PhD scholarship at Center for Economic Behaviour and Inequality (CEBI) at the Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen

Are you passionate about providing new knowledge on behavior, inequality and economic policy? CEBI at the University of Copenhagen invites ambitious candidates to join our PhD program, starting 1 September 2026.

As a PhD scholar at CEBI, you will be part of a leading research community, tackling important questions such as: What drives disparities in economic outcomes and opportunities across societies? How do policy interventions reshape economic and social outcomes? And what role do behavioral factors play in sustaining or reducing inequality?

With access to Denmark’s globally unique data resources, you’ll explore these issues in depth, combining insights from many fields including Public Economics, Labor Economics, Econometrics, Behavioral Economics, and Political Economy. Supported by the Danish National Research Foundation, CEBI merges administrative data with behavioral experiments and surveys to offer an unmatched empirical foundation for your research.

CEBI is looking for an excellent new PhD student who has competencies in these areas and is interested in doing empirical research on economic behaviour and inequality. The current group includes 14 senior researchers, 10 junior researchers, 18 PhD students, 6 research assistants and 11 international researchers from Harvard University, UC Berkeley, New York University, Princeton University and University of Zürich.

For further information about CEBI see www.econ.ku.dk/cebi.

Job description
The position is available for a 3-year period, a 4-year period (under the so-called 4+4 model), or a 5-year period (under the so-called 3+5 model).

PhD students are expected to

• Participate in research groups working on various research projects at CEBI
• Write scientific articles that are included in the PhD thesis of the applicant
• Attend PhD courses
• Participate in congresses/workshops/seminars
• Teach and disseminate your research
• Visit another international research institution for at least a few months
• Be supervised by a senior core CEBI member

Qualification requirements
We seek a candidate with a strong academic background in Economics, qualifying for enrolment in the 5+3 programme (3 year PhD programme); 4+4 programme (4 year PhD programme) or 3+5 (5 year PhD programme) in Economics. In the assessment of the candidate’s qualifications, emphasis will be on grade performance in core economics courses, the project proposal and potential relevant professional experience or publications. Good English language skills are also important.

Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to master’s level related to the subject area of the project, e.g. MSc in Economics. If you have completed your education in Denmark, you must have a master’s degree covered by the collective agreement for academics in the state sector.

If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, you must either have a master’s degree equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years) or as minimum a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor’s degree (three years) and be assessed as having professional qualifications at master's level.

If you have completed your education outside of Denmark, we will obtain an assessment of your education from the Danish Research Agency.

If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree or qualifications corresponding to Danish master’s level, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programmes (4+4 or 3+5).

Scholarship in the 5+3, the 4+4 or the 3+5 PhD study programme
The 5+3 PhD study programme
PhD students are paid a salary in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The PhD student has a work obligation of up to 840 hours over the 3 year period of time without additional pay. The work obligation can include teaching, for instance. The PhD student is expected to seek funding for fieldwork as this is not included in the scholarship.

The 4+4 PhD study programme
Until an MSc degree is obtained, the grant is paid partly in the form of up to 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: SU-klip). More specifically the PhD student will be paid two grant portions per month plus salary for work (teaching, presentations etc.) which totals a workload of at least 280 hours. Payment and conditions of employment are carried out in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). Upon completion of the MSc degree programme, the student is transferred to the salary-earning part of the PhD studies. The PhD student is expected to seek funding for fieldwork as this is not included in the scholarship.

The 3+5 PhD study programme
Students who have completed a BSc would enrol as PhD students simultaneously with their enrolment in the MSc degree programme. Applicants should check the study programmes for more detailed descriptions of the entry requirements. Until an MSc degree is obtained, the grant is paid partly in the form of up to 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: SU-klip). More specifically the PhD student will be paid one grant portion per month during the first two years, and two grant portions per month during the last year. The student will also receive salary for work (teaching, presentations etc.) which totals a workload of at least 280 hours. Payment and conditions of employment are carried out in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). Upon completion of the MSc degree, the student is transferred to the salary-earning part of the PhD studies. The PhD student is expected to seek funding for fieldwork as this is not included in the scholarship.

For more information on the specific requirements of the integrated PhD programmes, please visit this website: Integrated PhD – University of Copenhagen.

Please note assessment of applicants’ qualifications and eligibility for employment and enrolment will only take place after the application deadline.

How to apply
Submit a complete application at our online portal. Click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of the page to apply. The documents must be in Adobe PDF or Word.

• Project abstract (Please fill in the project abstract in the application form. Must not exceed 1.200 characters).
• Cover letter (detailing your motivation and background for applying for the specific PhD project).
• Project description (no more than 12,000 keystrokes not including bibliography). In your project description, we invite you to outline one or two research ideas, focusing on your approach to exploring these topics and the potential analytical strategies you might employ. This exercise is designed to assess your research maturity—specifically, your ability to identify meaningful questions, conceptualize a feasible research framework, and think through possible methods of analysis. Please note, you are not necessarily expected to pursue these particular ideas during your PhD; rather, this outline allows us to evaluate your potential as a researcher and your capacity for innovative, structured thinking.
• CV
• Diploma and transcripts of records (BSc and MSc). Please include the following documents: bachelor’s and master's degree - diplomas and transcripts, description of grading scale. Please note: If your degree diploma is not available by the application deadline, please include your latest transcript of grades.
• Time schedule
• Budget
• Other information for consideration, e.g. list of publications, documentation of English language qualifications (if any).
• List of publications (if any).

Further details on the documents that should accompany your application are available on this website: Admission requirements and application procedures – University of Copenhagen.

Applicants holding a degree from a university where the working language is neither English nor a Scandinavian language must include translated versions of their diploma and transcripts, verified by the issuing university. The documents must be translated into English, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish. In addition, an official description of the relevant grading scale (e.g. diploma supplement) must be included.

Duties and Responsibilities
General information about the PhD study programme is available on the website of Copenhagen Graduate School of Social Sciences: PhD School in the Social Sciences – Faculty of Social Sciences - University of Copenhagen.

Under "Legal basis" on the website you will find information about the rules and guidelines for the PhD programme and the Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD programme at the Universities.

Information about the PhD study programme is also available on the PhD website of the Department of Economics, see https://www.econ.ku.dk/phd/

The recruitment process
Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The following criteria are used when shortlisting candidates for assessment:

1. Research qualifications as reflected in the project proposal and fit of the project proposal with the CEBI research agenda

2. Quality and feasibility of the project.

3. Qualifications and knowledge in relevant Economics disciplines.

4. Performance (grades obtained) in graduate and post-graduate studies.

5. Department of Economics can offer adequate supervision for the research topic in question.

Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the assessment committee, and each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

As an applicant to the University of Copenhagen, you should be prepared to undergo a security screening related to international research collaboration as part of the recruitment process. The security screening will be conducted in cases where the University deems it appropriate based on an overall assessment.

Enrolment
In order to be awarded a PhD scholarship, the applicant has to enroll as a PhD student at the Faculty of Social Sciences, cf. the rules of the Danish Ministerial order No 1039 of 27 August 2013.

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see HR Excellence in Research – University of Copenhagen

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
We kindly encourage you to consult our website, where most questions regarding the recruitment process as well as the academic content and structure of the PhD programme are answered:
Structure of the PhD programme – University of Copenhagen

How to obtain a PhD scholarship – University of Copenhagen

Information about the recruitment process is available from HR South, e-mail: [email protected]. Please refer to ID number: 211-2331/25-2H #2.

Additional information about the position can be obtained from Claus Thustrup Kreiner (e-mail: [email protected]).

The closing date for applications is 1 February 2026 at 23:59 (CET).
Applications received after the deadline will not be taken into account.

Københavns Universitet giver sine knap 10.000 medarbejdere muligheder for at udnytte deres talent fuldt ud i et ambitiøst, uformelt miljø. Vi sikrer traditionsrige og moderne rammer om uddannelser og fri forskning på højt internationalt niveau. Vi søger svar og løsninger på fælles problemer og gør ny viden tilgængelig og nyttig for andre.

Info
Ansøgningsfrist: 01-02-2026

Ansættelsesdato: 01-09-2026

Afdeling/Sted: Department of Economics