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Institution Faculty of Social Sciences - Geschwister-Scholl-Institute for Political Science, Unit Digitalization and Political Behavior (Prof. Dr. Alexander Wuttke) Remuneration group TV-L E13 Full-time / Part-time Part-time (75%) Start date 1 January 2027 or as soon as possible

About us:

At LMU Munich, the Unit Digitalization and Political Behavior (Prof. Dr. Alexander Wuttke) and Geschwister-Scholl Institute for Political Science are looking for a PhD Researcher in Computational Social Science.

The position is fixed-term for 4 years, with the possibility of extension.

We are looking for you:

PhD Researcher in Computational Social Science (m/f/x)

in Munich

Your tasks and responsibilities:

Are you excited by the idea of using large language models and text data to answer questions that matter for society? Do you want to understand how ordinary people think about democracy? If so, we warmly invite you to join our team.

You will become part of the Emmy Noether Research Group "Predictably Paradoxical: Mapping the Democratic Mind with AI" (). The Emmy Noether group seeks to illuminate the often puzzling and contradictory beliefs and attitudes people hold about democracy. Standardized surveys struggle to map what is on people's minds because their response options only capture what researchers already expect. The group therefore uses large language models as interviewers in semi-structured interviews. With AI Conversational Interviewing, respondents in many countries describe in their own words what democracy means to them, while the AI interviewer asks follow-up questions. The resulting text data allow us to map democratic belief systems and to distinguish well-founded from superficial democratic attitudes.

Your dissertation will be situated in the area of Computational Text Analysis for Mapping Democratic Belief Systems, and you can shape its specific focus within this area.

• Collect semi-structured interviews at large scale using AI Conversational Interviewing
• Analyze text data to describe and explain democratic belief systems
• Develop and carry out a PhD on Computational Text Analysis for Mapping Democratic Belief Systems
• Contribute to high-quality research publishing in leading venues
• Contribute innovative ideas for research hypotheses and designs
• Assist with project management and administrative tasks

Your qualifications:

• Completed (or near completion of) M.A./M.Sc. in the Social Sciences, Psychology, Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, or a related field
• Computational social science skills, which are especially useful for this position: Python skills and experience working with LLMs (e.g., orchestrating LLM agents or building dialogue systems) and text-as-data methods and natural language processing
• Interest in or experience with political psychology, persuasion research, belief systems or democratic attitudes
• Strong organizational skills
• Good written and oral English communication skills; German language skills are an advantage for the experiments in the first project phase
• Willingness to work with the team on-site with flexible working hours and home office options

Benefits:

• Involvement in innovative social science research with strong academic visibility, at the intersection of political science, psychology, and computational social science
• A 4-year contract with the possibility of extension that gives you the time to complete an ambitious dissertation
• A welcoming, inclusive atmosphere that highly values ambition, collaboration and individual contribution
• Supportive professional environment committed to your career growth
• Employment at one of Europe's premier research universities located in Munich, a city consistently ranked for outstanding quality of life
• Salary according to TV-L E13, 75% (approx. €44,000 to €47,000 gross per year depending on prior experience, non-binding, , )
• Various services and benefits provided by LMU, including family support (, )

People with disabilities who are equally as qualified as other applicants will receive preferential treatment.

Contact:

The application deadline is 20 October 2026, but we review applications on a rolling basis, so the earlier you apply, the better.

Please send complete application documents, a writing sample (e.g. MA thesis or term paper) and a cover letter to . Your cover letter should explain how your profile relates to the ideal profile outlined above and which questions about democratic belief systems you would like to pursue in your dissertation.

Zoom interviews will begin in October 2026. Depending on the number of applications, a second stage with a work sample and in-person interview at LMU Munich may follow (travel costs covered). Join us in shaping democratic futures. Apply today!

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Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
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80539 München