The research project Level up your money game hosted at The Center for Tracking and Society at The Department of Communication, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), invites applications for a full time Ph D Scholarship for a duration of 3 years to be filled by 1 February 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter.
The chosen candidate will be employed and enrolled at the Faculty of Humanities under the Ph D School at the Faculty of Humanities.
Job content
The Ph D position is part of the Level up your money game project which runs from 2025 to 2027 and is funded by the Velux foundation. The successful candidate’s research activities will contribute to the project’s empirical studies of children and young people’s economic socialisation at the intersection between gaming and finance.
Level up your money game addresses children and young peoples 'money games’ in online environments. With money games we refer to the ongoing convergence between gaming and finance as virtual game economies intersect with wider speculative trading on the internet, new types of ‘finfluencers’ emerge on social media platforms, gaming discourses spread across the financial sector, and gamification techniques are put to use on retail investment platforms. The project addresses children and young people's money games in this digital environment at the level of social practices, creator strategies and platform models. To do this, the project will combine qualitative fieldwork, digital methods and political economic analysis.
For more information about the project, please contact the project PI Anne Mette Thorhauge (thorhaug@hum.ku.dk).
As a Ph D student in the project, you are expected to formulate and carry out your own Ph D project focused on an empirical mapping and exploration of everyday practices, identities, and socialization of Danish youth at the intersection between gaming and finance, in accordance with work package 1 in the project. This work will include qualitative fieldwork, primarily consisting of ethnographic interviews and focus groups with Danish youth, and qualitative, and possibly quantitative, analyses of social media content and social interactions across relevant sites and platforms. This work will be linked with the overall project work on social practices and platform models and contribute to a more general conceptualization and analysis of money games as a multidimensional construct.
In addition to carrying out an individual Ph D project the successful applicant is expected to participate in project activities, including regular coordination activities as well as organizing, hosting and/or attending research events in Denmark and abroad. As a Ph D student at the Department of Communication you will be part of a dynamic and internationally oriented interdisciplinary environment focused on advancing theoretical, methodological and empirical research about digital society.
Qualification requirements and assessment criteria
Applicants must have a two-year master’s degree (120 ECTS) or equivalent within a relevant field and, as minimum, have submitted a master’s thesis for which they have received pre-approval at the time of application. Applicants must have theoretical and empirical qualifications within the broad field of digital media and communications research. Applicants experienced with qualitative field work such as individual interviews and focus groups with children and young people will be prioritized.
The qualifications of applicants with non-Danish master’s degrees will be assessed to decide whether they correspond to the Danish level. For further information, please refer to the website of the Ministry of Education and Research:
General assessments for specific countries — English (ufm.dk)
Applicants must possess skills in written and spoken academic English at a high level. Applicants must also possess sufficient skills in written and spoken Danish to conduct the specified field work. If deemed necessary, the Department may request that applicants document their language skills.
How to apply
To be awarded a Ph D scholarship the applicant must enrol as a Ph D student at the Faculty of Humanities, cf. the rules of the Danish Ministerial order No 1039 of 27 August 2013.
Applications must be submitted online. Click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of this advertisement to apply. The application must be written in English, and include the following enclosures in Adobe PDF or Word format:

• Project abstract (Please fill in the “Project abstract” box in the application form. Must not exceed 1,200 keystrokes)
• Cover letter detailing your motivation and background for applying for the specific Ph D project
• Ph D project description aligned with the goals of the overall research project and work package 1 (maximum 12,000 keystrokes not including bibliography). Project outline of Level up your money game is available on request from its PI, Associate Professor Anne Mette Thorhauge, email: thorhaug@hum.ku.dk.
• CV (2 page maximum)
• Diploma and transcripts of records (BA/BSc and master’s degree)
• Time schedule
• Budget
• Other information for consideration, e.g. list of publications, documentation of English and language qualifications (if relevant)

Please note that it is only possible to upload one document per attachment category. If more than one document must be uploaded in the same category, please make sure that they are scanned and collected into one file.
Only material in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and English will be assessed.
On the website of the Ph D School, you will find information about the enclosures to include with your electronic application:
Admission requirements and application procedures – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)
The recruitment process
The following criteria are applied when assessing Ph D applications:

• Research qualifications as reflected in the project description and CV.
• Quality and feasibility of the Ph D project, including its alignment with the overall research project.
• Qualifications in digital media, communications, and social scientific research.
• Performance (grades obtained) in graduate and post-graduate studies.

After the deadline for applications, the Head of Department considers advice from the Appointment Committee and then selects applicants for assessment. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted. After this, the Head of Department sets up an expert Assessment Committee to assess the shortlisted applications. The selected applicants will be informed who is serving on the committee. Individual applicants will be offered the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment of their application before the appointment is announced.
Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here: Recruitment process – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)
About the Ph D study program
The Ph D study program aims at training Ph D students, at an international level, to undertake research, development, and teaching assignments. These qualifications open a window of opportunity to a variety of careers within the private and public sectors. The program includes the drafting of a Ph D thesis, active participation in research networks and the Department’s scholarly life, Ph D courses, teaching, and other forms of knowledge dissemination. The standard duration of the Ph D programme is three years of full-time studies, which equals 180 ECTS credits.
For further information about the guidelines for Ph D studies at UCPH, please refer to:
Ph D Programs - Guide to studies and admission – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)
For further information about the structure of the Ph D programme, please refer to:
Structure of the Ph D programme – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)
Applicants are also invited to familiarize themselves with the ongoing research at the faculty:
Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)
Salary and terms of employment
Ph D students are paid a salary in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately DKK 30,700 / approximately EUR 4,100 plus 17.1% pension. The Ph D student has a work obligation of up to 840 hours over the 3-year period without additional pay. The work obligation can include for instance teaching.
Equal Opportunity Workplace
University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society, and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their personal backgrounds. For more information on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R, see HR Excellence in Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).
International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here:
For international researchers at the University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)
Contact information
Further information about this position, including an outline of the Level up your Money Game project, can be obtained from its PI, Associate Professor Anne Mette Thorhauge, email: thorhaug@hum.ku.dk.
Information about the recruitment process is available from HR, email: hrsc@hrsc.ku.dk - please refer to ID number 211-1922/24-2H #1.
For further information about the structure and rules of the Ph D program, please email the Ph D Administration at South and City Campus at phd@hrsc.ku.dk.
The deadline for applications is 23:59 [CET] on 27 October 2024.
Any applications or additional material submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

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