PhD student in Economic History with focus on Sustainable Development

Lund University School of Economics and Management

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has 40 000 students and 7 600 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

Lund University School of Economics and Management is one of eight faculties within Lund University. More than 4 000 students and 450 researchers, teachers and other staff are engaged here in training and research in economic history, business administration, business law, informatics, economics, statistics and research policy.

The Department of Economic History is a research-intensive department that employs about 100 people: researchers, teachers, technical/administrative staff, and Ph.D. candidates. The department has a large PhD programme and co-ordinates three international Master programmes. The Department has a well established reputation for wide-ranging research with an emphasis on long-term processes, and with economic theory and quantitative methods as important methodological tools. Strong research areas at the department include economic growth and structural change, innovation, energy and sustainability, development economics, and economic demography, as well as financial history and education and the labour market. More information is available at the Department’s website: http://www.ekh.lu.se/en.

Doctoral student in Economic History with a focus on Sustainable Development

Assigned duties

Those appointed to doctoral studentship shall primarily devote themselves to their studies, aimed to result in a doctoral degree. Work carried out during the studentship consists of participation in research projects as well as successful participation in postgraduate (third-cycle) courses. Those appointed to doctoral studentships may also work, to a limited extent, with educational tasks and administration at the Department of Economic history. However, duties of this kind may not comprise of more than 20 per cent of a full time post.

Eligibility / Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she has:

• Been awarded a second-cycle degree; or
• Satisfied the requirements for courses comprising of at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle; or
• Acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

(Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 7, Section 39)

Specific admission requirements for doctoral studies in each subject are specified in the relevant general syllabus, available at http://staff.lusem.lu.se/phd-studies/phd-programmes.

Other requirements

A proficient level of English is required in both written and oral communication.

Basis of assessment

Admittance of a doctoral student is based on an assessment of the candidate’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies.

The applicant’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies and research will be assessed with reference to the selection criteria stated in the relevant general syllabus for third-cycle studies, available at http://staff.lusem.lu.se/phd-studies/phd-programmes.

Applicant’s general competence:

• Quality and content of previous written work, such as a Master’s thesis.
• Ability to participate actively in the Department’s research environment.
• Ability to perform independent work.
• Relevant educational background and grades/grade average.
• Relevant work experience.

Scientific quality of the applicant’s project description:

• Ability to describe, question and discuss the current state of research.
• Sufficient clarity and logical coherence in the formulation of the aim and the research questions.
• Stringency of reasoning and analysis.
• Adequate selection of theory and methods.

Project

This PhD position is linked to Lund University Agenda 2030 Research School. The graduate school is a university-wide initiative involving all faculties and at least twelve new PhD positions; it is the first of its kind globally. Lund University School of Economics and Management will host three of the PhD students in the research school and one of them will be enrolled at the Department of Economic History. As a PhD student in the Agenda 2030 Research School you will be associated with a specific research studies programme in Economic History, while simultaneously take part in the university-wide interdisciplinary research studies courses, developed on the basis of the issues defined by the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Together the SDGs and Agenda 2030 constitute the UN response to grand global and acute challenges to achieve socio-economic development in the midst of Climate Change. Ultimately, this challenge is about profound transformation of existing systems of production and consumption. Yet, we know little about how the past and present influence transformations at the national level and even less about how to accelerate these transformations into the future. At the department of Economic History we are interested in receiving PhD proposals (project plans, see below) dealing with the historical drivers and current governance of global, regional, national and local transformative capacity, particularly addressing the issue of how transformations addressed by the Agenda 2030 can be accelerated.

Terms of employment

Fixed-term employment, maximum four years (fulltime studies).

Only those admitted to third-cycle courses and study programmes at a higher education may be appointed to doctoral student.

For regulations concerning employment of doctoral students etc, see the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 5, Sections 1-7.

For regulations concerning admission to third-cycle courses and study programs, see the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 5, Sections 34-41.

Application procedure

Please use Lund University job application portal when applying: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/about/work-at-lund-university

The application must be written in English.

The application should contain:

• Personal letter in which the applicant gives a short description of him/herself and his/her research interests.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Grade transcripts.
• Master thesis or similar degree projects.
• Project plan/description (maximum 1500 words not including references).
• If appropriate, documented language skills relevant for third-cycle studies.
• Other documents that the applicant wishes to submit.

The applicant is encouraged to name a maximum of two teachers or researchers who can give recommendation letters, but we do not consider recommendation letters with the application.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and asset.

Contact

Director of doctoral studies, Professor Astrid Kander 046-2227483, astrid.kander@ekh.lu.se

Remarks

We kindly ask staffing companies and companies dealing with job advertising to refrain from contacting us, as we are bound by contracts within the Governmental system.

The English version of this announcement is an interpretation of national formalities expressed in the Swedish text. In case of uncertainties, the Swedish text applies.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset. We kindly decline all sales and marketing contacts.