项目介绍

2025年3月1日

The Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies at the University of Zurich (UZH) is the largest center of research and teaching on Asia in Switzerland with about 100 employees. Its Chair in Social Science of Japan (lead by Prof David Chiavacci) invites applicants for a PhD position for conducting qualitative research in the project “The Japan Transnational Education and Career Panel Study (JTEPS): International Student Mobility and its Consequences”, financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Your responsibilities

We seek a PhD candidate with a strong interest in the impact of international student mobility in the early life-course in Japan and in qualitative social science research. The goal of the JTEPS project is to contribute to our understanding of current Japan in Japanese studies and to advance the field of international student mobility in educational sociology through a mixed-method panel study. To address major methodical shortcomings and conceptual gaps of past surveys, quantitative and qualitative data on the educational and professional life courses of residents of Japan in their early 20s are collected over a period of three years (2025-2027) for individuals with and without university education.

The representative quantitative data serve to examine three research questions: (1) Which individual, social and institutional factors shape male and female adolescents’ choice for studying abroad? (2) How does studying abroad affect their early career patterns? (3) What are the implications of studying abroad for social and gender inequality and mobility? The PhD student will write her/his thesis on the qualitative part of the project that aims to evaluate the subjective meaning of studying abroad for young Japanese: (1) What do adolescents hope to gain by studying abroad? What role plays it in their life-course aspirations? (2) How is the individual reasoning regarding the interplay between state policy, institutional setting, family background and personal experiences for studying abroad? (3) How do the individuals perceive studying abroad in later years? Do they think that it enhances their working career, personality, and allows them to make a contribution to society?

The PhD position includes the following responsibilities:

• Collaborating in the development and implementation of the research project with the other team members (Prof David Chiavacci, Prof Sho Fujihara [University of Tokyo], and Dr Steve Entrich)
• Developing and realizing qualitative PhD project based on your own research interests within the joint project

Your profile

• Excellent MA in social science research on Japan
• Solid training in qualitative methods
• Very good knowledge of Japanese and English
• Experience in qualitative social science research and training in quantitative methods advantageous, but not a requirement

We offer:

• Employment (80 %) until end of January 2029
• Salary in accordance with SNSF guidelines (gross annual salary starting at approximately 50,000 CHF)
• Opportunity to develop and realize your own qualitative PhD research project in cooperation and coordination with quantitative survey
• Attractive funding for your qualitative fieldwork in Japan
• Cooperative and stimulating work environment with good infrastructure in a small and highly motivated team

Information on your application

Please upload your application as one pdf file to the UZH job portal:

• Motivation letter (including a short research statement)
• CV
• Diploma copies
• A sample of your work (e.g., a chapter of your MA thesis)

Closing Date: 31 March 2025

Candidates invited to an interview will be asked to submit a short research proposal and one reference letter at a later stage.

David Chiavacci Professor in Social Science of Japan