PhD Student - survey and analysis of China and/or Russia experts 75 - 100%

Institute of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Bern (icmb)
Start of employment: 01.09.2025 or by agreement
Fixed term for four years
The five year project “Through a Glass, Darkly: How to Study Authoritarian Regimes” is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and examines how foreign audiences learn about the inner workings of authoritarian regimes (specifically the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation), focusing on the role of country experts and their connections. Note that there is a 2nd position available in this project that focuses on using LLMs to extract political networks from unstructured text.

• Write a dissertation within the broader scope of the project
• Implement surveys of China and Russia experts and collect publicly available data on those experts
• Help disseminate results and organize stakeholder conferences

• An aboveaverage completed or soon-to-be completed master's degree in communication science, political science, or other relevant social sciences.
• Proven quantitative research and data science skills, experience with survey research
• Excellent English skills (German and French is an asset)
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within interdisciplinary teams.
• Chinese and/or Russian language skills are an asset, as is demonstrated interest in the politics of those two countries

• A fully funded PhD position for four years, with a starting salary of approximately 50'000 CHF and no teaching requirements. Compensated teaching assignments may be available, subject to departmental needs. Employment adheres to the regulations of the Canton of Berne.
• An attractive work environment with a collegial and international team, committed to supporting young scholars through cooperation and exchange.
• The freedom to develop your own ideas for your dissertation and add relevant questions to the surveys of China and Russia experts.

To apply for this position, please submit to E-Mail schreiben one PDF file with a letter of motivation including research interests and ideas, a current CV including a list of publications (if available), a writing sample (e.g. MA thesis), a copy of university transcripts and degrees, and a letter of recommendation by July 14th, 2025. Late submissions will be considered until the position is filled.

The interviews will take place on Monday 28th / Tuesday 29th of July 2025.

Contact Dr. Franziska Keller if you have questions regarding this position, E-Mail schreiben