PhD Candidate in the History of Medieval or Early Modern Palestine (100%)
Institute for the History and Anthropology of Religions (IHAR), affiliated with the Faculty of Theology and Sciences of Religions (FTSR), University of Lausanne
Start date: February 1, 2026 (or to be agreed upon)
Application deadline: June 15, 2025
As part of its commitment to advancing Palestinian studies, the University of Lausanne (UNIL) is supporting research in this field by awarding a doctoral fellowship for a project focusing on the history of Palestine and Palestinian societies.
Your responsibilities
The selected candidate will be integrated into the Institute of History and Anthropology of Religions within the Faculty of Theology and Sciences of Religions at the University of Lausanne. He/She will conduct personal research towards the completion of a doctoral dissertation.
100% of the workload will be dedicated to completing a PhD dissertation under the supervision of Professor Wissam Halawi.
Your qualifications
Candidates must meet the following requirements:
- A Master’s degree (completed or in progress) in History or an equivalent qualification, with a specialization in Islamic history or the history of the Middle East.
- Excellent command of Classical Arabic, particularly in reading and analyzing historical sources. Proficiency in another source language relevant to the PhD project would be considered an advantage.
- Strong proficiency in the Palestinian dialect.
- In-depth knowledge of Palestinian territory and its institutions.
- Excellent academic proficiency in French and/or English.
- A demonstrated interest in Islamic law and/or Shiʿism in the Palestinian context would be an asset.
- Competence in the use of modern digital research tools.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively within a research team.
- Excellent organizational skills, autonomy, and initiative.