Explore and teach at the University of Vienna, where more than 7,500 academics thrive on curiosity in continuous exploration and help us better understand our world. Does this sound like you? Then join our accomplished team!

Your personal sphere of influence:

The National Science Center (NCN) and Austrian Science Fund (FWF) co-funded project Non-Ukrainians in Revolutionary Ukraine, 1917–1921 (NURU) invites prospective candidates to join this collaborative four-years project with one research team at the Polish Academy of Sciences and another one at the University of Vienna.

NURU aims to reinterpret one of the most critical periods in modern Ukrainian history – the revolutionary changes of 1917-1921 – by exploring the diverse experiences of non-Ukrainian populations living in Ukraine.

For more information on the project, please refer to our NURU project website.

Three positions will be filled, but via this job portal you can only apply for the position at the University of Vienna:

1. Germans [or] Greeks [or] Moldovans/Romanians in revolutionary Ukraine (PhD position Vienna)

Your future tasks:

• You will analyse the five above-mentioned fields of inquiry with regard to one of the nationalities inhabiting the wider regions adjacent to the Black Sea: Germans, Greeks, or Moldovans/Romanians. The choice of which national group you want to study depends on your interests and qualifications. 
• You are expected to complete a PhD thesis at the University of Vienna on a topic related to your research in the project; however, your thesis needs not to overlap entirely with the project. 
• We expect you to publish preliminary results. You will furthermore participate in the weekly meetings of the project team, discuss your findings, make them accessible in our project’s database, help to organise two conferences, and assist in the maintenance of the project website.

This is part of your personality:

• MA degree (or equivalent) by the start of your employment, ideally with a scholarly background in Ukrainian or Russian history, and/or German, Greek, Moldovan, or Romanian history, and/or nationalism studies. 
• You should be familiar with East European history and demonstrate an interest in minority issues, social history, political history, history of transformation, and comparative research questions. 
• Very good knowledge of English and Russian, as well as either German or Greek or Moldovan/Romanian, and some Ukrainian.
• You should be familiar with reference management software like e.g. Zotero or EndNote.
   

What we offer:

• We offer a two-year contract, renewable for another two years after an interim evaluation.
• The gross salary is approx. 37,600 EUR per year, corresponding to 75% (30 h) of a full time position. Preferred starting date is 1 March 2025, but this is negotiable.
• You will have a fully equipped workspace at the Department for East European History of the University of Vienna.
• You are expected to reside in Vienna as NURU is an inhouse project; research visits to the Warsaw team are, however, very welcome.
• Funding for research missions and participation to international conferences will be provided.
• You will be part of an international research team of seven scholars in an intellectually ambitious and challenging project in one of Europe’s most pleasant cities.

It is that easy to apply:

You can apply in German or English. Please submit the following documents as a single PDF document (entitled: SURNAME, NURU, application 2025, Germans/Greeks/Romanian/Jews) to the University of Vienna job portal (lApply Button)

1) Motivation letter (max 2 pages).
2) Curriculum vitae, including a list of publications (if applicable).
3) Name, email and telephone number of at least two referees (no recommendation letters).
4) An exposé of your planned PhD thesis. Please outline how your thesis relates to the objectives of NURU in general and how you will approach your chosen nationality (Germans, Greeks, or Moldovans/Romanians) in particular (approx. 1000 words, excluding bibliography).
5) A writing sample (e.g. an article, or a significant chapter of your MA thesis). It is not necessary that it has already been accepted for publication.
6) A certificate of your MA degree.

We plan to inform you about the outcome of the selection process by late January 2025. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews likely during the second week of February 2025 in Warsaw.