lund university phd in law

Lund University

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April 24: Research Seminar

Critical legal conference 2024: speculation(s), what is sociology of law, master's programme in sociology of law, stand-alone courses, research seminars, research projects, experts for media enquiries.

Anna Lundberg is the new Head of Department

New projects presented at the Sociology of Law Department's Research Panorama Day

Our friend and colleague Karl Dahlstrand has passed away

Queerness as a mechanism creating Europe's borders

Måns Svensson leaves the Sociology of Law Department to become president

Research seminar in sociology with cansu bostan, phd start seminar: timothy york, phd start seminar: embla helle nerland.

Lund University

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Doctoral studies

Faculty of Social Sciences

Doctoral studies (PhD) is the highest formal education available. It provides training to become an independent and critically minded researcher, and prepares for work with research and development issues inside or outside the university.

About doctoral studies

Doctoral studies involves a total of four years of full-time study, forming a total of 240 ECTS credits. A programme consists of both courses and thesis, of which the doctoral thesis is to account for at least 120 credits. At the Faculty of Social Sciences you can get a PhD degree in twelve different disciplines.

Admitted doctoral students normally get a salaried position. This means that they will be employed as staff members and will get a salary whilst undertaking the doctoral studies. In return, the doctoral student often provides some departmental or teaching duties.

Admission to the doctoral studies requires one year of studies at the advanced level, and normally a total of three semesters of study of the discipline in question, including a half-semester thesis. The doctoral studies start in September.

All vacant positions for doctoral students are publicly announced. Applications are accepted only following a vacancy announcement. The application procedures vary from one department to another - refer to the doctoral studies contacts at this site for further details.

PhD vacancies - lu.se

Thesis work and courses

The doctoral thesis should be based on independent research and should be of a high scholarly standard. The thesis can take the form of a monograph or a compilation thesis in which different articles are gathered, together with a summarising chapter.

All doctoral students will be appointed a main supervisor and an assistant supervisor. The main supervisor and the assistant supervisor have the task of helping the doctoral student move the work forward from the idea stage to the finalised manuscript.

The course component includes methodology courses as well as thematic courses, chosen for their relevance to the thesis work. Courses are offered both at the departments and at faculty level. Doctoral students are also encouraged to take courses at other universities, in Sweden or abroad.

More about doctoral studies

More information about doctoral studies in a specific subject can be found on each department's website. Each research subject has a Director of Doctoral Studies to whom you can turn to for questions.

The links below lead to each department’s website.

• Communication and Media
• Gender Studies
• Human Ecology
• Human Geography
• Political Science
• Service Studies
• Social Antropology
• Social Work
• Sociology of Law
• Strategic Communication
• Sustainability Science

Already a doctoral student?

Check out the Faculty internal pages for doctoral students.

Stefan Larsson

Senior lecturer, Associate Professor in Technology and Social Change, PhD in Sociology of Law, PhD in spatial planning, LLM

• Senior lecturer , Department of Technology and Society
• Research team manager , AI and Society
• Affiliated researcher , Centre for Retail Research at Lund University
• Phone +46462227158

Personal profile

Professional work, expertise related to un sustainable development goals.

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

Fingerprint

• 1 Similar Profiles
• artificial intelligence Social Sciences 100%
• Law Social Sciences 73%
• sociology of law Social Sciences 72%
• metaphor Social Sciences 64%
• Sweden Social Sciences 51%
• Social Norms Social Sciences 49%
• transparency Social Sciences 42%
• wind power Earth & Environmental Sciences 33%

Collaborations the last five years

Dive into details.

Select a country/territory to view shared publications and projects

Research output

• 34 Book chapter
• 21 Newspaper article
• 10 Abstract
• 8 Paper, not in proceeding
• 4 Anthology (editor)
• 3 Paper in conference proceeding
• 3 Debate/Note/Editorial
• 3 Web publication/Blog post
• 2 Published meeting abstract
• 2 Specialist publication article
• 2 Miscellaneous
• 2 Doctoral Thesis (compilation)
• 2 Review (Book/Film/Exhibition/etc.)
• 1 Chapter in Report
• 1 Licentiate Thesis
• 1 Preprint (in preprint archive)

Research output per year

Necrorobotics: The Ethics of Resurrecting the Dead

Research output : Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Book chapter › Research › peer-review

• moral philosophy 100%
• artificial intelligence 89%
• discourse 24%
• human being 23%

The Artificial Recruiter: Risks of Discrimination in Employers’ Use of AI and Automated Decision-Making

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Artificial Intelligence 100%
• artificial intelligence 75%
• Decision Making 62%
• employer 59%
• discrimination 56%

User accounts: How technological concepts permeate public law through the AI Act

• public law 100%
• artificial intelligence 88%
• legal language 36%

Regulating high-reach AI: on transparency directions in the Digital Services Act

• Transparency 100%
• transparency 98%
• artificial intelligence 96%
• services 61%

Mellan juridisk fixering och flexibilitet i den europeiska AI-förordningen

Research output : Contribution to specialist publication or newspaper › Specialist publication article › Popular science

• 26 Finished

Projects per year

Exploring the risk governance mechanisms under the forthcoming EU Artificial Intelligence Act

White, J. & Larsson, S.

Swedish Research Council

2024/01/01 → 2026/12/31

Project : Research

Vulnerability in the Automated State

Fernandes Da Silva Ranchordás, S. H. , Käll, J. , Larsson, S. , York, T. , Nerland, E. H. & Mattsson, T.

2023/09/01 → 2028/08/31

Challenged values - the Implementation of Automated Decision-Making in the Public Sector

Blom Lussi, E. , Larsson, S. , Kaun, A. & Hildén, J.

2022/08/22 → 2026/08/21

Project : Dissertation

ADM-GOV: The Automated Administration: Governance of ADM in the public sector

Larsson, S. , Ledendal, J. , Hildén, J., Koulu, R., Koivisto, I., de Vries, K., Kaun, A. & Blom Lussi, E.

2022/08/01 → 2026/07/31

Bridging Sociology of Law and Robots through Health Care and Feminism

Tanqueray, L. , Larsson, S. & Winkle, K.

2022/05/01 → 2026/05/01

• 63 Invited talk
• 57 Media participation
• 29 Organisation of public lecture/debate/seminar
• 27 Presentation
• 21 Organisation of workshop/ seminar/ course
• 18 Participation in workshop/ seminar/ course
• 14 Participation in conference
• 14 Public lecture/debate/seminar
• 3 Supervision of PhD students
• 2 Member of board/committee/council etc
• 2 Work for advisory/policy/evaluation group or panel (public/government/UN/EU etc)
• 2 Research or teaching at external organisation
• 1 Organisation of conference
• 1 Expert assignment
• 1 External Reviewer of PhD thesis/Opponent
• 1 Hosting a visitor

Activities per year

AI governance and the pacing problem: How does law capture the moving AI target?

Stefan Larsson (Invited speaker)

Activity : Talk or presentation › Invited talk

Workshop on AI governance, perceptions of ADM and chatbots, in The Automated Administration (ADM-GOV) project

Stefan Larsson (Host), Ellinor Blom Lussi (Presenter), Katarzyna Söderlund (Participant), James White (Presenter), Jockum Hildén (Presenter), Anne Kaun (Presenter), Sofia Heikkonen (Presenter), Terhi Esko (Presenter), Jonas Ledendal (Presenter), Katja de Vries (Role not specified), Ginevra Castellano (Invited speaker) & Joakim Olsson (Session chair)

Activity : Participating in or organising an event › Organisation of workshop/ seminar/ course

Vetenskapsradion Nyheter: Framtiden för AI - första reglerande lagen antagen

Stefan Larsson (Interviewee)

Activity : Other › Media participation

Intervjuad i Studio Ett om hur historisk AI-lag röstades igenom i Europaparlamentet

Ai lund fika-till-fika workshop: ai i offentlig sektor 2024.

Jonas Wisbrant (Organiser), Ellinor Blom Lussi (Organiser), Stefan Larsson (Organiser), Stefan Larsson (Speaker), Theo Andersson (Speaker), Frans af Malmborg (Speaker), Charlotta Kronblad (Speaker), Jannike Tillå (Speaker), Vanja Carlsson (Role not specified), Maria Stellinger Ernblad (Speaker), Fredrik Heintz (Speaker) & Josephine Brofjorden (Speaker)

Activity : Participating in or organising an event › Organisation of public lecture/debate/seminar

Prizes and Distinction

Member of the research board at the engineering faculty, lund university.

Larsson, Stefan (Recipient), 2022 Jul 1

Prize : Appointment

Medlem i Tillväxtanalys referensgrupp till projektet Hur påverkar reglering Sveriges innovationskraft

Larsson, Stefan (Recipient), 2021 Sept 21

Medlem i LTH:s digitaliseringsråd

Larsson, Stefan (Recipient), 2020 Feb 1

Styrelseledamot i Internetstiftelsens styrelse

Larsson, Stefan (Recipient), 2019 Oct

Medlem i myndigheten DIGGs referensgrupp om artificiell intelligens i offentlig förvaltning

Larsson, Stefan (Recipient), 2019 Sept 16

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Doctoral Studies

Lund University is the only university in Sweden to offer a Phd-programme in the multidisciplinary field of Human Rights. The programme covers four years of full time studies (240 credits). The programme is convened by Human Rights Studies at the Department of History.

The research field integrates historical, philosophical, legal, and political perspectives on the study of human rights, their circumstances, challenges and role in our current times. Current areas of study are state and non-state agency, historiography and conceptualizations of human rights, minority protection, human rights in school curricula and teaching practice, women’s rights, rights and activism, children’s rights, political resistance, and rights discourses in civil society.

Read about our Doctoral students and their projects at our doctoral students .

Eligibility

In order to satisfy the general eligibility requirements for admission to Doctoral studies the applicant must have completed an academic degree on advanced level (one or two year master), or completed courses amounting to 240 Swedish university credits (of which at least 60 credits on advanced level), or equivalent. In order to satisfy the special eligibility requirements for Doctoral studies in Human Rights, two of the applicant’s prior years of study (120 credits) must have clear relevance for the field of human rights studies and for the planned dissertation project. The applicant must also have completed a thesis on master level (at least 15 credits) clearly oriented within the field of human rights.   Read more in our general syllabus .  

Questions about Doctoral studies in Human Rights are answered by Dan-Erik Andersson .  

• HT Faculties Doctoral Students Page
• Regulations Doctoral studies
• The Doctoral Student Union

Director of Studies

Dan-Erik Andersson LUX:A227 E-mail: dan-erik.andersson mrs.lu se

Head of Division

Programme coordinator.

LUX:A210 Phone: +46 46-222 3047 e-mail: mrs mrs.lu se

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Doctoral studies

Doctoral programmes (PhD programmes) are offered by all six departments at the Lund University School of Economics and Management. It is often given in collaboration with other parts of Lund University or with other institutions in Sweden.

The doctoral degree is the highest academic degree. The Swedish doctoral degree comprises 240 credits and the doctoral programme normally takes four years of full-time study.

The programmes differ somewhat between disciplines, but in all cases they consist of at least one year of course work and at least two years spent writing the doctoral thesis. The thesis can be produced in the form of a monograph or in the form of a number of articles published during the doctoral programme, a so-called compilation thesis. The thesis is defended at a public defence where an opponent reviews and opposes the thesis. An examining committee consisting of at least three people grade the thesis.

You also have the option of obtaining a licentiate degree after 120 credits. Such a degree can either conclude a programme or be awarded when you are halfway to a doctoral degree. The thesis is then called a licentiate thesis and is presented and examined at a seminar.

After graduation many doctors pursue academic careers while others obtain positions within business or public administration.

At present, the School of Economics and Management has about 100 admitted doctoral students and around 20 doctoral theses are produced each year.

Regulations for third-cycle education at LUSEM (pdf, 290 kB)

Apply to a doctoral programme

Are you interested in joining a doctoral programme at the School of Economics and Management? You apply via the department where you want to do your research. All vacant PhD positions are advertised via Lund University’s job portal.

Application and admission

Financing your doctoral studies

At the School of Economics and Management there are two different ways of financing your studies: employment as a doctoral student, or external funding. External funding may consist of employment outside the university or a scholarship from an external source. It is important to recognise that the different types of funding give you different levels of social security. Upon admission, funding must be secured for the entire duration of the programme and must be at least half-time.

The doctoral degree conferment ceremony

The doctoral degree conferment ceremony takes place at the end of May and is the biggest event of the academic year. During the ceremony, the University rewards those who have completed a doctoral programme and defended a doctoral thesis. At the promotion ceremony, the insignia of learning are awarded: the hat or laurel wreath, the ring and the diploma.

On the same occasion, the University also honours outstanding researchers from other universities and individuals by awarding them honorary doctorates. As a tribute to previous generations, those who received their doctoral degree 50 years ago are also promoted to jubilee doctors.

The doctoral degree conferment ceremony – lunduniversity.lu.se

Quality assurance in research education

Our doctoral programmes are regularly evaluated to maintain their quality.

Doctoral studies at the departments

• Department of Business Administration
• Department of Business Law
• Department of Economic History
• Department of Economics
• Department of Informatics
• Department of Statistics

Lund’s Doctoral Student Union

– for all research students at Lund University

For current doctoral students

More information about your doctoral studies in Canvas

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AN OPEN NETWORK FOR RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND INNOVATION IN THE AREA OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AT LUND UNIVERSITY

Lund University

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AI & Law

This four-week course titled AI and Law explores the way in which the increasing use of artificially intelligent technologies (AI) affects the practice and administration of law defined in a broad sense.

Subject matters discussed include the connection be between AI and Law in the context of legal responsibility, law-making, law-enforcing, criminal law, the medical sector and intellectual property law. The course aims to equip members of the general public with an elementary ability to understand the meaningful potential of AI for their own lives. The course also aims to enable members of the general public to understand the consequences of using AI and to allow them to interact with AIs in a responsible, helpful, conscientious way. At the end of this course, you will have a basic understanding of how to:

• Understand the legal significance of the artificially intelligent software and hardware
• Understand the impact of the emergence of artificial intelligence on the application and administration of law in the public sector in connection with the enforcement of criminal law, the modelling of law and in the context of administrative law.
• Understand the legal relevance of the use of artificially intelligent software in the private sector in connection with innovation and associated intellectual property rights, in the financial services sector and when predicting outcomes of legal proceedings.
• Understand the importance of artificial intelligence for selected legal fields, including labour law, competition law and health law.

Syllabus and Format

The course consists of four modules where one module represents about one week of part-time studies. A module includes a number of lectures and readings, and finishes with an assessment – a quiz and/or a peer graded assignment. The assessments are intended to encourage learning and ensure that you understand the material of the course. Participating in forum discussions is voluntary.

Access the course at coursera.org

Words from the producers.

• Legal AI in the Public Sector
• Legal AI in the Private Sector
• Selected Challenges

Biden Graduated 76th in a Class of 85 at Syracuse University College of Law in 1968?

A meme about joe biden's placement in his 1968 graduating class went viral in april 2024., jordan liles, published april 22, 2024.

About this rating

In April 2024 – just months away from the November U.S. elections –  a meme was virally shared on Facebook , X and other websites showing a past photo of President Joe Biden with the words, "Graduated 76th in a Class of 85." As of this writing, it was unclear who created the meme or where it was first posted. Searches with reverse-image search tools showed few results.

One of the popular posts appeared as follows:

"Did Biden graduate 76th out of a class of 85?," a reader asked Snopes in email. "Saw it posted by a friend on Facebook today 4/19 with an image of a grad that looks kinda like him shaking hands with someone else. Both in regalia. Black & white photo."

This claim was true. Biden finished 76th academically in a class of 85 at Syracuse University College of Law in 1968. This fact was previously confirmed in decades-old reporting from  The Associated Press ,  The New York Times ,  The Washington Post  and others. Many of the dated reports publishing this news cited records that Biden himself released in the late 1980s.

The picture featured in the meme showed Biden with the Rev. William J. Byron, the former president of the University of Scranton. It was captured at the 1976 undergraduate commencement ceremony where Biden – then a U.S. senator – received an honorary degree and addressed students with a speech. Byron died at the age of 96 on April 9, 2024, just days before the meme went viral.

The Syracuse University College of Law Alumni Association once published a letter  mentioning Biden's low placement in his graduating class. "But statistics often prove not to be the predictor of one's abilities or prospects," the letter read. "And, indeed, it was after leaving Syracuse that his life and career took off."

On this same subject, Snopes previously reported on Biden's past false claim where he said he finished in the "top half" of his class at Syracuse. That and other false claims about his past – including a plagiarism scandal – reportedly factored in to his decision to drop out of the 1988 presidential race.

Snopes contacted Syracuse University College of Law to request records regarding this matter. We will update this story if we receive any further details.

"Biden Made Tall Claims, Article Says." Charlotte Observer via The Washington Post , 21 Sept. 1987, https://www.newspapers.com/image/625387830/?terms=biden&match=1.

"Biden Urges Students to Be Engaged Citizens at 1976 Commencement." Royal News | The University of Scranton , 18 Nov. 2020, https://news.scranton.edu//articles/2020/11/news-biden.shtml.

Joseph R. Biden Jr, Class of 1968 . Syracuse University College of Law Alumni Association, https://law.syracuse.edu/wp-content/uploads/VP_Biden_Citation.pdf.

Liles, Jordan. "Did White House Announce Biden's IQ Is 187?" Snopes , 30 Jan. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/biden-187-iq/.

"Rev. William J. Byron, S.J., The University of Scranton's 21st President Dies." Royal News | The University of Scranton , 9 Apr. 2024, https://news.scranton.edu//articles/2024/04/news-president-byron.shtml.

"Sen. Joe Biden Claimed during a Campaign Appearance in New Hampshire Last Spring That He Finished in the Top Half of His Law School Class, Although Records Indicate He Finished near the Bottom." The Associated Press , https://apnews.com/article/cd977f7ff301993f7976974ba07c5495.

"The Candidates For Vice President." Newsday , 2 Nov. 2008, p. K7, https://www.newspapers.com/image/730761354/.

Toner, Robin. "Biden Assails New Report of Dishonesty." The New York Times , 21 Sept. 1987, https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/21/us/biden-assails-new-report-of-dishonesty.html.

Waxman, Olivia B. "Why Joe Biden's First Campaign for President Collapsed After Just 3 Months." TIME , 30 July 2019, https://time.com/5636715/biden-1988-presidential-campaign/.

By Jordan Liles

Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.

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Explore our current vacancies and learn about the application process. Consider subscribing to stay informed about new opportunities. 

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Elections Today

Recent projections, delegate tracker, pennsylvania primaries 2024: lee and fitzpatrick survive, matchups set for november, former mit researcher who killed yale graduate student sentenced to 35 years in prison.

A former MIT researcher has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for the killing of a Yale University graduate student in Connecticut

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A former researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in prison for the killing of a Yale University graduate student found shot outside his car on a Connecticut street.

Qinxuan Pan, 33, who pleaded guilty to murder in February, apologized during a hearing in a New Haven courtroom packed with family and friends of the victim, Kevin Jiang.

“I feel sorry for what my actions caused and for everyone affected,” Pan said. “I fully accept my penalties.”

Jiang, 26, a U.S. Army veteran who grew up in Chicago and a graduate student at Yale's School of the Environment, had just left his fiancée's apartment in New Haven on the evening of Feb. 6, 2021, when he was shot multiple times by Pan, according to police and prosecutors. The couple had just gotten engaged days earlier.

Several of Jiang's relatives and friends spoke in court before the judge handed down the sentence, which Pan agreed to as part of his plea bargain.

“My son was a remarkable young man who cherished life and held deep (belief) in God. He had a bright future ahead — one that promised to spread God’s love far and wide,” said Jiang's father, Mingchen Jiang.

A motive for the killing was never made entirely clear. Investigators said they discovered that Pan and Jiang's fiancée were connected on social media and had met while at MIT, where both had graduated from and where Pan was working as a researcher at the time of the shooting.

According to the documents, Jiang’s fiancée told authorities she and Pan “never had a romantic or sexual relationship, they were just friends, but she did get a feeling that he was interested in her during that time.”

After the shooting, Pan fled the scene and eluded police for three months before being apprehended in Alabama, where officials said he was caught living under a fake name with $19,000 in cash, a passport and several cellphones.

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Master's programmes

As a student on our Master's programmes you will be part of an international group of students, coming from all over the world. You will meet teachers and professors with a wide range of experience, in the scientific as well as the professional field. A major part of the teaching is conducted in small groups which enables you to get good opportunities to know your fellow students as well as your professors.

European Business Law

The Master's programme in European Business Law provides av in-depth understanding of both the practical and the theoretical aspects of business law in the European Union and of how the internal market operates in a global context. Students also acquire knowledge of EU constitutional law as a necessary basis for the understanding of European business law.

International Human Rights Law

The Master's programme in International Human Rights Law is designed to provide students with in-depth insights into the challenging normative system of human rights, and covers both theory and practice alike. Based on world-leading research in the field, it will provide you with a solid basis for your career in academia or beyond.

QS World University Rankings

Lund University has been rated number 8 in the world out of 1,403 universities assessed in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, which ranks sustainable development at higher education institutions around the globe. This places the University third-best in Europe and highest in Sweden.

Anders Tröjer

Master's Programme Coordinator anders [dot] trojer [at] jur [dot] lu [dot] se (anders[dot]trojer[at]jur[dot]lu[dot]se) +46 46 222 12 49

Education of the highest quality

The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education ( Högskoleverket ) has deemed the Master's programmes at the Faculty of Law, Lund University to be of the highest quality.