Doctoral programme in psychology
The aim of psychology is to try to understand and explain why people think, feel, act and react as they do. Therefore the focus is on the individual and individual development, but individuals and the way they function cannot be separated from their environment. An important task is therefore to see a person’s thoughts, emotions and behaviour as part in a human–environment system.
Third-cycle education may either result in a doctor’s or licentiate degree. The doctoral programme takes four years to complete (the equivalent of 240 ECTS credits) and the licentiate degree is completed over two years (120 ECTS credits).
The programme includes coursework and a doctoral or licentiate thesis. The doctor’s degree involves coursework of 90 ECTS credits and a thesis of 150 ECTS credits, while the licentiate degree includes coursework of 45 ECTS credits and a thesis of 75 ECTS credits.
The doctoral programme in psychology is characterised by its range of topics. Theses may consider a variety of subjects, such as healthcare and treatment, consumer preferences, stress, the treatment of soldiers who served abroad, sports, creativity, psychoses, group communication, gender, services, transport, human–technology, catastrophes, and emotions.
What do our alumni say?
In order to continue developing the doctoral programme in psychology at Karlstad University, we completed a survey of graduates who studied here between 2006 and 2016.
View the results here: "Hur var din utbildning på forskarnivå?"