Two PhD Scholarships at The Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science (SODAS), University of Copenhagen

Who are we looking for?The Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science (SODAS; https://sodas.ku.dk/), Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, invites applications for two PhD candidates in Social Data Science, broadly defined. The PhD projects should deal with important problems and phenomena related to social (data) science. At SODAS, our research spans multiple vibrant areas in social data science. We are interested in a range of topics, anchored in an interest in understanding fundamental aspects of human behavior and life outcomes, such as education, mobility, environmental behavior, the science of science, social media consequences for politics, the social aspects of the climate change, or the impact of AI on society including its implementations. The PhD projects can relate to ongoing research by SODAS-researchers, but we similarly welcome applications suggesting projects complementing ongoing SODAS research activities. Examples of potential PhD topics are algorithmic fairness and respective policy evaluation, challenges of digitalization, computational hermeneutics and natural language processing, machine behavior, misinformation, social network analysis, or social data science method development and application. The PhD candidates are expected to address research questions using data and methods from computational/data/social data science such as using digital data, computational text analysis, computer vision, deep learning, machine learning, natural language processing, netnography, or network analysis.

Applicants can have a background in a social science discipline (e.g., anthropology, economics, sociology, political science, psychology), in (social) data science, social informatics, or adjacent disciplines. We are looking for the most talented candidates that ideally bring some knowledge and experience—or at least motivation to learn—across theories, methods, and disciplines.

The position is available from 1 September 2024, but an earlier or later starting date is also possible.

What do we offer?
The successful candidate(s) will become part of the SODAS research environment and active doctoral program with about 20 PhD students. SODAS is an interdisciplinary research, teaching, and impact center, combining traditional social science theories and methods with novel data science methods and paradigms. In collaboration with partners in Denmark and abroad, SODAS is home to research projects funded by, among others, the European Research Council (ERC) as well as both independent and private Danish research foundations. SODAS hosts the English-language Social Data Science (SDS) Master degree program at the Faculty of Social Sciences.

The working language at SODAS is English. Our community maintains strong collaborative relationships with all Departments at the Faculty of the Social Sciences (Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology), the Department of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen, as well as internationally renowned, computational social science research groups and centers in the Copenhagen area, including the Networks, Data, and Society (NERDS) group at the IT University of Copenhagen, the Social Complexity Lab at the Technical University of Denmark, and the Pioneer Centre for AI which operates across all Danish universities.

Duties and Responsibilities:
Further information about the PhD study programme is available on the website of Copenhagen Graduate School of Social Sciences: https://samf.ku.dk/phd-skolen/english/

Under "Legal basis" on the website you will find information about the rules and guidelines for the PhD programme, and the Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities.

How to apply
Submit a complete application at our online portal. Click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of the page to apply. The documents must be in Adobe PDF or Word.

• Cover/motivation letter (max. 2 pages)
• Diplomas and transcripts of grades (if applicable)
• Bachelor and Master theses (if applicable)
• Proposal for a PhD research project in the area of social data science (1,500-2,000 words, excluding references) including the main objectives, data to be collected/analyzed, and methods used for analyses.

Please note that it is only possible to upload one document per attachment category. If more than one document has to be uploaded in the same category, please make sure that they are scanned and collected into one file.

Scholarship in the 5+3 or in the 4+4 PhD study programme
The 5+3 PhD study programme
In order to be eligible for a scholarship in the 5+3 PhD study programme the applicant must have completed a two year MSc degree programme, or have earned 120 ECTS credits at an equivalent academic level before starting his or her employment. Applicants should check the study programmes for more detailed descriptions of the entry requirements. PhD students are paid a salary in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The PhD student has a work obligation of up to 840 hours over the 3 year period of time without additional pay. The work obligation can include for instance teaching.

The 4+4 PhD study programme
Students who have completed a BSc plus 60 ECTS of an MSc degree programme would enroll as PhD students simultaneously with their enrolment in the MSc degree programme. Applicants should check the study programmes for more detailed descriptions of the entry requirements. Until an MSc degree is obtained, the grant is paid partly in the form of up to 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: SU-klip). More specifically the PhD student will be paid two grant portions per month plus salary for work (teaching, presentations etc.) which totals a workload of at least 280 hours. Payment and conditions of employment are carried out in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). Upon completion of the MSc degree the student is transferred to the salary-earning part of the PhD studies.

Applications

• The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding society, and invites all qualified applicants, regardless of personal background, to apply for the positions.
• In order to be awarded a PhD scholarship the applicant has to enroll as a PhD student at the Faculty of Social Sciences, cf. the rules of the Danish Ministerial order No 1039 of 27 August 2013.
• Please note that normally there is strong competition for these scholarships, and only a few can be awarded each term.

Application process
On the website of Copenhagen Graduate School of Social Sciences you will find information about the application process, and enclosures to include with your electronic application: https://samf.ku.dk/phd-skolen/english/applicants/application/current_advertisement/

The recruitment process
Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The following criteria are used when shortlisting candidates for assessment:

1. Research qualifications as reflected in the project proposal.

2. Quality and feasibility of the project.

3. Qualifications and knowledge in relevant social science and/or (social) data science disciplines.

4. Performance (grades obtained) in graduate and post-graduate studies.

5. That the Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science can offer adequate supervision for the research topic in question.

Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the assessment committee, and each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, please see: https://employment.ku.dk/working-at-ucph/eu-charter-for-researchers/

International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: https://ism.ku.dk/

Contact information
Additional information about the position can be obtained from Head of the SODAS PhD programme, Ingo Zettler, e-mail: [email protected], phone +45 35324850.

Information about the recruitment process is available from Dorthea Andersen, HR, e-mail: [email protected]. Please refer to ID number: 211-1784/24-2H #1.

The closing date for applications is 20 May 2024 at 23:59CEST.

Applications or material received after the deadline will not be taken into account.

Københavns Universitet giver sine knap 10.000 medarbejdere muligheder for at udnytte deres talent fuldt ud i et ambitiøst, uformelt miljø. Vi sikrer traditionsrige og moderne rammer om uddannelser og fri forskning på højt internationalt niveau. Vi søger svar og løsninger på fælles problemer og gør ny viden tilgængelig og nyttig for andre.

Info
Ansøgningsfrist: 20-05-2024

Ansættelsesdato: 01-09-2024

Afdeling/Sted: SODAS