Fully Funded PhD in Governance, Inequality and Community-Based Support in Ageing Societies at Roskilde University Roskilde University in Denmark

Roskilde University is advertising a fully funded three-year PhD position in the new SIRPA project: Social Imaginaries and Realisations of Place-based Communities in Ageing Societies. The position is based in the Department of Social Sciences and Business and starts from 1 February 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The PhD will examine major questions about welfare state transformation, governance, inequality, boundary-making, and the role of community-based support in ageing societies. The project is a research-practice collaboration between Roskilde University, VIVE — The Danish Center for Social Science Research, and Hørsholm Municipality, and it studies Community Circles (Fællesskabscirkler), which are place-based, citizen-driven neighbourhood communities offering practical help, social contact, and light everyday support.

The PhD project should be connected to SIRPA while making an original scholarly contribution. Relevant topics include social imaginaries, policy discourses, governance rationales, the negotiation of roles and responsibilities between municipalities, care workers, volunteers and citizens, inclusion/exclusion, unequal participation, and the relationship between citizen-led support and formal long-term care. The project is qualitative and may use policy documents, interviews, focus groups, rapid ethnography, and research-practice workshops.

Applicants must hold a relevant master’s degree or equivalent in a social science discipline such as sociology, political science, public administration, anthropology, social policy, human geography, or social work. The university particularly seeks candidates with strong qualitative research skills, a theoretically ambitious and feasible project idea, excellent English, and proficiency in Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish for fieldwork and collaboration.

The position is fully funded and lasts 3 years. The application deadline is 20 August 2026. Applications must be submitted in English via the Roskilde University job portal and should include a cover letter, CV, and documentation of education/grades. A project description of no more than 5 pages (excluding references) is required.

Supervisor/PI contact: Professor Tine Rostgaard ([email protected]).