PhD scholarship at the Pension Research Center (PeRCent)
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PhD scholarship at the Pension Research Center (PeRCent)
The Pension Research Center (PeRCent), part of the Department of Finance at Copenhagen Business School, invites applications for a PhD scholarship in finance under both the traditional three-year PhD scheme and the 4+4 PhD scheme. This position offers an exciting opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research at the intersection of finance, data science, and behavioral economics. The project is conducted in collaboration with PFA, Denmark’s largest pension company, offering access to unique data and industry insights to support innovative research, while maintaining a strong academic focus.
About the Project
This PhD project aims to explore customer behavior in the pension sector, combining insights from behavioral economics, finance, and data science. The successful candidate will work with researchers at PeRCent and PFA’s AI Development team. The collaboration is structured to ensure that the research remains academically rigorous and broadly relevant, while also addressing real-world challenges in the pension sector.
The project’s objective is to develop innovative models and data-driven insights that can inform and enhance pension advising research and practices. These models will not only advance academic understanding of customer behavior and decision-making but also aim to contribute to broader societal benefits, such as improving pension advice and enabling better financial outcomes for individuals.
The candidate will have access to PFA’s proprietary dataset in accordance with applicable data protection regulations, including the GDPR. This offers a unique opportunity to study customer behavior in the pension sector and how pension advice affects customers’ reactions while ensuring full compliance with ethical and legal requirements. To gain a deeper understanding of the dataset and the operational context of the pension industry, the candidate will spend some time at PFA. This hands-on experience will complement the academic research process, ensuring that the findings are both theoretically robust and practically relevant.
Key areas of focus include:
This is an interdisciplinary project requiring technical skills, creative problem-solving, and a strong interest in understanding customer behavior. The project is designed to protect customer privacy while focusing on broader societal benefits, such as improving pension advice and enhancing financial well-being.
What we’re looking for
We are looking for a motivated candidate who is passionate about using data to solve real-world problems and advancing academic knowledge in finance. The ideal candidate will bring the following qualities:
We welcome candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences who are eager to contribute to impactful research.
About the program
The three-year PhD program at CBS allows students to conduct research under the supervision of CBS faculty, supported by research focused PhD courses. The program is highly international, and students are expected to participate in international research conferences and to spend time abroad at another research institution as a visiting PhD student. Students are also expected to actively participate in the Department’s research activities, such as seminars and conferences organized by the Department.
PeRCent is funded in co-operation between Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and partners from the pension sector in Denmark. More information about PeRCent can be found at www.cbs.dk/pct.
All scholarships initially cover a three-year period of study (four years if the candidate is enrolled under the 4+4 PhD scheme). Extended funding from the Department of Finance is available for successful candidates who wish to pursue an academic career.
PhD students are required to teach. The teaching responsibilities of the Department include undergraduate and graduate teaching in finance and statistics.
PhD students from the Department of Finance have become researchers at leading universities and business schools, such as University of Chicago (Booth), Yale School of Management, London Business School, EPFL Lausanne, Bocconi University, BI Oslo, WU Vienna, University of Virginia (Darden School), Rotterdam School of Management, and Cass (now Bayes) Business School, and at the Federal Reserve Board (Washington), Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Goldman Sachs, Cornerstone Research, and in leading Danish financial institutions.
Copenhagen Business School has a broad commitment to the excellence, distinctiveness, and relevance of its teaching and research programmes. Candidates who wish to join us should demonstrate enthusiasm for working in such an environment.
The expected starting date is after March 1 2026 and before September 1, 2026 after agreement.
Work as a Research Assistant until the 1 September 2026 starting date can be relevant for applicants who are currently studying but finishing the 4. year (for 4+4 applications) and 5. year (for 3-year PhD) in summer 2026.
For further information please contact: Natalie Soudani, nso.fi@cbs.dk. Please see the CBS website for more information about Department of Finance.
Employment and salary
A PhD scholarship runs for a period of 3 years and includes teaching obligations equivalent to 416 work hours. For the 4+4 PhD scheme, which includes the final year of a master's degree followed by three years of PhD studies, the total teaching obligation is 277 work hours.
The scholarships are fully salaried positions, according to the national Danish collective agreement. The scholarship includes tuition fees, office space, course and travel costs (according to the current CBS agreement). The monthly salary is currently starting from app. DKK 29,691 up to DKK 36,180, depending on seniority, and includes an additional pension contribution totalling 18.07%. The scholarship includes tuition fees, office space, course and travel costs (according to the current CBS agreement). Questions related to the 4+4 PhD salary please contact Natalie Soudani nso.fi@cbs.dk.
Salary level and employment take place in accordance with the Ministry of Finance's agreement with the Academics' Central Organization.
Following an offer of employment, the successful applicant has to be enrolled in the CBS PhD School. Further information about CBS PhD scholarships and the PhD programme can be found at https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/phd-programme.
Requirements
To be considered, the candidate should have a basic education at the Master’s level (similar to the 3+2 Bologna process). The applicant must have successfully completed the Master’s degree before commencing PhD at CBS, but we also welcome applications from individuals close to completion of the Master’s degree. Generally, a completed MBA education does not fulfil this requirement. The applicants must be fluent in English.
For admittance to the 4+4 PhD scheme, the candidate must have completed a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) and have passed subjects corresponding to 60 ECTS in a relevant master's program within the CBS' subject areas. Applicants who are not enrolled in a master's program at CBS will be assessed by the CBS Admissions Office.
The successful applicant must have shown academic excellence with a record of top grades from previously completed programs. Priority will be given to candidates who have both a strong quantitative background and strong previous training in financial economics, and who have high grades from their previous programs.
Application procedure
The application must contain copies of the following:
Recruitment procedure
The Recruitment Committee expects to conduct a shortlisting of applicants to be assessed by the Assessment Committee. All applicants will be notified of their status in the recruitment process after the application deadline.
Applicants selected for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and will receive their personal assessment later. Selected applicants will be invited for an interview. Please note that a positive assessment does not automatically result in an interview. Once the recruitment process is completed each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application.
Closing date: December 19, 2025.
The application must be submitted via the electronic recruitment system, using the link below.
Copenhagen Business School must receive all application materials, including all appendices (see items above), by the application deadline.
One of CBS’ strategic goals is the promotion of diversity, which is why every effort has been made to ensure a recruitment process that reduces potential bias. Applicants are therefore encouraged not to include a photo or unnecessary personal information in their application.
Details about Copenhagen Business School and the department are available at www.cbs.dk.
Apply for position
WE TRANSFORM SOCIETY WITH BUSINESS
CBS is a globally recognised business school with deep roots in the Nordic socio-economic model. Our faculty has a broad focus on societal challenges, and we have earned a reputation for high-quality disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and education.
We are located at Frederiksberg and have approximately 20,000 full and part-time students, 800 full-time faculty members, 200 PhD students and 700 administrative staff, and a full portfolio of bachelor, master, MBA/EMBA, PhD and executive programmes taught in English and Danish.
Our global profile carries the obligation to address critical challenges in our research and to develop the transformational capabilities of students, graduates and business leaders via our educational activities and opportunities for lifelong learning. Complex challenges call for joint action, and therefore our strategy focuses on strengthening current and starting new partnerships with other sciences, the business community, authorities and civil society.
CBS is working continuously on becoming a diverse and inclusive organisation, and we encourage all regardless of gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religious beliefs, LGBT+ identity, cultural background etc. to apply.Reach out to us if you need assistance in the application or recruitment process, if there is something we should know, or if as a person with disability you wish to make use of your preferential access.
About the Project
This PhD project aims to explore customer behavior in the pension sector, combining insights from behavioral economics, finance, and data science. The successful candidate will work with researchers at PeRCent and PFA’s AI Development team. The collaboration is structured to ensure that the research remains academically rigorous and broadly relevant, while also addressing real-world challenges in the pension sector.
The project’s objective is to develop innovative models and data-driven insights that can inform and enhance pension advising research and practices. These models will not only advance academic understanding of customer behavior and decision-making but also aim to contribute to broader societal benefits, such as improving pension advice and enabling better financial outcomes for individuals.
The candidate will have access to PFA’s proprietary dataset in accordance with applicable data protection regulations, including the GDPR. This offers a unique opportunity to study customer behavior in the pension sector and how pension advice affects customers’ reactions while ensuring full compliance with ethical and legal requirements. To gain a deeper understanding of the dataset and the operational context of the pension industry, the candidate will spend some time at PFA. This hands-on experience will complement the academic research process, ensuring that the findings are both theoretically robust and practically relevant.
Key areas of focus include:
- Developing and testing empirical models to enhance the quality of pension advice and improve customer outcomes.
- Understanding how the type, timing, and content of pension advice influence customer behavior and decision-making outcomes.
- Customizing and prioritizing advice to align with individual behavioral responses and preferences.
- Measuring and optimizing the causal effects of pension communication strategies, recommendations, and delivery channels.
This is an interdisciplinary project requiring technical skills, creative problem-solving, and a strong interest in understanding customer behavior. The project is designed to protect customer privacy while focusing on broader societal benefits, such as improving pension advice and enhancing financial well-being.
What we’re looking for
We are looking for a motivated candidate who is passionate about using data to solve real-world problems and advancing academic knowledge in finance. The ideal candidate will bring the following qualities:
- Curiosity and creativity: You enjoy tackling complex challenges, experimenting with new ideas, and developing innovative solutions.
- Technical skills and a willingness to learn: Experience with programming (e.g., Python, R, or similar), data analysis, machine learning, large-scale datasets, or working with databases and SQL is a plus. Familiarity with tools like Git or an interest in deploying models in real-world systems is also beneficial. Candidates who are eager to develop these skills during the project are encouraged to apply.
- Collaboration and adaptability: You enjoy working in a team and are excited to collaborate with both academic researchers and industry experts. This project offers exposure to both theoretical and practical challenges, requiring flexibility and a willingness to learn from different perspectives.
- Commitment to quality and ethics: You take research integrity seriously and are committed to producing work that is rigorous, transparent, and ethically sound.
We welcome candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences who are eager to contribute to impactful research.
About the program
The three-year PhD program at CBS allows students to conduct research under the supervision of CBS faculty, supported by research focused PhD courses. The program is highly international, and students are expected to participate in international research conferences and to spend time abroad at another research institution as a visiting PhD student. Students are also expected to actively participate in the Department’s research activities, such as seminars and conferences organized by the Department.
PeRCent is funded in co-operation between Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and partners from the pension sector in Denmark. More information about PeRCent can be found at www.cbs.dk/pct.
All scholarships initially cover a three-year period of study (four years if the candidate is enrolled under the 4+4 PhD scheme). Extended funding from the Department of Finance is available for successful candidates who wish to pursue an academic career.
PhD students are required to teach. The teaching responsibilities of the Department include undergraduate and graduate teaching in finance and statistics.
PhD students from the Department of Finance have become researchers at leading universities and business schools, such as University of Chicago (Booth), Yale School of Management, London Business School, EPFL Lausanne, Bocconi University, BI Oslo, WU Vienna, University of Virginia (Darden School), Rotterdam School of Management, and Cass (now Bayes) Business School, and at the Federal Reserve Board (Washington), Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Goldman Sachs, Cornerstone Research, and in leading Danish financial institutions.
Copenhagen Business School has a broad commitment to the excellence, distinctiveness, and relevance of its teaching and research programmes. Candidates who wish to join us should demonstrate enthusiasm for working in such an environment.
The expected starting date is after March 1 2026 and before September 1, 2026 after agreement.
Work as a Research Assistant until the 1 September 2026 starting date can be relevant for applicants who are currently studying but finishing the 4. year (for 4+4 applications) and 5. year (for 3-year PhD) in summer 2026.
For further information please contact: Natalie Soudani, nso.fi@cbs.dk. Please see the CBS website for more information about Department of Finance.
Employment and salary
A PhD scholarship runs for a period of 3 years and includes teaching obligations equivalent to 416 work hours. For the 4+4 PhD scheme, which includes the final year of a master's degree followed by three years of PhD studies, the total teaching obligation is 277 work hours.
The scholarships are fully salaried positions, according to the national Danish collective agreement. The scholarship includes tuition fees, office space, course and travel costs (according to the current CBS agreement). The monthly salary is currently starting from app. DKK 29,691 up to DKK 36,180, depending on seniority, and includes an additional pension contribution totalling 18.07%. The scholarship includes tuition fees, office space, course and travel costs (according to the current CBS agreement). Questions related to the 4+4 PhD salary please contact Natalie Soudani nso.fi@cbs.dk.
Salary level and employment take place in accordance with the Ministry of Finance's agreement with the Academics' Central Organization.
Following an offer of employment, the successful applicant has to be enrolled in the CBS PhD School. Further information about CBS PhD scholarships and the PhD programme can be found at https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/phd-programme.
Requirements
To be considered, the candidate should have a basic education at the Master’s level (similar to the 3+2 Bologna process). The applicant must have successfully completed the Master’s degree before commencing PhD at CBS, but we also welcome applications from individuals close to completion of the Master’s degree. Generally, a completed MBA education does not fulfil this requirement. The applicants must be fluent in English.
For admittance to the 4+4 PhD scheme, the candidate must have completed a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) and have passed subjects corresponding to 60 ECTS in a relevant master's program within the CBS' subject areas. Applicants who are not enrolled in a master's program at CBS will be assessed by the CBS Admissions Office.
The successful applicant must have shown academic excellence with a record of top grades from previously completed programs. Priority will be given to candidates who have both a strong quantitative background and strong previous training in financial economics, and who have high grades from their previous programs.
Application procedure
The application must contain copies of the following:
- Diploma for bachelor's and master's degrees or other certificates at an equivalent level, as well as grade transcripts (bachelor’s degree certificate is sufficient if applying under the 4+4 PhD scheme).
- A concise curriculum vitae (CV).
- A list of articles and publications (if applicable).
- One example of a selected written work (e.g., master's thesis).
- Documentation of English language skills (e.g., TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent). Applicants with a degree taught in English typically do not need to provide additional language test documentation.
- Documentation of GRE and/or GMAT scores (strongly encouraged). These can be uploaded as part of the application or sent directly to Natalie Soudani at nso.fi@cbs.dk.
- Two letters of recommendation (to be sent directly to Natalie Soudani at nso.fi@cbs.dk).
Recruitment procedure
The Recruitment Committee expects to conduct a shortlisting of applicants to be assessed by the Assessment Committee. All applicants will be notified of their status in the recruitment process after the application deadline.
Applicants selected for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and will receive their personal assessment later. Selected applicants will be invited for an interview. Please note that a positive assessment does not automatically result in an interview. Once the recruitment process is completed each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application.
Closing date: December 19, 2025.
The application must be submitted via the electronic recruitment system, using the link below.
Copenhagen Business School must receive all application materials, including all appendices (see items above), by the application deadline.
One of CBS’ strategic goals is the promotion of diversity, which is why every effort has been made to ensure a recruitment process that reduces potential bias. Applicants are therefore encouraged not to include a photo or unnecessary personal information in their application.
Details about Copenhagen Business School and the department are available at www.cbs.dk.
Apply for position
WE TRANSFORM SOCIETY WITH BUSINESS
CBS is a globally recognised business school with deep roots in the Nordic socio-economic model. Our faculty has a broad focus on societal challenges, and we have earned a reputation for high-quality disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and education.
We are located at Frederiksberg and have approximately 20,000 full and part-time students, 800 full-time faculty members, 200 PhD students and 700 administrative staff, and a full portfolio of bachelor, master, MBA/EMBA, PhD and executive programmes taught in English and Danish.
Our global profile carries the obligation to address critical challenges in our research and to develop the transformational capabilities of students, graduates and business leaders via our educational activities and opportunities for lifelong learning. Complex challenges call for joint action, and therefore our strategy focuses on strengthening current and starting new partnerships with other sciences, the business community, authorities and civil society.
CBS is working continuously on becoming a diverse and inclusive organisation, and we encourage all regardless of gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religious beliefs, LGBT+ identity, cultural background etc. to apply.Reach out to us if you need assistance in the application or recruitment process, if there is something we should know, or if as a person with disability you wish to make use of your preferential access.