Applications are invited for a 2-year postdoctoral position in political science, public policy, sociology or criminology (or similar) to be based at the Department Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, as of July 1st, 2021. For more information about the department organization, research and teaching, please visit the website.

The position will be part of the recently established Core Group “The Politics of Insecurity (POINS)”, led by professor (wsr) Peter Starke, and funded by the Velux Foundation. The Core Group POINS investigates how citizens’ rising subjective insecurity – broadly understood – is reflected in social welfare and criminal justice policymaking. The postdoctoral position will be in Subproject 3, focusing on the case studies of Denmark and Sweden as well as the macro-quantitative comparison. Please read more about the project here. The successful candidate will become a member of the Danish Centre for Welfare Studies (DaWS), which has a strong international profile in comparative public policy and welfare state research. It is a cross-disciplinary unit which includes political scientists, historians, anthropologists and literature scholars. Postdoctoral fellows are expected to actively take part in research seminars and other centre activities. For more information, please visit the website.

The ideal applicant
To qualify for the postdoctoral position, you must hold a PhD in political science, public policy, sociology, criminology or a related discipline, and be able to outline an individual research project on the comparative policy dynamics at the intersection of criminal justice and social policy in OECD countries. The ideal candidate for the job will have a background in comparative policy research and strong methods skills (qualitative and quantitative) as well as proficiency in a Scandinavian language. Specific expertise in comparative research on welfare states and/or criminal justice/penal policy is a benefit.

Candidates are expected to:

• Be curious and willing to actively engage in interdisciplinary research activities,
• Present a 2-year research agenda that clearly fits into the POINS project and examines the comparative long-term dynamics in social welfare and penal policy against the background of insecurity, with a special focus on Denmark and Sweden since the 1990s,
• Document a strong research outcome and publication record with international peer-reviewed journals or presses.

We are looking for candidates who are able to work independently in consultation with the project coordinator. Candidates are also expected to have good interpersonal skills, be interested in engaging with the national and international research community, be present and contribute to the academic and social environments at the department. Detailed departmental guidelines on recruitment, gender equality and the Scholarly Qualification Matrix can be found here.

The department 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 aims to employ staff that reflect the diversity of society and, thus, welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

For further information about the position or the research project or to receive a longer project description, please contact Professor (wsr) Peter Starke: phone +45 6550 4307, e-mail [email protected].

Application, salary, etc.
Appointment to the position requires a PhD or equivalent and will be in accordance with the salary agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.

Research will be predominant in the position. Teaching assignments can be agreed individually.
Furthermore, other types of assignments may occur to a limited degree.

The University determines the distribution of the various assignments. The weighting of the different assignments may vary over time.

Upgrading of pedagogical qualifications is not a part of this position. Employment as Postdoc alone will thus not qualify to appointment as Associate Professor/Senior Researcher.

An application must include:

• A cover letter
• A detailed CV
• A research agenda (max. 5 pages) for the next 2 years that describes:
• the potential to advance the field (both empirically and theoretically),
• the relationship to the overall aims and subprojects of the POINS core group,
• planned national and international collaborations,
• the potential for obtaining further external funding.


• Certificates/Diplomas (Master and PhD degree)
• A complete list of publications, indicating which publications are most relevant for the position
• Up to 3 of the most relevant publications. Please upload a pdf for each publication. NOTE: If publications have been co-authored, co-author statements must be a part of this pdf and must include information like in this example. The statement is just for your inspiration.

All non-Danish documents must be translated into English

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

Assessment of applications will be done under existing Appointment Order for universities. Applications will be assessed by an academic assessment committee that determines whether applicants are qualified. The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material. The committee reserves the right to arrive at a decision solely based on the material submitted.

Shortlisting may be used in the assessment process.

When the assessment committee has submitted its report, the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the head of department who will assemble an appointments committee. The appointments committee will manage and complete a series of job interviews with especially promising applicants. On the basis of the applications, the written assessments, the job interviews, and a deliberation within the appointments committee, the head of department determines which candidate(s) will be offered the position.

Applications must be submitted electronically by using the link below. Uploaded files must be in Adobe PDF (unlocked) or Word format.

Read the guideline for the applicants

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