This paper takes a holistic perspective of doctoral studies in the Swedish educational system, and extract several lessons learned from a doctoral student union regarding doctoral studies. To provide this holistic view we conceptualize the Swedish educational system towards doctoral studies (also referred to as third cycle studies) and the primary stakeholders. There are several frictions between the involved stakeholders in addition to differences in the academic system on a local and global scale that creates several challenging decisions for doctoral students and management of doctoral studies. We argue that expressing the educational system as a System of Systems (SoS) provides a useful lens to describe and discuss these tensions on a holistic level. The main contribution of this paper is an initial conceptual model of doctoral studies in Sweden as an SoS, mapping actors, systems, and their relationships. We anchor the paper through findings of a recent survey for doctoral students work environment.