Declaration of Interest Regarding PhD Project
The Department of Psychology at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) is advertising an open PhD position in ecological anxiety and climate emotions. The PhD student will be part of the project, “What is Eco-Anxiety? Capturing Feelings of the Climate Crisis,” funded by the SDU Climate Cluster. This interdisciplinary project combines methods from philosophy, psychology, and literature studies to investigate experiences of climate anxiety and related emotions. We are seeking a candidate with a background in Environmental or Health Humanities, which may include philosophy, psychology, comparative literature, anthropology, or sociology, among other disciplines. Some knowledge of qualitative research methods and experience with interdisciplinary collaboration across the humanities and social sciences is an advantage. The project is fully funded for three years, with a start date of August 15th, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.
Project Description
Today, the concept of ‘ecological anxiety’ is widely used in academic, political, medical, and public discourse. The emotions this concept captures, however, remain ambiguous, since the concept is used to refer to a wide variety negative affective states, both pathological and non-pathological. This lack of clarity undermines research into the prevalence and severity of eco-anxiety and other climate emotions, as well as how these emotions link to behavior. Considering this shortcoming, the aim of the project, “What is Eco-anxiety? Capturing Feelings of the Climate Crisis”, is to develop a nuanced conceptual mapping of climate emotions, focusing on emotions commonly included under the label of ‘eco-anxiety’. Upon completion of the project, we will have refined existing emotion constructs and developed new constructs that can be operationalized for use by researchers carrying out empirical studies of climate emotions (e.g., in psychometric assessments and other larger scale studies). To achieve this aim, the project uses an innovative combination of methods from philosophy, psychology, and literature studies.
The project builds upon an existing data set, consisting of hundreds of short stories about climate futures written by high school students in Denmark. The PhD student will be able to incorporate these stories into an analysis that investigates the variety of climate related emotions they express. The PhD student will also be expected to generate a new data set by conducting qualitative interviews with people who report experiencing climate anxiety or other climate related emotions (training in qualitative interviewing can be provided). The recruitment population is open, and the PhD student may carry out interviews in their native language (although English or a Scandinavian language is preferred). The interview transcripts will be analyzed through a combination of qualitative and philosophical methods, with the aim of establishing a taxonomy of climate-related emotions experienced by the study participants.
Supervisory Team and Research Environment
The candidate’s primary supervisor will be Anthony Vincent Fernandez, Associate Professor of Applied Philosophy and Theoretical Psychology. The co-supervisory team includes Bryan Yazell, Associate Professor of Anglophone Literature; Anita Wohlmann, Associate Professor of Contemporary Anglophone Literature; and Kirsten Kaya Roessler, Professor of Health and Environmental Psychology.
The position will be based at the Department of Psychology, which has strengths in clinical psychology, community psychology, health psychology, and cognitive psychology. The PhD student will be a member of the research group in Applied and Interdisciplinary Phenomenology. The group includes several postdoctoral researchers with backgrounds in philosophy, qualitative health research, and clinical psychology who carry out research on topics such as pain, psychotherapy, social anxiety, and depression, among other topics. The PhD student will also be affiliated to the SCC Elite Center for Mobilizing Post-Anthropocentric Climate Action (PACA) and SDU’s Climate Cluster. Depending on their disciplinary background and interests, they may also affiliate to other groups and centers, such as the Centre for Uses of Literature and/or the Narrative Medicine research group.
Qualifications and Expectations
Required Qualifications
Master’s degree* in humanities or social science, with an emphasis on environmental or health humanities
Experience with, or interest in, carrying out interdisciplinary research and working as part of an interdisciplinary, collaborative team
English proficiency
*Note that the candidate must have completed the equivalent of 300 ECTS to enroll. If the candidate has completed a 1-year (rather than 2-year) master’s degree, then they will typically have had to complete a 4-year bachelor’s degree to attain the required ECTS. For further information on eligibility, please see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience designing, conducting, and analyzing qualitative interviews
Background in phenomenology, as either a philosophical or qualitative tradition
Background in emotion theory or history of emotions
Additional Expectations During the PhD
Work on campus at least three days per week, participating in regular group meetings and positively contributing to the life of the research group
Carry out an international research stay (up to one semester, depending on availability of funds)
Regularly engage with researchers from a wide variety of disciplines, especially via the SDU Climate Cluster
For further information about the project or position, please contact:
Anthony Vincent Fernandez
Department of Psychology
University of Southern Denmark (SDU)
E-mail: afernandez@health.sdu.dk
Salary and Working Conditions
PhD students employed at SDU are employed as PhD fellows according to the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations in public employment (AC) agreement.
Salary and any salary supplement are paid according to your seniority level and as negotiated with your union representative. The base salary (excluding 18.07% pension contribution) is DKK 374,912.98.
Applications must include:
A letter stating your interest, motivation, and qualifications for the project (max. 2 pages)
An outline of your ideas or plans for how you would like to carry out the project, specifying both your existing skills and skills you would like to develop (max. 2 pages)
A detailed CV, including personal contact information
A certified copy of diploma and transcripts (Master’s degree in a relevant field)
One writing sample, up to 10,000 words (e.g., a course paper, conference presentation, published article, or selection from your master’s thesis)
Contact details for two references
All application materials should be in English. For diplomas and transcripts in foreign languages, a certified translation should also be included. Please do not use generative AI to draft your application documents; the point of the documents is to get a clear sense of your own ideas and abilities.
Shortlisting and interviews may be used in the assessment process.
Further information about the PhD-study can be found at the homepage of the University.
Applications must be submitted electronically using the link "Apply now". Attached files must be in Adobe PDF format. We strongly recommend that you read How to apply for a position at SDU before you apply.
Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.
Closing date January 31st 2026
The successful candidate will be asked to send an application to the PhD Secretariat, Faculty of Health Sciences, to be enrolled as a PhD student.
The PhD program will be carried out in accordance with Faculty regulations and the Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD Program at the Universities (PhD order).
The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.
