PhD-positions

Two PhD fellowships in Medical Science and Technology Studies/Medical Anthropology at the Department of Public Health

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

University of Copenhagen

The Centre for Medical Science and Technology Studies at the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, invites applications for two fully funded three-year PhD fellowships in Medical Science and Technology Studies/Medical Anthropology. The positions are available from January 1, 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter. The PhD projects will focus on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics in healthcare, employing ethnographic methods to explore their implications for contemporary medical practice. The fellowships are available via the Carlsberg Foundation Semper Arden Accelerate-funded project “PATHWAYSs of precision: AI-driven predictions in neurocognitive and mental illness (PATHWAY)”: PATHWAYs of precision: AI-driven predictions in neurocognitive and mental illness | Carlsbergfondet.dk.

Project description

We seek two highly motivated applicants with a strong interest in ethnographic research on the social, ethical, and organizational implications of novel digital and data-intensive medical technologies. Specifically, the PhDs will investigate and theorize how predictive AI tools establish new pathways for patient- and personhood, professional practice, and healthcare delivery:

PhD 1 will investigate how predictive AI is employed in dementia diagnostics
PhD 2 will investigate how predictive AI is employed in the treatment of mental illness

Both PhDs will conduct participant observation in clinical settings at hospitals, qualitative interviews with healthcare professionals, patients, and biomedical/bioinformatics scientists, as well as document analysis of policy papers and clinical guidelines related to AI in healthcare. Please indicate which of the two projects, you are applying for.

Our group and research
The PhD candidates will be based at the Centre for Medical Science and Technology Studies (MeST) at the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen. MeST is a vibrant, internationally recognized, and highly interdisciplinary research environment with scholars from public health, anthropology, sociology, history, psychology, medicine, and philosophy. United by a shared interest in how medical technologies shape and interact with humans and healthcare systems, MeST researchers explore a wide range of topics, with a particular—though not exclusive—focus on precision medicine and digital health. The center provides a stimulating intellectual setting, offering opportunities for collaboration, academic exchange, and methodological innovation.

Principal supervisor is Associate Professor Iben Mundbjerg Gjødsbøl, e-mail: ibgj@sund.ku.dk, direct phone: 35337318.

Start: January 1, 2027

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

Carrying through an independent research project under supervision.
Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
Participating in active research environments, including a stay with an international research team.
Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
Teaching and disseminating your knowledge
Writing a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

PhD Programme Description:
The PhD programme is a three-year full-time research education within the framework of the 5+3 scheme. We seek candidates holding a relevant academic degree within the project’s subject area of the project, e.g. anthropology, ethnology, public health, sociology.

Qualifications and key criteria for the assessment of applicants

If you have completed your academic education in Denmark, the admission to the PhD programme requires a relevant Master’s degree (equivalent to 180 ECTS BSc + 120 ECTS MSc).

If you have an academic education from abroad, you must have either a degree equivalent to a Danish master's degree (180 ETCS + 120 ECTS MSc), or at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor's degree (180 ECTS) and be academically qualified at master's level.

As part of the assessment of whether you meet the educational requirements, you must also achieve a positive academic evaluation and be assessed as the best qualified for the position.
The successful applicant will have experience or training in ethnographic methods, i.e. participant observation and qualitative interviews. The applicant should be interested and skilled in theoretical development within the social studies of medical science and technology/medical anthropology. Also, the applicant should be interested in learning to communicate research findings in teaching, conference presentations, and by writing scientific papers for high-ranking international journals. The PhD will engage in interdisciplinary research collaborations, and we therefore highly value human qualities and collaboration skills.

It is a prerequisite that the applicant can be and is not already enrolled as a PhD student at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

Other important criteria are:

The grade points achieved
Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
Other professional activities
A curious mind-set with an interest in the social studies of medical science and technology
Language skills in written and oral English
Language skills in written and oral Danish for fieldwork

Place of employment

Place of employment is the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic, international research environment.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 3 years. The start date is January 1, 2027, or after agreement.

The employment is conditioned upon the applicant’s successful enrolment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree. Salary, pension and terms of employment are 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 begins around 29.691 DKK /approx. 3.973 EUR (November 2025-level) plus pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowships, please contact Associate Professor Iben M. Gjødsbøl.

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Your application including all attachment must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

Cover letter explaining your qualifications and research focus (max. one page).
Motivation letter explaining your reasons for applying for the position (max. two pages). The motivation letter should include a short, suggested project outline, including motivation for the study, research questions, and methodology. You are welcome to apply for both subprojects.
CV including education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
Original diplomas (Bachelor and Master degree or equivalent) and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science
Publication list (if possible)
A writing sample (e.g., master’s thesis or other relevant material)
Names and email addresses of two references (reference letters are not required)

Application deadline: September 7, 2026, 23.59pm CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You find information about the recruitment process at: http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicants will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Interviews are expected to be held in week 43

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.

PhD fellowship in “Agentic AI and Large Language Models for Global Pathogen Analysis”

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We are offering a PhD fellowship in “Agentic AI and Foundation Models for Global Pathogen Analysis” commencing July 1st 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Our group and research
The Bhatt-Duchene Group is based in the Section for Health Data Science and AI at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Public Health. The group works at the intersection of computer science, mathematics, biology, and epidemiology, developing and applying novel statistical methods and deep learning approaches for global health challenges. The group’s research spans disease modelling, genomic analysis, causal inference with machine learning, and deep learning for various health-related domains.

The Global Pathogen Analysis Platform (GPAP) is a new international initiative to strengthen global pandemic preparedness by developing a freely available, AI-powered platform for pathogen genomic analysis. GPAP is supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation with up to DKK 200 million over six years. The platform will be established with its main hub at DTU's National Food Institute and partner nodes at the University of Copenhagen, Statens Serum Institut, and Imperial College London, together with international collaborators around the world. The GPAP consortium brings together expertise in artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, pathogen genomics, epidemiology, public health, and software infrastructure.

Project description
The PhD project will focus on developing intelligent AI systems, language language models (LLMs), and AI-for-Science approaches that can be integrated into the GPAP platform. The project is expected to combine methodological research with robust software implementation and real-world deployment in a large international research infrastructure.

Relevant research directions include, but are not limited to:

Benchmarking and evaluation of large language models and foundation models for biological, genomic, and phylogenetic tasks.
Pre, mid, and post-training, adaptation of large language models for biological, genomic, and phylogenetic tasks.
Agentic AI systems that can interact with bioinformatics pipelines, databases, and scientific software for pathogen genomic analysis, interpretation, and automated scientific reporting.
Reliable, reproducible, and auditable dashboards and workflows for infectious disease surveillance and outbreak analysis.

The successful candidate will be expected to formulate an independent PhD project within this area in collaboration with the supervisory team.

Principal supervisor is Professor Samir Bhatt, Department of Public Health, Email: samir.bhatt@sund.ku.dk

Co-supervisor is Dr Harrison Bo Hua Zhu, Department of Public Health, Email: harrison.zhu@sund.ku.dk

Co-supervisor is Dr Neil Scheidwasser, Department of Public Health, Email: neil.clow@sund.ku.dk

Start: July 1st, 2027

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student (+ 3 months as research assistant for enrolment, if relevant)

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student will be to:

Carry out an independent research project under supervision.
Develop new AI methods and software systems relevant to GPAP.
Implement, evaluate, and document research prototypes and platform-facing tools.
Publish scientific papers in high-quality international venues.
Complete PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS credits.
Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution.
Contribute to teaching, supervision, or other forms of knowledge dissemination related to the PhD project.
Write and defend a PhD thesis based on the project.

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project, e.g. data science, statistics, economics, computer science, computational linguistics, or a related quantitative discipline. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years). In addition, the following will be considered:

Essential experience and skills:

A strong academic background and degree in computer science or related field.
Experience with large language model pre/mid/post-training (e.g. Agentic Reinforcement Learning), evaluation and agentic harness construction
Strong software engineering skills, proficiency in Python programming, experience with Git and modern deep learning frameworks (PyTorch/Jax/TensorFlow)
Ability to work independently and in collaboration with researchers, engineers, and domain experts.
Strong motivation to conduct internationally competitive research and translate methods into working software.
Experience and interest with AI for Science, computational biology, pathogen genomics, phylogenetics, epidemiology, or bioinformatics workflows.
Excellent written and spoken English.

Desirable experience and skills:

Publications, open-source contributions, research software, or other documented outputs relevant to the project.

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and high-performance computing infrastructure with GPU clusters for large-scale analyses.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 3 years. The start date is July 1st, 2027.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree.

Salary, pension, and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately 31,800 DKK/Roughly 4,250 EUR (August 2026 level) plus pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

3. Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science

4. Publication list (if possible)

Application deadline: 8 September 2026, 23.59 (CEST)

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You find information about the recruitment process at: http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicants will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.

PhD fellowship in the mechanisms of muscle-derived FGF21 signaling and age-related metabolic resistance in aging

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

University of Copenhagen

We are offering a PhD fellowship in the mechanisms of muscle-derived FGF21 signaling and age-related metabolic resistance, commencing 1 November 2026, or as soon as possible.

Our group and research

The Finger Group, part of the Division of Translational Metabolism at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, investigates how mitochondrial dysfunction, cardiolipin metabolism, and endocrine stress signals drive skeletal muscle decline during aging. We combine mouse models of aging and myopathy, mitochondrial bioenergetics, and endocrine signaling approaches (FGF21, leptin, insulin) with cutting-edge molecular and imaging techniques. As a newly established group, we offer a dynamic, hands-on environment where PhD students work closely with the PI and collaborate across an international network, including groups studying exercise physiology, redox biology, and metabolic endocrinology.

Project description

Skeletal muscle produces FGF21 as a stress hormone under mitochondrial and metabolic strain, signaling in an endocrine manner to distal organs such as liver, adipose tissue, and brain to coordinate a systemic metabolic stress response. However, with aging, target organs appear to become progressively resistant to muscle-derived FGF21, blunting its protective systemic effects and contributing to metabolic dysfunction associated with sarcopenia and metabolic myopathy. This project will dissect the molecular basis of this age-related FGF21 resistance in peripheral target organs, using in vivo mouse models (including AAV-mediated gene delivery and inducible systems), assessment of muscle-derived FGF21 release under metabolic and mitochondrial stress, and cellular/molecular readouts of FGF21 receptor signaling in target tissues. The successful candidate will characterize how target-organ FGF21 sensitivity declines with age, identify the receptor/downstream signaling nodes responsible for this resistance, and test strategies to restore FGF21 responsiveness in aged or diseased organs, with the aim of informing new therapeutic angles for age-related metabolic dysfunction.

Principal supervisor is Fabian Finger, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, fabian.finger@sund.ku.dk.

Start: 1 Novemberber 2026 (negotiable)

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

Job description

Your key tasks as a PhD fellow at SUND are:

• Carrying through an independent research project under supervision, addressing FGF21 resistance in aging and disease

• Completing PhD courses or equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points

• Participating in an active research environment, including a stay at another research team preferably abroad

• Writing scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals

• Obtaining experience with teaching or other dissemination related to your PhD project

• Writing a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

Applicants must hold qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project, e.g. molecular biomedicine, nutritional science, physiology, biochemistry, or a related field. The master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).

Other important criteria are:

• The grade point average achieved

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project, particularly hands-on experience with mouse models (including FELASA certification, in vivo/ex vivo muscle physiology assays, and molecular biology techniques (qPCR, Western blot, cell culture)

• Previous publications or presentations on skeletal muscle metabolism, mitochondrial biology, or endocrine/FGF21 signaling

• Relevant work experience in a translational metabolism or muscle physiology laboratory

• Other professional activities, e.g. participation in aging or metabolism research networks

• A curious mindset with a strong interest in mitochondrial biology, endocrine signaling, and aging-related muscle dysfunction

• Fluency in written and spoken English

Additional merits or desired skills

The ideal candidate has one or more of the following competencies: in vivo mouse handling and surgical techniques (IP injections, intramuscular injection, resistance training in mice), ex vivo muscle contraction assays, AAV-mediated gene delivery in skeletal muscle, CRISPR/Cas9 approaches, cell culture (e.g. C2C12 myotubes) and satellite cell isolation, and molecular/protein analysis techniques (qPCR, ELISA, Western blot, HPLC-based protein separation). Prior exposure to FGF21 biology, receptor signaling, or aging/sarcopenia research is a strong asset.

Place of employment

The place of employment is the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic, international research environment with modern laboratories for mouse physiology, molecular biology, and imaging.

Terms of employment

Average weekly working hours: 37. Fixed-term position for 3 years, conditioned on successful enrolment as a PhD student at the SUND Graduate School.

The employment as PhD Fellow follows the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations/AC collective agreement. Furthermore, the employment is covered by the rules concerning PhD Fellows as described in the Job structure for academic staff at universities of 2025.

Monthly salary starts at approximately 31,800 DKK (~4,250 EUR, August 2026 level) plus 18.07% employer-paid pension. There will be an opportunity to negotiate a supplement based on qualifications.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

3. Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database/?set_language=en. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science

4. Publication list (if possible)

Application deadline: 9 September 2026, 23:59 CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You find information about the recruitment process at: http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicants will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Interviews are expected to be held in week 40.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.

PhD position for 3 years in stem cell-based disease modelling of the hypothalamus

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW)

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

University of Copenhagen

Position: PhD position, full-time, 3 years

Start: 15/12-2026 or upon agreement

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW) at University of Copenhagen is looking for a PhD student to join the research group led by PI Agnete Kirkeby. The position is scheduled to commence on the 15th of October 2026 or in the following months, as per agreement with the chosen candidate. The position as PhD student is for 3 years, with potential possibility for extension.

Research group

The Kirkeby research team is located at the The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW) at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences of University of Copenhagen. Our group works with stem cell-based models to produce high-quality neuronal, glial, 3D and assembloid models. We use these to develop stem cell transplantation therapies for neurodegenerative disorders as well as to perform disease modelling of CNS diseases in vitro. Our work has a strong translational focus, and we build our research on decade-long experience in clinical translational from bringing the first European pluripotent stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s Disease into clinical trial. In our disease modelling projects, we work on Parkinson’s disease, Lewy Body dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and models of hypothalamic appetite regulation.

We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and highly international research environment. Our team at University of Copenhagen currently consists of around 20 team members representing 13 different nationalities. Our students and postdocs always work collaboratively together in teams towards common goals to ensure that no one is left to work alone on a project. Our labs are located in the Center for stem cell medicine (https://renew.science/) placed in modernised research facilities and include state-of-the-art laboratories, pleasant office facilities and access to high-quality core facilities in transcriptomics, imaging, flow cytometry and proteomics. You can read more about the team here.

Job description

We are seeking a highly motivated and ambitious PhD candidate with a strong educational background from the field of stem cell biology, biotechnology, neuroscience or similar. You will be part of a n international interdisciplinary consortium project studying the molecular mechanisms of appetite regulation in human stem cell-derived hypothalamic in vitro models. You will, in close collaboration with several other project students and postdocs, investigate the intracellular pathways involved in receptor-mediated activation of human appetite-suppressing and appetite-stimulating neurons, using novel stem cell models of key hypothalamic nuclei. You will find yourself working in a highly collaborative environment, closely engaged with other team members who are also working on in vitro stem cell models.

The technologies you will apply are:

Culturing and subtype-specific differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into neurons ad glial cells
Quality control of neuronal subtypes in the dish through qRT-PCR and immunocytochemistry
Scaling up of stem cell cultures to high-throughput multiwell format for automated analysis
High-throughput screening of peptides and small molecules in the dish for identification of hypothalamic GPCRs with appetite-regulating roles
Proximity labelling in stem cell models using gene edited cell lines and proteomics
Mechanistic studies on key GPCRs and their function in stem cell models

Key criteria for the assessment of the applicants

The following requirements for the candidate will be assessed as key criteria for the recruitment.

Mandatory requirements:

Master’s degree related to the subject area of the project e.g. Biology, Biomedicine, Biotechnology, Human Biology, Medicine or similar
Experience in working with pluripotent stem cells and culturing of neural cell types
Collaborative mindset with strong team spirit
Fluency in English, written and spoken.

Positively assessed criteria:

Experience in working with 3D/organoid cultures
Experience in high-throughput screening assays and high-content image analysis
Experience in working with intracellular cAMP assays
Experience in working with assessment of neuronal connectivity, synapse formation or neuronal function (i.e. electrophysiology or MEA)
Experience in qRT-PCR, ICC, confocal imaging and automated image analysis

Experience in CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing of hiPSCs and hESCs

It is expected that you as the candidate will perform an independent research project with a high degree of autonomy in project planning. We’re looking for a candidate with strong scientific depth and intellectual curiosity, with the ability to interrogate complex biology, challenge assumptions, and critically interpret the existing literature. You are expected to positively embrace collaborations with other team members on your own project as well as on the projects of your colleagues. Overall, it is expected that you contribute actively to a pleasant work environment within the group. A strong academic track record with a productive publication list and positive reviews from previous supervisors, collaborators or mentors will also weigh strongly in the assessment.

Terms of salary, work, and employment :

The successful candidate will be offered a full-time position for a total of 3 years as PhD student. Salary and other terms and conditions of appointment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant professional organization. The position is covered by the “Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at the Universities” of June 28, 2013. In addition to the basic salary, a monthly contribution to a pension fund is added (18.07% of the salary). Candidates from abroad may be eligible to reduced tax payment, according to the Special Tax Scheme for Researchers. More information about this can be found here: https://ufm.dk/en/research-and-innovation/cooperation-between-research-and-innovation/researchers-mobility/the-special-tax-scheme-for-researchers

Application procedure

Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
CV incl. education, experience from previous research projects, previous employments, technical skills, language skills and other skills relevant for the position + contact information of two references.
Publication list
Master of Science diploma and transcript of records.

Contact information:

For questions about the project and group, please contact the principal supervisor:

Associate Professor Agnete Kirkeby, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine

e-mail: agnete.kirkeby@sund.ku.dk phone: +45 5168 5353

Application deadline: 13 September 2026, 23.59pm CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

Assessment procedure

After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences comprises approximately 7500 students, 1500 PhD students and 3200 employees. The Faculty advances the field of health sciences through its core activities: research, teaching, knowledge sharing and communication. With basic research fields ranging from molecular studies to studies of society, the Faculty contributes to a healthy future through its graduates, research findings and inventions benefitting patients and the community. The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position. www.ku.dk

PhD fellowship in cellular mechanisms underlying severe post-acute disease biology at the Department of Biomedical Sciences

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We are offering a PhD fellowship in cellular mechanisms underlying severe post-acute disease biology in the Desler Group at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen commencing on November 1, 2026 or as soon as possible hereafter.

Our group and research
The Desler Group investigates how alterations in cellular metabolism and immune function contribute to chronic disease development. Our research investigates how mitochondrial dysfunction, immunometabolic reprogramming, cellular senescence and persistent inflammatory responses contribute to disease development following viral infections and during aging. We do so by bridging human cohort studies with mechanistic molecular biology by integrating longitudinal clinical datasets, multi-omics analyses and advanced 2D and 3D cellular model systems to investigate the mechanisms underlying post-acute disease trajectories affecting the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal system. Furthermore, the group investigates aging at the molecular level and its link to age-related diseases. Our goal is to unveil novel molecular mechanisms in aging and chronic disease development, discover robust biomarkers for age-related diseases, and identify potential therapeutic targets.

The Desler Group coordinates the Horizon Europe POINT project and collaborates closely with clinical and international partners to translate fundamental discoveries into improved patient care. More information about the group can be found here (https://bmi.ku.dk/english/research-divisions/translational-metabolism/desler-group/)

Project description
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a major blind spot in our knowledge and mechanistic understanding as well as accelerated recognition of post-acute infectious disease biology with emerging evidence demonstrating similar long-term sequelae following influenza and other infectious disease. Though a link between the post-acute phase and chronic disease development has been identified, the molecular mechanisms and functional consequences remain poorly understood.

This interdisciplinary project will be conducted in collaboration with Amager & Hvidovre Hospital (AHH) and aims to identify conserved molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying severe post-acute disease following COVID-19 and influenza by integrating longitudinal patient cohorts with mechanistic experimental in vitro models. By integrating proteomic and metabolomic signatures of patient plasma with functional mechanistic outcomes of advanced cellular models, the project seeks to provide a translational framework for post-acute disease biology to move beyond descriptive profiling toward mechanistic functional validation of overlapping mechanisms of immunometabolism driving disease trajectories.

Your tasks will include the development and optimization of transwell barrier models to investigate the functional consequences of post-acute circulating factors on disease-relevant cellular systems and linking these with multi-omics analysis of circulating plasma factors.

Principal supervisor is Associate Professor Claus Desler, Department of Biomedical Sciences, cdesler@sund.ku.dk

Start: January 1, 2027

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

Job description
The successful applicant will join an interdisciplinary research environment investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying post-acute infectious disease. The PhD candidate will primarily contribute to the experimental work within mechanistic in vitro models focused on cellular immunometabolism.

As a PhD candidate in the Desler group, you will take on both teaching- and research-related responsibilities, including the supervision of students associated with this project. We strive for great outreach in our project, and part of the job includes presenting and communicating your research to the public as well as scientific community.

Your key tasks as a PhD fellow at SUND are:

Carrying out an independent research project under supervision.
Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
Participating in active research environments, including a stay at another research team.
Gaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project.
Teaching undergraduate students and disseminating your knowledge.
Writing a PhD thesis based on your project.

Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated and ambitious candidate with a strong educational background in metabolism, mitochondrial bioenergetics, and in vitro models.

Required qualifications:

Master’s degree in a relevant field, such as Human Biology, Molecular Biomedicine, Biotechnology, or a related discipline.
Hands-on experience and expertise within mammalian cell culture is required.
Relevant laboratory experience in a molecular biology setting with molecular and cellular biology techniques such as qPCR and Western blotting.
Strong interest in mitochondrial metabolism and a strong background in performing mitochondrial analyses including Seahorse XF metabolic flux analysis.
Previous publications.
Prior experience with working on EU Horizon projects is required.
Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
The applicant is expected to be highly engaged, structured, flexible, curious, and able to work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary and international research environment.

Additional desirable qualifications:

Experience with human plasma exposure in vitro models of inflammation.
Experience with transwell models and 3D spheroids is an advantage.

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 3 years. The start date is January 1, 2027 or as soon thereafter

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor, Claus Desler, at cdesler@sund.ku.dk

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

3. Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database/?set_language=en. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science

4. List of publications

Application deadline: 13 September, 23.59pm CET
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You find information about the recruitment process at: http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicants will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their personal background.

PhD fellowship in Bioenergy witCarbon Capture and Storage

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Section for Forest and Bioresources, invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage. The project is part of the project “BECCS as a tool to achieve net-negative GHG emissions in Europe”, which is financed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Start date is 1 January 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is considered a requirement to meet the temperature targets of the Paris Agreement, by compensating hard to abate GHG emissions and by removing already emitted CO2 from the atmosphere. To achieve negative emissions, CDR must be based on non-fossil carbon sources, e.g., carbon in biomass. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) offers a potentially low-cost opportunity for CDR, which is already developed to a comparably high technology readiness level enabling rapid implementation. While the use of biomass for heat and electricity (BE) production is well established in several European countries only few BECCS facilities operate on commercial scale.

Biogenic carbon is a limited resource and considerate use of it is paramount for sustainable development. Furthermore, biomass production is connected to land use, with land use change being a potential driver of GHG emissions and climate change. Deploying BECCS in large regionwide scales consequently raises a number of unanswered questions. Do we achieve most climate benefits with temporary carbon storage in ecosystems managed for storage or with BECCS?

The complex interactions between ecosystems and surrounding technoeconomic systems raise significant scientific questions about the climate effect of BECCS. The scientific challenge is to develop a deeper understanding of the carbon dynamics in time and space of the system-complex comprising, ecosystems, e.g., forests, and the surrounding techno-economic systems (harvest, processing, and consumption of goods and services).

Who are we looking for?
We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with strong interdisciplinary qualifications and interests in ecology, forestry and energy systems analysis. Requirements for the candidates are:

Experience and interest in systems thinking and systems analysis.
Good understanding of ecosphere-technosphere interactions with focus on carbon and greenhouse gases.
Experience in techno-economic assessment.
Qualifications in spatial analysis and GIS.
Experience in quantitative, predictive or stochastic modelling, data analysis, and machine learning.
Experience with Python and advanced AI frameworks applied to bioresources.

Our group and research – and what do we offer?
The position is located within the Silviculture, Trees and Bioresources research group. The research group is highly diverse, encompassing expertise in systems analysis, forestry, growth modelling, and ecological restoration. Together, these areas aim to advance the understanding, development, and management of forest ecosystems to support a wide range of ecosystem services, including carbon storage, material and energy provision, groundwater regulation, and biodiversity conservation. The group is a part of the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen.

We are located on Frederiksberg Campus in Copenhagen and offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment.

The department is planning to increase its focus on the climate change mitigation potential of forests in upcoming projects. We therefore welcome applications from candidates with a broader interest in the intersection of forests, forest-based climate solutions, biosphere-atmosphere interaction, climate policy, and related themes.

Principal supervisor is Associate Professor Niclas Scott Bentsen, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, nb@ign.ku.dk, Phone: +45 20206318.

The PhD programme
Depending on your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either:
A three-year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.

An up to five-year full-time study programme within the framework of the integrated MSc and PhD programme (the 3+5 scheme), if you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree – but you have an education equivalent to a Danish bachelors´s degree.

Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

Terms of appointment and payment accord to the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Qualifications needed for the integrated MSc and PhD programme
If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programme, if you have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish bachelor´s degree. Here you can find out, if that is relevant for you: General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of the integrated programme
To be eligible for the integrated scholarship, you are (or are eligible to be) enrolled at one of the faculty’s master programmes in Climate Change, Environmental Science, Environment and Development, or Biosolutions.

Students on the integrated programme will enroll as PhD students simultaneously completing their enrollment in this MSc degree programme.

The duration of the integrated programme is up to five years and depends on the amount of credits that you have passed on your MSc programme. For further information about the study programme, please see: www.science.ku.dk/phd, “Study Structures”

Until the MSc degree is obtained, (when exactly two years of the full 3+5 programme remains), the grant will be paid partly in the form of 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: “Ph.d.-SU-klip”) plus salary for work (teaching, supervision etc.) totaling a workload of 150 working hours per year.

A PhD grant portion is currently DKK 7.426 before tax.

When you have obtained the MSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Responsibilities and tasks in both PhD programmes:

Complete and pass the MSc education in accordance with the curriculum of the MSc programme (ONLY when you are attending the integrated MSc and PhD programme)
Carry through an independent research project under supervision
Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for the following qualifications:

Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
Relevant work experience
Other relevant professional activities
Curious mind-set with a strong interest in ecosystem services and green transition
Good language skills

Physical presence at IGN is considered a natural part of being an employee to contribute to a welcoming, socially pleasant, creative and innovative work environment. IGN offers the possibility for flexibility and working from home, but an employee is expected to regularly be present.

Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
Original diplomas for Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
Publication list (if possible)
Reference letters (if available)

Application deadline:
The deadline for applications is 14 September 2026, 23:59 GMT +2.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above-mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in week 44.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

PhD Fellowship in Simulation-Supervised Machine Learning for Biology

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Department of Computer Science (DIKU) invites applicants for PhD fellowships in Computer Science. This project is a part of the project “Differentiable Realism from AI and Modeling” (DREAM) financed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Start date is (expected to be) 1 January 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter. The position is for 3 years.

The project

This PhD project will develop simulation-supervised machine learning methods for biological data where reliable labels are scarce, expensive, or impossible to obtain. The aim is to train models on synthetic data generated by biophysical simulations by developing simulations that can be automatically tuned to be realistic enough that the trained models generalize to real experimental data.

The project will combine differentiable programming, biophysical simulation, differentiable rendering or signal generation, and machine-learning architectures for reducing the simulation-to-reality gap. A central challenge is to automatically tune simulations so that synthetic datasets match the variability, noise, and structure of real, unlabelled biological datasets. This will enable machine-learning models to learn from perfect synthetic ground truth rather than from limited human annotations.

Possible methodological directions include differentiable simulations in JAX or PyTorch, neural or physics-based rendering, generative distribution matching, and domain adaptation. The exact direction of the PhD project will be defined in dialogue with the student and will depend partly on their interests and background. One application area is chromatin organization, where simulations of DNA or chromatin structure could support machine-learning analysis of microscopy data, including segmentation, loop quantification, nucleosome spacing, or structural inference.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for highly motivated candidates with a strong background in computer science, machine learning, scientific computing, physics, applied mathematics, or a closely related field.

Relevant experience may include one or more of the following:

machine learning, deep learning, or generative modelling
computer vision or biological image analysis
differentiable programming, for example in JAX or PyTorch
numerical simulation, physics-based modelling, or scientific computing
domain adaptation, synthetic data generation, or simulation-to-reality methods
microscopy data, biophysical systems, or computational biology.

Our section

The project will be hosted by the IMAGE section, which performs research in machine learning, computer vision, and simulation. The section is a part of the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. We are located in Copenhagen.

PhD supervisors are Julius B. Kirkegaard. Email: juki@di.ku.dk and Jon Sporring Email: sporring@di.ku.dk

Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. [relevant educations]. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

Terms of appointment and payment accord to the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Application and Assessment Procedure

Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. Original diplomas for Bachelor of Science or Master of Science and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.

3. Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position. If possible, also include a note on your grades from the diplomas.

4. Include a publication, project, or code that you are proud of.

5. Copy of your Bachelor or Master thesis (if available).

6. Name, email of reference(s).

7. Publication list (if available).

8. Reference letters (if available).

Application deadline

The deadline for applications is 15 September 2026, 23:59 CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above-mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

PhD Scholarship in Middle Eastern Archaeology (stylistic analysis) at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The position is offered within the framework of the Networks Before Agriculture: Social Interaction in Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic Jordan project and will focus on the technological and typological analysis of Levantine Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic chipped stone artefacts. The project is funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark and led by Professor Tobias Richter.

Introduction
The PhD programme is a study programme which aims at training PhD Fellows at an international level to undertake research, development, knowledge dissemination and teaching assignments. The main emphasis is on PhD students organising and conducting their own research project (under supervision). The programme includes the drafting of a PhD thesis which the student must defend at a public defence. The standard duration of the PhD programme is three years of full-time studies, which equals 180 ECTS.

A PhD degree opens a range of career opportunities in academia and elsewhere. As well as writing a thesis, PhD students work in active research environments in Denmark and abroad. They contribute to the academic environment, take research training courses, and convey the results of their research in teaching, at academic conferences and to the general public.

The PhD Fellow will work in the interdisciplinary Ancient Culture Studies section, which brings together the fields of Assyriology, Middle Eastern Archaeology, Egyptology, and Mesoamerican Studies (https://ccrs.ku.dk/research/ancientcultures/). The section focuses on the world’s earliest complex societies in the Middle East and Mesoamerica and the lasting legacies of their ideas. Our research and teaching span combines ancient languages and archaeology to understand some of the most significant transformations in our collective past, including the rise of villages and cities, the emergence of writing and religion, and the development of technology, craftsmanship, political power, and social inequality. Our researchers study both ancient texts and material culture, as well as the context of these past legacies in the present.

The Project
The Networks Before Agriculture: Social Interaction in Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic Jordan project focuses on reconstructing the emergence and development of socio-material networks during the Final Pleistocene and Early Holocene in the Levant and how such networks contributed to the spread of the Neolithic way of life. The project applies an innovative combination of geological, material culture and computer-based methods to reconstruct how people exchanged raw materials and shared knowledge during the transition from foraging to farming in southwest Asia. Drawing on materials from the Qa’ Shubayqa in eastern Jordan the project will test different models of prehistoric social interaction and will provide new insights into how social networks arose and developed.

The PhD fellow will conduct technological and typological analysis of chipped stone artefacts from Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic sites in the Qa’ Shubayqa using technological attribute and geometric morphometric shape analysis to trace stylistic and cultural relations between the inhabitants of Shubayqa and other sites in the wider Levant. The role will involve conducting primary data collection and analysis, fieldwork in Jordan, teaching in the department, presenting at scientific meetings, and co-organizing an international workshop. PhD fellows must also complete a short secondment at another research institution as part of their degree program.

This role will suit applicants who want to deepen their knowledge and experience in lithic analysis, and especially the computerized analysis of artefact shapes. Applicants must hold a relevant MA degree in Middle/Near Eastern or Prehistoric archaeology, or similar. Knowledge of and experience in techno-typological analysis of chipped stone, preferably with a focus on the Epipalaeolithic and/or Neolithic of the Levant, will be essential. Applicants must be able to participate in fieldwork in Jordan and have well-developed writing and research skills, and be able to demonstrate research potential, for example through a strong Master's thesis, publications, or conference presentations.

Applicants should either be comfortable working with, or willing to develop skills in statistical and comparative analysis of technological and artefact shape data. Prior experience with relevant software for quantitative or geometric morphometric analysis (e.g. R, Python, or dedicated shape-analysis packages such as MorphoJ or geomorph) is an advantage, but training will be provided. Experience with 3D scanning, digitization, or other artefact recording techniques will also be an advantage. As the project draws on geological, material culture, and computational approaches, the successful candidate should be able to demonstrate an ability to work both independently and collaboratively within an interdisciplinary team.

Qualification Requirements
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to master’s level related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Middle/Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, or similar. If you have completed your education in Denmark, you must have a master’s degree covered by the collective agreement for academics in the state sector.

If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, you must either have a master’s degree equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years) or as minimum a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor’s degree (three years) and be assessed as having professional qualifications at master's level.

If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, we will obtain an assessment of your education from the Danish Research Agency.

Applicants must possess skills in written and spoken academic English at a high level. If deemed necessary, the department may request that applicants document their English skills.

Application

Please submit your application online. To apply, please click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of this page. Your application must be written in English, and include the following attachments in either PDF or Word format:

Cover letter (max. 3 pages)
CV
Diplomas, transcripts and description of grading scale
Please include the following documents: bachelor’s and master's degree - diplomas and transcripts, description of grading scale. Note: If your master’s degree diploma is not available by the application deadline, please include your latest transcript of grades.
A short sample of written work, e.g. in the form of a published piece of work or extract from your MA dissertation.

Applicants holding a degree from a university where the working language is neither English nor a Scandinavian language must include translated versions of their diploma and transcripts, verified by the issuing university. The documents must be translated into English, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish. In addition, an official description of the relevant grading scale (e.g. diploma supplement) must be included.

On the website of the PhD School, you can find more information about the attachments your need to include with your application: PhD at the Faculty of Humanities.

Assessment Criteria
The following criteria are applied when assessing PhD applications:

Research qualifications, as reflected in the attached CV and project description
Competencies and knowledge of relevant fields of academic research
Level (grades obtained) of bachelor and master’s studies.

Salary and Terms of Employment
Terms of appointment and salary will be in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The salary range starts at approximately DKK 31,800 (EUR 4,200) + an 18.07 % pension contribution.

According to the agreement, the PhD Fellow is required to carry out tasks at the relevant department to an extent corresponding to 840 working hours (6 months) over the course of the three-year employment.

You can read more about employment as a PhD Fellow here: Employment as a PhD student.

The Head of Department will appoint an expert assessment committee to evaluate the shortlisted applications. The shortlisted applicants will be informed of the committee’s composition. Each shortlisted applicant will be given the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment before the appointment is finalised.

Enrolment
It is a prerequisite for employment that successful applicants enrol at the PhD School of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen. Follow the links below for further information: PhD Programmes - Guide to studies and admission.

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 our services at: For international researchers at the University of Copenhagen.

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. To learn more about our diverse workplace and our participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, please visit HR Excellence in Research

Contact Information
We encourage you first to consult our website, where most questions concerning the recruitment process as well as the academic content and structure of the PhD programme are addressed:
Structure of the PhD programme

Recruitment process.

If you do not find the information you are looking for, you are welcome to contact HR Søndre at hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk.
For specific questions about the role and project, please contact Tobias Richter at richter@hum.ku.dk. Please remember to state the ID number 211-2513/26-2H #2.

The deadline for applications is 15 September 2026 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.

PhD Scholarship in Middle Eastern Archaeology (sourcing) at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Section for Ancient Culture Studies at Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies invites applications for a three-year PhD scholarship starting from 1 January 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.
The position is offered within the framework of the Networks Before Agriculture: Social Interaction in Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic Jordan project and will focus on the geological sourcing of inorganic raw materials. The project is funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark and led by Professor Tobias Richter.

The PhD Fellow will work in the interdisciplinary Ancient Culture Studies section, which consists of Assyriology, Middle Eastern Archaeology, Egyptology, and Mesoamerican Studies (https://ccrs.ku.dk/research/ancientcultures/).

The section focuses on the world’s earliest complex societies in the Middle East and Mesoamerica and the lasting legacies of their ideas. Our research and teaching span combines ancient languages and archaeology to understand some of the most significant transformations in our collective past, including the rise of villages and cities, the emergence of writing and religion, and the development of technology, craftsmanship, political power, and social inequality. Our researchers study both ancient texts and material culture, as well as the context of these past legacies in the present.

The PhD fellow will conduct thin-section optical analysis, XRD, and SEM/EDX analysis of inorganic raw materials from Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic sites in the Qa’ Shubayqa to trace sources of raw materials in the region. The role will involve conducting primary data collection and analysis using these methods, fieldwork in Jordan, teaching in the department, presenting at scientific meetings, and co-organizing an international workshop. The PhD fellow will collaborate with colleagues at the Globe Institute and the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen, and the Department of Geology at the University of Jordan. All PhD fellows must complete a short secondment at another research institution as part of their degree program.

This role will suit applicants with a prior degree in geology who intend to transition into geoarchaeology or archaeologists who want to develop a specialism in geoarchaeological methods. Applicants should have relevant fieldwork experience and must be able to participate in fieldwork in Jordan. In addition, they should have well-developed writing and research skills, and be able to demonstrate research potential, for example through a strong Master's thesis, publications, or conference presentations. Prior knowledge and experience with applying geological methods for inorganic material characterization and in data analysis and visualization will be an advantage, as will experience with sample preparation techniques such as thin-sectioning or other laboratory-based mineral identification methods. Proficiency in relevant software for quantitative and spatial data analysis (e.g. R, Python, or GIS) is desirable. As the project draws on geological, material culture, and computational approaches, the successful candidate should be able to demonstrate an ability to work both independently and collaboratively within an interdisciplinary team. Familiarity with the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic periods of western Asia, in particular the Levant, will also be useful, but is not essential.

Qualification Requirements
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to master’s level related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Middle/Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Geoarchaeology, Geology, or similar. If you have completed your education in Denmark, you must have a master’s degree covered by the collective agreement for academics in the state sector.

If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, we will obtain an assessment of your education from the Danish Research Agency.

Applicants must possess skills in written and spoken academic English at a high level. If deemed necessary, the department may request that applicants document their English skills.

Application
Please submit your application online. To apply, please click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of this page. Your application must be written in English, and include the following attachments in either PDF or Word format:

Cover letter (max. 3 pages)
CV
Diplomas, transcripts and description of grading scale
Please include the following documents: bachelor’s and master's degree - diplomas and transcripts, description of grading scale. Note: If your master’s degree diploma is not available by the application deadline, please include your latest transcript of grades.
A short sample of written work, e.g. in the form of a published piece of work or extract from your MA dissertation.

On the website of the PhD School, you can find more information about the attachments your need to include with your application: PhD at the Faculty of Humanities.

Assessment Criteria
The following criteria are applied when assessing PhD applications:

Research qualifications, as reflected in the attached CV and project description
Competencies and knowledge of relevant fields of academic research
Level (grades obtained) of bachelor and master’s studies.

You can read more about employment as a PhD Fellow here: Employment as a PhD student.

The Recruitment Process
Following the application deadline, the Head of Department will, on the advice of the appointment committee, select applicants for assessment. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted. The Head of Department will appoint an expert assessment committee to evaluate the shortlisted applications. The shortlisted applicants will be informed of the committee’s composition. Each shortlisted applicant will be given the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment before the appointment is finalised.

Recruitment process.

If you do not find the information you are looking for, you are welcome to contact HR Søndre at hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk. For specific questions about the role and project, please contact Tobias Richter at richter@hum.ku.dk. Please remember to state the ID number 211-2514/26-2H #2.

The deadline for applications is 15 September 2026 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.

Vacant PhD scholarship at iCourts, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen is inviting applications for a PhD position available from 1 February 2027. The PhD scholarship is fully funded and salaried. The start date is negotiable.

The successful candidate will join the Avant-Courts project at iCourts, Centre of Excellence for International Courts and Governance. The candidate will be part of dynamic, new, interdisciplinary research teams at iCourts, a leading research hub on the empirical study of international courts and legal governance.

About the projects

Avant-Courts - Decentring Legal Power: Avantgarde Courts at the Frontiers of the Global Economy: The project is led by Professor Mikael Rask Madsen and investigates the transformation of the global legal order caused by the rise of new hybrid courts at the frontiers of the global economy. It focuses on jurisdictional battles and legal knowledge exchanges between Western courts and new challengers, analysing how new litigation hubs are disrupting traditional legal institutions. The project starts out by examining avantgarde courts in three distinct legal spaces: new economic spaces, outer space, and virtual spaces. Other empirical sites may also be considered.

More information about the research project and its aims and methods may be found here: https://jura.ku.dk/icourts/research/avant-courts/

The PhD Programme
The PhD will be part of the wider PhD Programme offered by the Faculty of Law. The goal of the PhD Programme is threefold: to prepare candidates for a continuing career in teaching and research; to educate a new generation of scholars to produce high-quality independent research; and to equip them with the analytical and problem-solving skills required for a successful career in both the public and private sectors.

The Faculty of Law offers supervision by highly qualified academics and provides an excellent opportunity to research contemporary legal issues in an intellectually stimulating environment.

The successful PhD candidate is required to:

Actively engage in the research environment at the University of Copenhagen; participate in international conferences, courses and meetings relevant to their research project;
Comply with the formal requirements of the PhD programme;
Contribute to teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in Danish or English offered by the Faculty of Law;
Conduct independent and high-quality research under the supervision of the PI related to their project.

Qualification Requirements
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to master’s level related to the subject area of the project, e.g. [relevant educations]. If you have completed your education in Denmark, you must have a master’s degree covered by the collective agreement for academics in the state sector.

If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, we will obtain an assessment of your education from the Danish Research Agency.

Applicants must possess skills in written and spoken academic English at a high level and have

excellent communications skills. Applicants must be able to teach at an academic level in Danish

or English and to follow PhD courses in English. If deemed necessary, the faculty may request that

applicants document their English skills.

Application

Please submit your application online. To apply, please click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of this page. Your application must be written in English and include the following attachments in either PDF or Word format.

We advise you to have the following documents ready before you begin your online application:

Research project proposal: This should include the following: (1) objective(s) of the research, (2) major research questions, (3) review of relevant literature, (4) methodology to be applied in the research, and (5) a timetable that plans for all course requirements to have been met within three years. The project description must elaborate on the value of the proposed research project in terms of its relevance to existing and future research in the field. It is recommended that the project proposal does not exceed 6 A4 pages (excluding bibliography). The document must be in Times New Roman, font size 12, spacing 1.5 with all margins (right, left, top and bottom) set to 2 cm
Curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages).
Diplomas and transcripts: Certified copies of original diploma(s) and transcripts (both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree) in the original language and an authorized English translation if they are issued in other language than English or Danish.
Grading scale: A certified explanation of grading scale in the original language and an authorized English translation if it is available in another language than English or Danish.
Letter of motivation: Explain the choice of the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen as a host institution for the proposed project and outline how the project fits within the research priorities at the Faculty (maximum 1 page).
Documentation of English level: Documentation of English level can for instance be documented by an excellent IELTS or TOEFL test.

On the website of the PhD School, you can find more information about the attachments your need to include with your application: Admission requirements and application procedures.

The recruitment process
Once the deadline for applications has expired, the Associate Dean of Research will consider advice from the appointment committee and select applicants for assessment. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted. The Associate Dean of Research will then set up an expert assessment committee to consider the applications. The selected applicants will be informed who is serving on the committee. They will be offered the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment of their application before the appointment is announced.

As an applicant to the University of Copenhagen, you should be prepared to undergo a security screening related to international research collaboration as part of the recruitment process. The security screening will be conducted in cases where the University deems it appropriate based on an overall assessment.

Enrolment

It is a prerequisite for employment that successful applicants enrol at the PhD School of the Faculty of Law. Follow the links below for further information: PhD Programmes - Guide to studies and admission.

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all interested parties regardless of personal background to apply for the position. To learn more about our diverse workplace and our participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, please visit HR Excellence in Research.

Terms of employment

Terms of appointment and salary will be in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The salary range starts at approximately DKK 31,600 (EUR 4,200) + an 18.07 % pension contribution.

According to the agreement, the PhD Fellow is required to carry out tasks to an extent corresponding to 840 working hours (6 months) over the course of the three-year employment.

You can read more about employment as a PhD Fellow here: Employment as a PhD student.

The Faculty does not provide accommodation.

Contact Information

Questions about the Avant-Courts project may be addressed to Mikael Rask Madsen at mikael.madsen@jur.ku.dk.

Contact information
Information about the recruitment process is available from HR, e-mail: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk, please refer to ID number: 211-2511/26-2H #2

Closing date for applications

The closing date for applications is 15 September 2026, 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.

PhD fellowship in trained immunity in zebrafish

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Institute of Veterinary and Animal Sciences are offering a PhD fellowship in immunology using zebrafish as a model commencing 1 January 2027 or after agreement.

The project is part of the research project Decoding innate immune signatures driving trained and adaptive immunity in fish using a high-resolution in vivo and in vitro zebrafish model, which is financed by the Independent Research Foundation Denmark.

The project

The project investigates how the innate immune system of fish contributes to protection against infectious diseases. While fish have traditionally been considered to rely primarily on innate immunity, recent evidence suggests that they can also develop trained immunity – a form of innate immune memory that can provide enhanced protection following subsequent infections.

Using the zebrafish (Danio rerio) model, the project will investigate how neutrophils and macrophages respond to different infectious stimuli and how these responses shape both trained and adaptive immunity. We will among other things work with the parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis and the bacterium Vibrio anguillarum, using complementary in vivo and in vitro approaches, live imaging and molecular analyses.

The overall aim is to identify innate immune signatures and biomarkers that can predict the development of long-lasting protective immune responses. The project will contribute to a better understanding of trained immunity in fish and may ultimately support the development of improved and more targeted vaccination strategies for sustainable aquaculture.

The specific tasks will include immunization of larval and adult zebrafish using microinjection, infectious disease challenges, analysis of immune-relevant gene expression, in vivo imaging, isolation of innate immune cells for in vitro analyses, and stimulation of cells with defined antigens followed by functional and molecular analyses. The project will involve a combination of established and emerging techniques, and there will be room to develop new approaches and pursue ideas that arise during the project. Your ideas and suggestions for alternative or complementary techniques are very welcome. Additionally, you will engage in the diverse teaching and research activities conducted by the Exfimo group.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a background in immunology, infection biology or molecular biology. Applicants with experience in zebrafish work, advanced microscopy (in vivo imaging, confocal microscopy), host–pathogen interactions, innate immunity, vaccination, gene expression analysis, or cell-based assays are particularly encouraged to apply.

Experience with microinjection, in vivo imaging, molecular techniques, isolation and analysis of immune cells, quantitative data analysis or bioinformatics is an advantage, but not a requirement. We are looking for a curious and enthusiastic researcher who is eager to learn new techniques, work across experimental approaches, and develop their own ideas within the project.

Our group and research- and what do we offer?

The PhD student will join the Experimental Fish Models (Exfimo) research group at the University of Copenhagen. Exfimo is an interdisciplinary research group focusing on fish health, immunity and disease, with the overall aim of contributing to sustainable aquaculture through improved understanding of host–pathogen interactions and fish immune responses.

Our research combines zebrafish and aquaculture-relevant fish models with advanced experimental approaches, including in vivo imaging, molecular biology, gene expression analysis, immunological assays and experimental infection models. The group provides access to a well-established zebrafish facility, including wild-type and transgenic reporter lines for visualizing immune cell behaviour in vivo.

As a PhD student, you will become an integrated member of an international and collaborative research environment and will have the opportunity to develop expertise in a broad range of experimental techniques. You will work closely with the PI and other researchers in the group, while also having considerable freedom to develop your own scientific ideas and approaches. The project offers a strong combination of fundamental immunology and applied fish health research, with potential relevance for the development of improved vaccination and disease prevention strategies in aquaculture.

The University of Copenhagen provides a stimulating international research environment with opportunities for collaboration across disciplines and participation in national and international networks, conferences and training activities.

Principal supervisor is Associate Professor, Louise von Gersdorff Jørgensen, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, lvgj@sund.ku.dk, Direct Phone: 22833464.

Start: 1 January 2027

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

PhD Programme Description:
The PhD programme is a three-year full-time research education within the framework of the 5+3 scheme, intended for candidates holding a relevant academic degree within the project’s subject area (e.g., [relevant degrees]).

Responsibilities and tasks in the PhD programme

Carry through an independent research project under supervision

Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for the following qualifications:

Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
Relevant publications
Relevant work experience
Other relevant professional activities
Curious mind-set with a strong interest in immunology
Good language skills

Terms of employment
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

4. Publication list (if possible)

Application deadline: 20 September 2026, 23.59pm CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You find information about the recruitment process at: http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicants will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Interviews are expected to be held in week 42 and 43

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.

PhD fellowship in chemical methods for half-life extension of peptides

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Chemistry, Section for Chemical Biology invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in chemical methods for half-life extension of therapeutic peptides. The project is part of the research project “New strategies for half-life extension of peptide therapeutics”, which is financed by a Distinguished Innovator Grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Start date is (expected to be) January 1st 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project

The PhD project aims at developing new methods to chemically modify peptide therapeutics to enhance and prolong their effect in the body. The first goal is to develop novel cleavable linkages that activate the peptide when the bond is broken. The second goal is to develop new methods for taking a native peptide and chemically modify it locally so that it becomes more resistant to breakdown by enzymes.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for candidates within the fields of chemical biology, synthetic organic chemistry, peptide science, and medicinal chemistry. Applicants can have a background in synthetic bioorganic chemistry with a focus on peptides and proteins, preferably also experience with chemo-selective conjugation chemistries, medicinal chemistry of biopharmaceuticals. Experience with synthesis and characterization of bioconjugates would be advantageous. Experience with HPLC and mass spectrometry would also be advantageous.

Our group and research- and what do we offer?

Our research is at the interface between synthetic chemistry, biology, and biophysics; it includes peptide, oligonucleotide and carbohydrate chemical biology and nanoscience. It merges design and chemical synthesis of complex bio-molecules with biophysical chemistry and medicinal chemistry. The group consists of about 10 members.

The group is a part of Department of Chemistry, Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. We are located at the Frederiksberg Campus, Copenhagen.

We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and facilities for NMR and mass spectrometry.

Principal supervisor is professor Knud J. Jensen, Department of Chemistry, kjj@chem.ku.dk, Direct Phone: +45 21516721.

The PhD programme

Depending on your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as:

A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

When you have obtained the MSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Responsibilities and tasks in both PhD programmes

Complete and pass the MSc education in accordance with the curriculum of the MSc programme (ONLY when you are attending the integrated MSc and PhD programme)
Carry through an independent research project under supervision
Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for the following qualifications:

Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
Relevant publications
Relevant work experience
Other relevant professional activities
Curious mind-set with a strong interest in medicinal chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, and chemical biology of biomolecules, in particular peptides
Good language skills

Application and Assessment Procedure

Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY for position below.

Please include:

Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
Your motivation for applying for the specific PhD project
Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
Original diplomas for Bachelor or Master and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
Publication list (if possible)
Reference letters (if available)

The deadline for applications is 20 September 2026, 23:59 GMT +2.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified whether you will be passed for assessment.

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in week 43.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

PhD fellowship causal inference at the SMARTbiomed Pioneer centre

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Public Health at the University of Copenhagen offers a PhD fellowship in causal inference. The anticipated hiring date is January 1, 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter. The PhD student is expected to develop and apply methods for causal inference will be part of the SMARTbiomed Pioneer centre https://SMARTbiomed.dk/about-SMARTbiomed.

Project Description
The PhD project will develop new methods for causal inference in complex longitudinal survival data, with applications to nationwide Danish health registries. The project focuses on dynamic and asynchronously initiated combination treatments, where time-varying confounding, competing risks, treatment non-adherence and time-related biases challenge conventional analyses. By integrating mathematics, biostatistics and clinical epidemiology, and working with methods like random forest and targeted learning, the candidate will contribute to the development of interpretable survival models and doubly robust estimation methods for clinically meaningful causal effects. The methods will be applied to real-world questions concerning combination drug therapies in people with type 2 diabetes. The PhD student will join an interdisciplinary research environment with joint supervision and close collaboration across methodological and clinical research groups at the University of Copenhagen.

Principal supervisor: Thomas A. Gerds (University of Copenhagen, Medical faculty, Public Health, Biostatistics). Principal co-supervisor: Munir E. Hiabu (University of Copenhagen, Science faculty, Mathematics, Statistics). Co-supervisor: Christian Torp-Pedersen (Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen)

Job description

Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

Carry out an independent research project under supervision
Complete PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS points
Participate in active research environments including a stay at another research team
Obtain experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
Write a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

The successful applicant for the Ph.D. scholarship will be a statistician with a solid background in mathematical statistics and biostatistics. Accordingly, we require documented skills within theoretical and applied statistics and the ability to program in R. Also, the applicant should be interested in learning to communicate research findings in teaching, conference talks, and by writing scientific papers for international journals. Knowledge of clinical trials will be valued, as well as experience in collaborating with medical researchers. Specific knowledge about group-sequential trials would be appreciated but is not necessary.

It is a prerequisite for the PhD fellowship that the candidate can be and is not already enrolled as a PhD student at the faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Section of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health, CSS, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment.

About the Centre

The Pioneer Centre for Statistical and Computational Methods for Advanced Research to Transform Biomedicine (SMARTbiomed) will support a critical mass of researchers who focus on method and software development for analysis and inference from massive human data, advancing applications in medicine. The Pioneer Centre for SMARTbiomed will leverage large-scale, multimodal biomedical data combined with focussed innovation in statistical and computational methods including machine learning to advance our understanding, treatment, and prevention of human disease.

Information on the centre can be found at: https://SMARTbiomed.dk/

Terms of employment
The employment as PhD fellow is full time and for 3 years.

It is conditioned upon the applicant’s successful enrollment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant prior to employment.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree. Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The monthly salary will be based on the number of years of work experience (seniority).

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact Professor Thomas A. Gerds, tag@biostat.ku.dk

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/

Application procedure
Submit your application via the link below no later than 20 September 2026. Applications submitted after this date will not be considered.

The application must be written in English and should consist of the following:

Motivation letter of application (max 2 pages). Please briefly describe your previous research experience and interests and what attracts you to the position in terms of both the topic and the academic work.
Curriculum vitae detailing education, work, research and teaching experiences, conference presentations, publication record, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
Documentation of knowledge about mathematical statistics, biostatistics, clinical trials and experience in collaborating with medical researchers. A list of methods you have worked with and in which context would be appreciated.
Official transcripts of examination results.
A certified/signed copy of degree certificate(s).
Contact information for two reference people.

Application deadline: 20 September 2026.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the above mentioned requirements.

The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor. Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.

PhD scholarship in Grundtvig Studies at the Faculty of Theology

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Faculty of Theology at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) invites applications for a vacant PhD scholarship. The research will be conducted as part of the research project Writing with the Dead – N.F.S. Grundtvig’s Use of Historical Sources (WWD). The position is a fixed term 36-month position, starting on February 1, 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter.

About the Core Group Project
WWD investigates how the influential Danish theologian, thinker, and poet N.F.S. Grundtvig worked with textual sources from antiquity to his own day. In addition to the analysis of Grundtvig’s published works, the project group will take advantage of a new research infrastructure called Grundtvig’s Manuscripts Online (GMO). GMO uses the AI-software Transkribus to transcribe of more than 80,000 unprinted pages in the Grundtvig Archive at the Royal Danish Library. The shared theoretical foundations for the interdisciplinary research team are Modern Genre Studies and Conceptual History. More information about the core group project is available here: https://teol.ku.dk/english/research/dept/akh/writing-with-the-dead/.

The Research Environment and Activities
The Faculty of Theology is dedicated to fostering a workplace culture grounded in diversity, equity, and inclusion. We strive to offer a supportive environment for researchers at every stage of their careers, emphasizing work-life balance and equitable access to career development opportunities.
WWD offers a diverse and interdisciplinary research environment, affiliated with the section of Church History at the Faculty of Theology at the South Campus of UCPH https://teol.ku.dk/english/research/dept/akh/. Parts of the project will be conducted at other departments at the South Campus and at The Royal Danish Library. The PhD-student is expected to participate in research, teaching, and conference participation related to Grundtvig’s writings and their genesis and impact.

Job Content
We seek applicants who demonstrate strong motivation and enthusiasm for contributing to our research project. Candidates primarily from Theology or Humanities are encouraged to apply. Of special interest are applicants who want to study Grundtvig’s engagement with sources from Late Antiquity and the Early Church or from Romanticism; we also welcome other project proposals about Grundtvig’s use of historical sources. Applications should describe how their project contributes to Grundtvig research and relates directly to the goals of WWD and the synergy with the other subprojects.

We seek candidates who are interested in/or have experience with:

Collaborative research
Archival research
Using the AI-software Transkribus

The following skills are an advantage:

Knowledge of Grundtvig’s writings and sources
Proficiency in reading 19th century vernacular Danish

Inquiries about the position can be made to the Principal Investigator of the project, Associate Professor Anders Holm, phone + 45 51 30 20 35, email: aho@teol.ku.dk.

General Information
PhD studies consist of research programmes at the highest international level that qualify students for independent research, knowledge dissemination, and teaching. The main emphasis is on PhD students organising and conducting their own research project (under supervision). The programme culminates in the submission of a PhD thesis, which the student must defend in public. The programme is prescribed to 180 ECTS credits, corresponding to three years of full-time study.

The Candidate will be enrolled in the PhD School of the Faculty of Theology, see: https://teol.ku.dk/english/phd/about/

For further information about the guidelines for PhD studies at UCPH, please refer to: https://phd.ku.dk/english/.

Qualification requirements
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to master’s level related to the subject area of the project, e.g. [relevant educations]. If you have completed your education in Denmark, you must have a master’s degree covered by the collective agreement for academics in the state sector. If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, you must either have a master’s degree equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years) or as minimum a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor’s degree (three years) and be assessed as having professional qualifications at master's level.

If you have completed your education abroad, we will obtain an assessment of your education from the Danish Research Agency.

Application
All applications must be submitted online via the link “Apply now” at the bottom of this page. The application must be written in English, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish, and include the following enclosures in Adobe PDF or Word format:

Cover letter (max. 1 page) detailing your motivation and background for applying for the specific PhD position
CV (max. 2 pages, including contact details and language proficiency)
Project description (12,000 keystrokes including spaces but excluding bibliography) containing a description of: 1) the planned research project; 2) the planned contribution to Grundtvig research and the WWD project; 3) a realistic draft outline of the study programme for the fulfillment of requirements under the Ministerial Order on PhD degrees with regard to participation in courses and periods of study at other institutions.
One writing sample, demonstrating the applicant’s analytical writing skills (for example, one chapter of the MA thesis)
Diploma and transcripts of records of both Master’s degree and Bachelor’s degree.
Other information for consideration, e.g. list of publications, documentation of English language qualifications (if relevant)

The website for the PhD School offers information about the enclosures to include with the electronic application: https://teol.ku.dk/english/phd/how-to-obtain-a-phd-scholarship/admission-requirements/.

Applicants with a degree from a university where documents are not issued in English or in a Scandinavian language must provide a translation of their diploma and transcript of records verified by the issuing university. The documents must be translated into English, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish. An official description of the grading scale in question (for instance diploma supplement) must also be enclosed.

Assessment Criteria
The following criteria are applied when assessing PhD applications:

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

The Recruitment Process
After the deadline for applications, the dean considers advice from the appointment committee and then selects applicants for assessment. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted. After this step, the dean sets up an expert assessment committee to assess the shortlisted applications. The selected applicants will be informed who is serving on the committee. Each shortlisted applicant 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 recruitment process, please refer to the University of Copenhagen website: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

The Ministerial Order on PhD degrees and other relevant documents can be downloaded from the faculty homepage at teol.ku.dk or by contacting the Faculty of Theology, Karen Blixens Plads 16, 2300 Copenhagen S.

Enrollment
It is a prerequisite for employment that successful applicants enroll at the PhD School of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Copenhagen.

For further information about the structure of the PhD programme, please refer to: https://teol.ku.dk/english/phd/phd-programme/structure/.

For further information about the guidelines for PhD studies at UCPH, please refer to: https://phd.ku.dk/english/.

Salary and Terms of Employment
Terms of appointment and salary will be in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The monthly salary range starts at DKK 31,600 (EUR 4,200) + a 18,07 % contribution to the pension scheme.

According to the agreement, the PhD Fellow is required to carry out tasks at the relevant department to an extent corresponding to 840 working hours (6 months) without additional pay. The work obligation can include other related duties.

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender or personal background. For more information on the diverse working place environment at the university and the university’s participation in the HRS4R, please see: https://employment.ku.dk/working-at-ucph/eu-charter-for-researchers/.

International Applicants
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: https://ism.ku.dk/.

The University of Copenhagen strives to offer a family friendly and flexible working environment with a sustainable balance between work- and private life, including parental leave schemes (up to 47 weeks for both parents) and up to six weeks of paid holidays per year.

Contact Information
For further information about the structure and rules of the PhD programme, please contact the PhD Administration at email: phd@hrsc.ku.dk.

Information about the recruitment process is available from HR Centre South, email: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk. Please refer to case number: 211-2493/26-2H #2.

The deadline for applications is October, 1 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 to the deadline.

PhD fellowship in Infrastructures of Care for the Green Transition

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

PhD Project in INFRA-CARE (Horizon Europe, New European Bauhaus) and CARE+ (Novo Nordisk Foundation)

Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN)
Faculty of SCIENCE

University of Copenhagen

The Section of Landscape Architecture, Planning, & Society at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN) invites applicants for a PhD position in infrastructures of care for the green transition. The position is embedded in the research project “INFRA-CARE: Nurturing Infrastructures of Care by Centering Culture, Nature, and Solidarity in the Green Transition”, financed by Horizon Europe under the New European Bauhaus programme, and connects to the project CARE+: Climate Action, Responsibility and Ethics of Care, financed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Start date is (expected to be) 1 February 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project

The PhD will be primarily embedded in INFRA-CARE, a Horizon Europe project awarded under the New European Bauhaus programme (call HORIZON-NEB-2025-01-PARTICIPATION-02). Coordinated as a 36-month Research and Innovation Action with 8 European partners, INFRA-CARE reimagines European neighbourhoods as ecosystems of care, where social, cultural, ecological, institutional, and digital infrastructures sustain wellbeing, solidarity, and ecological resilience beyond moments of crisis.

Across five European cities — Copenhagen, Athens, Vienna, Łódź, and Berlin — Living Labs and Biennales co-create and test evidence-based strategies to embed care, creativity, and inclusion into neighbourhood transformation, exploring how everyday cultural and caring practices foster trust, belonging, and civic engagement, particularly among marginalised groups. A Digital Neighbourhood Atlas visualises social, ecological, cultural, institutional, and digital infrastructures of care, while the Caring Neighbourhood Index measures their impact on cohesion and green discontent, and the Caring Futures Guidelines translate insights into scalable, policy-relevant tools for inclusive, sustainable, and beautiful green transitions. Together, these actions generate evidence and transferable strategies that show how culture and care can nurture Europe’s social fabric, ensuring the green transition becomes a care transition.

The position will also connect to CARE+: Climate Action, Responsibility and Ethics of Care (Novo Nordisk Foundation, led by Aalborg University in partnership with the University of Copenhagen, DiverCities, EIT Urban Mobility, Miljøpunkt Amager, and Trafik i Børnehøjde), which investigates how a care-centred, technology-enabled model of climate engagement can reduce emissions from everyday school-run mobility while strengthening climate literacy and agency among children, families, and municipalities. CARE+ offers a closely related empirical site through which questions of care, infrastructure, and the green transition can be further grounded and compared.

Across both projects, care is treated not as a private sentiment but as a public infrastructure: a set of practices, relationships, and institutional arrangements that sustain life, belonging, and ecological resilience, and that must be actively built, resourced, and defended if the green transition is to be just and durable.

Research scope

The successful candidate will develop an independent PhD project that empirically grounds and theoretically advances the concept of care as it operates across these two initiatives. While the final scope will be shaped together with the candidate and supervisory team, the project is expected to:

- Empirically investigate one or more sites of everyday care practice connected to INFRA-CARE and/or CARE+, for example, infrastructures of care (social, cultural, ecological, institutional, digital) within one or more of INFRA-CARE’s five living-lab neighbourhoods (Copenhagen, Athens, Vienna, Łódź, Berlin), engagement with project tools and strands such as the Caring Neighbourhood Index, the Listening Labs piloting arts- and culture-based civic engagement, or the multispecies storytelling strand extending care to more-than-human relations in planning, or the mobility of care in CARE+’s school-run living labs and citizen-sensing activities.

- Engage critically and constructively with theoretical literature on the ethics of care (e.g. Tronto, Sen, Nussbaum), feminist mobilities and environmental justice scholarship, and emerging work on care infrastructures and more-than-human relations in planning and urban governance.

- Contribute original conceptual work that advances how care is operationalised, measured, and made actionable for planning practice and policy, for instance, critically engaging with tools such as the Caring Neighbourhood Index or the Digital Neighbourhood Atlas, while remaining attentive to the risks of instrumentalising or flattening care as a concept.

- Be feasible within a three-year scope: a single, well-defined empirical case or a small comparative set of cases which can be translated into a paper-based PhD dissertation format (e.g. one or two of INFRA-CARE’s five neighbourhoods), rather than an attempt to cover the full breadth of either parent project.

Candidates are encouraged to propose their own angle of entry into this scope, whether more strongly empirical (e.g. comparative fieldwork within INFRA-CARE’s neighbourhood living labs) or more strongly theoretical (e.g. a conceptual contribution to care ethics in planning theory), provided the project remains anchored in the empirical material generated by INFRA-CARE and/or CARE+.

Project tasks and responsibilities

Alongside the independent PhD project, the successful candidate is expected to contribute to defined tasks and deliverables within the two parent projects. These tasks anchor the PhD in the day-to-day work of the consortia and provide direct access to the projects’ empirical material, tools, and networks.

Within INFRA-CARE, this might include:

- Collecting, coding and analysing qualitative and geo-coded data from digital photovoice walks with community members, and supporting stakeholder and socio-spatial mapping in the Copenhagen (Hørgården) living lab and other case sites.

- Conducting case studies of a sub-set of the five neighbourhood living labs (Copenhagen, Athens, Vienna, Łódź, Berlin) and contributing to the Caring Neighbourhood Index and the Digital Neighbourhood Atlas dashboards.

- Supporting the drafting of technical reports, policy briefs and the Caring Futures Guidelines, and participating in research team and consortium meetings.

The balance between these project tasks and the candidate’s independent research will be agreed with the supervisory team as part of the PhD plan.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for candidates within the field(s) of care ethics, urban sustainability, and the green transition. Applicants can have a background from human geography, anthropology, urban planning, landscape architecture, sociology, environmental humanities, or a related social science or humanities discipline.

We are looking for a candidate who can demonstrate:

- A strong academic background and clear motivation for doctoral-level research on care, ethics, planning, and the green transition.

- Familiarity with qualitative and/or participatory research methods; experience with mixed-methods approaches (e.g. citizen science, GIS, or quantitative social science) is an asset but not required.

- Excellent written and spoken English.

- Proficiency in written and spoken Danish or another Scandinavian language is preferable.

- The ability to work independently while contributing constructively to a larger, multi-partner research consortium.

- An interest in policy-relevant, practice-engaged research that bridges theory and real-world impact.

Our group and research- and what do we offer?

The candidate will join the Section of Landscape Architecture, Planning, & Society, an active, interdisciplinary research environment with strong links to municipal partners, NGOs, and European research networks. The candidate will have opportunities to participate in living-lab fieldwork, project meetings, and dissemination events including planned Bienneles and the Festival of Care.

The group is a part of the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. We are located in Copenhagen.

We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment.

Principal supervisor is Associate Professor Natalie Marie Gulsrud, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, nagu@ign.ku.dk, Direct Phone: +45 21865524.

The PhD programme

Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Responsibilities and tasks

Carry through an independent research project under supervision

Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
Write and defend a PhD thesis based on your project

We are looking for the following qualifications:

Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
Relevant publications
Relevant work experience
Other relevant professional activities
Curious mind-set with a strong interest in care, ethics, planning, and the green transition
Good language skills

Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
Your motivation for applying for the specific PhD project
Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
Original diplomas for Bachelor or Master and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
Publication list (if possible)
Reference letters (if available)

Application deadline:

The deadline for applications is 1 October 2026, 23:59 GMT +2.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, several applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above-mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will determine whether each applicant is qualified and which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in week 46-48.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

[General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/].

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

PhD fellowship in DNA Replication and Early Mammalian Development at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We are offering a fully funded three-year PhD fellowship in the Halliwell Group at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (ICMM), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The position is funded through the Novo Nordisk Foundation Hallas-Møller Emerging Investigator Grant and will commence on 1 April 2027.

Our group and research
The Halliwell Group investigates one of the most fundamental questions in biology: how life successfully begins from a single cell. We study how DNA replication is established during the earliest stages of mammalian development and how failures in this process contribute to genome instability, infertility and pregnancy loss.

Our research combines developmental biology, genome biology, molecular genetics and embryology with state-of-the-art genomic technologies. We are particularly interested in understanding how the maternal and paternal genomes are reprogrammed immediately after fertilisation and how this process ensures faithful genome duplication during the first embryonic cell divisions.

As a member of the laboratory, you will join an ambitious and collaborative research environment where curiosity, technical innovation and scientific independence are encouraged. The group is embedded within ICMM, providing access to outstanding facilities for human and mouse embryology, advanced microscopy, genome engineering, transgenic mouse models and single-cell genomics.

Project description

Every human life begins with a single fertilised egg that must accurately duplicate its DNA before the first cell division. Surprisingly, DNA replication during these earliest stages of development remains poorly understood despite its importance for healthy embryonic development. Errors that arise during this process are thought to contribute to many cases of embryo arrest, miscarriage and developmental disorders.

This PhD project will investigate how DNA replication programmes are established immediately after fertilisation and how they are coordinated with changes in chromatin organisation and genome regulation. Using a combination of molecular biology, genome engineering, embryology and single-cell genomic approaches, the project aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms that ensure accurate genome duplication at the beginning of life.

The successful candidate will receive extensive training in modern experimental techniques and will have the opportunity to develop expertise in embryology, genome biology and functional genomics while working on a highly interdisciplinary project.

Principal supervisor is Dr Jason Halliwell, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, jhalliwell@sund.ku.dk.

Start: 1st April 2027

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

Job description
As a PhD student, you will become an integral member of a growing research group and contribute to an exciting programme in developmental genome biology.

Your responsibilities will include:

Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
Participating in active research environments including a stay at another research team.
Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
Teaching and disseminating your knowledge.
Writing a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project
Designing and carrying out an independent research project under supervision.
Learning and applying modern molecular, cellular and genomic techniques.
Working with mammalian cell culture, genome engineering and embryology.
Analysing and interpreting experimental data.
Collaborating with researchers across the Department and with international collaborators.

Qualifications:
If you have completed your academic education in Denmark, the admission to the PhD programme requires a relevant Master’s degree (equivalent to 180 ECTS BSc + 120 ECTS MSc).

If you have an academic education from abroad, you must have either a degree equivalent to a Danish master's degree (180 ETCS + 120 ECTS MSc), or at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor's degree (180 ECTS) and be academically qualified at master's level.

As part of the assessment of whether you meet the educational requirements, you must also achieve a positive academic evaluation and be assessed as the best qualified for the position.

Other important criteria are:

The grade point average achieved
Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
Previous publications
Relevant work experience
Other professional activities
A curious mind-set with a strong interest in developmental biology.
Language skills
genuine enthusiasm for experimental research and scientific discovery.
Practical laboratory experience in molecular or cellular biology.
Excellent communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively.
Excellent written and spoken English.

Experience with one or more of the following is advantageous, but not essential, as full training will be provided:

Mammalian cell culture.
CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering.
Fluorescence microscopy.
Next-generation sequencing.
Bioinformatics.
Mouse models or embryology.

Above all, we are looking for a curious, motivated researcher who enjoys solving challenging biological problems and is eager to learn new techniques.

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the The Department for Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The successful candidate will join a newly established research group at an exciting stage of its development, with the opportunity to help shape its scientific direction. You will receive close mentorship, broad technical training and opportunities to build an international research network.

The Department provides a vibrant and interdisciplinary research environment with excellent core facilities, including advanced microscopy, transgenic animal services, embryo manipulation platforms and integrated single-cell genomics. You will work alongside researchers studying chromosome biology, developmental biology, stem cells and reproductive medicine, creating many opportunities for collaboration.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 3 years. The start date is 1st April 2027 or thereafter.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree.

Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately 31.800 DKK/Roughly 4250 EUR (August 2026 level) plus 18,07% pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree.
We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science
Publication list (if possible)

Application deadline: 1st October 2026, 23.59pm CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You find information about the recruitment process at: http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicants will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Interviews are expected to be held in week 45

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.

PhD fellowship in Soil Fertility phosphorus

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences (PLEN) invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in Soil Fertility. The project is part of the research project “Can microbial phosphorus mobilization be primed? Organic fertiliser effect on biological soil phosphorus cycling (PRIME-P)”, which is financed by the NovoNordisk Foundation.

Start date is 1 January 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project
Biobased fertilisers (BBF) exist in many forms (sewage sludge, compost, animal manures etc.) with different chemical properties, elemental composition and nutrient concentrations influencing their behaviour upon addition to soil. Unlike mineral phosphate fertilisers, many BBF contain significant amounts of organic phosphorus (P) and calcium phosphate forms, which are not directly available to plants. Soil microorganisms play a crucial role in the mineralization of organic P and the solubilisation of inorganic P, making microbial-driven soil P transformations essential for plant P availability when using BBF. Because of the relatively large carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents of BBF, soil organic matter may be signicantly modified, thereby affecting soil microbial activity. The objective of the PhD project is to determine how additions of different BBF affect soil organic matter over time and influence microbial P mobilisation. The main research questions are: 1) Do different forms of OM affect microbial P mobilization? 2) Do the different OM fractions have the similar levels of P mineralization? 3) How do soil properties influence microbially mediated P cycling?

To address these questions, activities will include soil characterization in relation to P availability, soil organic matter fractionation upon recent and historical BBF additions, soil incubation studies to investigate microbial P processing (using isotopic techniques (33P and 18O enriched water) and measurements of enzymatic actvity), investigation of microscale mechanisms using advanced imaging techniques and potentially implementation of a soil-plant model in collaboration with another team member.

Who are we looking for?
We are looking for candidates within the field(s) of soil biogeochemistry, plant nutrition or a closely related discipline, with interest in fundamental and applied aspects of soil science and plant nutrition. We are seeking a motivated and ambitious individual with strong interpersonal and communication skills, as well as excellent spoken and written English. We encourage applications from candidates with a combination of the following or closely related competences:

strong knowledge of, and interest in, soil biogeochemistry processes, with special emphasis on phosphorus and soil organic matter dynamics.
excellent experimental experience in laboratory work, including soil sampling and analyses, soil organic matter fractionation, use of isotopic techniques etc.
ability to translate theoretical scientific questions into practical experimental designs and measurements
ability to analyse and interpret complex datasets.
ability to work independently and take initiative, strong hands-on problem-solving skills, and the capacity to acquire new skills.

We recognize that research shows that women and other underrepresented groups often hesitate to apply unless they meet every requirement. If you are excited about this position and believe you can contribute, we strongly encourage you to apply, even if your experience does not perfectly match every qualification listed. We value curiosity, motivation, and the potential and willingness to learn.

Our group and research- and what do we offer?
The successful candidate will be anchored in the Soil Fertility and Nutrient Recyling group within the Plant and Soil section of the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen (https://plen.ku.dk/english/research/plant_soil/soil-fertility-and-nutrient-recycling/). The group is located at the Frederiksberg campus. Our research group addresses soil fertility challenges in sustainable agriculture, with a particular focus on nutrient recycling from organic waste materials of rural, urban and industrial origin. We aim to improve our understanding of how different recycling strategies affect soil nutrient and organic matter dynamics and soil ecosystem resilience. This knowledge supports improved nutrient recycling and use efficiency, enhanced crop productivity, and the promotion of soil health for the 21st century. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories, climate chambers and access to long-term field trials. As part of the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Science, we have access to state of the art instruments and a wide range of methods relevant to soil biogeochemistry.

The PhD project involves collaboration among the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University (AU), Technische Universität Berlin (TUB), ETH Zürich, and the University of Guelph (UG). The project supervisor at the University of Copenhagen is Assistant Professor Nelly S. Raymond, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences.

Principal supervisor is Associate Professor Dorette Müller Stöver, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, E-mail dsst@plen.ku.dk, Phone +45 35331236. Co-supervisor is Assistant Professor Nelly S. Raymond, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, E-mail nray@plen.ku.dk, Phone +45 35331839.

Prof. Carsten Müller (TUB) will be the daily project supervisor during research visits to TUB, Assistant Prof. Ingeborg F. Pedersen (AU), Dr Federica Tamburini (ETH Zürich) and Prof. Kari Dunfield (UG) will serve as advisors on the project.

The PhD programme
A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.

Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. soil science, or biogeochemistry. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

You can read more about salary levels in the state sector www.loenoverblik.dk (in Danish).

Responsibilities and tasks in the PhD programme

Carry through an independent research project under supervision
Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
Participate in active research environments, including a stay at other research institutions (TUB)
Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for the following qualifications:

Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
Relevant publications
Relevant work experience
Other relevant professional activities
Curious mind-set with a strong interest in the development of sustainable crop systems that are resource-use efficient, biodiversity-friendly and promote important ecosystem services
Proficiency in spoken and written English, including skills in academic writing. Your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level.

Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

Cover letter/motivated letter of application (max. one page)
Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
A short reflection on your research interests, experience, and how the project aims can be approached (max. one page)
Original diplomas for Bachelor of Science or Master of Science and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
Publication list (if possible)
Contact information for two referees (to contact upon request)

Application deadline:

The deadline for applications is 15 October 2026, 23:59 GMT +2.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements and will conclude whether each applicant is qualified. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in week 44-45, 2026.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact Assistant Professor Nelly S. Raymond (nray@plen.ku.dk). This email address is provided exclusively for questions about the position. Applications, CVs, or any other unsolicited materials will not be reviewed and will be permanently deleted without being opened, in compliance with applicable data protection regulations. All applications must be submitted through the official application portal as specified in the job advertisement.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

PhD stipends in Statistics and the mathematics of Insurance and Economics

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Department of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen

Department of Mathematical Sciences (MATH) invites applications for PhD stipends in Statistics and the mathematics of Insurance and Economics.

The start date is ordinarily September 1, 2027, but can be subject to negotiation.

We invite applications for PhD stipends in the following areas, all within the sections of Insurance and Economics and Statistics and Probability Theory:

Optimal transport and adapted Wasserstein metrics (contact Johannes Wiesel, wiesel@math.ku.dk)
Causality and reliable ML at the Copenhagen Causality Lab. Applicants should propose their own angle and argue how it fits the group and wider network, including the Pioneer Centre for AI and SMARTbiomed (see https://sweichwald.de/#research-with-us).
Other areas within statistics, mathematics-economics, and actuarial science besides those mentioned above (contact PhD coordinator Helle Sørensen, helle@math.ku.dk)

We encourage you to specify preferred project(s) and supervisor(s) in your application.

You are welcome to contact any member of the sections of Insurance and Economics and Statistics and Probability Theory to discuss research projects.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for candidates with an education in Statistics, Insurance, Economics or nearby fields and with strong mathematical qualifications.

About the department

The department has about 50 permanent scientific staff members, around 60 PhD students and 35 postdocs. It has strong research groups in many areas of mathematics and active PhD, postdoc, and visitors' programs. Our buildings are located in central Copenhagen next to the central park Fælledparken. Our website http://www.math.ku.dk/english provides more information about the department and the research conducted at the department https://www.math.ku.dk/english/research/. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment.

You can find more information about the PhD program on the homepage http://www.math.ku.dk/english/programmes/ph.d/.

The PhD programme

Depending on your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either:

Option A: A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.

Option B: An up to five year full-time study programme within the framework of the integrated MSc and PhD programme (the 3+5 scheme), if you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree – but you have an education equivalent to a Danish bachelors´s degree.

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Option A: Getting into a position on the regular PhD programme

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Terms of appointment and payment according to the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Option B: Getting into a position on the integrated MSc and PhD programme

Qualifications needed for the integrated MSc and PhD programme

If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programme, if you have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish bachelor´s degree. Here you can find out, if that is relevant for you: General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of the integrated programme
To be eligible for the integrated scholarship, you are (or are eligible to be) enrolled at one of the faculty’s master programmes. Students on the integrated programme will enroll as PhD students simultaneously with completing their enrollment in this MSc degree programme.

The duration of the integrated programme is up to five years and depends on the amount of credits that you have passed on your MSc programme. For further information about the study programme, please see: www.science.ku.dk/phd, “Study Structures”.

Until the MSc degree is obtained (when exactly two years of the full 3+5 programme remains), the grant will be paid partly in the form of up to 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: “SU-klip”) plus salary for work (teaching, supervision etc.) totalling a workload of 150 working hours per year. A PhD grant portion is currently (2026) DKK 7.426 before tax.

When you have obtained the MSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

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Responsibilities and tasks:

Complete and pass the MSc education in accordance with the curriculum of the MSc programme (ONLY when you are attending the integrated MSc and PhD programme)
Carry through an independent research project under supervision
Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
Teach and carry out knowledge dissemination activities
Write scientific papers aimed at internationally recognized journals
Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for candidates with the following qualifications and experience:

Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
Relevant work experience
Other relevant professional experience, including publications (if any)
A curious mind-set with a strong interest in Mathematics and its applications
Good English skills

Application and Assessment Procedure

Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, publications (if any), language skills and other skills relevant for the position
Original diplomas for Bachelor or Master and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
Reference letters (if available; letters can be uploaded as part of the application or sent to hr-math@adm.ku.dk by the reference person).

When you will be affiliated with the University of Copenhagen or otherwise have access to their research, you may be required to undergo a background screening. The purpose is to protect the security and research integrity of the University of Copenhagen.

Application deadline

The deadline for applications is 1 November 2026, 23:59 GMT +1.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment (shortlisted) by a committee of unbiased experts. You are notified whether you will be passed for assessment.

An assessment committee will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the research area, skills and other requirements. The assessors will conclude whether each applicant is qualified. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowships, please contact the people mentioned in the beginning of the call.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

PhD stipends in Mathematics

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Department of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen

Department of Mathematical Sciences (MATH) invites applicants for PhD stipends in mathematics.

The start date is ordinarily September 1, 2027, but can be subject to negotiation.

There will be PhD stipends available in:

Algebraic and Arithmetic Geometry, Applied algebra, Combinatorics, Geometric group theory, Geometry and Geometric Analysis, Number Theory, Representation Theory, and Topology as covered by the section Algebra & Geometry and Copenhagen Center for Geometry & Topology (GeoTop).

Classical Analysis, Descriptive Set Theory, Functional Analysis, Geometric group theory, Harmonic Analysis, History of Mathematics, Mathematical Physics, Operator Algebras, Partial Differential Equations, Quantum Information, Quantum Computation and Quantum Simulation as covered by the section Analysis and Quantum, the Centre for the Mathematics of Quantum Theory and the Quantum for Life Center.

You are welcome to contact any member of the department to discuss research projects.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for candidates within the field of Mathematics or nearby fields, whose background and research interests are a strong fit with the areas of mathematics above.

About the department

The department has about 50 permanent scientific staff members; around 60 PhD students and 35 postdocs. It has strong research groups in many areas of mathematics, and active PhD, postdoc, and visitors’ programs. Our buildings are located in central Copenhagen next to the central park Fælledparken. Our website http://www.math.ku.dk/english provides more information about the department and the research conducted at the department https://www.math.ku.dk/english/research/. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment.

You can find more information about the PhD program on the homepage http://www.math.ku.dk/english/programmes/ph.d/.

The PhD programme

Depending on your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either:

Option B: An up to five year full-time study programme within the framework of the integrated MSc and PhD programme (the 3+5 scheme), if you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree – but you have an education equivalent to a Danish bachelor’s degree.

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Option A: Getting into a position on the regular PhD programme

Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. mathematics or closely related. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Option B: Getting into a position on the integrated MSc and PhD programme

Qualifications needed for the integrated MSc and PhD programme

If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programme, if you have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish bachelor’s degree. Here you can find out, if that is relevant for you: General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of the integrated programme
To be eligible for the integrated scholarship, you are (or are eligible to be) enrolled in one of the faculty’s master’s programmes in Mathematics or Quantum Information Science.

Students on the integrated programme will enroll as PhD students simultaneously with completing their enrollment in this MSc degree programme.

The duration of the integrated programme is up to five years, and depends on the amount of credits that you have passed on your MSc programme. For further information about the study programme, please see: www.science.ku.dk/phd, “Study Structures”.

Until the MSc degree is obtained, (when exactly two years of the full 3+5 programme remains), the grant will be paid partly in the form of up to 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: “SU-klip”) plus salary for work (teaching, supervision etc.) totalling a workload of 150 working hours per year. A PhD grant portion is currently (2026) DKK 7.426 before tax.

When you have obtained the MSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Responsibilities and tasks in both PhD programmes

Complete and pass the MSc education in accordance with the curriculum of the MSc programme (ONLY when you are attending the integrated MSc and PhD programme)
Carry through an independent research project under supervision
Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for the following qualifications and experience:

Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
Relevant work experience
Other relevant professional experience, including publications (if any)
A curious mind-set with a strong interest in Mathematics
Good English skills

Application and Assessment Procedure

Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, publications (if any), language skills and other skills relevant for the position
Original diplomas for Bachelor’s or Master’s and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
Reference letters (if available; letters can be uploaded as part of the application or sent to hr-math@adm.ku.dk by the reference person).

Application deadline:

The deadline for applications is 1 November 2026, 23:59 GMT+1.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

PhD fellowship in Natural Language Processing

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

PhD Project in Cultural Reasoning with Language Models

The AI Section at the Department of Computer Science invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in computational modelling and evaluation of cultural interpretation with language models. The position is part of the research project “CuRe: Cultural Reasoning for Responsible Language Model Development” (DFF project 5334-00088B), funded by Independent Research Fund Denmark.

The expected start date is February 1st, 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project

Language models can produce fluent interpretations of texts while obscuring the cultural assumptions, uncertainty and alternative readings underlying their answers. CuRe investigates how language models understand and reason about culture, ambiguity and interpretation, and how these capabilities can be evaluated and improved to support responsible language model development. Literary texts provide a demanding testbed: their interpretation depends on historical and cultural knowledge, close attention to textual evidence and the ability to accommodate several plausible readings.

The PhD candidate will develop computational methods and evaluation resources for culturally grounded interpretation. Working closely with researchers in natural language processing and literary studies, the candidate is expected to:

construct datasets and benchmarks linking literary passages, relevant cultural and historical context, textual evidence and expert or reader interpretations;
analyse what cultural knowledge and interpretive strategies language models use, where their interpretations fail and how confidently they present uncertain conclusions;
develop methods for grounding interpretations in evidence and for representing uncertainty, ambiguity and multiple plausible interpretations;
evaluate the resulting methods through automatic experiments and studies with literary scholars and other readers; and
publish the results in leading venues in natural language processing, artificial intelligence and computational humanities.

The exact research questions will be refined together with the successful candidate. Relevant methodological directions include language model evaluation and probing, retrieval and retrieval-augmented generation, explicit representations of interpretive evidence and uncertainty, data annotation, human-centred evaluation and multilingual or cross-cultural analysis. The empirical work will primarily use modern Scandinavian literary texts, while aiming to develop methods and findings that generalise beyond literature. The project includes a planned research stay at McGill University.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for candidates with a strong computational background and an interest in how language, culture and interpretation can be studied rigorously. Applicants may have a background in natural language processing, computational linguistics, computer science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, data science, digital humanities or a closely related field. Formal training in literary studies is not required, but the successful candidate must be motivated to work across disciplinary boundaries and to engage seriously with humanities research questions.

Our group and research- and what do we offer?

The PhD fellow will join the CoAStaL research group and the AI Section at the Department of Computer Science. The research environment brings together faculty, postdoctoral researchers and PhD students working on multilingual and cross-cultural NLP, multimodality, language model training and evaluation, responsible AI and computational humanities. The section collaborates broadly with leading research groups in Denmark and abroad.

CuRe is an interdisciplinary collaboration with the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics at the University of Copenhagen. The project builds on established joint work in computational literary studies and provides access to large literary corpora, domain expertise and relevant annotation resources. The PhD fellow will therefore be part of both a technically strong NLP environment and a close collaboration with literary scholars.

The group is part of the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen. We are located in Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern GPU computing resources, shared data and annotation infrastructure and access to relevant text corpora.

Principal supervisor: Associate Professor Desmond Elliott, Department of Computer Science, de@di.ku.dk.

Co-supervisor: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Daniel Hershcovich, Department of Computer Science, dh@di.ku.dk.

Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Jens Bjerring-Hansen, Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, jbh@hum.ku.dk.

The PhD programme

The position is offered as a three-year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme).

Qualifications needed
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. [relevant educations]. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of employment

The position is covered by the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff.

Salary, pension and other conditions of employment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant organisation. Currently, the monthly salary starts at 31,800 DKK/approx. 4,200 EUR (August 2026-level). Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated. The employer will pay an additional 18,07 % to your pension fund.

Foreign and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions, if they hold a PhD degree and have not lived in Denmark the last 10 years.

Responsibilities and tasks

Carry through an independent research project under supervision
Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for the following qualifications:

A master’s degree or equivalent qualification relevant to the PhD project.
Strong programming skills, preferably in Python, and experience with machine learning or natural language processing tools.
Knowledge of modern NLP and language models and an ability to design, implement and evaluate computational experiments.
Experience with one or more of the following is an advantage: language model evaluation, retrieval or retrieval-augmented generation, data annotation, interpretability, multilingual NLP or computational humanities.
Relevant research experience, publications, thesis work or professional activities.
Ability to work independently, formulate research questions and collaborate across computer science and the humanities.
A curious and critical mindset with a strong interest in culture, interpretation and responsible AI.
Excellent written and spoken English. Knowledge of a Scandinavian language or experience with literary analysis is an advantage but not a requirement.

Application and Assessment Procedure

Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

Motivated letter of application (maximum one page) explaining your motivation for the project, your relevant qualifications and the research directions that particularly interest you.
Curriculum vitae including information about your education, research or work experience, language skills and other skills relevant to the position.
Original diplomas for bachelor’s and master’s degrees and transcripts of records in the original language, including an authorised English translation if issued in a language other than English or Danish. If the master’s degree has not yet been completed, a certified or signed recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
Publication list, if applicable.
Reference letters, if available.

Application deadline:

The deadline for applications is November 8th, 2026, 23:59 CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified whether you will be passed for assessment.

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in week 49.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the project supervisor Daniel Hershcovich at dh@di.ku.dk or +45 53 33 88 04.

[General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/].

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

PhD-positions

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PhD stipends in Statistics and the mathematics of Insurance and Economics

PhD stipends in Mathematics

PhD fellowship in Natural Language Processing

PhD fellowship in “Agentic AI and Large Language Models for Global Pathogen Analysis”