PhD scholarships at Center for Economic Behaviour and Inequality (CEBI) at the Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

Are you passionate about pioneering research on economic behavior and inequality? CEBI at the University of Copenhagen invites ambitious candidates to join our PhD programme, starting 1 September 2025.

As a PhD Fellow at CEBI, you will be part of a leading research community, tackling some of today’s most urgent questions about economic inequality: What drives disparities in income, health, and opportunity across societies? How do policy interventions reshape economic and social outcomes? And what role do behavioral factors play in sustaining or reducing inequality?

With access to Denmark’s globally unique data resources, you’ll explore these issues in depth, combining insights from Public Economics, Labor and Health Economics, Behavioral Economics, and more. Supported by the Danish National Research Foundation, CEBI merges administrative data with behavioral experiments and surveys to offer an unmatched empirical foundation for your research. This is more than a PhD — it is a chance to work with world-class mentors on questions that matter, using advanced methodologies to make a meaningful impact.

CEBI is looking for one or more excellent new PhD Fellows who have competencies in these fields, and are interested in doing empirical research on economic behaviour and inequality. The current group includes 13 senior researchers, 8 junior researchers, 16 PhD students, 8 research assistants and 9 international researchers from Harvard University, UC Berkeley, New York University, Princeton University and University of Zürich.

For further information about CEBI see: www.econ.ku.dk/cebi.

The closing date for applications is 15 January 2025 at 23:59 (CET).

Scholarship in the 5+3, the 4+4 or the 3+5 PhD study programme
The 5+3 PhD study programme
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 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 teaching, for instance.

The 4+4 PhD study programme
Students who have completed a BSc plus 60 ECTS of an MSc degree programme would enrol 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 programme, the student is transferred to the salary-earning part of the PhD studies. The PhD student is expected to seek funding for fieldwork as this is not included in the scholarship.

The 3+5 PhD study programme
Students who have completed a BSc would enrol 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 one grant portion per month during the first two years, and two grant portions per month during the last year. The student will also receive 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.

The qualifications of applicants with non-Danish Master’s degrees will be assessed to ascertain whether they correspond to the Danish level. For further information, please refer to the website of the Ministry of Education and Research: https://ufm.dk/en/education/admission-and-guidance.

Qualifications
We seek candidates with a strong academic background in Economics. In the assessment of the candidate’s qualifications, emphasis will be on grade performance in core economics courses, the project proposal and potential relevant professional experience or publications. Good English language skills are also important.

PhD Fellows are expected to:

• Participate in research groups working on various research projects at CEBI
• Write scientific articles that are included in the PhD thesis of the applicant
• Attend PhD courses
• Participate in congresses/workshops/seminars
• Teach and disseminate your research
• Visit another international research institution for at least a few months
• Be supervised by a senior core CEBI member

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 format of the documents must be Adobe PDF or Word and should include the following documents:

• Cover letter (detailing your motivation and background for applying with the specific PhD project)
• CV
• Project description (recommended no more than 12,000 characters not including bibliography) - In your project description, we invite you to outline one or two research ideas, focusing on your approach to exploring these topics and the potential analytical strategies you might employ. This exercise is designed to assess your research maturity—specifically, your ability to identify meaningful questions, conceptualize a feasible research framework, and think through possible methods of analysis. Please note, you are not necessarily expected to pursue these particular ideas during your PhD; rather, this outline allows us to evaluate your potential as a researcher and your capacity for innovative, structured thinking.
• Project abstract (please fill in the project abstract box in the application form. Must not exceed 1,200 characters)
• Diploma and transcripts of records (BSc and MSc)
• Time schedule
• Other information for consideration, e.g., list of publications, documentation of English language qualifications (if any).

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.

Information about the PhD study programme is also available on the PhD website of the Department of Economics. Please see: https://www.economics.ku.dk/phd/.

Applicants should familiarise themselves with the research strategy and the ongoing research at the department before submitting their application. Further information can be found here: https://www.economics.ku.dk/department/reportsplans/Econ_Strategy_2019-2022.pdf.

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 and fit of the project proposal with the CEBI research agenda.
2. Quality and feasibility of the project.
3. Qualifications and knowledge in relevant Economics disciplines within macroeconomics, microeconomics and econometrics. Applicants should check the Economics PhD study programme for a more detailed description of this requirement.
4. Performance (grades obtained) in graduate and post-graduate studies.
5. The Department of Economics can offer adequate supervision for the research topic in question.

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

Please note that normally there is strong competition for these scholarships, and only a few can be awarded each term.

Enrolment
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.

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
Information about the recruitment process is available from HR, e-mail: [email protected]. Please refer to ID number: 211-1999/24-2H #1.

Additional information about the position can be obtained from Professor Claus Thustrup Kreiner, e-mail: [email protected].

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