Academic rank in Sweden

This article describes the academic positions and ranks in Sweden.

The academic terminology for titles and positions at universities in Sweden includes the following:

In Sweden only full Professors are referred to as Professors. All others are referred to by their academic rank or academic degree.

In Sweden, academic ranks and their corresponding required skills in teaching and research are defined in the University Law (SFS 1993:100) and the University Ordinance (SFS 1992:1434). The hiring of and promotion to the rank of professor is assessed in committee before being decided upon by the appropriate university official, usually the head of the department (prefekt), dean (dekan) or head of the university (rektor). The assessment is based on the views of two or more external reviewers. Decisions are frequently appealed to the Appeals Board for Swedish Universities and Colleges (Överklagandenämnden för Högskolan). A similar procedure, albeit with different requirements, is used before the title of docent, which can be awarded, or the employment of a lektor.

In general, the Swedish system of academic ranks contains two intertwined career ladders; one based on teaching merits, the other based on research merits. The teaching ladder starts with adjunct instructor (adjunkt), continues with lecturer (lektor), and ends with professor. The research ladder starts with PhD student (doktorand), continues with PhD (doktor), assistant professor (forskarassistent), associate professor (docent), and ends with professor. All titles, except for the PhD degree (doktor) and the associate professor title (docent), are tied to a given employment position.

There are also official translations of the names of these positions.

The Swedish Government Official Report (SOU 2007:98) on Academic Career Pathways published in December 2007 proposed several changes to the here described structure.

Previously, only holders of a chair of an academic department had the title professor, but, since the 1990s, a second career path has been opened, allowing qualified lecturers to apply for promotion. A successful evaluation automatically confers the title of professor. Regardless of the hiring mechanism, to qualify as a professor, the applicant must have a PhD degree, a strong publication record, proven teaching skills, and have served as the main supervisor for PhD students who have successfully obtained their PhD. The title of professor in Sweden is similar to a senior, full professor in the USA. Professors promoted to their title enjoy most of the advantages of a directly appointed professor. However, the institution receives no extra funding for research work. Both unions and universities agree that this must change over time, but progress has been slow. While the professorship once was for life, it is now merely an employment. A professor who resigns or is let go loses the title.

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