First of all, the candidate will strengthen the research unit by co-writing articles for high-impact international journals  and assisting in writing research proposals for (inter)national funds. In close dialogue with the head of the research unit, the candidate helps to develop research policy, write collective research proposals and coordinate research projects.   The postdoctoral assistant will, for instance, support the director in the Lab on monitoring the Lab’s data management and related open science practices and aligning them with the new KU Leuven data management structure, and attending stakeholder meetings (e.g., meetings on the DSDA act and its implications for researchers at the European commission). The postdoctoral researcher will be collaborating with the Lab’s professors on writing, for instance, an SBO proposal on digital media effects with the responsibility of guiding the installment of a project group and co-writing parts of the proposal. Finally, various datasets are available in the Lab (e.g., three-wave panel data of the MIMIc project) and will be further analyzed by the postdoctoral researcher to collaborate with the professors on new research papers as well as assisting them in the revision of existing papers for journals.

Secondly, the candidate will take on teaching tasks in the Bachelor and / or (international) Master Communication Sciences.

https://www.kuleuven.be/opleidingen/master-communicatiewetenschappen

https://www.kuleuven.be/opleidingen/bachelor-communicatiewetenschappen

 (S)he will supervise master theses based on research topics of expertise, teaches and/or coordinates a BA or MA course in the field of media psychology (e.g., Kinderen en Media, Sociale Marketing,…) and will participate in the evaluation of examinations. Together with postdocs from the other two research groups, the Media, Information, & Persuasion Lab and the Media, Culture & Policy Lab, the candidate will also organize seminars, lectures or other intellectual activities for the department of communication sciences at large.

In offering these possibilities in teaching and development of research, the offered postdoc position aims to provide a springboard for a solid academic career. 

The candidate: 

• has recently obtained a PhD in communication sciences or any other field in social sciences;
• works on research topics that relate to or complement the research agenda of the Research Unit of the Media Psychology Lab;
• has an excellent research profile and published multiple articles in international, peer-reviewed, high-impact academic (communication) journals;
• has ample experience with quantitative and/or qualitative methods and affinity with theory in the social sciences;
• has experience and affinity with teaching in Bachelor or Master programmes;
• has excellent organizational skills;
• is a ‘team player’, collegial and likes to collaborate with colleagues;
• has excellent skills in English.

We offer a 80% contract as a postdoctoral assistant at the Media Psychology Lab that provides an inspiring, intellectually challenging and international environment. We offer a 2-year contract that preferably starts on 8 September 2025. Salary and benefits are in line with the university salary scales for post-doctoral staff (salary scale 44). 

https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/werken-bij-kuleuven/werken-bi…

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Laura Vandenbosch, tel.: +32 16 32 32 02, mail: laura.vandenbosch@kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. Stef Aupers, tel.: +32 16 37 23 07, mail: stef.aupers@kuleuven.be.