PhD Fellowship: The Impact of Social Housing
KU Leuven is offering a PhD fellowship titled
“The Impact of Social Housing”
within the large-scale SHIFT research project on preventing homelessness. The project is led by LUCAS (KU Leuven) and carried out in collaboration with HIVA KU Leuven, the KU Leuven ReSPOND research group, Ghent University, PXL University of Applied Sciences, and Trinity College Dublin.
The doctoral researcher will join the ReSPOND research group and HIVA to investigate how social housing can prevent homelessness. The project focuses on the impact of social housing on
employment, income, and well-being
, both in the short and long term. The research design combines
longitudinal administrative databases
,
quasi-experimental methods
, and
qualitative data collection
, offering an interdisciplinary and policy-relevant training environment.
This position is well suited to candidates interested in housing, homelessness prevention, welfare policy, and applied social research. The work is closely connected to policy and practice, with collaboration from policymakers, practitioners, and people with lived experience of homelessness. The fellowship is based at KU Leuven in Leuven, Belgium, and is part of an innovative multi-university project addressing social problems through evidence-based research.
Eligibility highlights:
a master’s degree in sociology, economics, political science, socioeconomic sciences, (social) educational sciences, or a related field; strong interest in quantitative research and large datasets; affinity with qualitative methods is a plus; good analytical skills; willingness to develop further data-analysis expertise; native or proven Dutch proficiency; good English; and a strong academic record.
Funding and duration:
a full-time PhD position initially for 1 year, renewable up to 4 years subject to positive evaluation.
Application deadline:
2026-09-30.
For more information, contact Prof. dr. Wim Van Lancker ([email protected]), dr. Jana Verstraete ([email protected]), or dr. Kristof Heylen ([email protected]).
