PhD fellowship in Linguistics, Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies

Within the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA), University of Copenhagen is offering one PhD position for a Doctoral Candidate (DC), commencing 1 September 2026 or as soon as possible hereafter.

The position is a full‑time appointment for 36 months and is funded by Horizon Europe.

MultiLAwa is a MSCA Doctoral Network. The mission of MultiLAwa is to promote the concept of Multilingual Language Awareness as it investigates Language Awareness in multilingual contexts, zooming in on Critical Language Awareness, Metalinguistic Awareness, and Practical Language Awareness. Adopting a broad understanding of Language Awareness as a general, socially embedded competence, the project addresses major language-related challenges in a rapidly digitalising society and contributes to the development of sustainable, inclusive, and pluri-/multilingual ecosystems across Europe.

More information may be found on the MultiLAwa home page https://www.multilawa.eu.

MultiLAwa will deliver a training programme to 14 Doctoral Candidates that equips them with all capabilities to become leaders of tomorrow's R&I in Europe.

Project description
The successful applicant will join a multidisciplinary EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie International PhD training network. This doctoral position is based at the Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies at University of Copenhagen.

The Doctoral Candidate will be supervised by Associate Professor Mirjam Schmuck.

IRP5 is embedded into Work Package 1 (WP1) ‘Multilingual communication and resources in the Digital Age: discourses, practices, stereotypes’. WP1 investigates how the concepts of Language Awareness and pluri-/multilingualism are discursively constructed, ideologically framed, and technologically mediated in digital contexts across various societal domains (e.g., media, education, industry, politics). It will provide a research-based catalogue of arguments and language ideologies, with particular attention to issues of linguistic justice, gender fairness, and inclusion.

In this context, IRP5 investigates multilingual gender fairness in AI-generated texts.

Recruiting University:  University of Copenhagen (UCPH), Denmark

Partner University for the Joint Doctorate: Université de Lorraine (UL), Nancy, France

Secondments

• Center for Rhetorical Science Communication Research on Artificial Intelligence (RHET-AI), Tübingen (Germany), 4 months
• Leibniz Institute for the German Language (IDS), Mannheim (Germany), 1 month

Objectives:
Despite major advances in GenAI, stereotyping and biases are ubiquitous in texts generated by AI technologies, which runs counter to a European society committed to gender equality. Working in close collaboration with DC4, DC5 will:

1. investigate texts generated by leading LLMs (e.g. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Mistral’s Le Chat) in terms of gender fairness with a focus on languages other than EN (e.g. DA, FR, DE);
2. explore the impact of linguistic factors (i.e. linguistic bias), specifically the effects of grammatically un/gendered languages and the masculine default, on gendered representations using corpus linguistic methods;
3. reveal how AI tools echo and reinforce human bias as well as raise Critical Multilingual Language Awareness among users and developers of how LLMs index gender-related structures of power;
4. contribute to enhancing the dialogue between linguists and computer scientists to confront sexism in GenAI technologies with the Associated Partners.

About the Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies
The Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies (EGR) provides a vital research environment for cross-linguistic research in the major European languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish and German). EGR hosts four linguistic research fora: Digital Cultures and Languages, Languages and Cultures in Education, Norm, Variation and Language Change, Translation and cultural transfer. In September 2023, a new Centre of Excellence, the Centre for Culture and the Mind (CULTMIND) opened at the Faculty of Humanities. UCPH hosts the Centre for Gender, Sexuality and Difference dedicated to cross-disciplinary gender research, the Centre for Language and Technology focusing on language technology and Natural Language Processing and the Center for Internationalisation and Parallel Language Use (CIP).

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD Fellow are to:

• Conduct an independent research project under supervision.
• Complete PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
• Participate in active research environments including a stay at another research team.
• Obtain experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project.
• Teach and disseminate your knowledge.
• Prepare and submit a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project.

Qualification requirements
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to master’s level related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Master of Arts, Master of Translation, Master of Education, or a Master of Science in Linguistics or a closely related discipline. If you have completed your education in Denmark, you must have a master’s degree covered by the collective agreement for academics in the state sector.

If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, you must either have a master’s degree equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years) or as minimum a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor’s degree (three years) and be assessed as having professional qualifications at master's level.

If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, we will obtain an assessment of your education from the Danish Research Agency.

Applicants will also be required to meet the European Commission’s MSCA Doctoral Network eligibility criteria, notably:

• Mobility Rule - Applicants can be of any nationality and must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Denmark for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the start of their employment at UCPH. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not considered.
• Doctoral Candidate requirement – the applicant must not be in possession of a doctoral degree at the first day of the employment. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet been awarded the doctoral degree are not eligible.

Only applicants who meet the above eligibility criteria will be considered for the position.

Preferred qualifications:

• Language skills: English and German at level B2 (written and spoken); additional language skills, especially in Danish (alternatively Swedish or Norwegian) or French, will be appreciated.
• Methodology/Digital skills: Basics in corpus linguistics

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant work experience
• Publications
• The grade point average achieved
• Other professional activities
• Language skills
• The successful applicant is also required to be enterprising and to possess good   interpersonal skills.

Terms of employment
The employment is conditioned upon the applicant’s successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of Humanities. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project to the PhD School. Please note that this process will be initiated by the PhD School only after an employment offer has been made.

The PhD programme must be completed in accordance with the Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme (Executive Order no. 1124 of 19 September 2025) and the faculty’s regulations for obtaining the degree

Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the requirements from the European Commission related to the MSCA programme and the agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at DKK 31,600 / roughly EUR 4,200 (April 2026 level) plus pension.

The EU MSCA grant consists of a living allowance of EUR 191,710 (roughly DKK 1,432,687), and a mobility allowance of EUR 25,560 (roughly DKK 191,015). In addition, a family allowance of EUR 23,760 (roughly DKK 177,563) may apply if eligibility conditions are fulfilled. The above amounts shall cover compulsory taxes etc. as well as all the University of Copenhagen’s costs related to your employment, such as monthly salary, future salary raises, pension, paid holidays and labour market contributions.

Therefore, the gross monthly salary you will receive will be lower than the monthly allowances received by the University of Copenhagen. Depending on seniority, your salary will begin around DKK 31,600.

Please note that the PhD student has a work obligation of up to 840 hours over the 3 years period without additional pay.

How to apply
Please submit your application online. To apply, please click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of this page. Your application must be written in English, and include the following attachments (with descriptive titles) in PDF format:

• Cover letter (max. one page)
• CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
• Diploma and transcripts of records (BSc and MSc) in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. Please also include a short description of the grading scale.
• Publication list (if relevant)
• Other information for consideration, e.g., list of publications, documentation of English language qualifications (if any). Please do not submit recommendations etc.

The deadline for applications is 8 July 2026, at 11.59 CEST.

Any applications or additional material submitted after the deadline will not be considered. However, changes may be made to the submitted application right up until the deadline.

Recruitment process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorised recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the appointment committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor.

The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

Once the assessment work has been completed, each shortlisted applicant will be offered the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment before the appointment is announced.

As an applicant to the University of Copenhagen, you should be prepared to undergo a security screening related to international research collaboration as part of the recruitment process. The security screening will be conducted in cases where the University deems it appropriate based on an overall assessment.

Interviews are expected to take place in week 36.

Further information and contact
You can read more about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

For more information on working and living in Denmark, please visit http://ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility) and https://www.workindenmark.dk.

For further information, applicants may contact the main supervisor Mirjam Schmuck at e-mail: mirjam.schmuck@hum.ku.dk, direct phone: +45 40 31 03 21.

For further information about the recruitment process, please contact HR South at e-mail: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk. Please refer to ID number 211-0090/26-2G #2.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and encourages all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.