PhD position, Department of Political Science and Public Management

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label Burse autorenew 2025-09-29, 17:00 history_edu Maria Dumitru
The Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark invites applications for a 4+4 PhD scholarship to be filled September 1, 2012. The PhD position is connected to the research programme “Beyond Class Politics”, which focuses on contemporary processes of welfare state reform in western democracies and analyzes the determinants of how and why individuals react to welfare state reform.

The research programme started on June 1, 2011 with the purpose of analyzing political processes of welfare state change on a comparative basis. The programme analyzes how changes within the organization of political parties, altered relationships between interest groups and political authorities, and the mediatization of politics have changed how governments pursue political reforms in the post-war period. Thus, the programme’s overall ambition is to contribute theoretically and empirically to the existing research on comparative welfare state reform.



The aim of the PhD position is to expand the project by researching, theoretically and empirically, the determinants’ individual reactions to welfare state reform - preferably by the use of experimental research techniques. The important theoretical questions to address in the PhD project are, for example, whether individuals react to changes in welfare state policy on the basis of economic motivations, by following institutionally induced preferences, or perhaps as a result of individual personality traits? Especially the latter question connects to an emerging research agenda in political science that may contribute to modern welfare state research.

A scholarship in the 4+4 programme is given to applicants who have passed the fourth year of their Master’s programme or the equivalent. The scholarship runs for a period of four years. For the first two years you will be enrolled in the PhD programme and the Master’s programme parallel to each other. During that period your pay will consist of a combination of SU student grants and salary for job assignments. After obtaining the Master’s Degree, you will enter into a salaried PhD scholarship. Pay and conditions of employment will be in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations).

To qualify for the position, applicants must hold a BSc in Political Science - preferable with special qualifications within comparative politics, comparative public policy and research methodology. The successful applicant is expected to have an outstanding track record as a student and be committed to contribute to research and teaching at the department. The successful applicant will join a vibrant research and PhD environment and can expect excellent conditions with respect to individual professional development. In sum, we offer the successful applicant a strong platform for the development of a research career.