Doctoral Student SNSF in Political Science

University of Lausanne (UNIL) is a leading international teaching and research institution with over 5,000 employees and 15,500 students split between its Dorigny campus, CHUV and Epalinges. As an employer, UNIL encourages excellence, individual recognition and responsibility.

Presentation
The Institute of Political Science (IEP) of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (SSP) at the University of Lausanne invites applications for a position  as

Doctoral Student SNSF in Political Science.

The position is fully funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and forms part of the SNSF Eccellenza project led by Prof. Dr. Diego Garzia. The project addresses the issue of increasing negativity in democratic politics worldwide, through the lens of electoral behavior research. In particular it aims at providing a comprehensive assessment of the drivers of negative voting, as well as its impact on individual-level patterns of electoral participation and party choice. The project links electoral studies with political communication and political psychology research by exploring the connection between changing patterns of media exposure in old and new media, negativity and electoral change in liberal democracies worldwide.

Job information

• Expected start date: 1 January 2021 or upon agreement;
• Contract length: 1 year, renewable, up to a maximum of four years;
• Employment rate: 100%;
• Workplace: University of Lausanne, Campus Dorigny, Géopolis.

Your responsibilities
The candidate is expected to develop his or her doctoral thesis, to actively contribute to the project, and to communicate and publish the results in national and international academic venues and outlets. The successful candidate will be affiliated to the Institute of Political Studies (IEP) at the University of Lausanne and work in close collaboration with Prof. Dr. Diego Garzia (project leader) and Dr. Frederico Ferreira da Silva (senior project collaborator).

Job description

Your qualifications

• Master's degree in political science or related disciplines;
• Interest in elections, voting behavior and/or political communication in comparative perspective;
• Experience with quantitative methods and statistical packages (SPSS, Stata, R etc);
• Fluency in English. Knowledge of Italian and/or French is an advantage.

What the position offers you
We offer an attractive salary and excellent working conditions in a dynamic and expanding Institute located at he university of Lausanne with good international connections and access to national and international training programs.

Prof. Dr. Garzia is committed to closely supervise the successful applicant throughout his or her doctoral studies. Clear mutual expectations will be jointly established and further assessed during the progress of th doctoral education and theses writing process. The successful candidate will be fully integrated into the research team led by Prof. Diego Garzia, enabling him/her to develop his/her analytical, methodological and professional skills in a highly international research setting. The successful candidate will be offered the possibility to present his or her work at international conferences, develop his or her skills in specialized workshops and courses in Switzerland and abroad, publish research output and, if desired, co-author work with the other members of the team.

Contact for further information
Prof. Dr. Diego Garzia
Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Institute of Political Science
Email: Diego.Garzia@unil.ch

Your application
The application should include:

• A motivation letter, detailing your interest and competences related to the project's topic (max. two pages);
• A detailed CV;
• Grades obtained in Bachelor and Master's programs;
• A sample piece of academic writing (dissertation, paper, etc.);
• At least one but no more than two letter(s) of recommandation.

Only applications through this site will be considered. Please send your full application in Word of PDF.

Application deadline: 15 September 2020

Interviews will take place (in person or via Skype) in October 2020.