Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences

ViDSS

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

Background: derknopfdruecker.com; left: Eva Kössner; center: Christian Lendl; right: Eva Kössner

Doctoral programme

Learn about the milestones of our degree programme. Plan organisational steps and download forms as a student.
Benefits for ViDSS members

Join the Doctoral School to take advantage of networking opportunities, funding and career development.
Activities and events

Find dates of public presentations at the faculty and public defences. Identify upcoming deadlines and events for students.
Open positions

Discover fully funded doctoral positions currently announced by ViDSS or the departments that support ViDSS.

Committed to the highest standards of doctoral education

The cohorts trained and supported by the Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences / ViDSS are embedded in a vibrant research environment with strong international networks. ViDSS connects a wide spectrum of disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary perspectives and embraces the full range of epistemological, methodological, and theoretical approaches pursued at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Doctoral candidates receive research training and write theses in the fields of communication, demography, development studies, nursing science, political science, science and technology studies, social and cultural anthropology, and sociology.

Committed to the highest standards of doctoral education and close, attentive supervision, ViDSS equips candidates to master key debates, theories, and methods in the social sciences. As a result, ViDSS graduates are highly sought after by employers in academia and beyond.

PhD in the spotlight

Israel and Palestine: Why there is no alternative to dialogue and diplomacy

Media coverage

In his blog post on the conflict between Israel and Palestine, ViDSS student member Adham Hamed calls for the conflict to be resolved through a return to dialogue and diplomacy, sustainable security arrangements for both sides and consistent respect for international law. (In German)

Klaus Schönbach Award 2026 for Rinat Meerson and Jaroslava Kaňková

Fellowships and awards

ViDSS student member Rinat Meerson and ViDSS alumna Jaroslava Kaňková received the Klaus Schönbach Award 2026 for their research project ‘Too rushed and flattered to notice? Developing and testing a critical AI literacy intervention countering the persuasive and epistemic risks of sycophantic AI’. Congratulations!

Frobenius Research Promotion Prize 2026 for ViDSS alumna Anna Žabicka

Fellowships and awards

ViDSS alumna Anna Žabicka received the Frobenius Research Promotion Prize 2026 for her doctoral thesis entitled ‘All roads lead to the Pansionāts: State care as a socio-spatial fix in an emptying rural Latvia’. Congratulations!

Award of Excellence for Antonia Modelhart

Fellowships and awards

Political scientist and ViDSS alumna Antonia Modelhart received one of the 40 Awards of Excellence (Staatspreise für die besten Dissertationen) for her doctoral thesis ‘Living with bacteria: Configurations of antimicrobial resistance in Austrian hospitals’. Congratulations!

ifk Junior Fellowships for three ViDSS student members

Fellowships and awards

Among this year’s recipients of a ifk Junior Fellowship from the International Research Center for Cultural Studies at the University of Art and Design Linz are three ViDSS student members. Congratulations to Lisa Francesca Rail, Elif Gül and Anna Weithaler!

ÖAW DOC fellowships for doctoral candidates in our programme

Fellowships and awards

Six doctoral candidates in our programme are among this year’s recipients of a DOC Fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Congratulations to Audacia Alicia Machado Ngunza, Manuela Novoa-Villada, Veronika Nowak, Azadeh Shamsi, Johanna Greiwe and Leon Holger Switala!

PhD in the spotlight

Barbara Mair

ViDSS in numbers (≈)

8

Research fields
320

Doctoral candidates
90

Supervisors
5,4 years

Average time to degree

Recent publications by ViDSS student members

Hamed A. Israel und Palästina: Warum Dialog und Diplomatie alternativlos sind. Der Standard. 2026 Oct 7.

www.derstandard.at/story/3000000343061/israel-und-palaestina-warum-dialog-und-diplomatie-alternativlos-sind

Wiesner D , Eberl JM , Lecheler S. Science on the political stage: analysing representations of science in Austrian parliamentary debates. JCOM. 2026 Oct 5;25(6). doi: 10.22323/385320260718153107

doi.org/10.22323/385320260718153107

Lazic A , Khaleghipour M , Matthes J. Whose voices and which effects? A scoping review of migration and social media effects. Information, Communication & Society. 2026 Oct 4. Epub 2026 Oct 4. doi: 10.1080/1369118X.2026.2733513

doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2026.2733513

Heuser A , Preiser A. Governing bodies, controlling territories: gendered extractivist biopolitics in Peru’s Southern Mining Corridor. Geoforum. 2026 Oct;175:104710. doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2026.104710

doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2026.104710

Forrai M, Balaban DC, Schmuck D. Disclosures and literacy as determinants of AI-influencer recognition and well-being. Computers in Human Behavior. 2026 Sept;182:108978. Epub 2026 Mar 19. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2026.108978

doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2026.108978

Moser S , Bührer S , Kostikova D , Matthes J. From hostile feedback to withdrawal: Emotional exhaustion as a barrier to social media misinformation correction. Computers in Human Behavior. 2027;187:109179. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2026.109179

doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2026.109179

Hagelstein JPW , Huber J , Wahl I , Einwiller S. Psychological safety and internal communication: Employees' perceptions of psychologically safe communication settings in the workplace. International Journal of Business Communication. 2026 Aug 26. Epub 2026 Aug 26. doi: 10.1177/23294884261472059

doi.org/10.1177/23294884261472059

Sarikakis K , Chatziefraimidou A , Haslauer S , Ramadani G , Zogo YSC. Youth in the Global Film Industry: Charting Patterns Across Hollywood, Bollywood, Nollywood and Europe. In Vlassis A, Dâmaso M, Sarikakis K, Ranaivoson H, Rossato Fernandes M, editors, The European Union as a Global Film Enabler: Rethinking Power, Competitiveness and Identity. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. 2026. p. 211-237. (REBOOT). Epub 2026 Aug 22. doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-25320-0_9

doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-25320-0_9

Pistrol F, Weithaler A. Derrida, deconstruction and political theory. Contemporary Political Theory. 2026 Aug 19;2026(25). doi: 10.1057/s41296-026-00840-w

doi.org/10.1057/s41296-026-00840-w

Weiss E. Death by Design: Wie schlechte Politik tötet: Plötzlich hat jede Flasche einen kleinen Geldwert, der irgendwo im öffentlichen Raum "herumliegt". Wer wenig bis gar kein Einkommen hat, soll diesen Wert offenbar "heben". derStandard.at. 2026 Aug 18.

www.derstandard.at/story/3000000335940/death-by-design-wie-schlechte-politik-toetet