PhD student in Sociology, Gang Recruitment Project

The PhD student will be employed within the larger project GANGREC (Gang recruitment in the 21st century), financed by the ROCKWOOL Foundation. GANGREC investigates how contemporary criminal gangs in Denmark and Sweden attract new recruits in present-day society, both online and offline. The project employs a multi-method qualitative approach, combining interviews with gang-related individuals and stakeholders with a hybrid ethnography that observes gangs’ presence and practices in both digital and physical spaces.

The project is recruiting a PhD student who should possess the following skills and competencies:

• A Master’s degree in Sociology, Criminology, Anthropology, or related discipline.
• Experience with and/or the capability to conduct (gang) ethnography, including gaining access and building rapport. As the PhD position involves extensive interviewing and long-term ethnographic observation with people who are about to, or who have already, joined the gang environment in Sweden and Denmark, it is essential that the candidate can establish contact, gain access, and work in such environments.
• A finely tuned legal, ethical, and moral compass. The candidate must be able to navigate ethically and morally within gang/criminal environments.
• Strong theoretical ability and curiosity. The project’s ambition is not only to deliver research insights of great relevance to Scandinavian peers and audiences but also to achieve substantial international impact. For the PhD student, this includes both the ability and the willingness to contribute to the theoretical development of gang research and to (cultural) criminology more broadly.

Besides such individual focus point, the PhD position and daily work will involve the following aspects:

• Develop research ideas and analyses based on the project's overall theme, focus and empirical material.
• Carry out an extensive ethnographic fieldwork and conduct interviews.
• Participate in regularly scheduled project meetings.
• Collaborate closely with the research leader and other team members in all aspects of the project.
• Be interested in internalization (e.g. by helping to build up an international research network and spending some time abroad at a relevant international university)
• Write single-authored and co-authored articles for publication in high-ranking journals during the employment period, present their research at national and international conferences and participate in public dissemination of project findings in the media, at stakeholder meetings etc.
• An interest in teaching, for example as part of the department’s bachelor program in criminology or it’s master program in cultural criminology

Language:

Excellent knowledge of English is required. Excellent knowledge of Swedish and/or Danish (preferably both) is also highly prioritized. Proficiency in other potentially relevant languages is considered an asset.

The working language in the doctoral program is primarily English.

Other aspects:

The doctoral student is expected to be present at the department and actively participate in the project group meetings as well as the department’s research and teaching environment.

Type of employment Temporary employment, four years according to HF 5 kap 7§

The PhD program consists of 240 credits (equivalent to four years of full-time studies) and is concluded with the public defense of a doctoral thesis. The position may involve departmental duties, mainly in the form of teaching, up to 20 per cent of full-time 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 doctoral studentship will commence in February 2026 (or at another date, if agreed upon) . The general syllabus and other information about the PhD program in Sociology is available at: https://www.soc.lu.se/en/doctoral-studies/handbook-doctoral-students

General qualifications

The requirements for admission to third cycle courses and study programs (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 program.

A person meets the general entry requirements for third cycle (doctoral/PhD) courses and study programmes if they

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

• In addition to the general entry requirements, a person meets the specific admission requirements for third-cycle programmes in sociology if they have completed a second-cycle degree in sociology, anthropology, criminology or a related subject, or have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

• The degree must contain independent projects comprising at least 15 credits in sociology or the equivalent at second-cycle level.

Assessment criteria

Only applicants who are eligible for third cycle (PhD/doctoral) 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. The applicants will be ranked based on an overall assessment of the quality and originality of their submitted papers and their personal suitability.

As third cycle studies 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 languages relevant to the position/project (see above).

The following criteria are of particular importance in the assessment;

• The quality of the Master’s thesis or other publications, and their relevance to the project in terms of general significance, theoretical quality, and methodological approach.
• Documented experience with social science methodologies, in particular qualitative methods such as ethnography and interviews.
• Documented experience with, or knowledge of, gangs, (potential) gang recruits, or other similar sociocultural environments.
• A proven theoretical ability.
• Competence to independently develop research designs relevant to the project, as demonstrated in the Master’s thesis, scientific publications, the cover letter, and during the interview.
• References from former supervisors, teachers and/or colleagues.
• Furthermore, the applicant’s physical presence in Lund during the period of employment is important in order to actively engage in team meetings and contribute to the department’s research environment.

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 also after the application has been submitted.

Application procedure

Applications are to be submitted electronically via the Lund University application portal. The application shall be written in English and must include:

• An extended cover letter in English of max 2500 words, which contains:

1. A brief presentation of yourself and your qualifications in relation to the project
2. A brief explanation of why you are interested in third cycle studies at the Department of Sociology at Lund University.
3. A reflection on how the project aligns with your interests and experiences, including how you envision carrying it out and what specific research questions you may want to explore.

• A CV in English that demonstrates your qualifications for the third cycle program in Sociology.
• Official degree and grade certificates in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or English.
• Any publications, including degree project/master thesis in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or English corresponding to at least 15 credits at advanced level in sociology, anthropology, criminology or other discipline deemed equivalent.
• Name and contact information of two personal references.

More about us

The Faculty of Social Sciences at Lund University is one of the leading education and research institutions in Sweden and operates both in Lund and Helsingborg. The Department of Sociology is home to three disciplines, social anthropology, sociology and gender studies. Common for these is that they try to understand and explain the individual and society in their social, cultural and historical contexts. Research in the department spans from empirical studies of contemporary social issues to critical social analysis, and the development of social science theory and methods.

For further questions:

• For project- or research-related matters, please contact David Sausdal (david.sausdal@soc.lu.se).
• For administrative matters, please contact Anna Melin (anna.melin@sam.lu.se).

Application deadline

November 5th , 2025