National Knowledge Center for Early Intervention and Family Research seeks a Ph.D. student

Do you want to contribute to research in early intervention and the social and emotional development of infants and young children? The National Knowledge Center for Early Intervention and Family Research at the Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, is seeking a PhD student for a three-year position with start on 1 April 2027 or by agreement

The National Knowledge Center for Early Intervention and Family Research (CIF) seeks a PhD student for the center's research program “The Child in Statistics.” As a PhD student at CIF you will become part of a dynamic research center that is a leader in research on early intervention, the social and emotional development of infants and young children, and the implementation of research-based tools in practice.

About the position

The PhD student will join CIF’s statistics program. The PhD project will focus on how to develop, adapt and evaluate complex interventions. These interventions often have many components and are context-dependent, and the project will therefore also focus on how best to adapt the interventions, which mechanisms influence the intervention effects, and whether there are groups that benefit more from the interventions than others. In addition, the PhD student will also examine how mixed methods can be best used to evaluate interventions.

We emphasize that you

• Have a master's degree in psychology or a related field
• Have experience with research in the infant and toddler area, e.g., from previous jobs
• Have knowledge of complex interventions and experience with evaluating these
• Have experience with analysis of quantitative and qualitative data
• Have experience with quantitative analyses such as Bayesian statistics and mixed models, and experience using R
• Can write and speak Danish, as the project involves data collection in Danish municipalities, Danish datasets, and communication with Danish professionals
• Can write and speak English and have experience in writing research articles
• Are structured, responsible, and able to work independently

About CIF

CIF is a research center at the Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, and the National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, led by Professor Mette S. Væver. The CIF staff consists of about 30 full-time employees (research assistants, PhD students, postdocs, adjuncts and lecturers) primarily with a psychology background, as well as a similar number of student assistants.

Research at CIF focuses on the mental health of 0-5-year-old children and their parents and is organized into four programs: The Child in the Family, The Child in the Daycare, The Child in PPR and The Child in Statistics. The center’s research takes place in close collaboration with municipalities and professionals who work with children and families.

CIF is a dynamic and inspiring workplace where we collaborate across projects and share knowledge and ideas with each other. All CIF staff are committed to promoting the mental health of infants and young children and their parents, which creates a passionate professional environment with good opportunities for both formal and informal knowledge sharing. In addition, you can participate in various social activities in the center, e.g., a running club, a choir, semi-annual parties and Thursday bars.

You can read more about CIF here: National Knowledge Center for Early Intervention and Family Research – Department of Psychology - University of Copenhagen

Terms of employment

You will be employed at the Department of Psychology at the University of Copenhagen. The position is 37 hours per week and is fixed-term for 3 years. The position is expected to start on 1 April 2027 and is funded according to applicable rules and collective agreements.

As part of the employment, a clean police certificate for children (børneattest) is required. This condition applies throughout the employment period.

Recruitment process

Information about the recruitment process at the University of Copenhagen can be read here: Recruitment process - for scientific staff – University of Copenhagen

Application procedure and contact information

Your application must include the following documents

• Motivated application
• CV
• Master’s certificate and transcript
• Any other relevant material

Contact information

Information about the positions can be obtained from the head of the center’s statistics program, postdoc Anne Christine Stuart, at email: [email protected]

Further information about the application procedure can be obtained from HR, email: [email protected] - please reference ID number 211-2570/26-2H when contacting .

The application deadline is 16 November 2026.

Applications or supplementary material received after the deadline will not be considered.

The University of Copenhagen offers its nearly 10,000 employees opportunities to fully utilize their talents in an ambitious, informal environment. We provide traditional and modern frameworks for education and free research at a high international level. We seek answers and solutions to common problems and make new knowledge available and useful to others.

Info

Application deadline: 16-11-2026

Starting date: 01-04-2027

Department/Location: Department of Psychology