PhD student in Economic History - Demography in the Middle East - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) was founded in 2007 to support, coordinate and expand multidisciplinary research on the Middle East at Lund University. CMES is also coordinating the Strategic Research Area (SRA) and the research program The Middle East in the Contemporary World (MECW). The program produces cutting-edge interdisciplinary research on the Middle East and comprises of more than 30 scholars from five different faculties at Lund University.

Assigned duties

Those appointed to doctoral studentship shall primarily devote themselves to their studies, aimed toresult in a doctoral degree. Work carried out during the studentship consists of participation in research projects as well as successful participation in postgraduate (third-cycle) courses. Those appointed to doctoral studentships may also work, to a limited extent, with educational tasks and administration at the Department of Economic History. However, duties of this kind may not comprise of more than 20 percent of a full time post.

The position is part of the research program Middle East in the Contemporary World, which is coordinated by Karin Aggestam and Ronny Berndtsson at the Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies. The PhD project and the doctoral dissertation must be focused on the demography of the Middle East, and the PhD candidate will have double institutional affiliations with the Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University (CMES) and the Department of Economic History. The PhD candidate is expected to take part in activities (e.g. seminars) both at the department and at CMES.

Eligibility / Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she has:

• Been awarded a second-cycle degree; or
• Satisfied the requirements for courses comprising of at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle; or
• Acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

(Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 7, Section 39)

Specific admission requirements for doctoral studies in each subject are specified in the relevant general syllabus, available at https://www.lusem.lu.se/study/phd

Other requirements

A proficient level of English is required in both written and oral communication. Demonstrated quantitative skills are required.

Basis of assessment

Admittance of a doctoral student is based on an assessment of the candidate’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies, see the general syllabus for third-cycle studies, available at www.lusem.lu.se/study/phd.

The applicant’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies and research will primarily be assessed on the basis of academic results from the first and second cycle.

The following will be considered: 

• Quality and content of previous written work, such as a Master’s thesis.
• Ability to participate actively in the research environments of both the Department and CMES.
• Ability to perform independent scientific work.
• Statistical and econometric knowledge.
• Statistical programming skills
• Data management skills and experience in working with large individual-level databases.
• Proficiency in written and oral communication.
• Dissertation plan.
• Relevant educational background, for example in economic history, economics, demography or statistics.
• Other relevant experiences for third-cycle education, such as work experience.

We are interested in applicants with a strong commitment and interest in the demographic development of the Middle East and in understanding the demographic challenges of the region.

As the dissertation work is linked to the research program Middle East in the Contempory World and demography in the Middle East, extra weight is given to the dissertation plan, which must be attached to the application. The dissertation plan should provide a motivation and a brief outline of the proposed research. It need not be very detailed, as the full plan for the dissertation will be developed in collaboration with the supervisors after admission.  

Terms of employment

Fixed-term employment, maximum four years (full-time studies).

Only those admitted to third-cycle courses and study programmes at a higher education may beappointed to doctoral student.

For regulations concerning employment of doctoral students etc, see the Higher Education Ordinance,Chapter 5, Sections 1-7.

For regulations concerning admission to third-cycle courses and study programs, see the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 5, Sections 34-41.

Application procedure

Please use Lund University job application portal when applying: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/about/work-at-lund-university

The application must be written in English.

The application should contain:

• Personal letter in which the applicant gives a short description of him/herself and his/her researchinterests and its relevance for the position (max three pages).
• A dissertation plan (max three pages).
• Curriculum vitae.
• Grade transcripts.
• Master thesis or similar degree projects.
• If appropriate, documented language skills relevant for third-cycle studies.
• Other documents that the applicant wishes to submit.

The applicant is encouraged to name a maximum of two teachers or researchers who can give recommendation letters, but we do not consider recommendation letters with the application.