PhD student in Political Science

Duties
The PhD program in political science consists of 240 credits (equivalent to four years of full-time studies) and is concluded with the public defense of a printed doctoral thesis. The appointed doctoral student will receive a salary from the University for four years, and the primary obligation is to complete the PhD studies. The position may involve departmental duties, for instance in the form of teaching, of up to 20 percent of full-time working hours, in which case the appointment will be extended accordingly. The doctoral student will have access to a workspace at the Department of Political Science. The terms of employment for doctoral students are regulated in the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), Chapter 5, Sections 1–7.
The position is part of the research project “A Divisive Spiral? Elite Communication, Voter Engagement, and Algorithmic Amplification of Affective Polarization”. The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) 2027–2030 and led by Professor Hanna Bäck at the Department of Political Science, Lund University. The project focuses on how affective polarization, strong negative feelings toward political opponents, emerges from the interplay between politicians’ communication and voters’ engagement on social media.
Large language models are used to analyze polarizing communication in text and audio from Sweden and Finland at scale, and experiments test how forms of communication and algorithms affect voters.
Read more about the project here
The doctoral student is expected to contribute to the study of affective polarization among elected representatives and voters, in line with the overall aim of the project. Within these parameters and in dialogue with the other project participants, the doctoral student will conduct independent research and formulate their own research questions, theoretical ideas and methodological approaches. The doctoral student is expected to be present at the department and actively participate in its research and teaching environment, as well as take part in the work of the project.
Qualifications
The requirements for admission to third-cycle courses and study programs (in accordance with (HF ch. 7 § 35) are that the applicant:
meets the general and specific entry requirements that the higher education institution may have laid down, and
is considered in other respects to have the ability required to benefit from the course or study program (Swedish Code of Statutes 2010:1064).
Applicants meet the general entry requirements for third-cycle courses and study programs if they:
have been awarded a second-cycle qualification,
have satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.
Specific entry requirements
In addition to the general entry requirements, the applicant must have completed at least 30 second-cycle credits within the main field of political science, or have acquired equivalent knowledge in Sweden or abroad. The applicant must also have completed an independently written thesis of at least 15 second-cycle credits in political science or in a discipline deemed equivalent in relation to the project. The thesis must have been examined and graded at the time of application.
Assessment criteria
Only applicants who are admitted to third-cycle studies may be appointed to a doctoral studentship. Admission is primarily to be based on the applicant’s ability to benefit from the third-cycle program. The applicants will be ranked based on an overall assessment of the quality of their submitted thesis or theses and research plan, grades from previous studies, and their personal suitability. As third-cycle studies in political science are very demanding, the applicant must be highly motivated and able to work independently under time constraints. Good collaboration and communication skills are also required, as is proficiency in both written and spoken English. Documented experience of research related to the project’s themes, and of automated text analysis, is a strong merit. Further merits include experience of programming and of working with large-scale social science data, as well as knowledge of languages relevant to the project’s empirical material. Interviews will be conducted with a short-listed number of applicants during the final stages of the admission process.
About the employment
The employment is a fixed-term employment for four years in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), Chapter 5, Sections 1–7. Starting date January 1, 2027, or by agreement.
The main language of the PhD program is English. However, non-Swedish speaking students are expected to acquire basic skills in Swedish during the period of employment. There are opportunities to participate in language courses taught at the University. The general syllabus and other information about the PhD program in political science is available at
https://www.svet.lu.se/en/internal/research-education-external-engagement/doctoral-studies-introduction
More about terms of employment for doctoral students on Lund University’s Staffpages.
https://www.staff.lu.se/research-and-education/research-support/doctoral-education/terms-employment-doctoral-students
How to apply
Applications are to be submitted via the Lund University recruitment portal. The evaluation of applicants is based on documents submitted by the application deadline. Only complete applications will be considered. It is not possible to add documentation after the deadline.
The application must include:
a cover letter in Swedish or English of max 1 000 words, which contains a brief presentation of yourself and your qualifications, as well as a brief explanation of why you are interested in third-cycle studies at the Department of Political Science at Lund University;
a CV in Swedish or English that demonstrates your eligibility for the third-cycle program in political science;
degree and grade certificates in Swedish or English;
a thesis in Swedish or English corresponding to at least 15 second-cycle credits in political science or a discipline deemed equivalent (where applicable, a Bachelor’s thesis may also be submitted in addition to the second-cycle thesis);
a brief research plan in Swedish or English of max 2 000 words, including references;
the names and contact information of two references, preferably active in academia (letters of reference are not required at the application stage);
any other documentation you wish to submit in support of your application.
We look forward to receiving your application!