The Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies invites applications for a postdoctoral scholarship within the research program EDUDIS. The scholarship is full-time for two years, starting on September 1st 2026 or by agreement.
The scholarship is founded by the Kempe Foundations. The tax-free scholarship amounts to 720,000 SEK (approximately 30 000 SEK per month) and is typically paid out in four separate disbursements during the scholarship period. The application deadline is August 12, 2026.
Departmental specific information
The Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies is part of the Faculty of Arts at Umeå University and has approximately 110 employees. The department hosts researchers, teachers, and students in archaeology, environmental archaeology, philosophy, history, “history and education”, history of ideas, religious studies, and theology. The EDUDIS program is primarily affiliated with history and history of education. The scholarship holder will have the opportunity to participate in the department’s seminar activities.
Project description
Education is today seen as a key to an equal start in life and a fundamental human right for all children. However, children with disabilities remain a neglected group in education, research, and society, both historically and in the present. There is a particular need for deeper knowledge of how the time-bound ambitions of educational policy have been translated into actual practice, and how children with diverse conditions have accessed education. The research program EDUDIS (Education and Disability in History), funded by the Swedish Research Council, aims to expand knowledge about the historically shifting relationship between education and disability. Within EDUDIS, both quantitative analyses of register data and qualitative studies of policies, institutions, and practices at the intersection of schooling and disability are conducted. For more information, see: https://www.umu.se/en/research/projects/edudis-education-and-disability-in-history/
The scholarship recipient will join a research environment that brings together Swedish and international scholars with the aim of deepening understanding of how the relationship between education and disability has evolved over time. EDUDIS collaborates with world-leading researchers in the field, and funding is available for conferences participation.
The postdoctoral researcher will therefore have the opportunity to:
collaborate with dedicated researchers
develop professionally through participation in seminars
establish connections with leading Swedish and international researchers
strengthen academic merits through conference participation
Qualifications
To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, applicants must have completed a doctoral degree – or a foreign degree deemed equivalent – in history, history of ideas, education, educational work or a closely related field. This requirement must be fulfilled by the time the scholarship decision is made.
The doctoral degree must be completed no more than three years before the application deadline unless special circumstances exist. Special circumstances include leave due to illness, parental leave, union duties, service in the total defence, or similar reasons, as well as clinical service or work assignments relevant to the subject area.
We are looking for candidates with strong collaborative skills and an excellent ability to communicate both orally and in writing in Swedish and/or English. You are expected to be able to work both independently and as part of a team. Swedish is the primary working language of the program, although English is also used when appropriate.
Assessment of Applicants
The primary assessment criterion is scientific excellence. In evaluating scientific merit, particular emphasis will be placed on the research plan submitted with the application. The plan will be assessed based on the relevance of the proposed research task to the overarching research questions of EDUDIS, as well as the quality and feasibility of the proposed research. Consideration will also be given to demonstrated research competence, as evidenced by previous independent scholarly work, including the doctoral thesis.
Application
The application may be submitted in English or Swedish, and attached documents should be in Word or PDF format. The application must be registered via Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi and submitted by the deadline August 12th 2026.
A full application should include:
Cover letter in which you describe your background, qualifications, and motivation for applying for this scholarship
Curriculum vitae (CV), including a list of publications
Research plan (3–5 pages) outlining aims and research questions, state of the art, theoretical framework, methods, and material
Verified copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained,
Verified copies of other diplomas, list of completed academic courses and grades,
Copy of doctoral thesis and up to 4 relevant articles,
Other documents that the applicant wishes to claim.
Further information
The postdoctoral scholarship is fixed-term (2 years) and full-time (100%) in accordance with the terms of the Kempe Foundations, which fund the scholarship. The starting date is September 1, 2026, or as otherwise agreed. The scholarship holder is expected to actively contribute to the development of the local research environment at Umeå University to which the scholarship is linked. Therefore, the selected candidate is expected to be physically present in Umeå to a high extent.
For further information, please contact Professor Anna Larsson, tel. +46 90 786 54 24, email: anna.larsson@umu.se
