Call for PhD researchers

Call for 12 PhD Fellowships

The MSCA-DN ‘Understanding Latin American Challenges in the 21st Century (LAC-EU)’ invites applications for 12 PhD Fellowships.

Social, political, and cultural transformations, a fast-changing global economy, geopolitical tensions, and global uncertainties have created a markedly different context from the previous era of European Union (EU) policies towards Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

Funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions - Doctoral Networks, the LAC-EU doctoral network will establish a novel, comprehensive and interdisciplinary framework to understand LAC and its relationship with the EU, fostering respectful, non-Eurocentric research and engagement. It will enable a better understanding of current challenges in Latin American governance and support sustainable, equitable and successful relations between the EU and LAC.

LAC-EU is an integrated four-year doctoral network, providing world-class, interdisciplinary research and training in social and political sciences, law, and the humanities, as well as research exchanges and policy-relevant secondments in the EU and LAC. Research themes include the rise of populism, democracy, gender rights, trade, migration, health, global cities, sustainability and green finance, and cultural learning.

The LAC-EU doctoral programme comprises an interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral network composed of seven leading higher education institutions and key, highly relevant civil society, and policy partners from a range of European and LAC countries. It offers an exceptional combination of academic and research-related training and transferable skills to deliver scientific excellence, occupational mobility, and preparation for lifelong, policy-relevant learning for a new generation of researchers.

Benefits

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellows are offered a full-time, three-year contract that includes full social security benefits, a highly competitive monthly living allowance, as well as mobility and family allowances.

The programme offers students an exceptional opportunity to engage in network-wide training and acquire a broad range of research-focused and transferable skills at various locations across Europe and LAC. This includes working with leading scientists and experts in the field.

Requirements

We seek motivated researchers who hold a Master’s degree in International Relations, Political Science, Public Policy, Law, and Cultural and Linguistics studies or equivalent (early-stage researchers) and possess excellent empirical and theoretical skills, as well as good teamwork abilities. Proficiency in both English and Spanish is a requirement.

Doctoral candidates’ recruitment is subject to the mobility rule. Applicants may be nationals of Member States, Associated Countries, or any other third country. Additionally, the applicant must not have lived or worked in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months prior to their date of recruitment, excluding short stays such as holidays.

Applicants who hold a doctorate or have more than 4 years of full-time research experience are ineligible.

Final candidates should ideally begin their PhD enrolment/employment in October 2024.