Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
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PhD in Urban Provisioning Systems, Sufficiency Behaviour, and Well-Being EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne) in Switzerland
Degree Level
PhD
Field of study
Environmental Science
Funding
The position is a 100% activity-rate, four-year fixed-term PhD contract (CDD) at EPFL. No specific salary, stipend, or tuition-coverage details are stated.
Deadline
Nov 12, 2026
Country
Switzerland
University
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
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About this position
This PhD project at the Laboratory for Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS), within EPFL's School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, investigates how urban provisioning systems can support low-carbon futures while maintaining or improving human well-being.
The research connects urban systems, human behaviour, perceptions, and subjective well-being with socio-metabolic analysis. The doctoral researcher will examine how urban planning interventions and changes in services such as housing, mobility, and public amenities influence citizens' everyday choices and preferences, and how these behavioural changes affect resource demand, material flows, and energy flows across cities.
The project involves developing an interdisciplinary framework, reviewing urban interventions and demand-side options, and creating spatially enriched synthetic household populations for selected case-study cities. The researcher will integrate micro-census, survey, and socio-metabolic data and conduct empirical work through surveys, discrete choice experiments, interviews, and stakeholder workshops. Findings will support the co-design of urban interventions and the analysis of urban socio-metabolic profiles.
The successful candidate will work with the HERUS research team and collaborate closely with the University of Freiburg in Germany. The project is co-supervised by Prof. Claudia R. Binder and Dr. Maria Anna Hecher, with opportunities to publish in international peer-reviewed journals, present at scientific conferences, contribute to teaching and student supervision, and develop an independent research profile within an international interdisciplinary environment.
Funding details
The position is a 100% activity-rate, four-year fixed-term PhD contract (CDD) at EPFL. No specific salary, stipend, or tuition-coverage details are stated.
What's required
Applicants should hold an excellent MSc degree in Social Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Systems Sciences, Sustainability Science, Geography, Urban Planning, or a closely related interdisciplinary field. They should have a strong interest in linking social and behavioural perspectives with biophysical and material dimensions of urban systems, and an interest in socio-technical transitions, human-environment interactions, sustainability science, and/or urban systems. Experience or strong interest in quantitative or mixed-methods research, including survey design, statistical analysis, choice modelling, spatial data analysis, or micro-data modelling, is desirable. Applicants need excellent analytical, problem-solving, communication, and teamwork skills, the ability to work independently, high motivation for problem-driven interdisciplinary research, and excellent written and spoken English. French and/or German knowledge is an asset, especially for empirical fieldwork.
How to apply
Apply through the EPFL Careers application portal using the advert's Apply now link. Submit a maximum one-page motivation letter, detailed CV, contact information, names and contact information for three references, and Bachelor and Master transcripts. Short-listed candidates will later be asked to apply to the EPFL Doctoral Program EDCE.
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ApplyKite TwinLearns as you applyMake your next move.
Prepare your application
Review drafts and confirm requirements with the university.