University of Lucerne PhD 2027 — Fully Funded AI Research
Fully funded PhD scholarship in Switzerland for International students 2026
A four-year, fully funded doctoral post inside an ERC project on AI and the welfare state, based in Zug and Lucerne. Applications close 15 November 2026.
Eligibility
- Completed master's degree in political science, public administration, sociology, economics or a closely related discipline
- Strong interest in welfare state institutions, labour market regulation or technology governance
- Quantitative methods training, with R, Stata or Python experience or a credible willingness to learn
- Excellent written and spoken English
- No nationality restriction stated in the vacancy
Doctoral funding in Switzerland usually arrives as a scholarship attached to a programme. This one is different: it is a four-year employment contract inside a specific research project, which means the person hired is expected to deliver that project's work rather than a self-designed thesis in the same general area.
The post sits at the Zug Institute for Blockchain Research at the University of Lucerne, inside an ERC Starting Grant called REPAIR — (Re)distributive Politics after the AI Revolution — led by Professor Juliana Chueri. Applications close on 15 November 2026, and the start date is 1 January 2027 or by agreement.
What it covers
The appointment is 100% for four years, described by the university as a fully funded qualifying position with attractive employment conditions under the personnel regulations of the Canton of Lucerne. The vacancy does not publish a salary figure, and it is worth being explicit about that: the contract follows the cantonal pay scale rather than a named stipend, so the exact number is confirmed at offer stage.
What the money buys is a doctoral qualification inside an international team of four researchers, with career mentoring, conference travel, and a workplace close to Zug railway station. There is no tuition line because Swiss doctoral study is not fee-driven in the way master's programmes are.
The intellectual trade-off is worth naming. You are joining a project with defined strands rather than proposing your own topic from scratch, and the thesis is expected to be cumulative, built from papers that serve the project. That suits someone who wants structure and a team; it is a poor fit for someone who already has a fixed thesis they intend to write.
Who can apply
The requirement is a completed master's degree in political science, public administration, sociology, economics or a closely related discipline. The project examines welfare state politics across OECD countries, so a background in comparative politics, public opinion or labour market regulation maps most directly onto the work.
Quantitative skill is the second filter. The vacancy asks for strong knowledge of quantitative research methods and experience with R, Stata or Python, or a clear willingness and ability to acquire those skills. That phrasing is permissive on paper and selective in practice, because the project involves comparative indicators and survey analysis from the first year.
Eligibility: five questions to ask yourself
1. Is your master's in one of the named disciplines or genuinely adjacent? A degree in computer science with a social-science thesis may qualify; a technical degree without one is harder to argue.
2. Can you show quantitative work — a thesis with regression, a survey analysis, a data project? Evidence beats a claim of willingness.
3. Are you comfortable working in English full time, including writing for peer-reviewed journals?
4. Does the project's framing interest you, or only its funding? The motivation letter is read for fit with REPAIR's two strands, not for enthusiasm about AI in general.
5. Can you start in January 2027, or negotiate a date the team accepts? This is a project hire, so the start date is less flexible than a scholarship intake.
Deadline
Applications close on 15 November 2026. The start date is 1 January 2027 or by mutual agreement, and informal enquiries go to Professor Chueri at the address given in the vacancy notice. Because this is a single vacancy rather than a cohort intake, late applications are not absorbed into a second round.
Application materials checklist
The dossier is submitted as one combined PDF and should contain a motivation letter of no more than two pages, a CV covering education, work and publications, transcripts and degree certificates, an abstract of your master's thesis in English, a writing sample in English, and the contact details of two academic references.
The two-page limit on the motivation letter is enforced by format rather than by portal, so an overlong letter signals something before it is read. The writing sample matters more than applicants expect: it is the only evidence of how you argue at length, and a seminar paper is acceptable if it is your best available work.
How to apply
Assemble the documents into a single PDF in the order listed in the vacancy, then submit through the University of Lucerne recruitment portal linked from the notice. There is no separate scholarship form and no application fee.
Common mistakes to avoid
Sending five separate attachments instead of one PDF. Writing a motivation letter about artificial intelligence in general rather than about the two REPAIR strands. Listing R and Stata without a project that shows them. Treating the missing salary figure as a reason to ask for a number before applying, when it is simply a cantonal pay scale. And missing the January start because the application was treated as a September intake.
Tips to win
Read at least one paper by the project lead before writing, and say in the letter which of the two strands you would contribute to and why your methods fit it. Show one concrete piece of quantitative work, with the dataset and the method named. Keep the letter to the two pages and use the second page to describe what you would do in the first year. If you are invited to interview, bring a short analysis of how one OECD country has framed AI labour-market disruption — it demonstrates the project's core skill in ten minutes.
More scholarship guides on OEAC:
https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=45
https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=14
https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=88
Not sure whether your profile is competitive? Send your CV and transcripts to an OEAC advisor. We read applications from Afghan, Pakistani, Chinese and US candidates free of charge and will tell you plainly whether this round is realistic for you.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
Always confirm the deadline and eligibility on the official page before you apply. Scholarship dates change between rounds, and this listing is a summary — the provider's own page is the authoritative source. OEAC Network lists scholarships for free and is not an agent for any university or funding body.
