PhD programme in Sustainability Science

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Photo: Arne Tobian.

Our PhD programme develops researchers who can address the sustainability challenges of the Anthropocene

We approach sustainability science from the perspectives of resilience, complexity, and social-ecological interactions in the Anthropocene. Based on this, three key propositions provide the foundation for all doctoral research at the Stockholm Resilience Centre:

1. People are part of the biosphere

2. People and nature are intertwined within social-ecological systems

3. People need to respond to, engage with, and purposefully shape the biosphere to develop a sustainable future.

Responding to the sustainability challenges of the Anthropocene requires a transdisciplinary approach to science. We aim to produce researchers who understand this area of sustainability science and who contribute expert knowledge within a specific problem domain.

How to make it as a PhD student: Recently graduated researchers share their experiences

Completed PhD defences

Core knowledge

Resilience is the ability of a system to cope with change and continue to develop while maintaining its identity. We expect that students will develop usable knowledge about resilience and sustainability across SRC’s core knowledge domains: social-ecological systems, complex adaptive systems, cross-scale dynamics, diversity, transformations and biosphere-based sustainability. The level of mastery and the relative emphasis within these domains will of course vary among students according to their research project.

SRC’s core knowledge domains

Each of these six knowledge domains embraces multiple conceptual frameworks, research questions, methods, and data:

Social-Ecological Systems: linked systems of people and nature, in which the distinction between social systems and ecosystems depends on the context and research approach. Key concepts: agency, institutions, ecosystem services, ecological engineering, human ecology, ecological economics, mental models, social-ecological memory, and social-ecological learning.

Complex adaptive systems: systems in which the relations and interactions between components give rise to emergent, often unexpected and uncertain behavior. Key concepts: systems thinking, regime shifts, thresholds, feedbacks, adaptive cycle, panarchy

Cross-scale dynamics: interactions across different scales that lead to complex system behaviours, for example, between agricultural fields and monsoon dynamics, or between a neighbourhood and a city. Key concepts: connectivity, nestedness, hierarchy theory, panarchy, telecouplings and teleconnections

Diversity: the variety, disparity and relative frequency of system elements. Key concepts: biological diversity, heterogeneity, modularity, functional diversity, response diversity, institutional diversity, polycentric governance

Transformation: a purposefully initiated reorganization of a social-ecological system. Key concepts: agency, opportunity context, transition theory, panarchy, adaptive governance.

Biosphere-based sustainability: a civilization in which humanity and the biosphere mutually support one another. Key concepts: challenges of sustainability, history of sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals, planetary boundaries.

Developing competencies in these domains is expected to occur primarily through the practice of research by PhD students, guided and mentored by their supervisory committee. The development of these competencies is also supported by a set of PhD courses (for more information see below). The SRC also offers a varied stream of formal and informal seminars, events, and mentorship opportunities to help PhD students develop their core competences in concepts, methods, and analysis at the intersection of the social and ecological sciences.

The PhD programme has a special, productive, supportive research culture grounded in SRC's core research values: sharing, inclusiveness, respect, and contributing to the common good.

Core Skills & Core Methodologies

The Core Skills & Core Methodologies of the Centre's research school serve as a guide to plan, map and discuss the competence development of PhD students. Because students are working on different projects and have different goals, they will have different competencies and will wish to develop mastery in different areas. Nevertheless, we expect all SRC PhD students to be at least acquainted (green zone) with all the skills and methodologies presented below.

Core Skills are skills that SRC doctoral students should develop during SRC’s PhD programme. Many of these skills apply to most PhD students, but at the SRC we place more emphasis on skills important to our transdisciplinary research environment.

These skills are:

Research design: knowing how to develop research questions and identify methods and data that are able to answer those questions.
Data analysis: knowing how to use analytical methods to reliably and effectively address research questions. Includes modeling, coding, and statistical and non-statistical analysis, such as grounded theory.
Scientific writing: being able to write scientific papers of different kinds (data-based, synthesis, reviews, policy comments/opinions), and identify target journals; being able to write grant proposals, being able to write popular science texts.
Teaching & mentorship: being able to build and give lectures, being able to supervise and mentor junior colleagues (e.g. master students, traineeships).
Presentation: knowing how to communicate effectively visually, in writing, and in public speaking, for scientific, policy, and general audiences.
Exploratory/transdisciplinary work: knowing how to handle the various challenges that occur in transdisciplinary practice, such as managing ethical considerations, balancing practical vs. scientific demands, and navigating conflicting goals and worldviews; building collaborative networks, designing workshops, facilitating and moderating dialogues, running participatory processes.

Core Methodologies are broad categories of research approaches that SRC doctoral students should learn about during SRC’s PhD programme. These methodologies are covered in the required PhD courses that provide all students with a basic awareness. Deeper knowledge of some of these methodologies is expected to be developed by the PhD student, with the engagement of their supervisory team, during the course of the PhD. The emphasis among these six categories will develop differently depending on student PhD goals and research:

Description: characterizing key system structures, interactions, flows, changes over time, networks, patterns
Identifying mechanisms: finding causal relationships, drivers of change, feedbacks, key interactions, systemic causation
Comparison: comparing alternative methods, case studies, models to one another, and constructing null models; statistics and non-statistical contrasts
Visioning: forecasting or projecting future dynamics; constructing scenarios and narratives, including understanding their problematic aspects; using visions as catalyst for action
Dialogue: using dialogue processes to bridge multiple knowledge systems; participatory and deliberative methods; participatory modeling; facilitation; adaptive management
Synthesis: constructing new understanding and generalized insights from diverse and disparate knowledge and data, with a special focus on integrating across social and biophysical knowledge domains

Core research values

The Centre’s productive, supportive research culture is a key element of our success. Research practices grounded in the Centre’s core values contribute to the common good and nurture this special culture in the PhD programme:

We work on sustainability issues with scientific rigour and integrity, making the SRC a fun, exciting, and vibrant place to work and meet people.
Sharing: we promote the collaborative exchange of ideas and insights with fellow colleagues to maintain an open and creative atmosphere.
Inclusiveness: we welcome rather than exclude diversity, seeking to find common ground and novel insights.
Respect: we value individuals and others’ ideas and intellectual property rights, building the trust needed to maintain the experimentation and learning that contributes to the Centre’s progress and success.

How to apply for a PhD position

PhD students are accepted to SRC’s PhD programme in Sustainability Science when they are hired for a funded PhD position at the Centre. On average we hire about five PhD students per year. These positions are usually highly competitive and multiple candidates are interviewed for each position.

We announce PhD positions four times per year.

These positions are advertised here.

PhD positions are usually funded from project grants to SRC researchers. To discover if researchers whose work you find interesting are planning to offer PhD positions in the future you should contact them directly.

PhD students are typically employed for four years because a Swedish doctorate degree requires four years of full-time study. Salaries start at 30 300 SEK/month (2024-25). This is about 33 000 Euros per year but will vary with exchange rate.

At SRC, as part of our transdisciplinary approach to training and research, we encourage students to take up paid work of up to 20% on other SRC projects and programmes. This extends their four years of PhD study to up to five years of 80% PhD employment. This work is not required and indeed is not guaranteed for all students. However it provides students with valuable experience and networks. Students generally work with activities that complement their research work, or help with organizing conferences and workshops.