PhD Scholarship in Public Administration at the Department of Political Science and Public Management

Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship within public administration to be based at the Department of Political Science and Public Management at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense.

The starting date for the position is 1 January 2025.

The ideal applicant 

Applications are invited from candidates with a master's degree (the 5+3 programme). Candidates who, in addition to their bachelor's degree, expect to have passed 60 ECTS of their master’s programme by January 1, 2025, are invited to apply for a PhD scholarship within the 4+4 programme. 

To qualify for the PhD scholarship, you must hold, or be close to completing, a master’s degree in political science or a related discipline and be able to outline an individual PhD project proposal (see below). 

The ideal candidate will have:  

• A strong interest within public administration (we are especially looking for a candidate with interest in public management and leadership or use of AI/digitalization in the public sector. Other topics are also welcome)
• Intellectual curiosity and ability to generate new research ideas. 
• Strong analytical and methodological skills. 
• Potential for independent scholarly work. 
• A willingness to be a good colleague. 

PhD project proposal

Applicants are expected to include a proposal for an original research project within public administration (we are especially looking for a candidate with interest in public management and leadership or use of AI/digitalization in the public sector). When preparing the proposal, you are strongly advised to consider the research profile and the staff of the Public Administration, Welfare and Politics Section at the Department.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult the general guidelines for preparing a project proposal at the PhD School's webpage, and to familiarize themselves with the departments' Scholarly Qualification Matrix.

For information and questions about PhD project proposal suitability contact Head of Section, Associate Professor Mette Kjærgaard Thomsen, e-mail [email protected]. 

About the Department 

As a PhD student you will be part of the Public Administration Research Group at the Department of Political Science and Public Management at the University of Southern Denmark. The group consists of scholars working with public management, leadership, organization, governance paradigms, public employees, civil servants, public finances, citizen-state interactions, AI, local and central government, and local elections. Members of the group publish both in leading public administration, management, and political science journals as well as Danish and English monographies and anthologies.

The Department of Political Science and Public Management believes in fostering a stimulating and inspiring environment for both faculty members and students. The department's ambition is therefore to recruit, develop, and retain talented scholars committed to both academic excellence and departmental development. Furthermore, the department wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and, thus, welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background. 

For more information about the department strategy, organization, research, and teaching, please visit the website. 

Requirements and programme structure

A 5+3 PhD programme spans over three years (fully salaried), while the 4+4 programme runs for a period of four years. If enrolled in the 4+4 programme, your will be enrolled in the PhD programme and the master’s programme parallel to each other. During this period, the pay will consist of the Danish Student Allowance (SU), if you are eligible, and a supplementary salary for job assignments. After completing the master’s degree, you will enter a fully salaried PhD scholarship for the remaining two years.

PhD candidates follow an individual PhD plan including course work, conference participation, and teaching. One semester is typically spent at another research institution - often abroad. The scholarship carries a monthly salary including pension plus office facilities and financial support for conference travels and research visits abroad. Conditions of employment will be in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations).

If selected for the position, you will be enrolled in the PhD programme in Political Science.

Employment as a salaried PhD student is governed by the agreement of December 20, 2021, on the collective agreement for academics in the state - appendix 5, protocol on PhD Research Fellows.

Further information

For further information about the PhD programme, please contact PhD coordinator, Professor Arjen van Dalen, phone +45 6550 4417, e-mail [email protected].

For further information about the position, please contact Head of Section, Associate Professor Mette Kjærgaard Thomsen, e-mail [email protected] and/or Head of Department  Signe Pihl-Thingvad, e-mail [email protected].

Application and assessment process

An application must include:

• Application form
• A PhD project proposal of no more than 12,000 characters in total, including spaces, notes, appendices, bibliography etc. The project description must be anonymized, i.e. it may not reveal your name or identity in any way. The total number of characters including spaces of the project description must be stated on the first page of the project description.
• An abstract for the above project description of no more than 250 words, to be submitted on a separate sheet/page.
• A motivated application
• A detailed CV (max. 2 pages)
• A copy of your master's/bachelor’s degree certificate including all examination results.
• A copy of your bachelor's degree certificate.
• Information on experience with teaching, dissemination, or scientific publication, if applicable.

All non-Danish documents must be translated into English. The project proposal and the project abstract must be written in English.

Documents should not contain a CPR number (civil registration number) – in this case, the CPR number must be crossed out.

Applications that are incomplete with regard to the above requirements may be rejected without any substantive evaluation.

Shortlisting may be used in the assessment process.

Shortlisted applications will be assessed by an internal committee. When the assessment committee has submitted its report, the candidate will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns them. The assessment report is subsequently forwarded to the Head of Department who assembles an appointment committee and determines if one or more of the qualified applicants should be invited to a job interview. The appointment committee will manage and complete job interviews and advise the Head of Department on which candidate(s) should be offered appointment.

Applications must be submitted electronically using the link "Apply now" on our website.

Application deadline is 15 October 2024 at 23:59 CET. 

Uploaded files must be in Adobe PDF format. The application and CV must not exceed 10 MB.

If you experience technical issues with uploading your application, please contact [email protected].

Read the guideline for applicants