Job Description
Job description
ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY
Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15.000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities.
With its 11 faculties and more than 85 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.
For the (faculty/department/research group) we are looking for a m/f/x
Doctoral fellow
YOUR JOB
The research group GASPAR (www.gaspar.ugent.be) is looking for a motivated and enthusiast researcher in order to conduct a PhD, based on the 4-year research project ‘Do voters use socio-demographic cues to estimate politicians’ ideological positions? (IdeoPos)’ This project will be conducted under supervision of Prof. Dr. Bram Wauters and Dr. Robin Devroe. Below, we give a short summary of the content of this project:
Understanding politicians’ ideological positions is a crucial element in a representative democracy. Inaccurate estimations of these positions can have detrimental consequences, e.g. incorrect voting, lowering political trust and exacerbating affective polarisation. Citizens lack, however, time and energy to thoroughly analyze all politicians. As a result, they rely on information shortcuts (or cues) when assessing ideological positions of politicians. Due to processes such as partisan decline, personalisation and increased intra-party competition, individual cues have become more important as information shortcut. This project will focus on ideological cues related to politicians’ gender, age and ethnic origin. Based on an experimental design, existing theories will be tested in a new context and new theoretical frameworks will be explored.
For more extensive information about the content of this project, please contact bram.wauters@ugent.be
Job profile
- You hold a Master’s degree in political science, sociology, public administration, political psychology or in any other field of human sciences with comparable qualifications
- You have a scientific and critical attitude
- You are strongly motivated to independently conduct scientific research
- You are prepared to write a PhD about ideological stereotypes (including following a PhD Training)
- You are able to elaborate and execute a research project autonomously
- You are able to plan and follow-up the practical execution of a project
- You are familiar with theories and research in political science
- You are familiar with experimental research methods, or you are ready to deepen your knowledge on these methods
- You are familiar with statistical analyses, or you are ready to deepen your knowledge on these methods
- You obtained excellent study results
- You possess good writing skills both in English and in Dutch, or you are ready to improve these language skills in the short term
- You are a team-player, and you are prepared to take up some responsibilities in the GASPAR team
- You are prepared to participate to international conferences and to publish in international outlets
WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
- We offer a full-time position as a doctoral fellow, consisting of an initial period of 12 months, which – after a positive evaluation, will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months.
- Your contract will start on 01/10/2025 at the earliest.
- The fellowship amount is 100% of the net salary of an AAP member in equal family circumstances. The individual fellowship amount is determined by Team Personnel Administration based on family status and seniority. A grant that meets the conditions and criteria of the regulations for doctoral fellowships is considered free of personal income tax. Click here for more information about our salary scales
- All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits.
How to apply
- Send your CV, copy of your diploma (if already in your possession), a motivation letter and a one-page document about how you would approach this research topic to bram.wauters@ugent.be on 11 July 2025 at the latest. All these documents are preferably merged into one PDF-file.
- We do not accept late applications.
- Last-year students (graduating in June) are especially encouraged to apply.
- Job interviews will be held in the last two weeks of August.
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Bram Wauters (bram.wauters@ugent.be) and Dr. Robin Devroe (robin.devroe@vub.be)
