The research group “Political Behavior and Digital Media” (Prof. Karsten Donnay) in the Department of Political Science at the University of Zurich (http://www.ipz.uzh.ch) invites applications for a Research Assistant / Hilfsassistent*in (20-25%) starting August 1, 2026. This is a fixed-term position until the end of December 2026. Research in the group substantively focuses on the role of new digital media channels for political behavior. The group’s second main research interest is in computational social science more broadly.
Your responsibilities
The position supports ongoing research in the group related to a variety of substantive research topics in the area of political behavior online. This includes projects on strategic political online communication by international actors but also work on detecting harmful speech online and potential mitigation strategies as well as other ongoing smaller projects in the team around political behavior and computational social science.
Your profile
The position is particularly suitable for third-year BA or first-year MA students with a strong quantitative interest and, ideally, prior experience working with more advanced quantitative or computational methods. More generally, the position is a starting point for all those students, who would like to get hands-on experience in academic research projects.
Applicants for this position should meet the following requirements:
- Enrolled in a political science degree program
- Good overall study performance
- Excellent statistical skills and experience working with R/RStudio
- High degree of self-motivation and excellent work ethics
- Knowledge of Python, JavaScript etc. is an asset
- Strong command of English
We offer
- Working in interesting, cutting-edge projects together with an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the social and computer sciences
- First experience working in an academic research project
- A workspace in the common pool of desks reserved for student assistants at the IPZ
- Employment is at a 20-25% salary grade with the salary set according to cantonal guidelines
- This is a fixed-term position until the end of December 2026
Place of work: Zurich
Start of employment: August 1, 2026
Closing date for applications: May 15, 2026
Further information: Further inquiries can be directed to Karsten Donnay (donnay@ipz.uzh.ch).
The department aims to increase the diversity of its members and thus explicitely invites applications from women and other traditionally underrepresented groups.
Please apply directly through the department’s application portal using the following link: www.ipz.uzh.ch/de/ueber-uns/offene-stellen/2026-RA-Donnay.html
In addition to filling out the application form you will be asked to provide a current CV, motivation letter, proof of academic performance, and a seminar / research paper or your BA thesis.
