Doctoral Candidate (Epidemics, Disease, State Formation in Africa)

Job Description

ARC Grade: £40,604 per annum

School of Social and Political Science / CAHSS

Full Time: 35 hours per week

Fixed term: for 36 months, from September 2026

The Opportunity

Your next step starts here. Be part of something bigger.

In Edinburgh, you are in one of the world’s most attractive cities with active arts and social sectors, while working in a University that has made significant contributions to society, medicine, physics and teaching for over four centuries.

We provide a working environment where academics can develop their careers and passion for their chosen subject area. We have a genuine focus on our students performance and wellbeing.

As a Doctoral Candidate you will conduct a PhD-research project examining processes of state formation and how they have been shaped by epidemics and infectious diseases in Uganda. This will include undertaking empirical fieldwork in Uganda.

You will be registered as a PhD student in the School of Social and Political Science, and will submit a PhD thesis at the end of the project. This is a double degree awarded by the University of Edinburgh (UK) and Makerere University (Uganda). Tuition fees will be waived.

You will be part of the Health and Environment in Africa and Europe (HEALENAE) Doctoral Network funded by the EU Research and Innovation Programme Horizon Europe, under a grant by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) .

You must meet requirements for admission as a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh and EU mobility requirements set by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (see full job description for details).

As part of the University, you are a part of our community. We are looking for people with drive, determination, and a passion for what they do. We are a place where everyone is welcome and offer a range of policies and benefits designed to support you

A career with us has a range of other benefits that can be tailored to your lifestyle:

• Professional development and subject matter expertise

Good salary/pay rates

Excellent benefits and support

This post is full-time (35 hours per week), and will require regular attendance on-campus in Edinburgh. This post is fixed term from September 2026 for a period of 3 years.

View The Full Job Description

How to apply

Applications must include the following documents in the required formats:

• Cover letter including a statement of motivation and research interests
• Curriculum Vitae
• Project description
• Copies of Batchelor and Masters degree certificates
  
  

See the full job description for detailed information on the required format of the supporting documentation.

Informal questions about this post can be directed to the Hiring Manger, Dr Gerhard Anders, Senior Lecturer, via email at Gerhard.Anders@ed.ac.uk

External applicants, please refer to the guidance in ‘How to Join Us’ to support your application process.

Current employees, please apply as an internal applicant through the People & Money Current Jobs app using your staff email address.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

• A competitive salary.
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits.
  
  

Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages

The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 1 March 2026.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm UK time. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.

Interviews will typically be held 2-3 weeks after the closing date.

About Us

As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.

About The Team

The School of Social and Political Science (SPS) is one of the largest and most successful schools of social science in the UK, with global reach and local and global impact. Our goals are to promote excellence in education, research and innovation. The School comprises seven Subject Areas plus a number of research and teaching centres and institutes, and a number of cross-Subject consortia and other units. The academic staff complement currently numbers c.265fte. Our staff profile is multi-disciplinary across the key social sciences with a strong and growing international orientation. The School has c. 2,600 undergraduate and postgraduate taught students on its programmes of study,and c. 250 doctoral researchers.

The School's primary aim is the advancement and dis

semination of knowledge and understanding of social science. We provide an outstanding educational environment and support the highest quality research, tackling some of the world’s greatest challenges. We deliver excellence in discipline-based and interdisciplinary programmes. In addition, as a School, we play a leading role in delivering learning opportunities for students across the University to engage with current global challenges and uncertainties and in equipping students with the social science tools and lenses they need to become active, responsible and critical global citizens and leaders.

In REF 2021, the School returned 100% of its eligible staff from Professors to early career researchers; a strategy that combined excellence with inclusion. All four Units of Assessment to which SPS contributed were rated amongst the top five in the UK for their breadth and quality of research. Overall 39% of our research activity was classified as world leading with a further 47% assessed as internationally excellent. For two of our four Units of Assessment – Politics and International Relations, and Social Policy and Social Work – the whole of the research environment achieved the highest possible rating and was judged to be world leading.

For further information about our school please visit http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/