15 Fully Funded PhD Positions in the Doctoral School in Microbiology and Environmental Sciences

The Doctoral School in Microbiology and Environmental Sciences offers 15 fully funded PhD positions in diverse research areas ranging from molecular microbiology, ecology, computational and evolutionary biology to environmental geosciences.

The Doctoral School in Microbiology and Environmental Science of the University of Vienna offers PhD positions in diverse research areas ranging from molecular microbiology, ecology, and computational biology to environmental geosciences.

Our focus is to provide young scientists with a stimulating environment that promotes the development and advancement of essential skills for a prosperous academic career.

Would you like to:

• Join a dynamic and international research environment?
• Have access to unique high-level infrastructure and instrumentation?
• Receive interdisciplinary training at the interface of microbiology, ecology, and environmental geosciences from internationally well recognized scientists?
• Benefit from career coaching and early international networking?
• Live in Vienna, a city that is continuously ranked among the top cities in the world for quality of life?

Regardless whether you are interested in studying molecular and biochemical mechanisms, single cells, microbial communities or ecosystems and biochemical processes, our faculty provides the ideal framework for your PhD project with the combined expertise of 18 researchers at the assistant, associate and full professor level.

The admission procedure includes:

• evaluation of the written application by scholarly and scientific criteria by a panel of faculty members
• initial online interviews between selected applicants and faculty members (match-making step)
• invitation of selected applicants for online panel interviews, including two 15-minute (chalk-talk) presentations by applicants on their master’s thesis and a scientific paper selected by the faculty panel, respectively.

We are aiming to complete the recruitment process until July 2023 at the latest.

FUNDING

Research projects of successful applicants are funded for a period of up to four years, according to the Austrian Science Fund standard salary for PhD students (€ 2,464.80 gross salary per month in 2023).

We are looking forward to receiving convincing applications of dedicated and enthusiastic students! All students with a master’s degree, or equivalent degree, in life sciences, environmental science, chemistry, geoscience, bioinformatics or any other area which is related to the research topics of our faculty members, are encouraged to apply. We offer internationally competitive salaries and full health benefits.

Please prepare the following documents in one single PDF file for your application:

• Personal motivation letter (in English, ca. 1 page A4)
• Scientific CV (including publications as well as presentations at international conferences)
• Bachelor and master diploma (if available) with certified German or English translation
• Study records with certified German or English translation
• At least two letters of recommendation following our guidelines (template available here)

Please note that C1 English skills are a requirement for all positions announced in our call.

Positions are available in the following fields of research:

• Survival and resuscitation mechanisms of desert soil bacteria
• Identification of tire wear additives in plant agriculture
• How to detect biodegradable plastics in compost and improve compostability?
• Remediation of forever chemicals: PFAS in groundwater
• Identification of host intrinsic factors that shape the sponge microbiome

Details about the involved projects can be found here.

To apply via our recruiting website, you are required to create a personal university account (u:account) Refer to this link for a quick how-to.