria have to be objectively defined on the basis of department needs and what the position entails.

Area-specific regulations – Faculty of Science, approval FN June 10, 2013

In the Faculty of Science, research expertise must have been demonstrated by the applicant being internationally recognised in the field of study, for example in the form of invited lectures or assignments as a reviewer or faculty examiner. 

The applicant’s research publications must be of high quality and have been published in reputable, international peer-reviewed journals. 

The applicant must have developed and conduct their own research. Moreover, the applicant should have received research grants in national or international competition from research councils, foundations, businesses, etc.

The applicant must have demonstrated academic leadership and should have documented experience of administering research.

Teaching skills must have been demonstrated through extensive teaching of high quality at the university level. The teaching should preferably have been conducted in the first, second and third cycles.

The applicant must provide documentation of having coordinated and independently organised courses or course units, and of having developed teaching in higher education.

The applicant must provide documented experience of teaching in the third cycle. This includes that the applicant should have been the de facto principal supervisor of at least two research students who have been awarded a doctoral degree. The term “de facto principal supervisor” means being responsible for the entire process, including active supervision of the research project.

The applicant must provide documented experience of individual supervision besides PhD supervision, for example degree project supervision or postdoc supervision.

[1] Assistant Professor, in Swedish biträdande lektor; tenure track position approximately equivalent to Associate Senior Lecturer (UK) or Assistant Professor (US).

[2] Associate professor, in Swedish universitetslektor; tenured position approximately equivalent to Senior Lecturer (UK) or Associate Professor (US).

 

In Swedish