PhD Fellowship – Open call: Politics and Public Administration

The Department of Social Sciences and Business (ISE), Roskilde University, invites applications for a position as PhD fellow in Politics and Public Administration from September 1st, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter. The position as PhD is limited to a period of 3 years.

Description of the PhD project
The PhD project should demonstrate the potential to contribute with new research on topics of relevance to politics, public policy and/or public administration at the local, national, and/or EU and transnational levels. Possible themes include, but are not limited to:

• Democracy, legitimacy and changing state–society relations
• Changing political and administrative institutions and forms of public or public-private governance
• EU governance, EU public policy, EU public diplomacy, transformations in regional or global orders

The PhD Fellow will be a part of the Politics and Public Administration section at the Department.

The Doctoral School
You will be enrolled as a PhD fellow at the Doctoral School of Social Sciences and Business with approximately 47 PhD fellows from all over the world.

The Doctoral School of Social Sciences & Business provides PhD training and research within an interdisciplinary, international, and professional environment. It is part of a dynamic community of researchers who share a commitment to understanding society in diverse contexts of change and global engagement. Researchers come from all over the world and engage in topics that are geographically, theoretically and methodologically diverse. The Doctoral School has one PhD program. The program offers work-in-progress seminars, thematic professional development seminars, feedback and social activities for the enrolled PhD fellows. As a PhD fellow you will be associated with one or more of the following research groups; Transformation and Ordering of Political Institutions (TOPI), Globalization & Europeanization Research Group (GERG) or Roskilde School of Governance (RSG).

Responsibilities and tasks
As a PhD fellow you are trained at an international level to undertake research. You are responsible for carrying out independent research under supervision and receiving constructive feedback in the PhD program to finish your PhD thesis. During your employment you are required to take 30 ECTS of coursework, and gain experience in teaching and supervision. You are also required to have a research environmental change during your PhD enrollment. The environment change can take place at foreign or local universities or research institutions.

For more information, see chapter 3, Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. Read more on what it entails to be a PhD Fellow at Roskilde University.

Qualifications
You must hold a master’s degree or equivalent from relevant social science programs (e.g., public administration, political science, EU-studies, international politics and governance).

Qualifications within the following areas are required:

• Strong analytical skills and research potential
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English

We also emphasize the following qualifications:

• Theoretical overview and competences
• Scientific originality
• Advanced methodological skills (whether quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods and/or comparative methods)

You are required to be enterprising and to possess good communication skills and to be a visible, involved participant in the Department’s daily activities, in addition to being willing to engage in disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Applications are invited from both inside and outside Denmark.

Assessment
In the assessment regarding employment consideration will be given to:

• Relevant master’s degree or equivalent (according to Danish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education).
• Any additional academic requirements stated in the job advertisement.

In the assessment regarding enrollment consideration will also be given to the following criteria:

• Educational skills and any further professional qualifications within the social sciences.
• Grades at a social science master’s program or equivalent.
• Quality and relevance of the project description.
  • Quality and relevance of the methodical and theoretical choices.
  • Consistency and coherence between the problem and the choice of method and theory.
  • If the PhD project seem realistic and feasible.
• Ability to complete the PhD project.
• Relevance of the project to the profile of the Doctoral School.

Questions
For further information about the position, please contact Head of the PhD school, Professor Lars Buur ([email protected]). For technical or administrative questions, please contact the PhD Coordinator Hanne Vang Hansen ([email protected]).

The position will be filled according to the Agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.

Application procedure
After the deadline for applications the Dean will shortlist applicants for assessment with assistance from the recruitment committee including the chairperson of the assessment committee.

Shortly after the application deadline all applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been selected for assessment.

The shortlisted applicants will be informed about the composition of the assessment committee, and each applicant will be given the opportunity to comment on the composition of the committee and - later on - their assessment.

Once the recruitment process is completed, all applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application.

Application
To apply for the position go to www.ruc.dk/en/job/

Only applications in English are accepted.

Applications must include:

1. Cover letter

2. CV

3. Documentation of education including grades from Master’s programme or equivalent

4. Your description of the PhD project (Your project description shall be no more than 5 pages)

5. Your time schedule of the PhD project

6. If applicable: Documentation for any research experience, work experience or publications.

Please submit your application no later than January 18, 2026.

Material received after this date will not be taken into consideration.

Roskilde University wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

Application deadline: Apply no later than 18. January 2026

Location: Roskilde Universitet