The University of Vienna is a cosmopolitan hub for  more than 10,000 employees, of whom around 7,500 work in research and teaching. They want to do research and teach at a place that suits their ideas and work together towards answering the big questions of the future. You also appreciate the exchange between disciplines, cultures and generations? We are looking for a/an

University assistant predoctoral 

47 Faculty of Psychology 

Job vacancy starting: 03/03/2025 (MM-DD-YYYY) | Working hours: 30,00  | Classification CBA: §48 VwGr. B1 Grundstufe (praedoc) 

Limited contract until: 03/02/2029

Job ID: 3468

Explore and teach at the University of Vienna, where more than 7,500 academics thrive on curiosity in continuous exploration and help us better understand our world. Does this sound like you? Then join our accomplished team!

Your personal sphere of influence:

We are looking for a PhD student for the Urban and Environmental Psychology Group who is interested in exploring the relationships between exposure to natural environments and biopsychosocial resources and processes. Building on the recently developed Nature-based Biopsychosocial Resilience Theory (NBRT), the student will primarily be analysing primary and secondary survey and field experiment data exploring the interconnections between different types of nature exposure and different physical, mental and social health related outcomes.  The PhD student will work together with other colleagues in the Urban and Environmental Psychology group (Wächtergasse 1) and will be supervised by Prof Dr Sabine Pahl and Dr Mathew White.
As a PhD student, you will become a core member of the Urban and Environmental Psychology Group at the University of Vienna (https://env-psy.univie.ac.at/).
The duration of employment is 4 years. Initially limited to 1.5 years, the employment relationship is automatically extended to 4 years if the employer and employee agree.

Your future tasks:

The post has two components, a research component and a teaching component.
In terms of research you will conduct original, high-quality empirical research commensurate with the level needed for a PhD qualification. Anticipated areas of research that will constitute publication-based parts of the PhD project include the following:
1) Data analysis of existing/secondary nature-health survey datasets in Austria and elsewhere.
2) Collection of original survey data in Vienna/Austria to explore the role of nature exposure and biopsychosocial resilience at the local level.
3) Data synthesis of ongoing RCTs (randomised controlled trials), conducted in different countries as part of an ongoing EU funded project, looking at how nature contact could build biopsychosocial resilience resources.
4) Presentation of findings at national and international conferences.
In terms of teaching, you will :
5) Support the Group’s teaching of environmental psychology at both undergraduate and Master’s level students.
6) This will include independent teaching within the scope of the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement (in the first to third years: 1,5-2 SWS, in the fourth year: 3-4 SWS)
7) This may also involve direct supervision of students and student projects.
8) Specific topics and methods can be flexible to suit the selected candidate’s interests and strengths.
In addition to conducting these roles, as part of the team and your PhD training you will also be expected to:
•    Work closely with other team members in the Urban and Environmental Psychology Group and contribute actively to our weekly group meetings.
•    Complete the training programme for PhDs at the University of Vienna.
•    Disseminate and present your work and represent the group through both scientific and public channels and outreach activities.

This is part of your personality:

• Completion of an undergraduate degree in the field of psychology.
• Completion of a related master's level degree on commencement of employment.
• Demonstrable interest (e.g. thesis topic and/or attendance at specialist summer school) in environmental psychology, especially nature and mental health
• Preferably demonstrable evidence of teaching experience (e.g. student assistant post).
• Preferably demonstrable experience in academic writing for publication (e.g. first or co-authored peer reviewed papers).
• Well-developed statistical software skills (preferably in R, Python).
• Competences in quantitative research methods – ideally knowledge of several of the following aspects of quantitative data analysis: analysis of large/longitudinal datasets, latent variable modelling techniques, structural equation modelling – and strong motivation and curiosity to enlarge these skills further.
• Excellent command of written and spoken English (C1 Level or above).
• Preferably good working knowledge of German.
• Full endorsement of current open science practices (e.g., interest in designing and preparing one of the PhD papers for journal submission as a Registered Report, see https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01193-7).
• Communication and teamwork skills, commitment, autonomous work style, attention to detail, willingness to be time-flexible, and an ability to work under pressure.

What we offer:

• Inspiring working atmosphere: You will be part of one of the leading environmental psychology groups in Europe who currently research topics such as pro-environmental norms and behaviours, public understanding of, and concern about, potential environmental threats such as microplastics, forever chemicals, underwater noise, and 5G RF-EMFs, pro-environmental communication, and nature and mental health.
• Internal further training & coaching: Opportunity to deepen your skills, including statistical methods skills, on an ongoing basis. There are over 600 courses to choose from – free of charge.
• Fair salary: PhDs at the University of Vienna are employed on the basis of a 75% full-time position. For 30 hours per week, the gross monthly salary is EUR 2,684.10 (2014). In addition, the University of Vienna offers four additional payments amounting to half a monthly salary each.
• Work-Life-Balance: Our employees enjoy flexible working hours with opportunities for remote/hybrid work but as part of a close research team, multiple weekly in situ meetings are required.
• Good public transport connections: Your workplace will be right in the centre of beautiful Vienna (1st district, less than 5 minutes’ walk from Schottentor) and is easily accessible by public transport.

The employment duration is 4 years. Initially limited to 1.5 years, the employment relationship is automatically extended to 4 years if the employer does not terminate it within the first 12 months by submitting a non-extension declaration.

It is that easy to apply:

• Cover letter in English (max. 2 pages), outlining your how your research experience and interests are relevant to the position
• scientific curriculum vitae
• Copy of undergraduate degree and grades (e.g. ‘Transcript of Records’)
• Copy of master’s degree and grades (if applicable)
• Via our job portal / "Apply" - button (https://jobs.univie.ac.at/?locale=en_US)

If you have any content questions, please contact:

Sabine Pahl  

sabine.pahl@univie.ac.at

We look forward to new personalities in our team! 
The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. We lay special emphasis on increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions among the academic and general university staff and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.

University of Vienna. Space for personalities. Since 1365.

Data protection

​Application deadline: 02/07/2025 (MM-DD-YYYY)