Postdoc position in computational social science with a focus on Global North-South disparities in science

Applications are invited for a postdoc position at the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The position is available for 18 months from 1 April 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description
A postdoctoral position is a fixed-term academic position. The position is heavily weighted in favour of research. Other duties (e.g., research administration and teaching) may have to be performed to a limited extent.

The Postdoc will collaborate closely with Associate Professor Mathias Wullum Nielsen and Assistant Professor Andrew C. Herman on the project Global North-South disparities in science. Using large-scale data, survey-experiments, quantitative and computational approaches, the project aims to identify and test mechanisms driving North-South disparities in science across three domains: (1) power dynamics in international research collaborations, (2) impacts of researcher migration on Global South research capacity, and (3) and disparities in the uptake of scientific knowledge from different global regions.

The position will be especially relevant for researchers interested in combining computational social-science methods with research on power-relations, inequality, and knowledge production in the global scientific enterprise. The selected candidate will be part of a small research team that meets weekly to discuss project related research. They will be expected to contribute substantially to the group’s publications and dissemination activities, both as first author and as co-author.

Department
The Department of Sociology is one of Europe’s leading sociology departments and covers a broad range of sociological topics, theories, and methods in research and teaching. The Department emphasizes research excellence, and its faculty conducts research on several topics, deploying a variety of state-of-the-art methods. The Department currently has around 30 faculty members, about 20 postdoctoral researchers and PhD students combined, and a dedicated administrative team. Faculty members represent several nationalities, and the Department’s working language is English. We value an ambitious, collaborative, and friendly atmosphere.

The Department is located in the very center of the old city of Copenhagen and shares a campus with the other departments at the Faculty of Social Sciences—Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Psychology and the Center for Social Data Science (SODAS)—with which we have close collaborations. For further information about the Department, please see: https://www.sociology.ku.dk/  

Qualifications
Applicants must have research qualifications at least corresponding to what can be achieved as part of a successfully completed PhD. The ideal candidates will have a PhD in sociology, economics, political science, management, network- and data science or related fields. We seek applicants with strong statistical skills and experience with managing large datasets and relational databases. Familiarity with commonly used scientific scripting languages (e.g.  R, or Python) will be a plus. We also seek candidates with good communication skills in spoken and written English, and an ability to produce state-of-the art social-science research.

For further information about the position, please contact Mathias Wullum Nielsen (mwn@soc.ku.dk). 

For further details about the qualification requirements for postdocs, please refer to the job structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2025: Bekendtgørelse om stillingsstruktur for videnskabeligt personale ved universiteter (in Danish only).

Salary and conditions of employment
Salary and terms of appointment will be in accordance with an agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The salary for postdoctoral researchers starts at DKK 39,237 (approximately EUR 5,253). The University will also pay a monthly contribution to your pension fund corresponding to 18.07 % of your salary. Negotiation for additional supplements will be possible.

An agreement between The Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) makes it possible for international researchers employed by the University to achieve a pension exemption, whereby the pension contribution will be paid out as salary. For more information about the different pension schemes, please see https://ism.ku.dk/onarrival/pension.

A special tax scheme is offered to researchers recruited abroad, https://ism.ku.dk/onarrival/. If you consider applying from abroad, you may find useful information on how it is to work in Denmark and at UCPH here: http://ism.ku.dk​​.

Application
The application should be in English and must include the following enclosures:

• Cover letter (max 2 pages). The cover letter should specify how the applicant’s qualifications and experiences match the project’s focus on studying mechanisms and processes leading to social disparities in science using network analysis, computational text analysis and/or quantitative methods.
• Curriculum vitae (with the applicant’s email & telephone number)
• Documentation of qualifications (examination certificates/PhD diploma, etc.).
• Complete list of publications. The enclosed publications must be marked with *.
• Publications. Applicants may choose a maximum of three publications for assessment. The selected publications must be uploaded as attachments.

Application procedure
Applicants are selected for assessment on the advice of the appointment committee. All applicants are subsequently notified whether an expert assessment committee has passed their application for assessment. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee, and each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant. 

The University of Copenhagen encourages everyone interested in this post to apply, regardless of personal background.  

Further information about the application procedure or salary is available from HR, HR-SOENDRE@adm.ku.dk please refer to 211-2359/25-2I #2

Deadline
Applications must be submitted, and documents must be uploaded online no later than 1 February 2026, 23:59 CET. Press “Apply now” and fill in the application form.

Applications received after deadline will not be taken into account.