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PhD in Physics at Karolinska Institute (Karolinska Institutet, KI) — Stockholm, Sweden: The Complete Guide

A comprehensive, honest guide for physics graduates considering doctoral research at one of the world’s leading medical universities.

1. Program Overview

Karolinska Institutet (KI), located in Stockholm, Sweden, is one of the world’s foremost medical universities and the institution that awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine each year. Its doctoral education is organised around medical and life-science research rather than around classical physics disciplines. There is therefore no single advertised “PhD in Physics” programme with a fixed curriculum, a yearly intake, or a central application deadline. Instead, doctoral positions touching on physics are created by individual research groups and departments, advertised as vacant doctoral positions (doktorsdtjänster), and filled competitively throughout the year.

A physics graduate entering KI typically becomes a doctoral student (doktorand) within a department such as those working in medical imaging, oncology-pathology, clinical neuroscience, or physiology and pharmacology — or within research environments closely tied to Karolinska University Hospital. Your day-to-day work would be physics in the service of medicine: developing and validating imaging methods, modelling radiation dose, building instrumentation, applying machine learning to physical measurements, or using large-scale facilities such as synchrotrons to study biological structure at the atomic level.

The working language of research at KI is English, and doctoral education follows the Swedish national model: doctoral students are normally employed by the university on a full-time salaried contract, the nominal full-time duration of a doctorate is four years, and the degree culminates in a publicly defended doctoral thesis. Admission requires a completed master’s degree (or equivalent), and every advertised position specifies its own general and specific entry requirements. Because positions are tied to funded projects and supervisors rather than to a standing programme, the single most important thing you can do is monitor KI’s vacancy pages and the project pages of research groups whose work matches your background — and to verify all current details on ki.se, since departments, group names, and application procedures change over time.

This guide walks you through what a physics-flavoured doctorate at KI really looks like: the research areas where physicists are genuinely in demand, how Swedish doctoral employment works, what it costs to live in Stockholm, how to apply, and how KI compares with the places that do offer a conventional physics PhD.

2. Why Karolinska Institute for Physics?

Choosing KI means choosing applied physics at the frontier of medicine. Here is what makes it distinctive for a physicist:

• Physics that reaches patients. Few places on earth let a physicist’s work move so directly from equations and instruments into clinical practice. Imaging physics and radiation physics groups at KI work shoulder-to-shoulder with clinicians at Karolinska University Hospital, so methods you develop can end up improving real diagnoses and treatments.
• A Nobel-calibre medical research ecosystem. KI’s concentration of biomedical expertise — and its role in selecting the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine — creates an environment where interdisciplinary science is the norm, not the exception. Physicists are valued collaborators rather than outsiders.
• Access to world-class infrastructure. Doctoral projects routinely draw on advanced imaging suites (PET, MRI, CT), radiotherapy facilities, and national large-scale infrastructures such as the MAX IV synchrotron in Lund and the European Spallation Source (ESS) for structural biology and materials-oriented biophysics — typically through collaborations rather than on-campus ownership.
• Swedish doctoral employment. As a doctoral student in Sweden you are normally a salaried employee with social benefits — sick leave, parental leave, pension contributions — rather than a stipend recipient living grant-to-grant. This is one of the most financially secure doctoral systems in the world.
• English-language research environment. Research, supervision, seminars, and thesis defences are conducted in English, so international applicants face no Swedish-language barrier in their doctoral work (learning some Swedish still helps daily life enormously).
• Stockholm’s science cluster. KI sits in one of Europe’s densest science regions, cheek-by-jowl with KTH, Stockholm University, SciLifeLab, and a thriving medtech and life-science industry — fertile ground for collaborations, conferences, and post-PhD careers.
• Genuine interdisciplinarity. You will learn to speak the languages of medicine, biology, and clinical practice alongside physics. That hybrid profile — physicist fluent in medical problems — is rare and highly employable.
• Strong publication and conference culture. Medical physics and imaging are fast-moving, well-funded fields with major international conferences and journals, giving doctoral students strong visibility early in their careers.

A candid counterweight: if your heart is in fundamental physics — quantum foundations, cosmology, particle theory — KI cannot offer you that, and you should not try to force it. The bullet points above are advantages for applied, medically oriented physics. Match your interests honestly before you apply.

3. Research Areas

Physics-related doctoral research at KI clusters in a handful of areas where physical methods are central to medical progress. Group names and departmental homes shift over time, so treat the descriptions below as a map of the terrain and verify current groups on ki.se.

Medical Imaging Physics

This is the largest and most natural home for physicists at KI. Research spans the physics of image formation and the mathematics of image reconstruction across modalities: positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and ultrasound. Typical doctoral projects include quantitative PET imaging (kinetic modelling, partial-volume correction, novel tracers), MRI pulse-sequence development and artefact correction, low-dose CT reconstruction, and the application of machine learning and deep learning to image reconstruction, segmentation, and quality assurance. Because KI’s imaging research is tightly coupled to Karolinska University Hospital, projects often involve real patient data, phantom studies, and close collaboration with radiologists and radiographers. A background in signal processing, inverse problems, or computational physics is especially valuable here.

Radiation Therapy and Medical Physics

Radiation oncology is one of the most physics-intensive areas of medicine, and KI’s oncology research environment — linked to the hospital’s radiotherapy clinics — regularly hosts doctoral projects in treatment planning, dosimetry, and radiobiology. Research topics include advanced photon and particle therapy techniques, image-guided and adaptive radiotherapy, modelling of dose distributions, quality assurance of complex treatment deliveries, and the biological response of tumours and healthy tissue to radiation. Sweden’s proton therapy landscape includes national facilities that KI researchers collaborate with, and doctoral students in this area often split time between computational modelling, experimental dosimetry, and clinical observation. Note that clinical medical physicist roles in Sweden require specific certification pathways beyond the PhD — see Career Outcomes.

Biophysics and Structural Biology

At the molecular scale, KI hosts strong research in biophysics and structural biology, including cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography and scattering performed at synchrotron facilities such as MAX IV in Lund. Doctoral projects in this space suit physicists with interests in statistical mechanics, soft matter, or computational modelling: protein structure and dynamics, membrane biophysics, molecular machines, and the development of methods for analysing large structural datasets. Much of this work connects to SciLifeLab, the Swedish national center for molecular biosciences, where KI is a founding partner — giving doctoral students access to technology platforms and a national network of collaborators.

Biomedical Optics, Spectroscopy, and Ultrasound Physics

A smaller but active niche covers the interaction of light and sound with tissue: optical imaging and spectroscopy for diagnostics, photoacoustics, laser-tissue interaction, and quantitative ultrasound (elastography, contrast-enhanced imaging, therapeutic ultrasound). These projects tend to be instrumentation-heavy — building and characterising devices, modelling wave propagation in complex media, and validating methods in preclinical or clinical settings. They suit experimental physicists who enjoy the full pipeline from optics bench or transducer array to published clinical study.

Computational Biophysics and Medical Modelling

Cutting across the areas above is a computational strand: modelling blood flow and cardiovascular biomechanics, simulating imaging physics (Monte Carlo transport of photons and particles), agent-based and continuum models of tumour growth, and large-scale data analysis pipelines for imaging and omics data. Physicists with strong programming and numerical-methods skills — finite elements, Monte Carlo, optimisation, machine learning — find these projects a natural fit, and the skills transfer directly to medtech and data-science careers.

A note on the table: KI reorganises departments and research groups periodically, and doctoral positions are advertised by individual groups rather than by these umbrella labels. Use this table to identify the kind of work you want, then find the actual groups doing it through KI’s research pages and publication records — and confirm everything on ki.se.

4. Program Structure & Timeline

Swedish doctoral education has a standard national architecture, and KI follows it. The nominal full-time duration is four years (48 months) of full-time study and research. If you take on departmental duties such as teaching or administration — typically up to 20% of your time — the employment is extended proportionally, up to a total of five years. Your progress is governed by an individual study plan drawn up with your supervisor and revised at least once a year. The degree includes a coursework component (a set number of higher-education credits, specified in the general syllabus for your doctoral subject — check the current requirement on KI’s doctoral education pages, as it varies by subject), and it ends with a doctoral thesis defended publicly before an external opponent.

Phase 1 — Foundation (roughly months 0–12)

You settle into your research group, complete your individual study plan, begin doctoral courses (research ethics and methodology courses are typically mandatory early on), and conduct your first literature review and pilot experiments or simulations. Many students also complete any required teaching training in this phase. The goal is a well-defined thesis project with a realistic plan — vague projects that drift are the most common cause of delayed doctorates, so invest heavily in planning now.

Phase 2 — Deepening (roughly months 12–24)

The core research phase: data collection, method development, and your first publications. Around the midpoint of the programme KI practice includes a half-time review or seminar, where you present your progress to date and receive structured feedback from senior researchers outside your immediate group. This is a genuine checkpoint, not a formality — take the criticism seriously. Some doctoral students also complete a licentiate degree at around the two-year mark: a smaller, intermediate research degree requiring its own thesis and seminar. Whether the licentiate is expected or optional depends on your department and subject — confirm with your prospective supervisor.

Phase 3 — Consolidation (roughly months 24–36)

You complete the remaining research, publish the core papers of your thesis (in medical and physics fields the thesis is typically a compilation thesis — a “kappa” or summary framing several published or publishable papers — though a monograph is also possible), and finish your remaining courses. International conference presentations and any research visit or collaboration abroad usually happen in this window. Your supervisor and the department begin discussing the composition of the grading committee.

Phase 4 — Thesis and Defence (roughly months 36–48)

You write the thesis summary (kappa), compile the papers, and submit the thesis for review. KI appoints an external opponent and a grading committee; the thesis is publicly defended at a formal disputation, after which the committee decides whether the degree is awarded. Plan for the administrative lead time — printing, distribution, and committee scheduling take months, so the writing must be substantially finished well before month 48.

Timings above are indicative for full-time study — part-time arrangements or departmental duties extend them. Always confirm the current syllabus, course-credit requirements, and milestone practices on KI’s official doctoral education pages, since regulations are updated periodically.

5. Admission Requirements

Admission to doctoral education in Sweden is governed by national regulations plus KI-specific rules. Every advertised position states its exact requirements, which you must meet in full — but the typical baseline looks like this:

• A completed master’s degree (or equivalent). You need a second-cycle degree — typically a Master of Science in physics, medical physics, biomedical engineering, or a closely related field — of at least 240 higher-education credits (or an equivalent foreign degree). Candidates in the final stages of their master’s may sometimes apply, but the degree must normally be completed before the employment starts; check the specific advert.
• General entry requirements. Under the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance this means a degree at the advanced (second-cycle) level, or equivalent knowledge acquired elsewhere. KI verifies foreign degrees carefully, so have your documentation in order.
• Specific entry requirements. Each doctoral subject’s general syllabus defines these — typically including a substantial component of advanced-level study in a relevant field (for physics-flavoured projects, advanced physics, mathematics, or engineering coursework). Read the syllabus for the subject you are applying to.
• English proficiency. Doctoral work at KI is conducted in English. Advertised positions normally require documented proficiency equivalent to the Swedish upper-secondary English course; the advert states exactly what evidence is accepted.
• Documented qualifications. Degree certificates, official transcripts, and (for foreign degrees) any required translations or evaluations. Incomplete documentation is one of the most common reasons applications are rejected without review.
• Assessment of ability. Beyond formal credentials, KI assesses your capacity to benefit from doctoral education: previous research experience (a master’s thesis in a relevant area is close to essential for competitive positions), analytical and programming skills, and scientific writing ability all count.
• A funded position or equivalent financing. In practice, admission follows the advertised doctoral position — the funding is attached to the vacancy. You are not admitted first and funded later; the position is the admission route for most international applicants.

There is no central entrance examination and no single minimum GPA published across KI — selection is competitive and holistic, and standards vary by group and by year. When in doubt about whether your degree qualifies, contact the recruiting department before the deadline rather than after it.

6. Application Process

Because doctoral positions at KI are advertised as jobs, the application process resembles a job application more than a university admissions round. Follow these steps:

1. Find advertised doctoral positions. Monitor KI’s official vacancy listings (linked from the doctoral education and “work at KI” pages on ki.se), which are updated continuously — there is no single annual deadline. Set up alerts if the system offers them, and check regularly; attractive positions can close within a few weeks of posting.
2. Identify supervisors and groups independently. In parallel, research KI groups working in your area (medical imaging physics, radiation physics, biophysics) through their publication records and KI’s research pages. A short, specific, well-informed email to a prospective supervisor — referencing their actual recent work and explaining concretely what you could contribute — can matter enormously. Generic mass emails do not work and can harm your reputation.
3. Prepare your documents. A typical application package includes: a CV (academic format, including your master’s thesis title and any publications or preprints), a personal/motivation letter tailored to the specific position, certified copies of degree certificates and transcripts, proof of English proficiency as specified in the advert, and contact details for referees. Some adverts request a research statement or writing sample.
4. Tailor the motivation letter to the project. This is the document that separates competitive applicants from the rest. Explain why this project, why this group, and what specific skills (e.g., Monte Carlo simulation, image reconstruction, optics instrumentation) you bring. Demonstrate that you understand the scientific problem — supervisors can tell immediately when a letter is generic.
5. Submit through KI’s recruitment system before the deadline. Applications go through KI’s online recruitment portal (follow the link in the specific advert). Late or email-only applications are typically not considered. Double-check that every required attachment uploaded correctly.
6. Interview stage. Shortlisted candidates are usually interviewed — often by video for international applicants — by the supervisor and sometimes group members. Expect technical questions about your master’s thesis and the advertised project, and prepare thoughtful questions of your own about supervision style, group culture, and expectations.
7. Decision, admission, and employment. If selected, the department makes a formal admission decision and you are employed as a doctoral student (doktorand). Read the employment contract and your individual study plan carefully before signing.
8. Residence permit (non-EU/EEA applicants). If you are admitted, you will need a residence permit for doctoral studies in Sweden. Start this process as early as possible — migration processing times vary and can be long. Your employment contract and admission letter are the key documents; check the Swedish Migration Agency’s current requirements.

Competition for advertised positions is typically strong — well-funded groups in popular areas can receive a large number of qualified applications. Applying to several well-matched positions, rather than pinning everything on one, is simple prudence.

7. Funding & Financial Support

The Swedish doctoral model is one of the most applicant-friendly in the world on funding, because the default is employment, not a stipend.

Doctoral employment (doktorandanställning). Doctoral students at KI are typically employed full-time by the university. The employment normally covers the full nominal study period of four years full-time study, extended proportionally (up to five years total) if you perform departmental duties such as teaching. As an employee you receive a monthly salary — the exact level is set by local agreements and stated in the job advert, so check each position rather than relying on general figures — plus Swedish social benefits: paid sick leave, generous parental leave, pension contributions, and holiday entitlements. Salaries are considered sufficient to live on in Stockholm, though Stockholm is an expensive city (see below).

Study grants as an alternative. In some cases, particularly at the start of doctoral studies, funding may take the form of a study grant (stipendium) rather than employment, with employment following later. The advert will state the funding form explicitly. If you are offered a grant-based start, clarify in writing when employment begins and what social protections the grant includes, since grants and employment differ significantly on benefits.

Tuition fees. There are no tuition fees for doctoral education in Sweden — not for EU/EEA students and not for non-EU/EEA students either. This is a major financial advantage over PhD systems in several other countries.

Cost of living in Stockholm — honest notes. Stockholm is one of Europe’s more expensive cities, and housing is by far the largest cost driver. Rents vary enormously between the regulated first-hand market (long queues), the second-hand sublet market (faster but pricier), and student housing. Beyond housing, everyday costs — food, transport (the SL public transport system), and leisure — are high by international standards but manageable on a doctoral salary with sensible budgeting. Many doctoral students live comfortably in shared or student accommodation and use Stockholm’s excellent public transport and cycling infrastructure. Do not rely on second-hand cost estimates from old blog posts: check current figures from KI’s pages for international staff and students, and budget conservatively for your first months, when deposits and setup costs cluster.

Additional support. Doctoral students can typically apply for travel grants for conferences and courses through KI, foundations, and learned societies — ask your supervisor early about which funds your group routinely uses. Sweden’s social safety net (healthcare access, parental benefits) applies to employed doctoral students on the same terms as other employees.

8. Life in Stockholm

The city. Stockholm — built across an archipelago where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea — is regularly ranked among the world’s most liveable cities. It combines a compact, walkable historic centre with abundant water and green space; the archipelago’s tens of thousands of islands are a genuine part of everyday life, not just a tourist attraction. For a doctoral student, the practical highlights are outstanding public transport (metro, commuter trains, trams, buses, and ferries on one SL ticket system), a strong cycling culture, and a large international community that makes it easy to function in English while you learn Swedish. Winters are long and dark — daylight shrinks dramatically from November to February — but the city is built for it, and summers, with their near-endless evenings, are the reward.

KI’s campuses. KI’s main campus is in Solna, in the Hagastaden/Norra Stationsområdet district, directly adjacent to Karolinska University Hospital (Solna) — an ideal setting for clinically connected physics research, since the hospital’s imaging and radiotherapy facilities are effectively next door. KI also has a substantial campus in Flemingsberg, Huddinge, south of the city centre, near Karolinska University Hospital (Huddinge) and Södertörn University. Check which campus your prospective group is based at, since it affects your commute and daily life.

Housing. This deserves emphasis because it is the single hardest practical problem for incoming doctoral students. Stockholm’s housing market is tight: the first-hand rental queue system has very long waiting times, so newcomers typically rely on student housing (apply to the student housing agencies as early as possible — queues reward early registration), second-hand sublets, or shared accommodation. Start your housing search the moment you have an admission decision, budget for deposits, and be cautious with listings that seem too good to be true. KI’s pages for international researchers and students collect current housing guidance — use them rather than generic advice.

Daily life and community. KI has an active doctoral student community with student unions and associations organising social, sporting, and professional activities. Stockholm offers a rich cultural life — museums, music, design — and Sweden’s right of public access (allemansrätten) means forests, lakes, and coastline are open to everyone for hiking, swimming, and camping. Learning Swedish, even to a basic level, noticeably improves everything from bureaucracy to friendships; KI and the city offer courses.

9. Career Outcomes

A physics-flavoured doctorate from KI opens doors in several directions, and the medically applied profile is distinctive in the job market:

Hospital and clinical medical physics. Many graduates move into medical physics roles in hospitals — working in radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, or diagnostic radiology physics. Note honestly: in Sweden, the protected professional path toward becoming a certified hospital physicist (sjukhusfysiker) has its own educational and clinical training requirements beyond a PhD, so if this is your goal, research the certification pathway early and choose a thesis project and supervisor aligned with it.

Medtech and life-science industry. Stockholm’s medtech cluster — imaging companies, radiotherapy technology firms, and a growing health-AI sector — actively hires doctoral graduates with imaging physics, dosimetry, and machine-learning backgrounds. Roles include R&D scientist, applications specialist, clinical scientist, and product development positions.

Academia and research institutes. The conventional postdoctoral route remains open: postdoc positions in medical physics, imaging science, or biophysics groups worldwide, potentially leading to faculty or senior researcher roles. KI’s international reputation in medicine carries weight in these fields.

Data science and quantitative roles. The computational toolkit of a KI physics doctorate — statistical modelling, inverse problems, machine learning, large-scale data pipelines — transfers directly to data science, quantitative analysis, and consulting, inside and outside healthcare.

Regulatory, policy, and science communication. Radiation protection authorities, health-technology assessment bodies, and science communication roles value the rare combination of deep physical understanding and medical literacy.

Whatever direction you choose, start building toward it before your final year: industry internships or collaborations, conference networking, and — for clinical paths — early investigation of certification requirements will matter more than a last-minute job search.

10. Peer Comparison

How does a physics-related doctorate at KI compare with alternatives? The honest answer depends entirely on what kind of physics you want to do.

The takeaway: if you want physics for medicine, KI belongs at the top of your list. If you want physics for physics’ sake, KTH or Stockholm University in the same city are the better fit — and many successful researchers build careers spanning both worlds.

11. Tips for Applicants

1. Be certain KI fits your physics interests before you invest effort. Re-read the framing at the top of this guide. Supervisors can spot instantly when an applicant wants a particle-physics PhD and is settling for medical imaging — and they will choose the applicant who genuinely wants the project.
2. Read the group’s actual papers, not just their homepage. Before contacting any supervisor, read at least two or three recent papers from the group. Your email and motivation letter should reference specific results, methods, or open questions — this single habit separates serious applicants from mass-mailers.
3. Lead with your quantitative and experimental skills. KI physics-adjacent groups hire problem-solvers: highlight programming (Python, MATLAB, C++), numerical methods, statistics, instrumentation experience, and any imaging or modelling work from your master’s thesis.
4. Make your master’s thesis the centrepiece. For most applicants it is the only substantial research you have done. Be ready to explain the problem, your contribution, what failed, and what you would do differently — in the interview and in writing.
5. Contact prospective supervisors early and specifically. A concise email — who you are, which of their projects excites you and why, what you bring, attached CV — sent weeks before a deadline (or before a position is even advertised) can put you on the radar. Keep it short; professors are busy.
6. Apply to multiple well-matched positions. Doctoral vacancies are individual and competitive. A portfolio of five carefully targeted applications beats one perfect application to a dream position.
7. Document everything immaculately. Degree certificates, transcripts, English proof, translations — assemble these before you start applying. Administrative incompleteness kills otherwise strong applications.
8. Prepare for a technical interview. Expect to be questioned on your thesis, on basic physics relevant to the project (e.g., radiation interaction mechanisms for a dosimetry project, Fourier methods for imaging), and on how you approach unfamiliar problems. Thinking aloud clearly matters more than instant correct answers.
9. Ask about supervision and group culture. Ask current or former doctoral students about the supervisor’s availability, expectations, and track record of on-time completions. A great project with poor supervision is a bad doctorate.
10. Clarify funding form and duration in writing. Confirm whether the position is doctoral employment from day one or starts with a grant, the exact duration, and what happens regarding teaching duties. Get it in the contract, not just in conversation.
11. Start the residence permit process immediately if non-EU/EEA. Migration timelines are outside your control; early application is the only lever you have.
12. Begin the housing search the day you are admitted. Stockholm’s housing market rewards early movers. Register with student housing agencies at the earliest possible moment.

12. Frequently Asked Questions

13. Key Facts at a Glance

14. Application Checklist

15. Glossary

• Doktorand — Swedish for doctoral student. At KI you are typically also an employee of the university.
• Doktorandtjänst — A doctoral position/employment: the advertised vacancy through which most doctoral students are admitted and funded.
• Individual study plan (individuell studieplan) — The binding document, drawn up with your supervisor and revised annually, setting out your research, courses, supervision, and timetable.
• General syllabus (allmän studieplan) — The formal curriculum document for each doctoral subject, defining entry requirements, course requirements, and degree outcomes. Check the current version on ki.se.
• Half-time review — The formal mid-programme checkpoint where your progress is assessed by senior researchers.
• Licentiate (licentiatexamen) — An intermediate research degree of about two years, with its own thesis and seminar; expected or optional depending on department.
• Compilation thesis / kappa — A thesis format common in medical and natural sciences: several published or publishable papers bound together with a summarising introductory chapter (the “kappa”).
• Public defence (disputation) — The formal public examination of the doctoral thesis, conducted by an external opponent in front of a grading committee and an audience.
• Opponent — The external expert appointed to critically examine your thesis at the public defence.
• Medical physics / sjukhusfysik — The application of physics in clinical medicine (radiotherapy, imaging, radiation protection). Note that Sweden’s certified hospital physicist role has its own training pathway beyond the PhD.
• SciLifeLab — The Swedish national center for molecular biosciences, co-founded by KI, providing technology platforms and collaboration networks relevant to biophysics doctoral projects.
• SL — Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, Stockholm’s public transport system (metro, commuter rail, tram, bus, ferries), the backbone of daily commuting for KI doctoral students.

16. Official Resources

Regulations, vacancy listings, group pages, and procedures change over time. Treat this guide as orientation and verify every consequential detail — entry requirements, funding form, deadlines, course-credit requirements, campus locations, and housing guidance — against KI’s official pages:

• Karolinska Institutet — main site: https://ki.se/ — use the site’s search and navigation to reach the doctoral education pages, the general syllabi for doctoral subjects, and the vacancy/recruitment listings for advertised doctoral positions.
• Doctoral education pages (via ki.se): admission rules, general syllabi, the individual study plan, thesis and defence procedures, and contacts for doctoral education support.
• KI vacancy listings (via ki.se): the authoritative source for currently advertised doctoral positions, each stating exact requirements, funding form, and application deadlines.
• Swedish Migration Agency: current requirements and processing information for residence permits for doctoral studies (for non-EU/EEA applicants).
• KI pages for international researchers and students: current guidance on housing, arrival practicalities, and living in Stockholm.

If any detail in this guide conflicts with what you read on ki.se or in a specific position advert, the official source wins — always.