Doctoral Studentship Position (PhD) in Political Science, Specialization in Corruption and/or Environmental Politics

Job Assignments

The doctoral position is funded by a research project, financed by the Swedish Research Council, which is broadly about corruption and environmental politics. The project is led by Associate Professor Aksel Sundström and also includes Professor Martin Sjöstedt.

The project in which the doctoral student will be writing her/his dissertation revolves around two major discussions in political science; corruption and environmental/development politics. In addition to this doctoral project, the project's study will focus on the case of protected reserves in African countries. These studies are, for example, about how the establishment of protected areas affects surrounding communities, about how the varying capacities of states affect citizens' willingness to follow laws and regulations and about how cross-border management of natural resources can take place.

However, there is great freedom for the doctoral student to develop her/his own focus (also another geographical focus) and we are open to the applicant's ideas, as well as the applicant becoming part of existing studies within the project.

We will admit and fund a well-qualified and motivated person to work with issues that, broadly defined, are related to the project. There is an opportunity here for the individual applicant to formulate her/his own issues related to the project's theme, around corruption or environmental politics. We are interested in an applicant who is well-rooted in political science and interested in the project’s themes. We welcome applicants with different methodological or thematic interests.

The admitted student should write their doctoral dissertation within the project’s theme (broadly related to corruption and/or environmental politics) and actively participate in its activities. The working language within the project and at the Department of Political Science is English. The research environment offers good opportunities for data collection, conference participation and other forms of international networking.

The aim of the doctoral (PhD) programme is for students to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be able to conduct research autonomously within political science and to contribute to the development of knowledge within the discipline with a doctoral thesis. In addition, good opportunities for inter-disciplinary collaborations are provided. Another aim is for doctoral students to develop an ability to later apply the acquired knowledge and skills within post-degree research or other professional work. For more information on the structure of our PhD programme, and on the Doctoral student's work assignments, please see our website.

Admission to the doctoral programme at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, comes with a 4-year salaried position on a fulltime, residential basis, with the possibility of extension for a fifth year if the student completes a minimum of 20 percent teaching/other duties during the first four years. Doctoral (PhD) students are provided with office space, computer, and office phone and access to all standard services in the department.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the position, the applicant must meet both general and specific entry requirements.

The general entry requirements for third-cycle (PhD) studies if he/she has obtained (Higher Education Ordinance Ch.7, Sec.39):

• a degree at the second-cycle level (MA level, or equivalent);
• at least 240 higher education (university) credits, of which at least 60 must be at the second-cycle level;
• largely equivalent knowledge acquired in other ways in Sweden or abroad.

In Sweden, 240 university credits equal four years of completed full-time studies.

According to the Higher Education Ordinance Ch.7, Sec.40, an applicant meets the specific entry requirements for third-cycle (PhD) studies if he/she has obtained at least 60 higher education credits (one year of full-time studies) in Political Science or has equivalent qualifications.

Applicants who have acquired equivalent knowledge in Sweden or abroad will also be considered to meet the specific entry requirements.

Finally, although not a formal requirement, we encourage successful applicants to acquire sufficient competency in the Swedish language to be able to actively participate in seminars and other activities at the Department, within a two-year period.

Application procedure

Please register your application electronically under ‘Apply online’. For the application to be considered it must include:

1) An introductory letter of 1.000 words maximum (approx. 2 pages), preferably shorter.

The letter should consist of four paragraphs in the following order:

a) a short presentation of yourself;
b) a short presentation of your merits;
c) a short presentation of the intended research project;
d) a short account for why the Department of Political Science and/or the doctoral studies programme is of interest to you.

2) CV including a list of publications (if applicable).

3) One writing sample. Normally, this would be a master’s thesis, but it could also be a revised version of the thesis, or another paper, article or book chapter for example, or equivalent work.
The texts must be submitted in Swedish or English. Any translated versions must be accompanied by the original text and translated in their entirety.

4) A description of a research project indicating the applicant’s research interests and planned focus area of his/her thesis and research. The project description must demonstrate familiarity with previous and current research as well as an ability to formulate scientific problems. 2.500 words maximum (approx. 6 pages) including abstract, excluding bibliography.
Further instructions can be found here.

5) Verified copies of academic transcripts and evidence of other relevant qualifications, if applicable. Please note that you need to submit detailed academic transcripts that specify your finished courses, credits and degrees. If English is not the original language, you need to submit both the original and an English translation. For degree transcripts from universities within the EU, please provide a diploma supplement.

6) Applicants may be asked to provide recommendation letters later in the process. Please do not submit any recommendation letters before we contact you and explicitly ask you to do so. However, it might be good to get in touch with two persons who may write a recommendation letter for you and ask them to prepare for submission the letters following the instructions. Instructions with regards to format and content can be found here.

It is up to the applicant to make sure that the application is complete. No changes/additions are allowed after the last date of application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

All electronic documents must be submitted in PDF format.