PhD scholarship at the Department of Communication, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship at the Department of Communication. The chosen candidate will be employed and enrol at the Faculty of Humanities under PhD School at the Faculty of Humanities

The scholarship is for 3 years starting on 1 January 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The successful candidate will be appointed to the ERC-funded project “Women in the Nordic Enlightenment (WHENCE). Changing the narratives of early modern philosophy and uncovering women’s contribution to Scandinavian gender equality” led by PI Sabrina Ebbersmeyer.

The core of this project is to bring to light and critically assess women’s intellectual contribution to the Nordic Enlightenment by examining a text corpus consisting of unpublished material and published texts written by more than a hundred women in Scandinavia. The guiding hypothesis is that the Nordic way of women’s Enlightenment significantly differs from developments prevalent in other regions of Europe, and that women played a decisive role in creating a sustainable identification of the Nordic countries with gender equality.

The PhD student is expected to investigate the impact of women’s writings and their agency on men’s thought about women and gender equality with a particular focus on the proto-feminist thought in the writings of Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754), Otto Sperling (1634-1715), and Petrus Hedengrahn (1677-1727).

Introduction
The PhD program is study program which aims at training PhD students, at an international level, to undertake research, development, and teaching assignments. These qualifications open a window of opportunity to a variety of careers within the private and public sectors. The program includes the drafting of a PhD thesis, active participation in research networks and the Department’s scholarly life, PhD courses, teaching, and other forms of knowledge dissemination. The standard duration of the PhD programme is three years of full-time studies, which equals 180 ECTS credits.

Qualification requirements

• Applicants must have a two-year master’s degree (120 ECTS) or equivalent - preferably in philosophy or in a neighbouring discipline - and, as minimum, have submitted a master’s thesis for which they have received pre-approval at the time of application.
  The qualifications of applicants with non-Danish master’s degrees will be assessed to decide whether they correspond to the Danish level. For further information, please refer to the website of the Ministry of Education and Research:
  General assessments for specific countries — English (ufm.dk).
• Danish, Swedish, and Latin reading skills are required.
• Familiarity with methods in the history of philosophy and gender analysis are of advantage.
• Applicants must possess skills in written and spoken academic English at a high. If deemed necessary, the Department may request that applicants document their English skills.

For further information about the guidelines for PhD studies at UCPH, please refer to:
PhD Programs - Guide to studies and admission – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

For further information about the structure of the PhD programme, please refer to:
Structure of the PhD programme – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Applicants are also invited to familiarize themselves with the ongoing research at the faculty:
Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Equal Opportunity Workplace
University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society, and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their personal backgrounds. For more information on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).

Application
To be awarded a PhD scholarship the applicant has to enrol as a PhD student at the Faculty of Humanities, cf. the rules of the Danish Ministerial order No 1039 of 27 August 2013.  

Please note that normally there is strong competition for these scholarships, and only a few can be awarded each term.

How to apply
Applications must be submitted online. Click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of this advertisement to apply. The application must be written in English, and include the following enclosures in Adobe PDF or Word format:

• Project abstract (Please fill in the “Project abstract” box in the application form. Must not exceed 1.200 characters).
• Cover Letter detailing your motivation and background for applying for the specific PhD project.
• Project description (recommended no more than 12,000 keystrokes not including bibliography) 
• CV   
• Diploma and transcripts of records (BSc and master’s degree)   
• Time schedule 
• Budget 
• Other information for consideration, e.g. list of publications, documentation of English language qualifications (if relevant) 

Please note that it is only possible to upload one document per attachment category. If more than one document must be uploaded in the same category, please make sure that they are scanned and collected into one file.

The recruitment process
The following criteria are applied when assessing PhD applications:

• Research qualifications as reflected in the project proposal
• Quality and feasibility of the project
• Qualifications and knowledge in relevant disciplines
• Performance (grades obtained) in graduate and post-graduate studies
• Department of Communication can offer adequate supervision for the research topic in question. 

After the deadline for applications, the Head of Department considers advice from the Appointment Committee and then selects applicants for assessment. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted. After this, the Head of Department sets up an expert Assessment Committee to assess the shortlisted applications. The selected applicants will be informed who is serving on the committee. Individual applicants will be offered the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment of their application before the appointment is announced.

For further information about the application procedure, please refer to the University of Copenhagen website:  Recruitment process – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Terms of employment
PhD students are paid a salary in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately DKK 30,700 (approximately EUR 4,110) plus 17.1% pension. The PhD student has a work obligation of up to 840 hours over the 3-year period without additional pay. The work obligation can include for instance teaching.

International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here:
For international researchers at the University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Contact information
For further information about the structure and rules of the PhD program, please email the PhD Administration at South and City Campuses, email: phd@hrsc.ku.dk.

If you have any questions about the academic content of the PhD programme, please e-mail phd-komm@hum.ku.dk.

Information about the recruitment process is available from HR South and City Campuses, email: hrsc@hrsc.ku.dk, please refer to case number: 211-1879/24-2H.

For further information about the research project, please contact the PI of the project, Professor Sabrina Ebbersmeyer, e-mail: ebbersmeyer@hum.ku.dk.

The deadline for applications is 25 September 2024, at 23:59 (CEST).

Any applications or additional material submitted after the deadline will not be considered. However, changes may be made to the submitted application right up until the deadline.