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 areas Transformations of Democracy and Migration.

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 predoctoral university assistant, you will work at the intersection of Transformations of Democracy (Associate Professor Fabio Wolkenstein) and Migration (Assistant Professor Leila Hadj Abdou). Your work should thus address contemporary challenges and transformations in democracies in the context of migration and increasing ethno-cultural diversity. We are particularly interested in innovative perspectives that examine issues of migration in relation to political representation, party ideology, party competition, electoral behaviour, or protest politics. Relevant themes that can be explored may include, but are not limited to, migrant’s political participation (including in anti-migrant parties and movements or transnational forms of political participation), the role of migration – and/or growing electorates with migration backgrounds – in electoral or protest politics, political attitudes towards immigration and diversity, as well as interlinked questions of trust in democracy and its institutions. The geographical focus can cover different countries and regions (including Austria). Research and teaching that engages with comparative, cross-country, or multi-level perspectives is particularly welcome.

Your future tasks:

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

• You work on your political science dissertation at the intersection of transformations of democracy and migration and complete it
• We expect you to finalise your dissertation agreement within 12–18 months
• You contribute to research projects and academic studies
• You contribute to publications and conference presentations
• 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
• Participation in the organisation of meetings, conferences, symposia
• 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 migration, democracy research, political parties and/or movements
• Expertise in the field of international migration
• Proven experience in academic writing and with qualitative research methods
• 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:
  
  • Competence in quantitative research methods
  • Teaching experience / experience with e-learning
  • Experience abroad
  • Knowledge of university procedures and structures
  • Command of German – C1 level required in case you plan to teach courses in German

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 academic team with excellent research infrastructure.

Good public transport connections: Your new 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!

This is how you apply:

• Letter of motivation, explaining how you would enrich the Department of Political Science and strengthen its research on migration and democracy
• 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 migration and democracy, the relevance of the specific topic, the expected contribution to political science and in particular to democracy research, as well as the 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