PhD and Postdoc Positions in Computational Social Science, Climate Justice, and Spatial Demography at Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany

Goethe University Frankfurt is recruiting for PhD and postdoctoral positions at the Center for Critical Computational Studies (C3S), with a research focus on computational social science, quantitative social science, climate justice, climate risks, spatial demography, and related questions of environmental justice and spatial inequality.

The main advertised research stream under Prof. Dr. Tobias Rüttenauer (Quantitative Social Science) addresses socio-demographic inequalities in climate impacts, environmental justice, demographic responses to climate change, and the development/application of computational methods such as machine learning and spatial econometrics. The post mentions multiple openings: two postdoctoral researcher positions and three doctoral researcher/PhD positions, with different durations and employment fractions.

The positions are based at the C3S, a central research center of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. The environment is described as highly supportive, with no mandatory teaching obligations and generous support for further training, professional development, and conference travel. The university also highlights its family-friendly policies and campus location in Frankfurt.

Eligibility highlights: PhD applicants should have a strong background in the social sciences or related fields, very good quantitative training, and strong interest in climate change, environmental justice, and computational methods. Useful skills include R, Python, or Stata, experience with georeferenced data, spatial or longitudinal analysis, and the ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team. Postdoctoral applicants are expected to have a completed doctorate and a strong research profile aligned with the project themes.

Application deadline: 23 June 2026.

How to apply: Submit the required application materials by email. For the PhD call, use the reference code SOC-Doc and send a single PDF to [email protected]. The post also notes that candidates who fit both funding streams should apply to both calls using the same materials. Full advertisements are available via the linked post and university pages.

This is a strong opportunity for candidates interested in computational social science, climate justice, environmental inequality, spatial analysis, and demography in an interdisciplinary research setting.