Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences

The Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences promotes innovative, excellent, problem-oriented research that aspires to contribute to societal debates and address key global challenges.

The cohorts trained and supported by the ViDSS are part of a vibrant research environment and international networks. The ViDSS encompasses and fosters connections between a broad range of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives. The ViDSS embraces the entire range of epistemological, methodological and theoretical approaches that are employed at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Doctoral candidates receive research training and write a doctoral thesis in the fields of communication, demography, development studies, nursing science, political science, science and technology studies, social and cultural anthropology, and sociology. The ViDSS aims for the highest standards in doctoral training and close supervision to ensure a mastery of social scientific debates and relevant theories and methods. As a result, ViDSS graduates are highly employable both within and outside academia.

PhD in the spotlight

Video

Did Austria learn from storm Boris?

Political scientist Benedikt Seisl explains in an interview for the TV channel Arte why the Austrian Green Party and the conservative Austrian People’s Party were not able to agree on a strong climate protection law during the time of their coalition. (In German)

Fellowship and award winners

sowi:doc Awards 2024

The sowi:doc Awards for the academic year 2023/2024 are awarded to Hannah Greber (“Immersive journalism – The future of the news?”), Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki (“Science-policy interfaces for ocean protection”) and Teresa Weikmann (“Getting real with fakes: Characteristics and consequences of ‘deepfakes’ in democracies”). Congratulations!

Fellowship and award winners

Award of Excellence for Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki

Political scientist and ViDSS alumna Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki was awarded the Award of Excellence (Staatspreis für die besten Dissertationen) for her doctoral thesis about science-policy interfaces for ocean protection. Congratulations!

Fellowship and award winners

AuPSA Junior Research Award for Franz Reiter

Communication scientist and ViDSS alumni Franz Reiter was awarded the Junior Research Award of the Austrian Political Science Association for his dissertation about the perceptions and effects of dirty campaigning in electoral communication. Congratulations!

Fellowship and award winners

ÖGPH-Nachwuchspreis for ViDSS student

Communication scientist Elena Engel was awarded the early career researchers’ award of the Austrian Public Health Association (3rd place) for her paper about social media influencers as a new source of health information (co-authored with Sascha Gell, Raffael Heiss and Kathrin Karsay). Congratulations!

Fellowship and award winners

Marietta Blau-Grant for students in our programme

The Marietta Blau-Grant offers financial support for six- to twelve-month study periods abroad. Lena Dege-Barron (development studies) will stay in Mexico, Antonia Modelhart (political science) will use the grant to continue her research in Australia, Finland and Italy. Congratulations!

Media articles and press releases

When your boss is a collective

Collective property in pastures and forests does not only affect the co-owners but also personnel employed seasonally on common alpine pastures as herders or for dairying. Lisa Francesca Rail gives an overview of the types of commons typical for the Austrian Alps and explains how labor conditions and wages are affected when employers are not natural persons but collectives. (In German)

Radio and podcast

The race for critical raw materials

In the Ö1 Podcast “Dimensionen”, political scientist Gabriel Eyselein provides insight into the European raw-material policy and raw materials’ criticality. In the face of geopolitical tensions and global competition, the EU is reassessing its strategies for securing these raw materials. (In German)

Radio and podcast

Episode 16 – Creating impact

While most PhDs have accepted that their research probably won’t change the world, they at least want to make some impact on society. But how? We talk to Nora Hansl and Stefan Sonntagbauer about strategies of making research more impactful and their experiences of being personally impacted by their research fields including parent-child relationships and ghost encounters.

New publications by ViDSS students

Multilingual Challenges: Empirical Social Research in Migration Societies, Transnational Spaces, and International Contexts. / Holzinger, Clara ; Draxl, Anna-Katharina.

Social Inclusion, 2026.

Publications: Book › Special Issue › Peer Reviewed

“I don't attribute that to the fact that I'm a foreigner” : Female CEE migrants in Austria and their perspectives on deskilling experiences. / Holzinger, Clara ; Draxl, Anna-Katharina.

In: Zeitschrift für Politik (ZfP), 2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Austria (Vol. 16, 2023). / Bauer, Dominique ; Mattes-Zippenfenig, Astrid.

Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Vol. 16. ed. / Ahmet Alibašić; Dominique Bauer; Stephanie Müssig; Egdūnas Račius. Vol. 16 Leiden : Brill, 2024. p. 54-72 (Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Vol. 16).

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

When good intentions aren’t enough: Intersectional invisibilities in academia and the decolonial turn. / Bauer, Dominique ; Paredes Grijalva, Daniela.

In: Gender - Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft, Vol. 16, No. 3, 22.10.2024, p. 217-230.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Conducting marine genetic research for whom? Mapping knowledge flows from science to patents. / Dunshirn, Paul (Corresponding author); Zhivkoplias, Erik.

In: npj Ocean Sustainability, Vol. 3, No. 1, 50, 08.10.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Tactics and affordances in the mediatization of war: pro-Ukrainian cyber resistance on Telegram. / Canevez, Richard; Maikovska, Kateryna; Zwarun, Lara.

In: Digital War, 07.10.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

„Die Würde des Spargels ist unantastbar“ – Antiosteuropäischer Rassismus, Ausbeutung und Widerstand. Panagiotidis, Jannis (Contributor); Ďurišová , Simona (Contributor); Melo, Sónia (Contributor) et al.. 2024. Event: null, Brunnenpassage/Yppenplatz, Wien, Austria.

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

Knecht, Alban (2024). Mit Sozialpolitik regieren. Eine ressourcentheoretische Policy-Analyse der Beschäftigungsförderung benachteiligter Jugendlicher in Österreich. Opladen, Berlin und Toronto: Verlag Barbara Budrich. / Malschinger, Paul.

In: Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie (ÖZS), 10.2024.

Publications: Other contribution to periodical › Book/Film/Event review

Sustainable flying? The effects of greenwashed claims in airline advertising on perceived greenwashing, brand outcomes, and attitudes toward flying. / Neureiter, Ariadne (Corresponding author); Hirsch, Melanie ; Matthes, Jörg et al.

In: Environmental Communication, Vol. 18, No. 7, 10.2024, p. 873 – 890 .

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Revisiting Reflexivity: Liveable Worlds in Research and Beyond. / Davies, Sarah (Editor); Schikowitz, Andrea (Editor); Mora-Gámez, Fredy (Editor) et al.

Bristol University Press, 2025. 272 p. (Dis-positions: Troubling Methods and Theory in STS).

Publications: Book › Collection › Peer Reviewed

The Structural and Temporal Curb of Populism: A Cross-Country Analysis of Authoritarian Populist Influences on Journalism. / Celik, Burce; Radl, Marlene; Ribac, Marko et al.

In: Journalism Studies, 26.09.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Von Erreichtbarkeit und dem Erreichtwerden : Älter werdende Eltern mit Pflegeverantwortung im Forschungskontext. / Falkenstein, Thomas; Werner, Marlene; Nagl-Cupal, Martin.

Schwer erreichbar?: Soziale Teilhabe für besonders verletzliche Menschen. ed. / Elisabeth Reitinger; Heimerl Katharina; Gert Dressel; Ilona Wenger. Esslingen : der hospiz verlag, 2024. p. 377 - 390.

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter

Felt-bodily communication as a medium for parents and their children with care needs: a neo-phenomenology perspective. / Falkenstein, Thomas; Mayer, Hanna; Nagl-Cupal, Martin.

2024. 15 20th European Doctoral Conference in Nursing Science, Graz, Austria.

Publications: Contribution to conference › Other contribution to conference › Peer Reviewed

“Do you practice what you preach?” : The effects of celebrities' pro-environmental messages on social media on young adults’ pro-environmental behavior. / Quesada Baena, Luis; Binder, Alice ; Neureiter, Ariadne et al.

In: Young Consumers, 12.09.2024.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed