Two PhD positions SNSF project “Governing the Party: How the Chinese Communist Party Holds Itself Together”

The University of Zurich, Switzerland's largest university, offers a range of attractive positions in various subject areas and professional fields. With around 10,000 employees and currently 12 professional apprenticeship streams the University offers an inspiring working environment on cutting-edge research and top-class education. Put your talent and skills to work with us. Find out more about UZH as an employer!

Your responsibilities

• Develop and complete an independent doctoral dissertation within one of the project's four areas of research, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Jean Christopher Mittelstaedt
• Develop, with guidance, large datasets from published Chinese-language sources for the dissertation, and contribute to the project's shared analytical framework
• Publish findings from the dissertation in peer-reviewed journals and contribute to co-authored outputs of the project
• Conduct fieldwork, archival or interview research where the dissertation requires it and conditions allow
• Take part in the research activities of the team and present work at conferences
• Enrol in a doctoral programme of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Zurich
• Assist with the organisation of workshops and with limited administrative tasks of the project

Your profile

• An excellent MA degree (or equivalent) in political science, sociology, Chinese studies, history or a related discipline, completed by the start of employment
• Proficiency in modern Chinese sufficient to work independently with Chinese-language primary sources
• A serious interest in political institutions and organisations, and the ability to engage with theory in comparative politics, political sociology, organisation studies or the study of ideology
• Training in at least one of the following: qualitative or interpretive methods, quantitative methods, computational text analysis. We do not expect candidates to arrive with all of these: the willingness to acquire new methods matters more than a complete toolkit at the outset
• Excellent written and spoken English; German is an asset but not required
• The ability to work independently as well as in a team, and a commitment to a shared project over four years

The University of Zurich is committed to equal opportunity and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of gender, origin or background.