The word docent is derived from the Latin word docere, which means to teach or to educate. A docent must have acquired a sufficient level of documented scientific expertise and knowledge to be independent in their subject area. A docent is appointed if this is beneficial for research and education at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Link枚ping University (LiU). There is no salary attached to the position.
A docent must be able to independently acquire scientifically based knowledge and convey it to others. Therefore, high demands are placed on both scientific and pedagogical competence.
Conditions
If you meet the specific requirements for scientific and pedagogical proficiency, you can apply to be admitted as a docent at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The requirements for admission are outlined in the document Guidelines for Admission as a Docent at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (pdf).
Please note that the guidelines for the admission of docents at the Medical Faculty have been revised and the new version goes into effect on September 1st.聽.
This is what applies during a transition period:
- Applications initiated in ReachMee from September 1st 2026 are to adhere to the new guidelines.
- Applications initiated in ReachMee prior to September 1st 2026 and are submitted up to and including September 30th 2026, can go by the old guidelines.
- Applications initiated in ReachMee prior to September 1st 2026 and are submitted after October 1st are to adhere to the new guidelines.
Mandatory pedagogical courses
You must also have completed the courses 鈥淪upervision of Doctoral Students鈥� with the faculty-specific part and 鈥淧roblem-Based Learning and Group Supervision鈥� (PBL). If the doctoral supervision course was completed at another institution, an equivalence assessment is made by Didacticum, which is LiU鈥檚 pedagogical center. Our faculty-specific part must still be completed with us, even if the equivalence assessment is favorable.
Application
You apply to be admitted as a docent by and uploading the attachments you wish to invoke. Please ensure that the information provided in your application meets the criteria required for admission as a docent. has to be marked and attached to the application.
We need your application at least two weeks before the upcoming meeting of the Appointment鈥檚 Board. This is to allow time to review it, possibly request supplements, and include the application in the distribution of documents to the committee members before the meeting. Supplements are to be sent to an@medfak.liu.se including registration number. Information about the Board meetings is available on this website. For other questions - contact the Board鈥檚 coordinator 鈥� see contact details further down the page.
Subject Area
In the application form, the subject area for the docentur is specified. The subject area is usually one of the doctoral education subjects available at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. If you are unsure, you can find the subject division here or discuss the matter with the subject representative or head of operations before applying.
Attachments
What should be included in the application is stated in the application form and the respective guidelines; old version prior to Sep 1st听辞谤 .
Pay particular attention to attaching:
- Current CV relevant to the docentur, including the latest employment certificate
- Proof/Certificate of doctoral degree
- Dissertation protocol; can be ordered from LiU鈥檚 registrar. Specify the main supervisor and all assistant supervisors if this is not evident from the protocol
- For applications for docentur in clinical specialty 鈥� attach a certificate from the National Board of Health and Welfare showing the specialization
- Description of scientific independence after the dissertation, own research profile, and planned research activities. Independence can be documented, for example, through own research grants, review assignments for reputable international journals, postdoc stay in another research environment
- Publication list: A significant part of the scientific production must have been produced after the dissertation; it should be coherent, not fragmented across too many areas, and show sufficient scientific depth and breadth. See also .
- Statement of intent 鈥� a clear account/description of future projects and research activities as well as teaching related to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at LiU
- Certificates from completed pedagogical courses
- Certificates of completed higher education pedagogical training as required 鈥� see information under the heading 鈥淐onditions鈥�
- Applications before Sep 1st:聽Title of the pedagogical reflection/analysis and a short description of the planned content and which resource persons have been contacted. If the pedagogical work has been approved earlier, a certificate from the resource person responsible and the reflection/analysis should be attached.
Applications from Sep 1st: The full, approved pedagogical reflection/analysis together with the certificate of approval. - Account of pedagogical merits in tabular form and personal summary/reflection on the results of course evaluations and reflection on contributions in teaching moments. See also table template for pedagogical merits "" (in Swedish).
- has to be marked and attached to the application.
Guiding documents for the application
Guide for applicants regarding documentation of pedagogical skill (pdf)
Expert Reviews
When the application has been received, the Board will consider it at a meeting. If the Board decides to proceed to elevate your case for expert reviews, two internal experts are appointed: one member from the Board and one expert from the operations within the appropriate subject area.
The subject representative proposes an external expert to the Appointment鈥檚 Board after the meeting. The external expert, who is sourced outside Link枚ping University, should normally hold a position as a professor or hold a docentur/be a senior researcher at another institution. The external expert should primarily assess the scientific merits.
The experts receive your application documents and the 鈥淕uidelines for Admission as a Docent at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.鈥� The external assessment should be received within approximately six weeks and is sent to the internal experts for a joint, summarizing statement within approximately three weeks.
Decision on Admission as a Docent at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
When the above assessments have been received by the Board and the pedagogical reflection has been approved, the final processing of your case takes place at the next meeting. You will receive an invitation to the meeting where you will present your pedagogical reflection/analysis and its application in teaching activities and also briefly present future research activities at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The admission decision is made by the Appointment鈥檚 Board and if the decision is positive, you will receive a docent certificate and minutes as well as the expert statements after the meeting. Every year in December, a ceremony is also held where the chairman of the Board presents the docent diploma to you and all other new docents.
In case of insufficient merits, the case will be dismissed. A one-year waiting period then applies before a new application can be submitted.
