The Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences promotes innovative, excellent, problem-oriented research that aspires to contribute to societal debates and address key global challenges.

The cohorts trained and supported by the ViDSS are part of a vibrant research environment and international networks. The ViDSS encompasses and fosters connections between a broad range of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives. The ViDSS embraces the entire range of epistemological, methodological and theoretical approaches that are employed at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Doctoral candidates receive research training and write a doctoral thesis in the fields of communication, demography, development studies, nursing science, political science, science and technology studies, social and cultural anthropology, and sociology. The ViDSS aims for the highest standards in doctoral training and close supervision to ensure a mastery of social scientific debates and relevant theories and methods. As a result, ViDSS graduates are highly employable both within and outside academia. Evaluating

Fellowship and award winners
 

Communication scientist Senad Alibegović was awarded the PRO PR Globe People Achievement Award 2024. The award honours individuals in the communications field who contribute to the improved perception and positioning of the communications industry on global, regional, and local levels. Congratulations!
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Fellowship and award winners
 

Social and cultural anthropologist Katrin Schmid was awarded a scholarship by the Foundation for Canadian Studies to continue her field work in the Canadian Arctic. In her dissertation, she examines the role of pre-existing transport infrastructures in territorial food sovereignty in Nunavut, a territory without agriculture. Congratulations!
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Radio and podcast
 

Adityo Darmawan Sudagung and Emily Genatowski talk with Aleksandar Anđelović and Ying Liang Zhang about expectations at the beginning of their doctoral studies, unexpected challenges and transformative moments. About accumulating skills, academic criticism, peer feedback and changing career plans – listen in and learn what Ying Liang and Aleksandar would do if they had a time machine.
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Media articles and press releases
 

Together with Peter Schweitzer, social and cultural anthropologist Susanna Gartler presents the project “Nunataryuk” in which scientists from various disciplines worked together to investigate the effects of the increasing thawing of permafrost soils and to develop the Arctic Permafrost Atlas. (In German)
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Media articles and press releases
 

In their latest research overview, #UseTheNews presents the paper “Unpacking news consumption and trust decisions” by communication scientist Diego Garusi (co-authored with Clara Juarez Miro). The study shows the ongoing importance of traditional journalistic values for audiences’ news use and trust decisions despite the emergence of new forms of journalistic actors. (In German)
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Fellowship and award winners
 

Communication scientist Melanie Haberl was awarded the Förderpreis Journalismus 2024 of the German Communication Association for her ongoing doctoral thesis project about the balance between proximity and distance in journalists’ professional relationships with politicians. Congratulations!
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Fellowship and award winners
 

Social and cultural anthropologist and ViDSS Alumna Ilona Grabmaier was awarded the GAIN Gender & Agency Prize and the Förderpreis of the Dr. Maria Schaumayer Stiftung for her doctoral thesis entitled “Stayed at home. (Re)Configurations of care in rural Ukraine”. Congratulations!
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Fellowship and award winners
 

Sociologist and ViDSS Alumna Clara Holzinger won the Danubius Young Scientist Award 2024. The Award aims at honouring the scientific contribution to addressing challenges of the region and at strengthening the networking between the talents in the region. 14 young scientists were granted this award, one for each country that is part of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. Congratulations!
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Video
 

Childbirth is often associated with joy, family, and new beginnings, but what happens when it becomes a source of harm? Elif Gül, ViDSS student in science and technology studies, delves into obstetric violence and reproductive justice, specifically birth justice, a concept introduced by Black feminist activists in the 1990s.

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New publications by ViDSS students

Showing entries 1 - 20 out of 67
Multilingual Challenges: Empirical Social Research in Migration Societies, Transnational Spaces, and International Contexts. / Holzinger, Clara; Draxl, Anna-Katharina.
Social Inclusion, 2026.

Publications: Book › Special Issue › Peer Reviewed

A transdisciplinary, comparative analysis reveals key risks from Arctic permafrost thaw. / Gartler, Susanna (Corresponding author); Scheer, Johanna (Corresponding author); Meyer, Alexandra (Corresponding author) et al.
In: Communications Earth & Environment, Vol. 6, 21, 16.01.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Listen to me! Target perceptions of digital hate: A scoping review of recent research. / Khaleghipour, Maryam; Koban, Kevin; Matthes, Jörg.
In: Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 04.01.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

LOCAL INITIATIVES IN SHRINKING CITIES: On Normative Framings and Hidden Aspirations in Scholarly Work. / Sandmann, Leona (Corresponding author); Gunko, Maria (Corresponding author); Shirobokova, Irina (Corresponding author) et al.
In: International Journal for Urban and Regional Research, Vol. 49, No. 1, 01.2025, p. 214-223.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Writing Choreographies: (STS) Knowledge Production in Post- digital Academia. / Schikowitz, Andrea; Dessewffy, Esther; Davies, Sarah et al.
In: Tecnoscienza: Italian Journal of Science & Technology Studies, Vol. 1, 01.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Geschlecht methodologisch: „Wissen ist Macht!“. / Grenz, Sabine; Gül, Elif.
Geschlechtersoziologie. ed. / Eva Tolasch; Anna Buschmeyer; Sabine Grenz; Carolin Küppers. Paderborn: Brill Ferdinand Schöningh, 2025. (Soziologie im 21. Jahrhundert).

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter

“I don't attribute that to the fact that I'm a foreigner”: Female CEE migrants in Austria and their perspectives on deskilling experiences. / Holzinger, Clara; Draxl, Anna-Katharina.
In: Zeitschrift für Politik (ZfP), 2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Revisiting Reflexivity: Liveable Worlds in Research and Beyond. / Davies, Sarah (Editor); Schikowitz, Andrea (Editor); Mora-Gámez, Fredy (Editor) et al.
Bristol University Press, 2025. 272 p. (Dis-positions: Troubling Methods and Theory in STS).

Publications: Book › Collection › Peer Reviewed

A narrow gateway from misogyny to the far right: Empirical evidence for social media exposure effects. / Weiß, Phelia; Koban, Kevin; Matthes, Jörg.
In: Information, Communication & Society, 27.12.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

No chance to fool young consumers when it comes to the environment: Effects of false and compensation claims in airline advertising on perceived greenwashing. / Neureiter, Ariadne; Grosul, Arina ; Nemcova, Veronika et al.
In: International Journal of Advertising , 25.12.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Specification Overfitting in Artificial Intelligence. / Roth, Benjamin; Luz de Araujo, Pedro Henrique; Xia, Yuxi et al.
In: Artificial Intelligence Review, 20.12.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Austria. / Bauer, Dominique; Mattes-Zippenfenig, Astrid.
Yearbook of Muslims in Europe. ed. / Ahmet Alibašić; Dominique Bauer; Stephanie Müssig; Egdūnas Račius. Leiden: Brill, 2024. p. 54-72 (Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Vol. 16).

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

Helpful or harmful? Navigating the impact of social media influencers’ health advice: Insights from health expert content creators. / Kanková, Jaroslava; Binder, Alice; Matthes, Jörg.
In: BMC Public Health, Vol. 24, No. 1, 3511, 18.12.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Angry tweets: How uncivil and intolerant elite communication affects political distrust and political participation intentions. / Saumer, Melanie (Corresponding author); Maikovska, Kateryna; Neureiter, Ariadne et al.
In: Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 06.12.2024, p. 1-17.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Reproduktive Normen und zeitliche Aspekte. / Gül, Elif; Leibetseder, Doris.
Reproduktion und das gute Leben: Intersektionale Perspektiven. ed. / Isabelle Marcinski-Michel; Claudia Wiesemann. Transcript Verlag, 2024. p. 123-146.

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

IN THE FINE PRINT: INVESTIGATING EDTECH PROVIDERS’ DATA PRIVACY COMMITMENT - TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS. / Barud, Katarzyna; Henne, Theresa; Saillant, Clara.
ICERI2024 Proceedings: 17th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation. 2024. p. 6185-6194.

Publications: Contribution to book › Contribution to proceedings › Peer Reviewed

Forschen mit Ablaufdatum: Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler im Kampf gegen befristete Job-Chancen. Holzinger, Clara (Interviewee). 2024.

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

Unpacking news consumption and trust decisions through a folk theory approach: A study of Austrian young adults. / Garusi, Diego (Corresponding author); Juarez Miro, Clara.
In: Media, Culture & Society , 07.11.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Towards a typology of negotiating care in families: a qualitative multiple perspectives study in Austria. / Nagl-Cupal, Martin; Parisot, Viktoria; Stöhr, Doreen et al.
In: International Journal of Care and Caring, Vol. 8, No. 4, 01.11.2024, p. 579-599.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Language on the move: Linguistic diversity as a bureaucratic challenge. Holzinger, Clara (Interviewee). 2024.

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

Showing entries 1 - 20 out of 67