Background
The PROPEL team consists of a Principal Investigator, a post-doc and three phd-students. The team is embedded within research group R4D (Research for Digitalization, Diversity and Democracy) at the School of Social Sciences of Hasselt University. R4D is a young and dynamic interdisciplinary research centre focusing on three societal grand challenges and their interaction: digitalization, diversity and democracy.
Job content
The doctoral candidate will prepare a dissertation within the framework of the ERC funded research project “Protest, Public Opinion and Electoral Preferences: how protest propels political change (PROPEL)” led by Ruud Wouters. PROPEL asks: What is it in public opinion that gets affected by protest? And, when and how does this impact materialize? To address these questions, the PROPEL team seeks to develop and test a political communication theory of protest-public opinion (PPO) impact. We scrutinize how the features of protest (size, disruption, organizer, claim), the mechanisms of mediatization (mass and social media) and politicization (reactions of political actors in the public sphere), and the features of citizen receivers (predispositions) drive four types of public opinion effects (issue-specific, system-generic, group-identity and party preference). To that end, we will link extant protest and survey data, field panel surveys surrounding upcoming protests, execute vignette experiments, and engage in quantitative content analyses of mass and social media. Doing so, we investigate the implications of protest in an era of shifting cleavage politics. A broader summary of the research project can be found HERE.
Summary of the function:
- You will actively work on the preparation and defence of a PhD thesis in the field of political science, within the framework of a larger research project on the impact of protest on public opinion.
- You will conduct empirical research and publish scientific articles related to the research project.
- You will collaborate with other project members (PhDs, postdocs, principal and co-investigators).
- You will participate actively in seminars of the research group and School as well as in (inter)national conferences and workshops.
Profile
- You hold a Master’s degree in the social sciences (political science, communication, sociology or a related discipline)(or equivalent) or you will have obtained it by the time you start working.
You are passionate about research and have a strong interest in politics writ large (social movements, protest, mass media, social media, public opinion, political parties, voting behavior) with a particular interest for puzzles of political communication, political representation and political behavior.
You can present an impressive academic track record (e.g excellent study results during your bachelor and master education) or possess equivalent relevant research experience.
You have experience with quantitative research methods (such as survey research, experiments and content analysis). You are proficient in at least one statistical or programming language relevant to social science research (e.g. SPSS, R, STATA, Python).
You are prepared to strengthen your methodological skills (by means of courses, summer and/or winter schools)
You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation. You are a team player.
You have the capacity to work independently and pro-actively; you work thoroughly and deliver tasks timely.
You have strong communication skills and you thrive on working in a team-based environment.
You have an excellent command of English, both orally and in writing. Dutch language proficiency is considered a plus.
Offer
You will be appointed and paid as PhD student.
Our offer to you:
A full-time PhD position; initially for 2 years. Following a positive evaluation, the scholarship can be renewed for another 2 years.
Support in developing academic research skills, for instance via the UHasselt Doctoral School of Behavioral Sciences and Humanities.
Integration in research unit R4D (Research for Digitalization, Diversity and Democracy). R4D is a vibrant research centre, regularly organizing lectures, seminars, reading groups and trainings for PhD candidates.
Support for participation in national and international conferences, workshops, summer and/or winter school.
You work at the Hasselt Campus in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
The envisioned starting date is January 1st, 2027.
Selection procedure
You can only apply online up to and including 17 August 2026.
The selection procedure consists of a preselection based on application file and an interview.
Be sure to include the following: a motivation letter, your CV, full academic transcripts (including your grades) from your bachelor’s and master’s studies, a copy of your master’s thesis, and, if relevant, another academic writing sample (e.g. a paper you wrote for a particular course). Contact information of at least one reference person whom we could reach out to. The selection committee reviews all applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. When the screening decisions are made, we will notify you. Shortlisted candidates will be informed about the next step(s) in the selection procedure (e.g. preparing a max two page research paper idea; preparing a presentation pitching this research idea). Selection interviews are scheduled to take place on September 2th 2026.
Further information
Prof. dr. Ruud WOUTERS, [email protected]
For questions about the selection procedure, please email [email protected].
