Pathways for Agroforestry landscape transitioning, a social and multi-system perspective
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Pathways for Agroforestry landscape transitioning, a social and multi-system perspective
Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Agroecology programme. The position is available from 1 October 2025 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.
Title
Pathways for Agroforestry landscape transitioning, a social and multi-system perspective
Research area and project description
The PhD project will examine how sustainable agroecological practices can be implemented on a landscape scale, with a special focus on agroforestry. Mixed farming and agroforestry systems have great potential for meeting multiple objectives and political goals, such as biodiversity enhancement, water quality improvements, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable food production. However, implementing such systems is proving challenging.
This project will combine the fields of landscape ecology and social science to investigate the transition pathways, socio-economic opportunities, and barriers to agroecology and agroforestry implementation. The aim is to develop and test a framework that supports the uptake of agroforestry systems. This will be achieved through social science methods, stakeholder engagement, and participatory co-creational approaches, such as Digital Round Table methodology and others.
The project is partly embedded in the EU project “Supporting Agroecological Transitions of Agroforestry Landscapes using an Innovative Transdisciplinary Assessment Framework” (AGRECO4CAST), and strong national as well as international landscape research centers (Land-CRAFT.dk, Sustainscapes.org) and related projects initiatives. Consequently, the PhD project will engage with multiple living lab case studies across Europe.
Project description
For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.
Qualifications and specific competences
We expect that you possess a relevant Master’s degree. Candidates with backgrounds in social science, environmental science, geography, agroecology and landscape ecology are preferred. The PhD is embedded within social sciences and there is therefore a high element of engagement with people, workshops and facilitation. Training will be provided to be able to carry out, but overall, the applicant should be comfortable in such a social environment.
Furthermore, the PhD project is collaborating with an existing EU project and international travel will therefore be expected of the candidate.
You should:
Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is AU Viborg, Department of Agroecology. Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark.
Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:
For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:
How to apply
Please follow this link to submit your application.
Application deadline is 10 August 2025 at 23:59 CEST.
Preferred starting date is 1 October 2025 or as soon as possible.
Please note:
Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.
Title
Pathways for Agroforestry landscape transitioning, a social and multi-system perspective
Research area and project description
The PhD project will examine how sustainable agroecological practices can be implemented on a landscape scale, with a special focus on agroforestry. Mixed farming and agroforestry systems have great potential for meeting multiple objectives and political goals, such as biodiversity enhancement, water quality improvements, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable food production. However, implementing such systems is proving challenging.
This project will combine the fields of landscape ecology and social science to investigate the transition pathways, socio-economic opportunities, and barriers to agroecology and agroforestry implementation. The aim is to develop and test a framework that supports the uptake of agroforestry systems. This will be achieved through social science methods, stakeholder engagement, and participatory co-creational approaches, such as Digital Round Table methodology and others.
The project is partly embedded in the EU project “Supporting Agroecological Transitions of Agroforestry Landscapes using an Innovative Transdisciplinary Assessment Framework” (AGRECO4CAST), and strong national as well as international landscape research centers (Land-CRAFT.dk, Sustainscapes.org) and related projects initiatives. Consequently, the PhD project will engage with multiple living lab case studies across Europe.
Project description
For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.
Qualifications and specific competences
We expect that you possess a relevant Master’s degree. Candidates with backgrounds in social science, environmental science, geography, agroecology and landscape ecology are preferred. The PhD is embedded within social sciences and there is therefore a high element of engagement with people, workshops and facilitation. Training will be provided to be able to carry out, but overall, the applicant should be comfortable in such a social environment.
Furthermore, the PhD project is collaborating with an existing EU project and international travel will therefore be expected of the candidate.
You should:
- have good communication skills both in oral and written English
- be able to write scientific publications
- be able to work independently but also in collaboration with other students and staff
- be enthusiastic about working in an interdisciplinary international academic environment
Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is AU Viborg, Department of Agroecology. Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark.
Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:
- Tommy Dalgaard, tommy.dalgaard@agro.au.dk (main supervisor)
- Sara Vangerschou Iversen, sara.iversen@agro.au.dk (co-supervisor)
- Morten Graversgaard, morten.graversgaard@agro.au.dk (co-supervisor)
For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:
How to apply
Please follow this link to submit your application.
Application deadline is 10 August 2025 at 23:59 CEST.
Preferred starting date is 1 October 2025 or as soon as possible.
Please note:
- Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be taken into account.
- The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
- Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.
Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.