PhD Candidate Opportunity – FPU 2026 Fellowship – EVERYMOVE University of Alcalá in Spain

The University of Alcalá’s EVERYMOVE Research Team is seeking a highly motivated prospective PhD candidate to prepare a competitive application for the Spanish FPU 2026 predoctoral fellowship. This is an expression of interest rather than an already funded doctoral post. The successful candidate will work with the research team to develop a PhD proposal and apply for FPU support, which—if awarded—would provide a funded predoctoral employment contract under the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) conditions.

The project sits within an interdisciplinary research environment focused on physical activity, health inequalities, social determinants of health, and the social and spatial dimensions of access to physical activity opportunities. The team welcomes candidates from sport and exercise sciences, epidemiology, public health, sociology, and related social or health disciplines. The doctoral topic is not fixed in advance; instead, the candidate will co-develop an original thesis aligned with the scientific scope of EVERYMOVE and their own background and interests.

Potential research directions include inequalities in physical activity participation, sociology of sport, social and spatial accessibility, public health and epidemiology, sport policy, and qualitative or mixed-methods research on lived experiences and barriers to participation. The project explicitly encourages work on socioeconomic, gender, age-related, cultural, environmental, and spatial factors shaping access to physically active lifestyles.

The offer includes integration into an interdisciplinary team at the University of Alcalá, scientific supervision and proposal support, opportunities for publication and collaboration, and financial support for dissemination, conferences, and training activities. Applicants should have a completed bachelor’s and master’s degree that grants access to doctoral studies in Spain, meet the FPU 2026 eligibility conditions, and present an excellent academic record. Good written and oral communication skills in English and Spanish are expected; previous research experience in quantitative, qualitative, epidemiological, social, or spatial methods is an asset but not compulsory.

Applications should be submitted by email to [email protected] with a CV, transcripts, and a short motivation letter. The internal deadline is 3 November 2026 at 23:59 CET, while the official FPU candidate deadline is 12 November 2026 at 14:00 CET. Further information is available via the AEI call page and the EVERYMOVE project website.