There are many good reasons to want to conduct research and teach at the University of Vienna. And one reason why around 7,500 academic staff members before you have chosen this university. You see yourself as a personality who needs room for curiosity and a continuous drive in order to be scientifically successful. Do you need that too? Welcome to our team!

Your personal sphere of influence:

As a predoctoral university assistant, you will join the research team of Univ.-Prof. Desirée Schmuck in the area of Media Change and Media Innovation. You will work in the Vienna Media Change and Innovation (VMCI) Lab, which is based at the Department of Communication, a subunit of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

The research area focuses on media use and effects among children and adolescents, political engagement in digital media environments, media change and intergroup relations, the self-determined use of media innovations such as artificial intelligence, and many other exciting topics related to the evolving media environment.

The team currently consists, in addition to the professorship, of three prae-docs, one student assistant, and one administrative staff member.

What characterizes us as a team is a highly collegial way of working, curiosity about new phenomena in media change, and a commitment to internationally excellent research.

Your future tasks:

You actively participate in research, teaching, and administration, which means:

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You work on your dissertation and its completion in the area of media change and media innovation
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You publish in scientific journals and present your findings at relevant (international) conferences
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You contribute to project proposals and the acquisition of third-party funding
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You participate in the organization of conferences and symposia
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You teach courses independently within the scope of the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and contribute to student supervision
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You take on administrative tasks in research and teaching
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This is part of your personality:

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Completed Master/Magister degree in Communication Science, Psychology, Political Science, or Sociolog
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Very good knowledge of quantitative, qualitative and computational social science research methods, in particular experiments, (automated) content analysis, surveys, and interview
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Very good knowledge of statistical data analysi
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Very good skills in using data analysis software, in particular
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Didactic competencie
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Excellent English skills, both written and spoken (C1
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Team player with strong social and communication skill
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Flexibility and commitmen
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What we offer:

Inspiring working atmosphere: You are a part of an international academic team in a healthy and fair working environment.

Good public transport connections: Your workplace is easily accessible by public transport.

Internal further training & Coaching: Opportunity to deepen your skills on an ongoing basis. There are over 600 courses to choose from – free of charge.

Duration of contract: The employment duration is 4 years. Initially limited to 1.5 years, the employment relationship is automatically extended to 4 years if the employer does not terminate it within the first 12 months by submitting a non-extension declaration.

Fair salary: The basic monthly gross salary for this advertised position currently (2026) is € 3,776.10 (based on full-time) in salary group B1 and will be paid 14 times a year for a period of four years (i.e., the duration of the contract). The basic salary increases if we can credit prior professional experience.

Equal opportunities for all: We welcome every additional/new personality to the team!

It is that easy to apply:

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With your academic CV/list of publication
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Master's Degree/Diploma including transcript of record
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Contact details of two referee
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Via our job portal (“Apply now” button
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