项目介绍

2025年5月16日

With 28,000 students and 9,000 employees, the University of Zurich (UZH) is the biggest university in Switzerland. As a member of the “League of European Research Universities”, it counts among the leading European universities. UZH offers a culturally diverse and inspiring working environment and promotes international collaboration in research.

The Geocomputation Unit in the Department of Geography at the University of Zurich invites applications for a PhD position as part of the Swiss National Science Foundation funded project Digiland: a digital approach to changing landscape value through multiscalar geographic text analysis. The appointment will be for up to four years, with an initial appointment for three years and one-year extension.

In Digiland we will investigate how the diverse ways in which people value landscapes can be identified and interpreted, and how these values vary across different types of landscape. As a PhD student, you will focus on studying multifunctional peri-urban landscapes in Europe, exploring their diverse functions and the ways in which these functions influence values. To do so, you will carry out a series of case studies at different locations in different European languages and countries, using a combination of computational distant reading and qualitative close reading.

Your responsibilities

• You will apply text analysis for comparative analysis of peri-urban landscapes in Europe as the core of your PhD research project as a part of Digiland Project
• You will present and publish your results at appropriate venues
• You will contribute to teaching and other academic services in the Geocomputation Unit
• You will participate in the Graduate School in Geography and Earth System Science, and complete the associated requirements

Your profile

• You have completed, or will shortly be completing, a Master’s degree in Geography, GIS, computer linguistics or related fields
• You are interested in topics related to peri-urban landscapes, landscape conservation, and geospatial semantics
• You can demonstrate good spatial analytic skills and have knowledge of computational and/ or qualitative text analysis methods
• You have good organisational and communication skills
• You speak and write English fluently
• Knowledge of and/ or willingness to learn another European language (e.g. German or Dtuch) will be an asset
• You value diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Your benefits

• Your PhD will be part of a structured programme in the Graduate School of Geography and Earth System Science
• 70% protected time for your research
• Pay according to the regulations of the University of Zurich for PhD Candidates (at the standard employment level for doctoral students of 80%)
• Holiday entitlement of 25 days plus public holidays per year
• Regular supervision and mentoring
• UZH offers attractive working conditions and opportunities for further education

We will provide a stimulating and supportive research environment, with ample opportunities for collaborations. Zurich and its surroundings provide an excellent living environment, with a broad range of cultural activities and easy access to the countryside and mountains.

Information on your application

To find out more about the research undertaken at the Geocomputation Unit, visit our web page. More general information about teaching and research in the Department of Geography is available here.

For any inquiries, please contact Prof. Dr. Ross Purves.

To apply, please upload the following documents in English in our job portal:

• A motivation letter, explaining why you want to apply for this position, and demonstrating how you fulfil the criteria listed above
• A CV and the contact details for three referees
• Degree transcripts
• Your Master’s thesis, including a 500-word summary of your thesis setting out your scientific motivation, what you did, results and the implications of your work

The initial deadline for applications is 20th June 2025. Review of applications will commence thereafter and will continue until the position is filled.

Questions about the job

Prof. Dr. Ross Purves