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Panel 5 – BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE
PANEL 5 – BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE
CONTENTS
1. Department of Psychology..........................................................................141
2. Department of Education...........................................................................145
3. Department of Media and Communication Studies.....................................151
4. Additional Report on Malmö Academy of Music.........................................155
1. Department of Psychology
1.1 Overall assessment
The Department of Psychology has a strong research profile in many
areas of psychology, with up-to-date laboratories and with access to
advanced research equipment at the University Hospital. The organization
into Divisions within the Department, reflecting the major research
areas, is a strong organizational move that facilitates research organization
at the Department while at the same time encouraging intramural
collaborations between the Divisions. The Department obviously has
an attractive PhD programme that brings in many students, also from
abroad. The number of PhD dissertations is also good for the period 2002
–2007. The PhD programme seems overall to be in good standing, with a
steady output of dissertations. The percentage of women finishing a PhD
degree is excellent, with close to or more than 50% over the time period
covered in the evaluation. The mean age of the candidates is, however,
somewhat high. with a mean age of 43 years for the time period covered.
The median age would perhaps have been more important than the mean
age when evaluating the progress of the candidates.
A weakness is that too few of the academic staff have external research
funding, as also acknowledged in the self-evaluation provided by the Department.
The ratio of external grants to academic staff is less than SEK
40K/year for the time period 2003–2007, with no major EU funding,
or funding from other major international grant providers. Considering
the obvious opportunities for advanced research at the Department, with
several academic staff members conducting excellent research, a more active
approach to attracting international funding (or funding from major
national ”excellence” programs) would be within reach. The Evaluation
Panel therefore recommends that the Department strategically facilitates
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