PhD Student on Social Inequalities

Introduction

UNIL is a leading international teaching and research institution, with over 5,000 employees and 17,000 students split between its Dorigny campus, CHUV and Epalinges. As an employer, UNIL encourages excellence, individual recognition and responsibility. The University of Lausanne is an Equal Opportunities Employer. Qualified women and candidates with a migration history are encouraged to apply.

Presentation

The Institute of Social Sciences at UNIL invites applications for a position as
 
PhD Student on Social Inequalities
 
The successful candidate will write a PhD thesis on social inequalities in time poverty.

Job information

Starting date:             01.09.2026
Duration of contract:  1 year, renewable for 3 years (4 years in total)
Employment rate:      100%
Workplace:                 University of Lausanne, Géopolis
Working languages:   English (mainly) and French
Salary :                       Year 1: 58’898 CHF. Year 2: 59’457. Year 3: 61’016. Year 4: 61’016.

Your responsibilities

The successful candidate will contribute to the SNSF funded project “The Social Stratification of Time: Investigating Inequalities in Time Use through a Swiss Diary Study” (STRATUS). STRATUS is a large-scale Swiss collaborative research project on time-use inequalities in Switzerland, co-ordinated by the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Life Course Research LIVES, based at the University of Lausanne. The candidate will write a doctoral thesis in a sub-project on time poverty, i.e. inequalities in the quantity, quality, and structure of free time, under the supervision of Prof. Leen Vandecasteele. The sub-project will investigate how this differs between socio-economic groups and gender, as well as evaluate the consequences of time poverty for social connection and wellbeing. The project is cross-national in nature and will assess differences in time poverty across countries that differ in terms of welfare state generosity, labour market regulation and work-family reconciliation.

See the detailed job description

Your qualifications

The ideal candidate holds the following qualifications:
·    A Master’s degree in sociology, demography, social policy, economics, psychology, or another social science discipline with training in quantitative methods;
·    Experience and motivation to work with statistical methods for analysing survey data and familiarity with R or Stata;
·    A strong interest in research on social inequalities;
·    Fluency in spoken and written English (working language);
·    A collaborative attitude and willingness to work as part of a team.

What the position offers you

·    You will work in an exciting intellectual environment in the UNIL’s Faculty of Social and Political Sciences and be integrated in the LIVES Interdisciplinary Centre for Life Course Research and Inequalities in the Institute of Social Sciences .
·    You will have opportunities to collaborate with researchers at FORS, the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences .
·    You will receive ongoing supervision and support during the writing of your thesis, specialised training opportunities and funding to attend international conferences in the fields of time use research and research on social inequalities.
·    You will work in a dynamic, diverse, multicultural, and multidisciplinary academic environment, with opportunities to participate in workshops and seminars.

Contact for further information

Prof. Leen Vandecasteele

E-Mail schreiben

Your application

1. a motivation letter, detailing your qualifications, relevant experience, fit of your profile and interest in the position


2. your CV


3. copies of your certificates and grade transcripts from your Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees


4. At least one example of your academic writing (e.g., your master thesis, a larger term paper, or an academic article)


5. The names and contact details of two academic referees (no letters required).

Only applications through this website can be taken into account.

Application deadline: March 18, 2026

Interviews will take place in March or April 2026.

Additional information