In sociology, the social interaction between people is at the center as well as societal patterns or structures. The Department of Sociology and Work Science has about 120 employed, teachers, researchers, PhD-students and administrative staff. The Department carries out research, education and collaboration in a number of areas. There is research in areas like labor market, working life, social deviation, digitalization, emotions, gender, migration, environmental issues, social movements, governance and organization, science and technology as well as welfare. Courses are offered in a range of fields such as sociology, work science, human resource management, criminology and social psychology. The Department also has extensive commitment to several of the University’s educational programs, particularly in teacher education. Collaboration and development projects are conducted both in research and education with partners in the private and public sector for example the Centre for Global Human Resource Management (CGHRM).

General information about being a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg can be found on the university’s doctoral student pages. 

https://medarbetarportalen.gu.se/doktorand/?languageId=100001&skipSSOCheck=true   

 

The department of sociology and work science is now searching for a highly motivated doctoral student (PhD-student) to work within the research project “Just Transitions in Agri-Food Systems: Environmental and Political-Economic Transformations in Rural Areas” (PI – Stefano B. Longo).

 

Project description

The successful applicant will take part in a research project that will investigate the role(s) of agri-food systems in sustainable transformations for climate action. It will focus on rural regions in industrialized societies experiencing economic challenges and climate change-related events, but also environmental-transition policies and actions. Underlying the project is a hypothesis that just transitions can function as a fruitful analytical approach to identify meaningful obstacles to implementing sustainable transformations of agri-food systems, and political-economic mechanisms and conditions that can encourage them. The project will empirically explore these matters in two industrialized countries: Sweden and the US. The successful applicant will focus on the Sweden case. Concentrating on producers and production, the study will identify ecological and social contextual factors that condition the potential for sustainability transformations. The project will make use of historical materialist and critical realist perspectives in environmental sociology and/or critical human ecology to analyze these concerns.

 

Duties   

The aim of the doctoral studentship is for the doctoral student to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be able to conduct research autonomously within sociology and to contribute to the development of knowledge within the discipline through the production of a scholarly thesis. Another aim for the doctoral student is to develop an ability to apply the acquired knowledge and skills within post-degree research or other professional work.

Education at third-cycle level comprises four years of full-time study, and leads to a doctoral degree.    

As part of your employment as a doctoral student, you may have departmental duties corresponding to up to 20 % of full-time employment, distributed throughout your study period. Departmental duties usually consist of teaching at first- and second-cycle levels, but may also include research and administration.  

The appointed doctoral student shall be present at the Department and actively participate in research and educational activities.

  

Eligibility   

Education at third-cycle level requires general eligibility and, where appropriate, specific eligibility as set out in the general syllabus for the subject.  

The general eligibility requirements for education at third-cycle level are:    

1. having completed a degree at second-cycle level, or
   2. the fulfilment of course requirements totalling at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits must be at second-cycle level, or  
2. the acquisition of equivalent knowledge in some other way, either in Sweden or abroad. 
    
   Specific entry requirements for this subject, according to the general syllabus, are: 1) a degree at the advanced level in sociology or 2) largely equivalent knowledge, aquired in Sweden or abroad, will also be considered to meet specific entry requirements. 

 

Assessment criteria   

The selection of applicants who meet the basic and specific eligibility requirements will be based on the ability to assimilate the education at third-cycle level.   

To this end, applicants must submit the following documents:
-Papers, degree projects and other relevant works (maximum two works), which will be assessed on in terms of ability to formulate scientific problem and purpose, previous research and choice of theoretical perspectives, methodology and implementation, theory integration in the analysis, interpretation and conclusions as well as academic and linguistic presentation. In the case of co-authored texts, an account of the division of labor must be provided.

-A hypothetical project proposal (maximum 2000 words excluding references) demonstrating the applicant’s intended contributions toward the successful development of the broader research project. The proposal must demonstrate familiarity with previous and current research, sources, and methods of relevance for the study, and an ability to formulate scientific problems in line with the research project.

As postgraduate studies in sociology are very demanding, the applicant must be strongly motivated and have the ability to work independently within given time frames. Good co-operation and communication skills are also a requirement, as well as good knowledge of English in both speech and writing.

In order to be able to carry out planned empirical collection, the applicant must have a very good ability to communicate in Swedish in speech and writing.

Letters of recommendation are not taken into account, but references to, for example, previous employers can advantageously be stated in the application.

  

Employment   

Once you have been admitted for education at third-cycle level, you will be employed as a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg.   

The provisions for employment as a doctoral student can be found in ordinance SFS 1993:100.    

Initial employment as a doctoral student may apply for a maximum of one year, and may be renewed by a maximum of two years at a time.  

A doctoral student may be employed as a doctoral student for a maximum of eight years, but the total period of employment may not be longer than the equivalent of full-time education at third-cycle level for four years.   

The position is expected to be filled during the spring semester of 2024.

The University applies a local agreement on salaries for doctoral students.   

  

Selection process   

As part of the appointment procedure top-ranked candidates will be interviewed.

 

Contact information 

For information on the reseach project, please contact associated professor Stefano Longo, stefano.longo@gu.se

For information on the education program/employment, please contact Sofia Strid, coordinator of third-cycle program, sofia.strid@gu.se

For information on the application procedure/admittance process, please contact human resource officer Anna Karin Wiberg, anna-karin.wiberg@gu.se, +46 31 786 3156

 

  

Unions 

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here:   
https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/jobba-hos-oss/hjalp-for-sokande   

  

Application   

You can apply to be admitted for education at third-cycle level via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal.   

The application should include:

It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per the vacancy notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline.   

  

Applications must be received by:  2024-02-26

 

 

Information for International Applicants 

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. Thus, to give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner please visit: 

https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services 
https://www.movetogothenburg.com/ 

  

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.