PhD Candidate in Housing Provision as Enjoyment (Ref. 26-27) Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research in Luxembourg

LISER (the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research) is recruiting a PhD candidate for the project Housing provision as enjoyment (Ref. 26-27) within the Urban Development and Mobility department in Belval, Luxembourg. The position is part of the Doctoral Training Unit C-SOS: Competitiveness within a Safe Operating Space, an interdisciplinary consortium involving LISER, the University of Luxembourg, LIST, and STATEC. The DTU will train 12 PhD candidates and is designed to connect environmental sustainability, social well-being, and economic dynamics in integrated approaches to inclusive and sustainable development.

This PhD project addresses the current housing affordability crisis through a distinctive theoretical and empirical lens: the role of enjoyment, desire, and drive in housing provision. The research topic invites analysis of how forms of individualistic enjoyment shape housing markets and systems, including land control by landowners, value production by property developers, and domination exerted by landlords. It also opens space to examine collective forms of enjoyment in housing, such as social housing, cooperative housing, and community land trusts, with attention to use value, collective investment, and alternative logics of housing provision.

Possible research avenues include historical analysis of elite discourses and legal texts, biographical or life-course interviews with property actors, and analysis of cultural production such as literature, art, music, film, social media discourse, or AI-generated text. The topic is especially suitable for candidates interested in theoretically informed, critical, and interdisciplinary research on housing, inequality, and socio-spatial transformation.

The position is a full-time, fixed-term PhD contract at LISER for 36 months, with a possible one-year extension. It is located at the Belval campus in Luxembourg and offers a multidisciplinary research environment with strong links to the University of Luxembourg and the wider Luxembourg research ecosystem. Successful candidates will obtain a PhD from the University of Luxembourg doctoral schools.

The institute offers mentoring, training, and career development opportunities, access to courses and seminars, language courses, flexibility in working hours, teleworking options, and 32.5 days of annual leave. The annual gross salary is stated as EUR 51,690.72 in year 1, EUR 54,212.28 in year 2, and EUR 56,733.72 in year 3, under the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Applicants should hold, or expect to achieve, a Master’s degree in geography, sociology, psychoanalysis, philosophy, history, or another relevant social science discipline. Strong English writing and speaking skills are required, together with a clear motivation for theory-driven research and critical thinking. LISER particularly encourages female applicants to apply.

The application deadline is 18 September 2026 at midnight CET. Applications must be submitted through the LISER jobs website and include a CV, cover letter, a relevant written piece, diplomas and transcripts, and two reference letters from academic referees. For content-related questions, contact Dr Antoine Paccoud; for administrative and recruitment matters, contact Vanya Kirova at [email protected].