PhD scholarship in Economic History at the Department of Economics

Applications are invited for a fully-funded PhD scholarship the Department of Economics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense. 

The PhD position is funded by the Carlsberg Foundation. The duration of the PhD position is three years, including a research stay abroad (the typical duration of the research stay abroad is 6 months) and comes with a competitive full-time salary. 

The starting date is flexible, but we hope to welcome our new colleague on August 15, 2025.

Job description

The Department of Economics is an international department with a strong tradition for excellence in research and teaching within the various areas of economics. The research, teaching, and dissemination activities at the department are organized within four groups: Econometrics and Data Science; Economic History; Macroeconomics; and Microeconomics. A more elaborated description of the department and the groups can be found on the department website.

The Historical Economics and Development Group (HEDG)

The PhD student will be affiliated to the Historical Economics and Development Group (HEDG), which focuses on research in Economic History with a strong quantitative focus. HEDG is internationally acknowledged as a leading research group and attracts substantial grants and media coverage, as well as publishing books and articles with top outlets.

The PhD student will join an international team of researchers and work closely with Associate Professor Anthony Wray on a research project funded by the Carlsberg Foundation on private investments and innovation in health care in the US during the early 20^th century. For more information see this link.

The successful candidate is expected to contribute to high-quality research on health care, education, and medical innovation, including independent, single-authored work. In addition, the candidate will be involved in teaching and supervision within economics at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

PhD scholarship at the Department of Economics

The scholarship is available to students who wish to enter the PhD programme in Economics or Social Sciences. A 5+3 PhD scholarship is granted to applicants who have completed a MSc in Economics, Mathematics and Economics, Business Administration, Political Science, or similar. The scholarship runs for three years. The PhD will be supervised by Associate Professor Anthony Wray. 

Data digitization using large language models and machine learning and text analysis using natural language processing will be an integrated part of the project hence knowledge, skills, and interest in these areas will be an advantage.

We are an international department and the working language is English. Further information about the position can be obtained from Head of Administration Astrid Holm Nielsen, e-mail: [email protected]. Information about the PhD programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences and at the Department of Economics, University of Southern Denmark, is available here. 

For general questions regarding relocation, housing, taxes etc., the SDU’s International Staff Office can assist – see link. 

How to apply for this position

Employment as a paid PhD fellow takes place in accordance with the circular of 20 December 2021 on the collective agreement for academics in the state – appendix 5, protocol on PhD fellowships.  

For more information on the department guidelines for qualification and recruitment please visit our webpage. 

An application must include (all attachments must be in Adobe PDF format): 

• Detailed CV - the education and work history must be month and year specific.
• A certified copy of your master’s degree certificate including all examination results.
• Application form (please see below).
• A motivational letter describing why the applicant is a good match for analyzing the topic and how the applicant’s skills provide a solid foundation to do so (max. 5 pages incl. reference list).
• A project description (max 5 pages of 2400 characters each, including spaces, notes, appendices, bibliography etc.)

When applying for a PhD scholarship, please fill in the application form available on our web page. 

On the webpage of the PhD –school, you can find the guidelines for preparing your project proposal.

All non-Danish documents must be translated into English.

Applications will be assessed by a committee. When the evaluation committee has submitted its report, the candidates will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns them. The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the candidates to provide the necessary material. The deadline for application is April 7, 2025.

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

Applications that are incomplete regarding the above requirements may be rejected without any substantive evaluation.

Shortlisting and tests may be used in the assessment process.

As part of the overall assessment of the applicant’s qualifications, an interview may be applied.

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

The application and CV must not exceed 10 MB.

The University of Southern Denmark wishes to reflect the surrounding community and therefore encourages everyone, regardless of personal background, to apply for the position.