Fully Funded PhD in Hyper-Personalisation & Filter Bubbles in Digital News Ecosystems University College Dublin in Ireland

University College Dublin’s School of Information and Communication Studies (ICS) is inviting applications for one fully funded PhD on Hyper-Personalisation & Filter Bubbles in Digital News Ecosystems.

The project is supervised by Assistant Professor Brendan Spillane and Associate Professor Marguerite Barry. It sits at the intersection of communication studies, journalism, human-computer interaction, computer science, and data science/AI. The research will examine how algorithmic curation, recommender systems, personalised feeds, and adaptive interfaces shape exposure to news, credibility judgments, selective exposure, bias reinforcement, and democratic discourse.

The project description highlights a mixed-methods approach: computational analysis of personalised news feeds, experiments on user interaction with controlled news environments, and qualitative interviews/discourse analysis with consumers, journalists, and editors. The successful candidate will contribute to research on media pluralism, platform responsibility, and the design of news recommender systems.

Funding: €25,000 stipend per year for 4 years, €5,750 per year toward fees, €4,500 for conference travel, €3,000 for equipment, €5,000 for materials, plus centrally held training funds for mandatory research-centre training.

Eligibility: Applicants should hold a strong Master’s degree (2:1 or above, or equivalent GPA) in Computer Science, Information Science, Media and Communications, Journalism, Political Science, Psychology, International Relations, or a related field. Strong English proficiency is required; CEFR C1/C2 is advised. EU and non-EU students are equally eligible.

Timeline: The intake is for September 2026. Applications close on 2026-06-22. Shortlisted candidates are expected to interview in late June or early July, with decisions soon after.

How to apply: Candidates should first apply through the national cohort route for the Research Ireland data science and AI centre, then submit the UCD application if invited. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Brendan Spillane directly by email for further discussion.