NEWS There has been an increase in the number of new doctoral students at Umeå University. Every faculty had more women than men among newly admitted doctoral students last year.
There are more newly admitted doctoral students at Umeå University.
ImageMattias PetterssonIn 2024, 210 new doctoral students were admitted to the University, which is the highest number in 10 years. Compared with 2022, this represents a 7.1 per cent increase.
The number of active doctoral students last year totalled 1,042, which was an increase of 20 per cent compared with 2020. At the Faculty of Social Sciences, the number of active doctoral students increased by nearly 60 per cent between 2020 and 2024.
For the first time since 2019, last year the Faculty of Science and Technology had more women than men among new doctoral students – 51 per cent were women.
At the Faculty of Medicine, women made up 66 per cent of newly admitted doctoral students during the same period.
“It is encouraging that Umeå University and the Faculty of Medicine are seen as an attractive place to develop as a researcher. We are constantly working to improve the work environment for doctoral students and increase opportunities for work-life balance,” says Ann Sörlin, Director of Doctoral Studies at the Faculty of Medicine.
She emphasises that both the number of newly admitted doctoral students and the proportion of women among these have varied greatly in recent years at the faculty. In 2020, 68 per cent of newly admitted doctoral students were women; in 2023, the percentage decreased to 59 per cent and then increased again to 66 per cent in 2024. There is no clear trend, according to Ann Sörlin.
“At the Faculty of Medicine, the number of newly admitted doctoral students is often a reflection of researchers having received external research grants.”
Since 2021, there have been more women than men among doctoral students in the country as a whole. More women than men have also completed a doctoral degree in the last three years in Sweden. The gender distribution among all graduating doctoral students in Sweden in 2023 was 50 per cent women and 50 per cent men.
Among newly admitted doctoral students at Umeå University in 2024, 61 per cent were women and 39 per cent men.
The University had 1,042 active doctoral students and 210 newly admitted doctoral students that same year.
In autumn 2023, there were around 17,600 doctoral students at Swedish higher education institutions.
Sources: Umeå University’s 2024 Annual Report and Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ).
