PhD position in History and Philosophy of Science
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PhD position in History and Philosophy of Science
in the research project Human Variables in Biodiversity Assessment (HUMAN_BIAS)
Section for History and Philosophy of Science
Department of Science Education
Faculty of SCIENCE
University of Copenhagen
We are looking for a highly motivated candidate for a three-year PhD position in history and/or philosophy of science, in the research project Human Variables in Biodiversity Assessment (HUMAN_BIAS), funded by a Carlsberg Foundation Semper Ardens Accelerate grant.
The research project is hosted by the Section in History and Philosophy of Science (part of the Department of Science Education) with associate professor Joeri Witteveen as principal investigator.
The deadline for applications is November 7, 2025. The earliest possible start date is April 1, 2026, but the start of employment can be postponed to a later date in 2026.
Project description
Climate change and biodiversity loss are widely recognized as the twin environmental crises of our time. While climate science benefits from clear, globally agreed metrics—such as mean global temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration—that can serve as proxies for monitoring change, biodiversity science relies on a proliferation of competing indicators, baselines, and indices. These metrics are not just shaped by ecological facts, but also by human variables: values, priorities, aims, and interests.
The HUMAN_BIAS project investigates how such human variables influence the development and use of biodiversity metrics, and how their impact can be understood, managed, and, where appropriate, embraced. The project focuses on three critical decision points in biodiversity assessment: (1) setting baselines and boundaries for measurement, (2) categorizing and classifying extinction and ecosystem risks, and (3) compiling global biodiversity indices from local data.
Across these domains, the project combines epistemic, ethical, ontological, and historical-philosophical perspectives. It asks, for example: How do choices about data standards affect the robustness of biodiversity evidence? Whose values should be represented in biodiversity measurement? When do metrics become “performative,” shaping the very realities they aim to measure? And how have past decisions shaped present-day extinction risk assessments?
Situated in the Philosophy of Science in Practice, HUMAN_BIAS integrates conceptual analysis with qualitative methods such as stakeholder interviews and archival research on the development of extinction risk metrics and categorization schemes. The ultimate aim is to provide a deeper philosophical understanding of biodiversity metrics that supports responsible, reliable, and actionable science.
The research questions, methodology, and project plan for the PhD project will be developed together with the supervisor (Joeri Witteveen) in the project’s initial phase. Candidates are requested to suggest a focus area and/or research questions of potential interest to them at the application stage. This preliminary research proposal should be included in the motivation letter (see ‘Application and Assessment Procedure’ below). The purpose is to demonstrate the candidate’s ability to pose relevant, original, and theoretically engaged questions within a specific area of interest. Proposals should preferably fall within the scope of the work package ‘Human variables and the promise of robust knowledge’, ‘Human variables and the diversity of interests’, or ‘Human variables and the making of extinction risk’. For a more detailed description of the overall project, including these work packages, applicants are encouraged to contact Joeri Witteveen (jw@ind.ku.dk).
Place of employment
The PhD project will be based at the Department of Science Education, within the Section for History and Philosophy of Science. As part of the PhD education, the candidate will receive teaching training and is expected to contribute to teaching of courses offered by the Department of Science Education, including courses in philosophy of science for biology students.
Supervision
The principal supervisor will be Joeri Witteveen, and co-supervisor will be selected upon employment. The PhD student will also benefit from feedback from the Post-docs in the HUMAN_BIAS project, as well as from other researchers in the Section for History and Philosophy of Science with relevant expertise.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic PhD candidate with the following competencies and experience:
About the Section for History and Philosophy of Science
We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic, international research environment. The Section for History and Philosophy of Science currently has 10 permanent faculty members, as well as PhD students and Post-docs working on a variety of (interdisciplinary) projects. Our research is primarily dedicated to history and philosophy of science, with a focus on practice-oriented and empirically informed history and philosophy of science, addressing epistemological and ethical aspects of science and its use. The HPS Section offers mandatory courses in philosophy of science to approximately 1000 science students per year and also works on the development of teaching strategies and teaching materials in connection to these courses. Our website https://www.ind.ku.dk/english/research/hps/ provides more information on the members of the Section and the research we conduct. The Section for History and Philosophy of Science is part of the Department of Science Education, in the Faculty of SCIENCE at University of Copenhagen. We are located centrally in Copenhagen, in the Niels Bohr Building near the central park (Fælledparken).
The PhD program
Qualifications needed: To be eligible for the PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g., in history and philosophy of science, philosophy, or science and technology studies. For information on eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
Applicants who have previously completed a PhD degree cannot apply for this position.
Terms of employment: Employment as a PhD fellow is full time and for a maximum 3 years. Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant. The terms of employment and salary are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.
Responsibilities and tasks
Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.
Please include:
Application deadline:
The deadline for applications is Friday, November 7, 2025, 23:59 (GMT +1).
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the above-mentioned requirements.
The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then notified whether their application has been selected for assessment by an unbiased assessor.
The assessment committee will make a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement. The assessment committee will conclude whether each applicant is qualified. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.
Online interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in the week of December 8-12, 2025 and/or the week of January 5-9, 2026.
Questions
For specific information about the PhD position and the HUMAN_BIAS project, please contact Joeri Witteveen (jw@ind.ku.dk).
General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.
The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.
Section for History and Philosophy of Science
Department of Science Education
Faculty of SCIENCE
University of Copenhagen
We are looking for a highly motivated candidate for a three-year PhD position in history and/or philosophy of science, in the research project Human Variables in Biodiversity Assessment (HUMAN_BIAS), funded by a Carlsberg Foundation Semper Ardens Accelerate grant.
The research project is hosted by the Section in History and Philosophy of Science (part of the Department of Science Education) with associate professor Joeri Witteveen as principal investigator.
The deadline for applications is November 7, 2025. The earliest possible start date is April 1, 2026, but the start of employment can be postponed to a later date in 2026.
Project description
Climate change and biodiversity loss are widely recognized as the twin environmental crises of our time. While climate science benefits from clear, globally agreed metrics—such as mean global temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration—that can serve as proxies for monitoring change, biodiversity science relies on a proliferation of competing indicators, baselines, and indices. These metrics are not just shaped by ecological facts, but also by human variables: values, priorities, aims, and interests.
The HUMAN_BIAS project investigates how such human variables influence the development and use of biodiversity metrics, and how their impact can be understood, managed, and, where appropriate, embraced. The project focuses on three critical decision points in biodiversity assessment: (1) setting baselines and boundaries for measurement, (2) categorizing and classifying extinction and ecosystem risks, and (3) compiling global biodiversity indices from local data.
Across these domains, the project combines epistemic, ethical, ontological, and historical-philosophical perspectives. It asks, for example: How do choices about data standards affect the robustness of biodiversity evidence? Whose values should be represented in biodiversity measurement? When do metrics become “performative,” shaping the very realities they aim to measure? And how have past decisions shaped present-day extinction risk assessments?
Situated in the Philosophy of Science in Practice, HUMAN_BIAS integrates conceptual analysis with qualitative methods such as stakeholder interviews and archival research on the development of extinction risk metrics and categorization schemes. The ultimate aim is to provide a deeper philosophical understanding of biodiversity metrics that supports responsible, reliable, and actionable science.
The research questions, methodology, and project plan for the PhD project will be developed together with the supervisor (Joeri Witteveen) in the project’s initial phase. Candidates are requested to suggest a focus area and/or research questions of potential interest to them at the application stage. This preliminary research proposal should be included in the motivation letter (see ‘Application and Assessment Procedure’ below). The purpose is to demonstrate the candidate’s ability to pose relevant, original, and theoretically engaged questions within a specific area of interest. Proposals should preferably fall within the scope of the work package ‘Human variables and the promise of robust knowledge’, ‘Human variables and the diversity of interests’, or ‘Human variables and the making of extinction risk’. For a more detailed description of the overall project, including these work packages, applicants are encouraged to contact Joeri Witteveen (jw@ind.ku.dk).
Place of employment
The PhD project will be based at the Department of Science Education, within the Section for History and Philosophy of Science. As part of the PhD education, the candidate will receive teaching training and is expected to contribute to teaching of courses offered by the Department of Science Education, including courses in philosophy of science for biology students.
Supervision
The principal supervisor will be Joeri Witteveen, and co-supervisor will be selected upon employment. The PhD student will also benefit from feedback from the Post-docs in the HUMAN_BIAS project, as well as from other researchers in the Section for History and Philosophy of Science with relevant expertise.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic PhD candidate with the following competencies and experience:
- Applicants should have a Master’s degree or equivalent (see specifications below) and educational background in a discipline of relevance for the PhD project, e.g., philosophy, history and philosophy of science, science and technology studies, conservation science, ecology, or any related field of study.
- A curious mind-set with a strong interest in practice-oriented philosophy of science.
- Applicants should have good English skills, both written and spoken. Danish-language competency is not required to apply, nor is it expected that applicants will acquire fluency in Danish when hired.
- For applicants with a primary background in the humanities (e.g. philosophy) it is highly desirable to have secondary training or competencies in a relevant science discipline (e.g. ecology, conservation biology)
- For applicants with a background in the sciences (e.g. biology) it is highly desirable to have secondary training or competencies in history and/or philosophy of science.
- It is considered an advantage that candidates have an interest in and experience with teaching of philosophy of science to science students (e.g., students from biology, geography, or chemistry).
- It is desirable for candidates to be comfortable working in a research group and to have an interest in doing collaborative work.
- Depending on the component of the overall project that the applicant intends to work on, it is highly desirable for them to experience with doing archival research and/or using qualitative methods.
About the Section for History and Philosophy of Science
We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic, international research environment. The Section for History and Philosophy of Science currently has 10 permanent faculty members, as well as PhD students and Post-docs working on a variety of (interdisciplinary) projects. Our research is primarily dedicated to history and philosophy of science, with a focus on practice-oriented and empirically informed history and philosophy of science, addressing epistemological and ethical aspects of science and its use. The HPS Section offers mandatory courses in philosophy of science to approximately 1000 science students per year and also works on the development of teaching strategies and teaching materials in connection to these courses. Our website https://www.ind.ku.dk/english/research/hps/ provides more information on the members of the Section and the research we conduct. The Section for History and Philosophy of Science is part of the Department of Science Education, in the Faculty of SCIENCE at University of Copenhagen. We are located centrally in Copenhagen, in the Niels Bohr Building near the central park (Fælledparken).
The PhD program
Qualifications needed: To be eligible for the PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g., in history and philosophy of science, philosophy, or science and technology studies. For information on eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
Applicants who have previously completed a PhD degree cannot apply for this position.
Terms of employment: Employment as a PhD fellow is full time and for a maximum 3 years. Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant. The terms of employment and salary are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.
Responsibilities and tasks
- Carry through an independent research project under supervision at the host institution
- Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
- Participate in active research environments, including a stay at one or more research institutions abroad
- Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities (approx. 20 weeks over three years)
- Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
- Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project
Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.
Please include:
- Cover letter explaining your qualifications and research focus (max. one page).
- Motivation letter explaining your reasons for applying for this particular PhD position. The motivation letter should include a suggestion for a potential PhD project (max. two pages).
- Curriculum vitae including education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position.
- Copies of original diplomas (Bachelor’s and Master’s degree or equivalent) and a transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation, if issued in a language other than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
- A writing sample (e.g. a master’s thesis)
- Publication list (if relevant)
- Names and email addresses of two references (reference letters are not required and should not be included)
Application deadline:
The deadline for applications is Friday, November 7, 2025, 23:59 (GMT +1).
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the above-mentioned requirements.
The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then notified whether their application has been selected for assessment by an unbiased assessor.
The assessment committee will make a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement. The assessment committee will conclude whether each applicant is qualified. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.
Online interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in the week of December 8-12, 2025 and/or the week of January 5-9, 2026.
Questions
For specific information about the PhD position and the HUMAN_BIAS project, please contact Joeri Witteveen (jw@ind.ku.dk).
General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.
The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.