The Department of Psychology at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) is advertising an open PhD position in ecological anxiety and climate emotions

Declaration of Interest Regarding PhD Project

The Department of Psychology at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) is advertising an open PhD position in ecological anxiety and climate emotions. The PhD student will be part of the project What is Eco-Anxiety Capturing Feelings of the Climate Crisis funded by the SDU Climate Cluster. This interdisciplinary project combines methods from philosophy psychology and literature studies to investigate experiences of climate anxiety and related emotions. We are seeking a candidate with a background in Environmental or Health Humanities which may include philosophy psychology comparative literature anthropology or sociology among other disciplines. Some knowledge of qualitative research methods and experience with interdisciplinary collaboration across the humanities and social sciences is an advantage. The project is fully funded for three years with a start date of August 15^th 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Project Description

Today the concept of ecological anxiety is widely used in academic political medical and public discourse. The emotions this concept captures however remain ambiguous since the concept is used to refer to a wide variety negative affective states both pathological and non-pathological. This lack of clarity undermines research into the prevalence and severity of eco-anxiety and other climate emotions as well as how these emotions link to behavior. Considering this shortcoming the aim of the project What is Eco-anxiety Capturing Feelings of the Climate Crisis is to develop a nuanced conceptual mapping of climate emotions focusing on emotions commonly included under the label of eco-anxiety. Upon completion of the project we will have refined existing emotion constructs and developed new constructs that can be operationalized for use by researchers carrying out empirical studies of climate emotions (e.g. in psychometric assessments and other larger scale studies). To achieve this aim the project uses an innovative combination of methods from philosophy psychology and literature studies.

The project builds upon an existing data set consisting of hundreds of short stories about climate futures written by high school students in Denmark. The PhD student will be able to incorporate these stories into an analysis that investigates the variety of climate related emotions they express. The PhD student will also be expected to generate a new data set by conducting qualitative interviews with people who report experiencing climate anxiety or other climate related emotions (training in qualitative interviewing can be provided). The recruitment population is open and the PhD student may carry out interviews in their native language (although English or a Scandinavian language is preferred). The interview transcripts will be analyzed through a combination of qualitative and philosophical methods with the aim of establishing a taxonomy of climate-related emotions experienced by the study participants.

Supervisory Team and Research Environment

The candidates primary supervisor will beAnthony Vincent Fernandez Associate Professor of Applied Philosophy and Theoretical Psychology. The co-supervisory team includesBryan Yazell Associate Professor of Anglophone Literature;Anita Wohlmann Associate Professor of Contemporary Anglophone Literature; andKirsten Kaya Roessler Professor of Health and Environmental Psychology.

The position will be based at theDepartment of Psychology which has strengths in clinical psychology community psychology health psychology and cognitive psychology. The PhD student will be a member of the research group in Applied and Interdisciplinary Phenomenology. The group includes several postdoctoral researchers with backgrounds in philosophy qualitative health research and clinical psychology who carry out research on topics such as pain psychotherapy social anxiety and depression among other topics. The PhD student will also be affiliated to theSCC Elite Center for Mobilizing Post-Anthropocentric Climate Action(PACA) and SDUs Climate Cluster. Depending on their disciplinary background and interests they may also affiliate to other groups and centers such as theCentre for Uses of Literatureand/or theNarrative Medicineresearch group.

Qualifications and Expectations

Required Qualifications

• Masters degree* in humanities or social science with an emphasis on environmental or health humanities
• Experience with or interest in carrying out interdisciplinary research and working as part of an interdisciplinary collaborative team
• English proficiency

*Note that the candidate must have completed the equivalent of 300 ECTS to enroll. If the candidate has completed a 1-year (rather than 2-year) masters degree then they will typically have had to complete a 4-year bachelors degree to attain the required ECTS. For further information on eligibility please seeGeneral assessments for specific countries andAssessment database.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing conducting and analyzing qualitative interviews
• Background in phenomenology as either a philosophical or qualitative tradition
• Background in emotion theory or history of emotions

Additional Expectations During the PhD

• Work on campus at least three days per week participating in regular group meetings and positively contributing to the life of the research group
• Carry out an international research stay (up to one semester depending on availability of funds)
• Regularly engage with researchers from a wide variety of disciplines especially via the SDU Climate Cluster

For further information about the project or position please contact:
Anthony Vincent Fernandez

Department of Psychology

University of Southern Denmark (SDU)

E-mail:

Salary and Working Conditions

PhD students employed at SDU are employed as PhD fellows according to the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations in public employment (AC) agreement.

Salary and any salary supplement are paid according to your seniority level and as negotiated with your union representative. The base salary (excluding 18.07% pension contribution) is DKK 374912.98.

Applications must include:

1. A letter stating your interest motivation and qualifications for the project (max. 2 pages)
2. An outline of your ideas or plans for how you would like to carry out the project specifying both your existing skills and skills you would like to develop (max. 2 pages)
3. A detailed CV including personal contact information
4. A certified copy of diploma and transcripts (Masters degree in a relevant field)
5. One writing sample up to 10000 words (e.g. a course paper conference presentation published article or selection from your masters thesis)
6. Contact details for two references
   
   

All application materials should be in English. For diplomas and transcripts in foreign languages a certified translation should also be included. Please do not use generative AI to draft your application documents; the point of the documents is to get a clear sense of your own ideas and abilities.

Shortlisting and interviews may be used in the assessment process.

Further information about the PhD-study can be found at thehomepage of the University.

Applications must be submitted electronically using the link Apply now. Attached files must be in Adobe PDF format. We strongly recommend that you readHow to apply for a position at SDUbefore you apply.

Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.

Closing date January 31^st 2026

The successful candidate will be asked to send an application to the PhD Secretariat Faculty of Health Sciences to be enrolled as a PhD student.

The PhD program will be carried out in accordance with Faculty regulations and the Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD Program at the Universities (PhD order).

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.