PhD student in Political Science, Comparative politics 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
The PhD programme in political science consists of 240 credits (equivalent to four years of full-time studies) and is concluded with the public defense of a doctoral thesis. The appointed doctoral students will receive a salary from the University during four years, and their primary obligation is to complete their PhD studies. The position may involve departmental duties, mainly in the form of teaching, up to 20 per cent of fulltime working hours, in which case the appointment will be extended by the equivalent number of hours. The terms of employment for doctoral students are regulated in the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance (HF), Chapter 5, Sections 1– 7.

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 comparative politics in the Middle East, and the PhD Candidate will have double affiliations with CMES and the Department of Political Science. The PhD Candidate is expected to take part in activities (e.g. seminars) both at the department and at CMES.

The main language of the PhD programme is English. However, non-Swedish speaking students are expected to acquire basic skills in Swedish during the period of employment. There are opportunities to participate in language courses taught at the University. The doctoral studentship will commence on 1 September 2021. The general syllabus and other information about the PhD programme in political science is available at: http://www.svet.lu.se/en/education/phd-studies

Qualifications
The requirements for admission to third cycle courses and study programmes (in accordance with HF, Chapter 7, Section 35) are that the applicant

• meets the general and specific entry requirements that the higher education institution may have laid down, and
• is considered in other respects to have the ability required to benefit from the course or study programme (Swedish Code of Statutes 2010:1064).

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

• has been awarded a second cycle qualification,
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

Other requirements
In addition to the general entry requirements, the applicant must have completed at least 30 second cycle credits within the main field of political science, or acquired the equivalent knowledge in Sweden or abroad. The applicant must also present a graded Master’s degree project of at least 15 credits in political science or other discipline deemed equivalent.

Assessment criteria
Only applicants who are eligible for third cycle studies may be appointed to a doctoral studentship. Admission is primarily to be based on the applicant’s ability to benefit from the third cycle programme. We are interested in applicants with a strong commitment and interest of comparative politics in the Middle East and in understanding the political challenges of the region. As the dissertation will be linked to the research program MECW, extra weight is put on the dissertation plan. The dissertation plan should provide a motivation and a brief outline of the proposed research.

The applicants will be ranked based on an overall assessment of the quality of their submitted thesis/theses and research plan, grades from previous studies, and their personal suitability. As third cycle studies in political science are very demanding, the applicant must be highly motivated and able to work independently under time constraints. Good collaboration and communication skills are also required, as is proficiency in both oral and written English. Interviews will be conducted with a shortlisted number of applicants during the final stages of the admission process. The applicants may be asked to provide work samples.

Application procedure
Applications are to be submitted electronically via the Lund University application portal.

The application must include:

• A cover letter in Swedish or English of max 1 000 words, which contains a brief presentation of yourself and your qualifications, as well as a brief explanation of why you are interested in third cycle studies at the Department of Political Science at Lund University.
• A CV in Swedish or English that demonstrated your qualifications for the third cycle programme in Political Science.
• Degree and grade certificates in Swedish or English.
• Master’s degree project in Swedish or English corresponding to at least 15 credits in political science or another discipline deemed equivalent (in addition to the Master’s degree project, a Bachelor's degree project can also be submitted).
• A research plan in English of max 2 000 words including references.
• Name and contact information of two personal references (letters of reference are not required in the first stage of application).
• Other documentation of relevance to the position.