University assistant (predoctoral) at the Department of Political Science Universität Wien

Job description:

At the University of Vienna almost 11,000 personalities work together towards answering the big questions of the future. Around 7,700  of them do research and teaching, around 3,000 work in administration and organisation. We are looking for a

University assistant (predoctoral) at the Department of Political Science

The announcement is made for four years, whereby the employment relationship is initially limited to 1.5 years and is automatically extended to a total of four years, unless the employer submits a declaration of non-renewal after a maximum of 12 months.

Your future workplace:

Your future workplace is located at the Department of Political Science, in the research area Transformations of Democracy.

The Department of Political Science, a subunit of the Faculty of Social Sciences, addresses all major fields of political science. It is dedicated to innovative and problem-oriented research and provides students with a wide range of specialisations. Members of the Department study the transformation of governance, statehood and democracy across different policy areas, geographical regions and political areas.

As a university assistant (predoctoral), you will work in the research area Transformations of Democracy (Associate Professor Fabio Wolkenstein). Your dissertation will be supervised by Fabio Wolkenstein. Research into the topics of democratic resilience and democratic regression is of particular interest, although there are no strict disciplinary boundaries.

Your work may, for instance, address the institutional, party-political and ideological conditions of democratic resilience, as well as processes that erode democratic procedures and norms.

Your work may therefore be purely theoretical or conceptual, or take an interdisciplinary approach, though a strong theoretical interest and foundation are required.

The regional focus of the research is not limited to any specific region; it can cover different countries and regions (including Austria) as well as different levels (global, regional, national, sub-national).

Your future tasks:

You actively participate in research, teaching and administration in the research area Transformations of Democracy, which means:

• You work on your political science dissertation on democratic resilience and democratic regression and complete it. Your dissertation is supervised by Fabio Wolkenstein
• We expect you to finalise your dissertation agreement within 12–18 months
• You contribute to research projects and academic studies in the field of democracy research
• You contribute to publications and conference presentations in the field of democracy research
• You contribute to project applications and the acquisition of third-party funding
• You hold courses independently within the scope of the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement
• You supervise students
• You take on administrative tasks in departmental, teaching and research administration

Requirements:

• Completed Master's or Diploma degree in political science or a related field, ideally with a specialisation in democratic theory, democracy research or political theory/philosophy
• Expertise in the field of democracy research
• A strong theoretical interest and a sound theoretical foundation
• Proven experience in academic writing
• IT user skills
• Excellent command of written and spoken English (C1 level)
• Command of a further foreign language (C1 level), if relevant for the dissertation topic
• You are a team player with strong social and communication skills
• The following criteria are desirable:
  • Depending on the design of the project: experience with qualitative or quantitative research methods
  • Teaching experience / experience with e-learning
  • Experience abroad
  • Knowledge of university procedures and structures

What we offer:

Work-life balance: You have flexible working hours and can partially work remotely. 

Inspiring working atmosphere: You are a part of an international team with excellent research infrastructure in a relaxed working environment.

Good public transport connections: Your workplace is easily accessible by public transport.

Internal further training & Coaching: We continually offer you the opportunity to expand and deepen your skills. Choose from a selection of over 600 free workshops each year.

Fair salary: The basic salary of EUR 3.836,10 (on a full-time basis) increases if we can credit professional experience.

Get off to a great start in your new job: the Welcome Compass helps you settle into your new role at the University of Vienna and life in Vienna.

Equal opportunities for all: We welcome every new personality to the team!

It is that easy to apply:

• Letter of motivation, explaining how you would enrich the Department of Political Science and strengthen its democracy research
• Academic curriculum vitae, including a list of publications (if applicable)
• Dissertation proposal (max. 4 pages plus a maximum of one separate page of references), preceded by an abstract of max. 1,000 characters. The proposal must clearly set out the connection to the topics of democratic resilience and democratic regression, the relevance of the specific topic, the expected contribution to political science and in particular to democracy research, as well as its theoretical grounding and analytical approach, including guiding assumptions or hypotheses
• Proof of a completed Master's or Diploma degree
• Contact details of one referee
• Via our job portal / Apply now-button

If you have any content questions, please contact:

Assoz. Prof. Fabio Wolkenstein, Ph.D.

fabio.wolkenstein@univie.ac.at

We look forward to new personalities in our team! 
The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. We place particular emphasis on enhancing women’s representation among the academic and general university staff, particularly in leadership roles, and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.

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Application deadline: 11/30/2026 

Apply now