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.

Fellowship and award winners
 

The sowi:doc Awards for the academic year 2023/2024 are awarded to Hannah Greber (“Immersive journalism – The future of the news?”), Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki (“Science-policy interfaces for ocean protection”) and Teresa Weikmann (“Getting real with fakes: Characteristics and consequences of ‘deepfakes’ in democracies”). Congratulations!
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Fellowship and award winners
 

Political scientist and ViDSS alumna Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki was awarded the Award of Excellence (Staatspreis für die besten Dissertationen) for her doctoral thesis about science-policy interfaces for ocean protection. Congratulations!
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Media articles and press releases
 

Nowadays, everyone with an internet connection can fulfil some of journalism’s functions. A recent study conducted by ViDSS student Kim Löhmann together with Phoebe Maares, Daniel Nölleke and Folker Hanusch explores how traditional and peripheral journalists across Austria assess the diversity of traditional and peripheral media outlets. (In German)
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Media articles and press releases
 

It is estimated that 300.000 persons in Austria care for aged family members next to working outside their homes. Together with Karl Krajic, ViDSS student Charlotte Dötig highlights that employers often do not know about such care responsibilities and explains why many of these employees need and want to continue to work. (In German)
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Video
 

Political scientist Benedikt Seisl explains in an interview for the TV channel Arte why the Austrian Green Party and the conservative Austrian People’s Party were not able to agree on a strong climate protection law during the time of their coalition. (In German)
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Fellowship and award winners
 

Communication scientist and ViDSS alumnus Franz Reiter was awarded the Junior Research Award of the Austrian Political Science Association for his dissertation about the perceptions and effects of dirty campaigning in electoral communication. Congratulations!
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Fellowship and award winners
 

Communication scientist Elena Engel was awarded the early career researchers’ award of the Austrian Public Health Association (3rd place) for her paper about social media influencers as a new source of health information (co-authored with Sascha Gell, Raffael Heiss and Kathrin Karsay). Congratulations!
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Radio and podcast
 

While most PhDs have accepted that their research probably won’t change the world, they at least want to make some impact on society. But how? We talk to Nora Hansl and Stefan Sonntagbauer about strategies of making research more impactful and their experiences of being personally impacted by their research fields including parent-child relationships and ghost encounters.
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Fellowship and award winners
 

The Marietta Blau-Grant offers financial support for six- to twelve-month study periods abroad. Lena Dege-Barron (development studies) will stay in Mexico, Antonia Modelhart (political science) will use the grant to continue her research in Australia, Finland and Italy. Congratulations!
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New publications by ViDSS students

Showing entries 1 - 20 out of 81

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

“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

Austria (Vol. 16, 2023). / Bauer, Dominique; Mattes-Zippenfenig, Astrid.

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

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

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

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

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

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

Methodenkoffer: Mehrsprachigkeit in der Sozialforschung - sprecht darüber! Interview mit Cinzia Hirschvogl und Clara Holzinger. Hirschvogl, Cinzia (Interviewee); Holzinger, Clara (Interviewee). 2024.

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

When good intentions aren’t enough: Intersectional invisibilities in academia and the decolonial turn. / Bauer, Dominique; Paredes Grijalva, Daniela.

In: Gender - Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft, Vol. 16, No. 3, 22.10.2024, p. 217-230.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Conducting marine genetic research for whom? Mapping knowledge flows from science to patents. / Dunshirn, Paul (Corresponding author); Zhivkoplias, Erik.

In: npj Ocean Sustainability, Vol. 3, No. 1, 50, 08.10.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Tactics and affordances in the mediatization of war: pro-Ukrainian cyber resistance on Telegram. / Canevez, Richard; Maikovska, Kateryna; Zwarun, Lara.

In: Digital War, 07.10.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

„Die Würde des Spargels ist unantastbar“ – Antiosteuropäischer Rassismus, Ausbeutung und Widerstand. Panagiotidis, Jannis (Contributor); Ďurišová , Simona (Contributor); Melo, Sónia (Contributor) et al.. 2024. Event: null, Brunnenpassage/Yppenplatz, Wien, Austria.

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

Knecht, Alban (2024). Mit Sozialpolitik regieren. Eine ressourcentheoretische Policy-Analyse der Beschäftigungsförderung benachteiligter Jugendlicher in Österreich. Opladen, Berlin und Toronto: Verlag Barbara Budrich. / Malschinger, Paul.

In: Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie (ÖZS), 10.2024.

Publications: Other contribution to periodical › Book/Film/Event review

Sustainable flying? The effects of greenwashed claims in airline advertising on perceived greenwashing, brand outcomes, and attitudes toward flying. / Neureiter, Ariadne (Corresponding author); Hirsch, Melanie; Matthes, Jörg et al.

In: Environmental Communication, Vol. 18, No. 7, 10.2024, p. 873 – 890 .

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

The Structural and Temporal Curb of Populism: A Cross-Country Analysis of Authoritarian Populist Influences on Journalism. / Celik, Burce; Radl, Marlene; Ribac, Marko et al.

In: Journalism Studies, 26.09.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Von Erreichtbarkeit und dem Erreichtwerden : Älter werdende Eltern mit Pflegeverantwortung im Forschungskontext. / Falkenstein, Thomas; Werner, Marlene; Nagl-Cupal, Martin.

Schwer erreichbar?: Soziale Teilhabe für besonders verletzliche Menschen. ed. / Elisabeth Reitinger; Heimerl Katharina; Gert Dressel; Ilona Wenger. Esslingen : der hospiz verlag, 2024. p. 377 - 390.

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter

Felt-bodily communication as a medium for parents and their children with care needs: a neo-phenomenology perspective. / Falkenstein, Thomas; Mayer, Hanna; Nagl-Cupal, Martin.

2024. 15 20th European Doctoral Conference in Nursing Science, Graz, Austria.

Publications: Contribution to conference › Other contribution to conference › Peer Reviewed

“Do you practice what you preach?” : The effects of celebrities' pro-environmental messages on social media on young adults’ pro-environmental behavior. / Quesada Baena, Luis; Binder, Alice; Neureiter, Ariadne et al.

In: Young Consumers, 12.09.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Health-related communication of social media influencers: A scoping review. / Kanková, Jaroslava; Binder, Alice; Matthes, Jörg.

In: Health Communication, 11.09.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Four eyes, two truths: Explaining heterogeneity in perceived severity of digital hate against immigrants. / Kirchmair, Thomas; Koban, Kevin; Matthes, Jörg.

In: Communications - The European Journal of Communication Research, Vol. 49, No. 3, 05.09.2024, p. 468-490.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Blurring Boundaries: A longitudinal analysis of skills required in journalism, PR, and marketing job ads. / Bernhard, Jana; Russmann, Uta.

In: Journalism & mass communication quarterly, Vol. 101, No. 3, 09.2024, p. 612-636.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Showing entries 1 - 20 out of 81