PhD Position: SNSF Sinergia Research Project «Family Custody Arrangements and Child Well-Being in Switzerland» – Sub-project Housing, Architecture, and Mobility in Zürich

(Centre for Research on Architecture, Society & the Built Environment) is hiring one doctoral student (100%) by 1. September 2023 or upon agreement for the Swiss National Science Foundation funded Sinergia research project «Family Custody Arrangements and Child Well-Being in Switzerland» / Sub-project (S3) Spatial Dimension – Housing and Mobility.

The PhD will last from 2023-2027 (4 years). 

The overall project focuses on post-separation custody arrangements and their impact on children and will contribute to the identification of risk and resilience factors for child well-being after parental union dissolution in Switzerland. Building on the insights of social demography, psychology, architecture and housing studies, and law, this interdisciplinary project investigates the interdependent effects of four key dimensions on child well-being: socio-structural (social inequalities within and between families), relational (interpersonal relationships between family members), spatial (housing-mobility arrangements), and legal (legal regulations and court decisions).

The position is placed under the responsibility of Prof. Dr Elli Mosayebi, Professor for Architecture and Design, Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich. You will specifically work on the architecture and housing study, co-supervised by Prof. Dr Joëlle Darwiche, University of Lausanne. In addition, you will benefit from being associated with the Doctoral Programme at the ETH Zurich Department of Architecture’s Institute of Landscape and Urban Studies (LUS).

ETH Wohnforum – ETH CASE (Centre for Research on Architecture, Society & the Built Environment) is an interdisciplinary institute for research, consulting and education in the field of housing, architecture, and urban development at the department of architecture at ETH Zurich.

• Supporting the development of questionnaires for a Swiss national survey
• Designing, conducting and analyzing qualitative interviews and focus groups
• Co-organizing workshops with families, and a wide range of stakeholders from the public and private sector
• Literature research
• Co-writing of reports and scientific publications

• Master in sociology, social anthropology, geography or related disciplines with a strong interest in changing family relations at the intersection of housing and architecture. Architects with relevant experience may also be considered.
• Skills and experiences of quinitative research methods
• Self-responsible and reflected work culture, strong social-communicative competencies and writing skills
• Language skills: (Swiss) German (written and spoken), English (spoken + written), addtionally French (spoken + written) and/or Italian (spoken + written)

ETH Zurich is a family-friendly employer with excellent working conditions. You can look forward to an exciting working environment, cultural diversity and attractive offers and benefits.