PhD students’ rights and student influence!
As a PhD student, you are both employed and a student. All PhD students at Stockholm University (SU) have rights and obligations as students. One of them is the right to have influence over your education and study situation. SUS ensures that the university respects your rights and supports you in exercising student influence.
On this page you will find information about what rights you have as a PhD student, what student influence is, how SUS works with student influence and how you can influence your study time.
If you have questions about your rights as a student or about student influence, you can contact SUS’ ombuds who work under strict confidentiality.
What rights do PhD students have?
PhD students have many rights during their studies, which are regulated in the law and local regulations at SU.
As a PhD student, you have for example the right to:
Extension of study and employment period when you take on an elected position, such as a student representative, if you are employed by SU. If you are not employed by SU, you receive remuneration instead.
Disability support during teaching and examination if you have a medically documented long-term disability.
Request a change of supervisor.
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PhD handbook
Read more about your rights in the PhD handbook by the Swedish National Union of Students (SFS).
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Report an issue
SUS’ Ombud offer support and advice to PhD students at Stockholm University who find themselves in a difficult situation or have encountered problems when they’re in contact with the University.
What is student influence?
Student influence is part of your rights as a PhD student and can be excercised by individuals as student representatives or collectively through councils.
As a PhD student, you are entitled to places in approximately 350 groups that exist at the University where decisions regarding education and work environment are prepared and decided upon. Such groups are for example Department Boards and PhD education committees. In such groups, issues that have a bearing on PhD students’ education are discussed and decided upon. As a student representative in one of these groups, you can provide valuable input based on your experiences as a student.
“Students have the right to be represented when decisions are made, or preparations are made that have significance for the education or the students’ situation.” — The Higher Education Ordinance, chapter 2 section 7
How does SUS work with student influence?
At SUS, we believe that PhD students should choose who will represent them in the role of student representative. That's why we organize student influence through councils, groups of students close to the education, who elect student representatives. A student representative is thus elected by students who are part of student or PhD councils, faculty councils or a central council, and therefore represents the students at their department, their faculty or at the entire university.
At SUS, there are 84 councils that work to make your study time better and safer. You will find contact details for your particular council below.
Student Councils PhD Student Councils Faculty Councils Central Councils
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As a PhD student at SU, you can exercise your right to student influence in a number of ways. We have listed three different ways
Engage yourself with your department’s PhD student council and/or become a student representative. Contact your council or us at SUS for more information and help.
Contact your department’s PhD student council when you have opinions about your studies or when there is a discrepancy in the rules.
Vote in the annual student union election for the canidate that represent your views and values.
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An opportunity to impact your own and others' education.
Valuable experiences to add to your CV, evidenced by a certificate from SUS.
Opportunity to make contacts at SU and learn more about how the University works
Extension of study and employment period when you take on an elected position, such as a student representative, if you are employed by SU. If you are not employed by SU, you receieve remuneration instead.