The Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark, Odense invites applications for a PhD scholarship in public management/public administration studies as of January 1, 2020 or soon thereafter.

The Department of Political Science and Public Management is part of the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences. It is organized around five research sections, including the Public Administration section and several cross-disciplinary research centres and research groups. Currently, the department employs around 90 people and attracts 2,500 students in its various full-time bachelor and master programmes as well as part-time professional master programmes. For a detailed description of the department’s profile and activities, please see the website.

Applications are invited from candidates with a Master’s degree. Furthermore, applicants who, in addition to their BSc, have passed at least 60 ECTS the first year of their Master’s programme are invited to apply for a PhD scholarship within the 4+4 programme.

The project and PhD project proposal

The PhD project is to be conducted as an independent research project within the collective research project ‘Leadership, psychosocial work environment and sickness absence in Esbjerg Municipality’. All proposals for PhD projects within the framework of the collective project are of interest, including projects that focus on the importance of management, in relation to social capital and sickness absence. The project is primarily based on quantitative data and applicants are therefore required to be skilled in quantitative methodology. A short version of the research programme can be read here.

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

For further information about the collective research project, please contact the Head of Section, Associate Professor Sune Welling Hansen tel. +45 6550 3276, e-mail [email protected] or Head of Department Signe Pihl-Thingvad, tel. +45 6550 2281, e-mail [email protected].


Requirements and programme structure

A PhD student at the Department of Political Science and Public Management must follow an individual PhD programme including courses, seminars, and active participation in conferences and workshops. The PhD student is also expected to obtain teaching experience during the programme. As a part of the PhD programme, the PhD student is, furthermore, expected to visit another research institution for one semester. We also encourage PhD students to attend international conferences and summer schools. Successful applicants must be prepared to work in Odense on a day-to-day basis throughout most of the PhD programme. The scholarship carries a monthly salary plus office facilities and financial support for conference travels and overseas research visits.

The scholarship is available to students who wish to follow the PhD programme in Political Science, within the framework of either the 5+3 or the 4+4 programme. A 5+3 PhD scholarship is available for a 3-year period to applicants who have completed their MSc by December 31, 2020. A PhD scholarship within the 4+4 programme is available to applicants who have passed the first year of their Master’s programme or the equivalent by December 31, 2020. The 4+4 scholarship runs for a period of four years. For the first two years, the candidate will be enrolled in the PhD programme and the Master’s programme parallel to each other. During this period, the pay consists of a combination of SU student grants and salary for job assignments. After completing the Master’s degree, the PhD student will enter into a salaried PhD scholarship for the remaining two years. Pay and conditions of employment will be in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations).

The successful candidate is required to possess good interpersonal skills and will be expected to take part in the everyday academic and social environment at the department and in the Public Administration Section.

The department is dedicated to 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 further information on the Department's PhD environment, please contact the director of PhD programme Professor David Hopmann, tel. +45 6550 2464, e-mail [email protected].

Application and assessment process

Your employment as a Salaried PhD Research Fellow is governed by the agreement of October 1, 2008 on Graduate Employees in government appendix 5 – protocol on PhD Research Fellows.

An application must include:

• Application form
• A 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 detailed CV (max. 2 pages)
• A copy of your master's degree certificate including all examination results.
• Information on experience with teaching, dissemination, or scientific publication, if applicable.
• Reference letters are not needed.

All documents in languages other than Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, English, or German must be translated into English. The project proposal, project abstract and CV must be written in English, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish.

If you do not adhere to the above-mentioned specifications, your application may be rejected without further assessment. The department reserves the right to arrive at a decision solely based on the material submitted.

Shortlisting may be used in the assessment process.

Shortlisted applications will be assessed by an internal committee. The project description is assessed anonymously to avoid any unconscious bias. When the assessment committee has submitted its report, you will be emailed the part of the evaluation that concerns yourself and you will know if you are deemed qualified for the position or not. 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 below. Uploaded files must be in Adobe PDF (unlocked) or Word format.

Read the guideline for applicants

Each field can only contain a single file of max. 10 Mb.