PhD Position in Social Sciences

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top universities. The University has around 47 000 students and more than 8 800 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset.

Duties

The PhD students are employed through the project VIRTUTRIALS, financed by the ERC. The project addresses concerns about the legitimacy and fairness of courtroom trials conducted via video links, challenging the assumption that the lack of physical interaction undermines justice. It aims to explore how the absence of physical presence affects trial participation, credibility displays, and justice rituals. Using a multi-methods approach, including ethnography, interviews, text analyses and quantitative analysis, VIRTUTRIALS seeks to provide new insights into the evolving nature of trials and virtual participation in a digitalized world. For more info on the project see: https://www.soc.lu.se/en/article/prestigious-grant-sociological-research-virtual-trials.

At least one of the positions requires skills in qualitative methods, and one of the requires skills in quantitative methods as well as text analysis.

The PhD candidates are expected to:

At least one doctoral student is expected to:

Conduct ethnographic fieldwork and collect high-quality data focusing on prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, courts, witnesses, defendants, victims, and other actors involved in the project. The organization of the fieldwork and reporting should be done in close collaboration with the project team.

One doctoral student is expected to:

Perform text analyses and quantitative analyses of written judgments.

All doctoral students are expected to:

• Develop their own research questions and analyses based on the project's overall theme and shared materials
• Participate in regularly scheduled project meetings
• Collaborate closely with the research leader and other team members in all aspects of the project
• Write single-authored and/or co-authored articles for publication during the employment period present their research at national and international conferences
• Write and defend a doctoral dissertation

Excellent knowledge of Swedish and English is required. Proficiency in Dutch is also desirable for one of the positions requiring qualitative research skills. The project tasks include ethnographic fieldwork and interviews in contexts where Swedish is the dominant language, while data work is conducted in both Swedish and English.

The working language in the doctoral program is primarily English. The doctoral student is expected to be present at the department and actively participate in the project group’s meetings as well as the department’s research and teaching environment. 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 PhD program consists of 240 credits (equivalent to four years of full-time studies) and is concluded with the public defense of a doctoral thesis. The position may involve departmental duties, mainly in the form of teaching, up to 20 per cent of full time working hours, in which case the appointment will be extended by the equivalent number of hours.

The terms of employment for doctoral students are regulated in the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance (HF), Chapter 5, Sections 1– 7.

The doctoral studentship will commence on 1 April 2025.

The general syllabus and other information about the PhD program in Sociology is available at: https://www.soc.lu.se/en/research/research-studies/handbook-doctoralstudents?q=research/research- studies/handbook

Qualifications

The requirements for admission to third cycle courses and study programs (in accordance with HF, Chapter 7, Section 35) are that the applicant;

(1) meets the general and specific entry requirements that the higher education institution may have laid down, and

(2) is considered in other respects to have the ability required to benefit from the course or study program. A person meets the general entry requirements for third cycle courses and study programmes if he or she: has been awarded a second cycle qualification prior to the employment decision, has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

In addition to the general entry requirements, a person meets the specific admission requirements for third-cycle programmes in sociology if they have completed a second-cycle degree in sociology or a related subject, or have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

The degree must contain independent projects comprising at least 15 credits in sociology or the equivalent at second-cycle level.

Assessment criteria

Only applicants who are eligible for 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 programme.

The applicants will be ranked based on an overall assessment of the quality and originality of their submitted papers and their personal suitability.

As third cycle studies in Sociology 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.

The following criteria are of particular importance in the assessment;

- The quality of the master thesis or other scientific publications and their relation to the project in terms of general relevance and methodological approach.

- Documented experience with social sciences methodologies, in particular qualitative methods such as ethnography and interviews for at least one of the positions, and in quantitative methods and text analysis for one of the other positions.

- Competence to independently develop research designs relevant to the project, as evidenced by a master thesis, scientific publications, the cover letter as well as during discussions in the interview

 - It is also important that the applicant is in Lund during their employment in order to actively engage in team meetings and contribute to the department’s research environment

- Good communication skills, written and spoken, in Swedish and English.

Interviews will be conducted with a shortlisted number of applicants during the final stages of the admission process. The applicants may be asked to provide work samples also after the application has been submitted.

Application procedure

Applications are to be submitted electronically via the Lund University application portal.

The application shall be written in English and must include:

1. An extended cover letter in English of max 2500 words, which contains:

• A brief presentation of yourself and your qualifications in relation to the project
• A brief explanation of why you are interested in third cycle studies at the Department of Sociology at Lund University.
• A reflection on how the project corresponds to your interests and potential future research activities

2. A CV in English that demonstrates your qualifications for the third cycle program in Sociology.
3. Degree and grade certificates in Swedish or English.
4. Publications, including degree project/master thesis in Swedish or English corresponding to at least 15 credits at advanced level in Sociology or other discipline deemed equivalent. At least one of these should be solo authored. For joint authorship, attach details regarding each author’s contribution.
5. Name and contact information of two personal references.

Type of employment

Temporary employment, fours years according to HF 5 kap 7§

More  about us

The Faculty of Social Sciences at Lund University is one of the leading education and research institutions in Sweden and operates both in Lund and Helsingborg.

The Department of Sociology is home to two disciplines, social anthropology and sociology. Common for these is that they try to understand and explain the individual and society in their social, cultural and historical contexts. Research in the department spans from empirical studies of contemporary social issues to critical social analysis, and the development of social science theory and methods.

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