Graduate School, Arts

The Graduate School at Arts, Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University, in collaboration with Horizon Europe/Marie Sklodowska-Curie and the School of Communication and Culture/Aarhus University, invites applications for a fully funded PhD fellowship (provided the necessary funding is available). This PhD fellowship is available as of 1 September 2026 for a period of up to three years (5+3). The position is embedded in the structured MSCA DEMINE doctoral programme and leads to a PhD degree from Aarhus University and KU Leuven (Belgium). It is expected that candidate awarded the PhD fellowship will be able to commence the PhD degree programme on 1 September 2026. The position includes a secondment of up to 12 months at KU Leuven and a secondment at a non-academic partner of up to 3 months.

About DEMINE

DEMINE (DEaling with conflicts related to MIgration: NEgotiating social cohesion through communication) is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network (Joint Doctorate) addressing the challenges of polarisation, radicalisation, and extremism in migration-related public discourse. The network brings together leading academic and non-academic partners across Europe to train a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers. DEMINE combines advanced research with structured doctoral training, international mobility, and transferable skills development. Within this framework, Aarhus University is recruiting a doctoral candidate for the sub-project “Understanding Characteristics of Producers of Information Disorders”.

The sub-project focuses on actors who actively produce and disseminate extreme and misleading political content online. It combines Natural Language Processing (NLP) and computational social science to examine how such content is created, coordinated, and amplified across digital platforms.

This position has become available following a change in the consortium composition and offers a new doctoral candidate the opportunity to join an already well-established and collaborative MSCA Doctoral Network. The incoming candidate will benefit from clearly structured research and training activities, close supervision, and active collaboration with fellow doctoral candidates and partners across Europe.

Tasks and responsibilities
The candidate will:

• Conduct computational analyses of extremist political communities and content producers on social media (e.g. open Facebook pages and groups, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, public Telegram channels).
• Design and implement scalable and platform-compliant data collection strategies, using platform-provided transparency tools (e.g. Meta Content Library), APIs where available, and other ethically and legally compliant access methods.
• Apply NLP and text-as-data methods to analyse extreme discourse, misinformation, and coordinated content production.
• Use computational approaches to investigate motivations, incentives and practices of highly active content producers.
• Examine coordinated and professionalised networks involved in the production and circulation of extreme political content.
• Integrate gender-sensitive and intersectional perspectives throughout data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• Collaborate closely with supervisors, fellow doctoral candidates, and international partners within the DEMINE network.
• Participate in joint training events, secondments, and network-wide research activities foreseen in the MSCA Doctoral Network.

Requirements

• Master’s degree (120 ECTS) in a relevant field (e.g. communication science, linguistics, psychology, political science, data science, computational social science).
• Experience with NLP methods and computational text analysis.
• Proficiency in at least one programming language, preferably Python.
• Experience with or strong interest in online data collection and platform-based research (e.g. APIs, transparency tools, compliant scraping).
• Eligibility under MSCA mobility rules (the candidate must not have resided or carried out their main activity in Denmark for more than 12 months in the 36 months prior to recruitment).

Desirable assets

• Knowledge of GDPR and ethical data handling in digital research.
• Experience with quantitative discourse or media text analysis.
• Interest in combining computational and qualitative methods.

Personal skills

• Team-oriented attitude and willingness to collaborate across disciplines and countries.
• Ability to act as a facilitator and bridge-builder between technical, theoretical, and social research perspectives.
• Openness to learning, methodological adaptation, and interdisciplinary exchange.

Enrolment and place of work
The PhD student must complete the studies in accordance with the valid regulations for the PhD degree programme, currently the Ministerial Order of 27 August 2013 on the PhD degree programme at the universities: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/thephddegreeprogramme/

Description of the graduate school’s PhD degree programme: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/phdstudystructure/

Rules and regulations for the PhD degree programme at the Graduate School at Arts: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/thephddegreeprogramme/ 

The PhD fellow will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Graduate School at Arts, Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University, with the aim of completing a PhD degree at the School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University.

The PhD student will be affiliated with the PhD programme Language, Linguistics, Communication and Cognition.

The PhD student’s place of work will be the School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University. In general, the student is expected to be present at the school on an everyday basis.

School of Communication and Culture’s research programme: http://cc.au.dk/en/research/research-programmes/

5+3 programme

When you apply for a 3-year PhD fellowship (5+3), you must have completed your two year Master’s degree (120 ECTS) no later than 31 August 2026.

The PhD fellow will be employed as a PhD student at the Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University. The terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations, as well as with the protocol to the agreement covering staff with university degrees in the state sector (see enclosure 5). The agreement and the protocol including amendments are available online: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/thephddegreeprogramme/

Salary: https://phd.arts.au.dk/4-4-part-b-and-5-3/salary-and-employment

How to apply
The application must include:

• Motivation/cover letter (statement of motivation and research interests, max one A4 page of 2,400 characters including spaces)
• CV (including a complete list of education, positions, publications and other qualifying activities)
• Project description outlining how the candidate envisages completing the work to be undertaken during the course of the term of appointment.
  The overall project description (excl. list of project literature/bibliography/reference list and timetable) must not exceed 12,000 characters including spaces, tables, diagrams, footnotes, endnotes and illustrations (5 A4 pages of 2,400 characters each)
• Project literature/reference list
• Timetable (mandatory form)
• Cover sheet (form stating your degrees)
• Copies of educational certificates (Bachelor and Master’s degrees). The diplomas or diploma supplement/transcript of records must state: name of university, education (Bachelor or Master), duration (number of years, full-time), courses, marks and (if given) ECTS credits.

Please see a detailed description of the requirements for the application in the guide for the application facility: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/how-to-apply/ 

Application
If you require professional guidance regarding your application for the PhD fellowship please contact the PhD programme director at Language, Linguistics, Communication and Cognition:  http://phd.arts.au.dk/about-us/contact/

For further information, please contact Professor Christoph Raetzsch (craetzsch@cc.au.dk) or Professor Alexandra Kratschmer (romak@cc.au.dk) at School of Communication and Culture.

The application must be submitted in English.

All applicants must provide documentation of excellent communication skills in English which are considered essential, and you must therefore be able to read, write, and speak academic English fluently. English language requirement is comparable to a minimum of TOEFL 83 or IELTS 6.5. Please see this page for further information: http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/english-test/

Child protection certificate
In accordance with Ministerial Order no. 554 of 23 May 2023, Aarhus University is obliged to obtain a statement of no previous convictions in respect of children in connection with the appointment and employment of staff whose work will involve direct contact with children under the age of 15. If you, in connection with your PhD project, will be in direct contact with children under the age of 15 who are not accompanied by a parent or guardian, childcare professional or teacher, you will be covered by the requirements of the ministerial order.
    If you are covered by these requirements and read Danish, please complete the section “Samtykkeerklæring” (declaration of consent) in the police form and upload the file under “Other information to consider” in the application form. You can download the form here: https://politi.dk/-/media/mediefiler/landsdaekkende-dokumenter/straffeattest/brneattest-p274.pdf
    If you are covered by these requirements and do not read Danish, please upload a brief statement with the headline “Child protection certificate needed” under the field “Other information to consider” in the application form.

Applications for the PhD fellowship and enrolment in the PhD degree programme can only be submitted via the application form in Aarhus University’s web-based facility.

Deadline for applications: 1 April 2026 at 23.59 Danish time (CET/CEST).
Reference number: 2026-8

During the assessments, Aarhus University can conduct interviews with selected applicants.