Contact
Head of unit Maria Åkerfeldt
Student and Careers Support Unit
maria.akerfeldt@slu.se
Phone: 076-506 45 76
Doctoral Student Ombudsman (DO)
Last changed: 05 February 2026
An ombudsman is a representative for someone else, in this case a doctoral student. The doctoral student ombudsman (DO) gives individual support and counselling to doctoral students and support SLU, the PhD student councils and Sluss in issues regarding doctoral students.
You are welcome to contact the DO if you experience problems during your doctoral student education:
- DO provides personal support, information and individual counselling to all doctoral students at SLU
- DO can help you in an informal way to investigate your case
- DO can monitor whether SLU follows the rules in handling your case
- DO cannot inflict penalties on SLU, or make changes to rules or official decisions, but can assist you on how to move forward
- DO cannot solve everything, but may refer you to other relevant bodies, if applicable.
Contact details
At present, it is not possible to contact the doctoral student ombudsman. Please contact your director of studies, at departmental or faculty level, or the head of department. Other points of contact include your trade union, occupational health services, and the University Chaplaincy.
Links
You can find more information on the Doctoral student guide.