University of Freiburg, Germany invites online Application for number of Fully Funded PhD Positions at various Departments. We are providing a list of Fully Funded PhD Programs available at University of Freiburg, Germany .
Eligible candidate may Apply as soon as possible.
(01) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Research Assistant (PhD) position (m/f/d) in the field of polymer coatings for highly conformable neural implants
The Soft Sensorics & Biohybrid Systems group within the research center BrainLinks-BrainTools of the University of Freiburg offers a research assistant position for the coating of highly conformable neural implants with ultrathin polymer layers as well as their mechanical, electrical and biocompatibility testing. The position can be started at March 1st 2026 or at the earliest convenience.
Deadline :31. January 2026
(02) PhD Positions- Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Ph.D. candidate (m/f/d) in the field of social-ecological systems research and sustainability law
Advancing climate change is having a major impact on forests, for example in the form of heat waves and droughts, forest fires, pest infestations, and storms, and requires a fundamental reorientation of conventional forest governance. The Cluster of Excellence “Future Forests – Adapting complex social-ecological forest systems to global change” investigates how forest ecosystems can be actively adapted to climate and further global change and develops appropriate adaptation and transformation pathways. Foci are on developing a strong theoretical foundation for research based on concepts of social-ecological and complex adaptive systems science, and well-integrated interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration.
The project “Integration of law and legal institutions into social-ecological systems research using the example of forest adaptation to climate change” examines, on the one hand, how the role of law can be made more visible in concepts of social-ecological systems research and, on the other hand, what added value social-ecological systems thinking can offer in legal research. The research is both theoretical-conceptual and application-oriented and is conducted in close interdisciplinary collaboration with natural and social science projects in the cluster. The aim is to contribute to the theoretical foundation of cluster research and to develop initial legal building blocks for adaptation and transformation pathways towards future-proof forests on the basis of concrete case studies.
Deadline : 31. January 2026
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(03) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Doctoral Researcher (PhD) positions
Via this programme, several doctoral researcher (PhD) positions in the field of experimental and theoretical particle and astroparticle physics will be opened. The deadline for applications is January 20, 2026, however, later applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.
The research programme of this Research Training Group includes:
• Exploration of the Higgs sector (ATLAS, future colliders, theory)
• Precision calculations within the Standard Model and its extensions;
• Flavour physics (LHCb);
• Searches for dark matter, new particles and new structures (XENON, XLZD, DELight, ATLAS, SHiP, theory);
• Theoretical particle cosmology (dark matter, baryogenesis of the Universe)
• Technology development (silicon and low-background detectors, federated computing structures, software and artificial intelligence)
We offer a stimulating and supportive environment based on the broad expertise in particle physics at the University of Freiburg.
Deadline : 20. January 2026
(04) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Laboratory for Microelectronics – Open PhD position I / EU Doctoral Network BRAINET
The doctoral candidate (DC) will contribute to the development of next-generation wireless communication hardware for distributed brain-implant networks. The project BRAINET focuses on designing and fabricating CMOS-based multiphysical communication ASICs that enable semantic information exchange between wireless implant units and external systems. Working at the interface of microelectronics, biophysics, and neural engineering, the DC has to develop communication concepts and architectures, implement multi-channel transmission schemes (magnetoelectric, NFC, ionic, optical), and participate in the full ASIC design–fabrication–test cycle. Ideally, the DC holds an MSc degree in electrical engineering with specialization in microelectronics and strong interest in signal processing and communication theory. Moreover, very good written and spoken English language skills (B2 level) are a must.
Deadline : 28. February 2026
(05) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD position on human-bear coexistence
The Biodiversa+ project “CoexHub” studies coexistence between people and brown bears in three European regions, the Central Apennines in Italy, Cantabrian Mountains in Spain, and in Slovenia. As the ranges of large carnivores expand in human-dominated landscapes, coexistence between humans and large carnivores is becoming an increasingly important challenge, shaped by diverse actors, interests, and perspectives. CoexHub addresses the challenge of coexistence using an integrated social-ecological and institutional approach across case study areas spanning from regions with long histories of coexistence to areas where bear populations are only recently expanding. Within this project, you will focus on Slovenia, a country with a long history of coexistence with bears, high bear densities and comparatively low levels of conflict, although facing recent challenges due to growing bear population and range expansion. You will conduct interviews and workshops with stakeholders to develop indicators and maps of coexistence potential, which can help guide decisions about conservation and management. In addition, you will analyse past transformations of social-ecological networks related to coexistence in order to identify infrastructures and institutions that enable or hinder coexistence. Through your research and engagement with practitioners and decision-makers, you will contribute to developing pathways towards effective and balanced human-bear coexistence in Europe.
You have a Master’s degree in environmental sciences, geography, environmental social sciences, or similar, and a strong interest in interdisciplinary research, linking ecology and social sciences, and in working with stakeholders. You have a good command of English (written and spoken). Knowledge of Slovenian is an advantage. You enjoy talking to people and ideally have some experience with conducting interviews and qualitative research. Experience working with R, GIS, and/or with network models is also an advantage.
This PhD position will be based at the recently established Chair of Modelling of Social-Ecological Systems at the University of Freiburg with Prof. Ana Stritih, and will include international collaborations with project partners in Slovenia, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain, as well as fieldwork in Slovenia.
Deadline :20. January 2026
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(06) PhD Positions- Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Doctoral Researcher (m/w/d)
The position is embedded in the project “BeGenDiv – A multispecies genetic diversity survey for the Biodiversity Exploratories” and will focus on characterizing the genetic diversity of tree and shrub species in the forest plots of the Biodiversity Exploratories (https://www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/en/). The PhD project will investigate the genetic diversity of around 30 tree and shrub species in landscapes characterized by diverse combinations of forest management intensity and environmental heterogeneity. The PhD project will focus on a comparative analysis among species, while multi-species indices will be developed by a postdoctoral researcher in the same project.
This is a collaborative project involving researchers from the University of Freiburg (Prof. Dr. Katrin Heer & Dr. Jill Sekely), the University of Marburg (Prof. Dr. Lars Opgenoorth), and UFZ Halle (Dr. Walter Durka). Since the project is embedded in the Biodiversity Exploratories, there will be cooperation and scientific exchange with many researchers from across Germany.
Deadline : 20. January 2026
(07) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Student (m/f/d) on the topic “Emerging Thin-Film Photovoltaic Modules for Powering Autonomous Sensors”
As part of our research project “Emerging Photovoltaics for Powering Autonomous IoT Sensors” (https://www.interreg-oberrhein.eu/projet/empoweriot), we are looking for a PhD candidate on this topic, with a start date not later than 1st of March 2026.
As part of the doctoral thesis, you will manufacture perovskite solar cells and optimize them with regards to performance under various application scenarios, e.g. low-light conditions and artificial illumination. Based on this, you will scale the solar cell stack to modules which will be employed for powering autonomous Internet of Things (IoT) sensors developed by our project partners in France and Germany. The overall goal of the thesis will be to compare novel organic and perovskite PV modules against conventional PV solutions with regards to power harvesting and reliability. Based on this, the feasibility for the targeted IoT applications, e.g. under indoor conditions or in urban environments, will be assessed.
In the course of the project, you will characterize the fabricated solar cells and modules by a range of optical and electrical characterization techniques, which will allow you to understand the limiting factors and from there create a feedback loop to optimized device performance. While doing so, you will interpret your results and summarise them in a comprehensible way. You will present your results in internal meetings, in exchanges with national and international project partners and at scientific conferences. You will have the chance to interact closely with project partners in the fields of electronics and sensors as well as PV recycling. In addition, you will supervise master and/or bachelor students in the context of their thesis and provide them with practical guidance.
We expect you to have a master´s degree in physics, chemistry, materials science or a related discipline and basic knowledge of solar cell physics. Previous knowledge in the field of thin-film photovoltaics or the analysis of functional thin films is helpful but not required. Ideally, you already have practical knowledge of preparative or analytical laboratory methods.
The ability to work in a team is very important to you, but you also plan and complete tasks independently and with high quality. You have a sure instinct and accuracy when carrying out experimental work and critically evaluate your results. The routine handling of Microsoft Office is a matter of course for you. You have already worked with programs for analysing data, preferably also with Origin. You have a very good command of English for communication in our interdisciplinary and international team. As we believe in the power of diverse perspectives, we are actively seeking applications from female scientists.
Deadline : 11. January 2026
(08) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Doktorand:in (m/w/d) im Bereich Evidenz-basierte Waldmodellierung
- Eigenständige wissenschaftliche Forschung auf dem Gebiet der Modellierung von Baum- und Waldwachstum
- Mitarbeit in interdisziplinären und internationalen Forschungsteams
- Teilnahme an einem strukturierten Promotionsprogramm, Beiträgen zu regelmäßigen Seminaren, Fortschrittsberichte
- Mitwirkung an wissenschaftlichen Publikationen und Präsentationen auf nationalen und internationalen Konferenzen
- Teilnahme an einem strukturierten Promotionsprogramm, Beiträge zu regelmäßigen Seminaren
- Mitwirkung an Fortschrittsberichten, wissenschaftlichen Publikationen und Präsentationen auf nationalen und internationalen Konferenzen
- Aktive Mitwirkung an und Beiträge zu Cluster-Aktivitäten, Workshops und Outreach-Events
Deadline : 12. January 2026
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(09) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position in Molecular Ecology (f/m/d) at the Excellence Cluster Future Forests, University of Freiburg
Ticks are major vectors of human and animal pathogens. In this collaborative project we will investigate the distribution of ticks in different forest types depending on various ecological factors. Additionally, pathogens of ticks will be screened with metagenomic approaches. This will allow us to assess the complex dynamics of tick dynamics and their pathogens under changing environmental conditions and its relevance to human health.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions.
Deadline : 12. January 2026
(10) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Doctoral Researcher Position in Forest Legacy Effects on Hydrology (f/m/d/x) at the Excellence Cluster Future Forests, University of Freiburg
Forests play a critical role in supplying clean freshwater, providing habitats for diverse ecosystems, and ensuring stable flow regimes that can buffer drought impacts and river floods. However, these functions and services change in response to the interplay of climatic changes, long-term forest evolution, as well as recent forest dieback.
This project will assemble and jointly analyse long time series of forest evolution and hydrology to better understand legacy effects of historic changes on forest hydrology. The PhD researcher will mainly work with time series of streamflow, soil moisture, groundwater observations and forest cover from remote sensing products – primarily in the Black Forest – Upper Rhine region where the Future Forests Cluster will also establish complementary observatories, but also relating and using time series from other forest ecosystems worldwide. Using process insights obtained from empirical analysis of long-term data, the work will then adapt and test a hydrological model for its ability to represent long-term as well as abrupt changes within the forest hydrological system. The project ultimately aims to contribute to improved quantification of water related ecosystem services that will be crucial in guiding land and water management.
The Excellence Cluster ‘Future Forests’ at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties and non-university partner institutions.
Deadline : January 18, 2026
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(11) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position (m/f/d) in Visual and acoustic dimensions of forest change: Linking long-term monitoring data, perception and well-being.
This project investigates how long-term changes in forest structures and soundscapes impact
human well-being. It aims to reconstruct and compare visual and acoustic representations of forests in SW Germany from the 1970s to today, and match them with perceptions of experienced changes through a large-scale population survey. An experimental virtual reality setting will be employed to test the direct impact of these visual and acoustic changes on well-being. The project aims to establish a significant connection between ecological forest changes, public perception, and potential health impacts, thereby providing evidence-based knowledge for sustainable forest management.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions.
Deadline : 25. January 2026
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(12) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Researcher in the field of Environmental Planning (f/m/d/x) at the Excellence Cluster Future Forests
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg invites applications for a PhD position in the field of environmental planning. The PhD project SES-planning uses the example of wind energy expansion in forests to investigate how spatial and environmental planning can contribute to understanding forests as social-ecological systems (SES). This refers to both, the theoretical and application-oriented level of planning. In addition to conceptual work, a case study analysis will be conducted in the Black Forest. In collaboration with other scientists from the cluster, work is being done on the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary conceptualisation of forests as novel SES.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions.
Deadline : 12. January 2026
(13) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Doktorand:in “Forest Ecosystem Service Markets” (m/w/d/x) im Exzellenzcluster Future Forests
Das Teilprojekt „Forest Ecosystem Service Markets” der Professur für Environmental Governance erfasst die Struktur und Dynamik realer und politischer Märkte für die Bereitstellung von Ökosystemleistungen des Waldes (mit den Schwerpunkten Wasser, Erholung und Schutzleistungen) und analysiert diese im Hinblick auf die ordnungspolitische Steuerung. Ziel ist die Erfassung der Marktnetzwerkarchitektur und der akteursbezogenen Market-Shaping-Dynamiken als Grundlage für eine umfassende System Dynamics-Modellierung der Bereitstellung von Ökosystemleistungen durch Wälder unter sich ändernden politischen und ökologischen Rahmenbedingungen.
Der Exzellenzcluster Future Forests an der Universität Freiburg ist ein interdisziplinäres Forschungszentrum, das sich Fragen der Anpassung und Transformation von Wäldern und ihrer gesellschaftlichen Nutzung an den globalen Wandel widmet. Zukunftsorientierte Forschung zu den komplexen Wechselwirkungen zwischen Wald und Gesellschaft wird hier mit herausragender, internationaler Sichtbarkeit von der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft gefördert. Future Forests vereint mehr als 50 Wissenschaftler:innen aus vier Fakultäten sowie außeruniversitären Partnerinstitutionen.
Deadline :19. January 2026
(14) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD position (f/m/d/x) on modeling the role of lateral subsurface flow on forest hydrology including tree dieback
Forests’ local responses to climate change and extremes vary greatly, and current dynamic vegetation models lack relevant processes to capture the small-scale heterogeneity of drought stress and tree dieback. We assume that differences in the hydraulic functioning of trees, soil properties, and access to subsurface water determine drought resilience, but existing models to not adequately represent these processes. The goal of this PhD project is to predict spatial variability in tree water stress by explicitly coupling soil water balance, lateral subsurface flow (interflow) and groundwater dynamics within a modular soil-vegetation-atmosphere model. Current species-specific hydraulic traits, root distributions, and forest structure will be combined to account for ecological and management effects. Ground-based sensor networks, maps of perennial and intermittent streams, and satellite data will all contribute to model calibration and evaluation for a large number of catchments in the Black Forest region (Germany). The new model toolbox also enables systematic evaluation of process alternatives and uncertainties.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties and non-university partner institutions.
Deadline : 12. January 2026
(15) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position in Stand Density Management for Forest Adaptation to Drought (f/m/d/x) at the Excellence Cluster Future Forests, University of Freiburg
Tree stress and mortality increased in many regions of the world due to hotter droughts. The aim of the project is to quantify the capacity of stand density management as a silvicultural adaptation measure to reduce drought-related tree stress and mortality in broadleaf and conifer dominated forests. Lowering stand density may have positive effects, as it can reduce competition for water. However, reductions in stand density may also have unintended consequences, as the (temporary) decrease in canopy closure also reduces mutual protection of crowns against high irradiation and increases transpiration of individual crowns. The innovation of this doctoral project lies in clarifying the relative importance of these mechanisms and their net impact on drought-related tree stress and mortality.
Deadline : 12. January 2026
(16) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position in Forest and Environmental Policy (f/m/d) at the Excellence Cluster Future Forests, University of Freiburg
The project instDMP investigates past, present and future adaptation and transformation pathways by focusing on institutionalized structures in decision-making practices in forest management in the case of disturbances. In doing so, the project takes forest risk management and fire prevention as examples for a field of practice that is increasingly challenged to transform and adapt its institutionalized decision-making practices. For this, instDMP will analyze past institutional trajectories and current decision-making practices in the Black Forest and Upper Rhine area. Further, it will contribute to co-produce possible future scenarios together with forest stakeholders.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions. More information at: https://uni-freiburg.de/futureforests-en.
Deadline :20. January 2026
(17) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position in Forest Microclimatology (f/m/d/x) at the Excellence Cluster Future Forests, University of Freiburg
In this funded PhD position you will quantify and explore different forests’ modulation on below-canopy climates, often referred to as “microclimatic buffering”. Using an adaptive sensor network consisting of 200 sites, you will develop machine learning-based approaches for data processing, network optimization, and to quantify the degree of microclimatic buffering. This is relevant both for understanding future growth conditions and for assessing the response of forest ecosystems to extreme events and structural changes in a changing global climate. By developing site-specific machine-learning models, supplemented by existing downscaled reanalysis data, the goal of the PhD is to hindcast below-canopy climates in the Black Forest Region (Germany) and provide quantitative climate data, including the frequency and intensity of extremes at the stand level.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions.
Deadline :12. January 2026
(18) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position (f/m/d) at the Excellence Cluster Future Forests, University of Freiburg
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions.
This particular project examines how hopes, expectations, and fears about the future shape decision-making regarding new (and contested) tree species. Specifically, it investigates how ecological properties, cultural values, and institutional practices interact in shaping decisions about the potential introduction of new tree species.
Deadline : 25. January 2026
(19) PhD Positions- Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position (f/m/d/x) for vegetation ecology at the Excellence Cluster Future Forests, University of Freiburg
The offered position investigates how forest vegetation responds to increasingly novel conditions driven by climate change, biological invasions, and shifting management practices. It focuses on two key components of forest ecosystem functioning: changes in plant diversity and decomposition of organic matter (necromass). Using a combination of historical vegetation data, newly collected field data, and decomposition experiments, the project aims to quantify long-term and recent shifts in forest plant communities and assess how these changes influence essential ecosystem processes.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions.
Deadline : 12. January 2026
(20) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position (f/m/d/x) in Plant-Insect-Microbe Interactions
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg invites applications for a PhD position in the project “Effects of drought and herbivory on tree physiology and microbial endophytes – a case study on Quercus petrea” at the Chair for Forest Entomology and Protection.
We seek highly motivated natural scientists with a keen interest in the ecology and co-evolutionary dynamics of plant-insect-microbe interactions to join our international research group at the Chair for Forest Entomology and Protection (https://uni-freiburg.de/enr-forento/), which is part of the interdisciplinary Excellence Cluster Future Forests.
Deadline : 15. January 2026
(21) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD position (m/f/d) in the project “Knowledge Barriers – Knowledge Practices: Making Contested Decisions in Everyday Work of Forest Management” at the Institute of Cultural Analysis/European Ethnology
The project aims to understand future-oriented decision-making practices of actors in the context of forest adaptation and climate crisis by using ethnographic methods of cultural analyses. It focuses events interpreted as crises, such as bark beetle infestations and deforestation to analyse the knowledge, knowledge barriers, values, and affects that shape practices and horizons of decision making. The project is located at the intersection of multispecies ethnography, cultural analyses of work and future and aims to make key contributions to the cluster’s activities of modelling socio-ecological systems. It is closely linked to other projects within the cluster such as further research on practices of decision-making for future forests, on bark beetles, forest ecology and adaptation.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions.
Deadline : 23. January 2026
(22) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position (f/m/d/x) at the Excellence Cluster Future Forests, Chair of Forestry Economics and Forest Planning – B2 Spatial Optimization
- The project: “Robust spatial optimization approaches to generate adaptive management strategies in large forest landscapes” deals with the following research questions:
- Which spatial constraints exist in a typical Future Forests landscape and how do these spatial constraints lead to trade-offs between ecosystem services (ES)? How are these spatial constraints potentially exacerbated by climate change induced uncertainties?
- How can robust management strategies be designed that take into account spatial limitations and how can they be implemented in decision making processes related to forest adaptation?
- How can robust spatial decision making improve decisions of multiple forest owners on the landscape level and how can forest governance through incentives support this?
The PhD project will therefore start analysing multiple ES for at least two given landscapes that will be selected in the project area of the Cluster. The focus of the analysis is to identify and quantify spatially limited ES. In general, spatially limited forest areas are characterized by multiple trade-offs between different ES and an impact of a multitude of uncertainties impacting on them. Spatial robust optimization is one way to deal with this type of uncertainties on a landscape level in spatially explicit way. As a result of the first part of the project the PhD thesis should come up with an algorithm to detect and quantify spatially limited ES. Based on existing work on robust decision-making (Radke et al. 2020), the thesis should develop a new approach, directly integrating spatial robust optimization in the objective function of a given forest management problem. Robustness metrics should be used as optimization criteria and incorporated as explicit optimization objectives to steer the search toward solutions that are both performant and stable under spatial uncertainty. In a final step economic theory should be applied to analyse the behaviour of multiple decision makers (private forest owners) using the example of a forest transformation strategy on a simple landscape scale considering spatial aspects of management. Based on this initial simplified setting, the model will be extended to real forest landscapes with multiple forest owners and by including additional ES including spatially limited ones under multiple uncertainties and trade-offs between ES.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions.
Deadline : 31.1.2026
(23) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD position (m/f/d) in the Excellence Cluster Future Forests in the project Hot drought-stress mediated pathogen interactions of Douglas fir at the Chair of Pathology of Trees
This project will investigate the microbial communities with a focus on the mycobiomes that are associated with Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) to understand their interactions with fungal pathogens. Although Douglas fir is increasingly used as a climate-adapted species, it is also vulnerable to opportunistic fungi that become pathogenic under stress. We will study the increasing incidence of co-infections causing shoot blight and needle cast by combining controlled drought-stress experiments with pathogen inoculations. In particular, on how hot drought affects pathogen behaviour, whether stress induces priming-based resistance, and how microbial communities shift under abiotic stress, including provenance-specific differences influencing disease outcomes and resilience.
Deadline : 12. January 2026
(24) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD position (m/f/a) in the field of biodiversity research in the subproject of the Chair of Applied Vegetation Ecology
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg invites applications for a PhD position in the field of biodiversity research in the subproject “Obvious and hidden diversity in epiphytes: diversity patterns and biotic interactions with microorganisms along different trajectories of silvicultural extensification and adaptation,” which will be conducted under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Markus Hauck and Dr. Stefan Kaufmann (Chair of Applied Vegetation Ecology).
The project aims to use field-based biodiversity studies and metabarcoding to investigate how changes in forests (project area: Black Forest and Upper Rhine Plain) caused by climate change and forestry adaptations to climate change affect the diversity of epiphytic lichens and mosses and the microorganisms associated with them.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions.
Deadline :12. January 2026
(25) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Researcher (f/m/d) in ecological, environmental and resource economics at the Excellence Cluster Future Forests, University of Freiburg
In the project “Responsibility for Future Forests”, we apply the concept of responsibility (Baumgärtner et al. 2018) to social-ecological forest systems and demonstrate how it can be made operational to describe, judge, and guide decision-making of various actors at various levels of decision-making. One research task will be to conceptually and theoretically enhance and specify the concept of responsibility for social-ecological forest systems. Another research task will be to empirically study – through surveys or interviews – how stakeholders in the Black Forest region actually perceive their own (causal, normative, and virtuous) responsibilities and those of others.
The Excellence Cluster Future Forests at the University of Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to questions of adaptation and transformation of forests and their societal use in the face of global change. Future-oriented research on the complex interactions between forests and society is conducted here with outstanding international visibility, supported by the German Research Foundation. Future Forests brings together more than 50 researchers from four faculties as well as non-university partner institutions.
Deadline : 12. January 2026
(26) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD position (m/f/d) in electrochemical conversion of CO2 to ethylene
Ethylene is a foundational chemical feedstock predominantly produced from fossil resources, driving significant CO2 emissions. Electrochemical routes that convert captured carbon to ethylene offer a pathway to decarbonize the supply chain. Performing electrolysis directly from carbon capture solutions can reduce the energy and capital costs associated with gas-phase CO2 handling. Advances in membrane chemistry, catalyst design, and process integration are critical to making this route scalable and cost-competitive.
Deadline :5. January 2026
(27) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD position (m/f/d) on epistemic authority and disputes (EpistAD)
The project EpistAD investigates how scientific evidence and epistemic authority are negotiated in radically changing, non‑analogue social‑ecological forest systems. The overarching goal of the project is to develop a critical, social‑science‑based understanding of the credibility, justification and translation of knowledge under conditions of deep uncertainty and fundamental ambiguity, thereby contributing to a more actionable but also better reflected form of evidence‑based forest management and governance.
Deadline : 20. January 2026
(28) PhD Positions – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Doctoral Researcher in Modern History (m/f/d)
The doctoral researcher will focus on the work package Transnational Narratives of the Hunger Blockade. The work package will use qualitative sources such as periodicals, stage plays, (dime) novels, diaries, medical reports and official records to assess the ‘hunger blockade’-discourse, that is, the accusation that the Allied blockade starved civilians, as it developed in Austria and Germany during and after the First World War. It will trace popular and official ‘myth narratives’ regarding the lethality of the Great War blockade and determine how they shaped popular perceptions and expectations of total warfare into the 1930s and 1940s. Despite the common assumption that the ‘hunger blockade’ impacted especially National Socialist thinking on total warfare, there is still no broader source-based study on the subject. The work package will make a notable contribution to understanding the workings of generational and transnational transmission of myth narratives as well as their political potency.
The work package is one of four positions across the four BLOCKADE locations that should speak to the theme of ‘Learning/unlearning’, exploring how blockade experiences inform institutional, societal, and individual learning and innovation across countries and war and post-war periods. Learning // Un-learning investigates the dynamics between learning and unlearning in creating, maintaining and experiencing the blockade and its (after)effects. It is to establish the impact of blockade on state and company preparation for war, the evolution of knowledge on nutrition, substitution, and free trade, and the formation of powerful myth narratives about hunger and victimhood. The team members will work together across locations to build a rich source base for BLOCKADE.
Deadline : 17. January 2026
About The University of Freiburg, Germany –Official Website
The University of Freiburg , officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the second university in Austrian-Habsburg territory after the University of Vienna. Today, Freiburg is the fifth-oldest university in Germany, with a long tradition of teaching the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences and technology and enjoys a high academic reputation both nationally and internationally. The university is made up of 11 faculties and attracts students from across Germany as well as from over 120 other countries. Foreign students constitute about 18.2% of total student numbers.
The University of Freiburg has been associated with figures such as Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Rudolf Carnap, David Daube, Johann Eck, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Friedrich Hayek, Edmund Husserl, Edith Stein, Friedrich Meinecke, Max Weber, Paul Uhlenhuth and Ernst Zermelo. As of October 2020, 22 Nobel laureates are affiliated with the University of Freiburg as alumni, faculty or researchers, and 15 academics have been honored with the highest German research prize, the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, while working at the university.
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