Graduate School for Social Research

22/09/2026

We invite GSSR students to a new course taking place at GSSR during the winter semester 2026/2027: "Critical Epistemologies, Intersectionality, and Gender Equality in Doctoral and Postdoctoral Research"

The course will explore gender in research projects and grant proposals, feminist epistemologies, situated knowledge, intersectionality, researcher positionality and reflexivity and the specificities of conducting research in Central and Eastern Europe.

The course will have a practical component: throughout the semester, participants will work on their own research projects and grant proposals, including through an individual research poster developed and used as a tool throughout the course.

This is a great opportunity to work on your PhD project 🎓, write a Preludium proposal 📑, or apply for another grant or a postdoc position!

Thursdays, 15:15–17:15
start: 22.10.2026
GSSR, Winter semester 2026/2027

We invite GSSR PhD students interested in these topics to sign up.

More info about course: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122114993283466285&set=a.122105912307466285

📚 Nowy kurs „Critical Epistemologies, Intersectionality, and Gender Equality in Doctoral and Postdoctoral Research" w Graduate School for Social Research I Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk!

W semestrze zimowym 2026/2027 członkinie naszej grupy badawczej RE:PRO będą współprowadzić kurs poświęcony krytycznym epistemologiom, intersekcjonalności i równości płci w badaniach doktoranckich i podoktorskich. Kurs jest skierowany nie tylko do osób doktoranckich z GSSR, ale także do badaczek i badaczy Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk zainteresowanych wymiarem płci i intersekcjonalności we własnych projektach badawczych oraz aplikacjach grantowych. Jest on kontynuacją zeszłorocznych zajęć, ale zawiera nowe tematy, teksty i problemy.

Całość kursu jest w tym roku przewidziana jako praktyczna praca nad własnymi projektami badawczymi i wnioskami grantowymi od początku do końca trwania zajęć! Szczególnym elementem kursu będzie praca nad indywidualnym posterem badawczym, który będzie towarzyszył uczestnikom(-czkom) przez cały semestr, jako narzędzie pracy. Podczas jedenastu spotkań przewidzieliśmy podjęcie tematu:

🔎 feministycznych epistemologii i wiedzy usytuowanej;
🔎 płci i intersekcjonalności w badaniach społecznych;
🔎 pozycji i refleksyjność badacza(-ki);
🔎 wymiaru płci w projektach i wnioskach grantowych;
🔎 specyfiki prowadzenia badań w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej;
🔎 czy relacji między badaniami akademickimi a aktywizmem.

Prowadzący: Magdalena Grabowska, Dorota Hall, Kuba Malec i Wiktoria Morawska (IFiS PAN).

📅 Czwartki, 15:15–17:15
📍 Zajęcia stacjonarne w IFiS PAN/GSSR
🗓️ Semestr zimowy 2026/2027

Zapraszamy osoby, które chcą nie tylko prowadzić badania, ale także zastanowić się, jak powstaje wiedza, z jakiej pozycji ją tworzymy i jak możemy bardziej świadomie uwzględniać płeć, intersekcjonalność i relacje władzy w naszych projektach.

18/09/2026

📚 Mid-term Evaluation Without Stress

Yesterday, GSSR PhD students took part in the “Mid-term Evaluation Without Stress” training session, organised in cooperation with Porozumienie Doktorantów PAN. Thank you to everyone who joined us, asked questions and shared their experiences! We hope the session provided a useful opportunity to exchange practical tips and discuss what to expect during the mid-term evaluation.

The session was an opportunity to discuss the practical aspects of the mid-term evaluation, exchange experiences and ask questions about the process, preparation and documentation. We hope it helped make the whole process a little clearer and, hopefully, a little less stressful.

For those who would like to revisit the session or could not attend, the 🎥 Zoom recording and presentation have been shared with GSSR PhD students by email.

Thank you to Porozumienie Doktorantów PAN for organising the training for GSSR PhD students, and to Martyna Nowicka for leading the session and sharing her knowledge and experience with us. We would also like to thank Wiktoria Morawska and Tamar Kalichava for organising the session, as well as everyone who joined us and contributed to the discussion!

We wish everyone a smooth and as stress-free as possible mid-term evaluation!

14/09/2026

📚 Important dates at GSSR: Mid-term Evaluation Workshop, Orientation and Opening-inauguration of the year – Autumn 2026

Two of our PhD students, Wiktoria Morawska and Tamar Kalichava, are organising a practical training session “Mid-term Evaluation Without Stress” in cooperation with Porozumienie Doktorantów PAN.

📅 17 September 2026, 17:00 CEST
📍 Staszic Palace, Room 161

The session will cover the mid-term evaluation process, formal requirements and documentation, preparing a presentation of your research progress, common mistakes, and practical tips for approaching the evaluation with less stress.

We particularly encourage first- and second-year PhD students to join, but students from all years are very welcome!

And while we are looking ahead to the new academic year, here are 3 important dates to save in your calendar:

1️⃣ 17 September – Mid-term Evaluation Without Stress
Practical training for GSSR PhD students, organised by Wiktoria and Tamar in cooperation with Porozumienie Doktorantów PAN.

2️⃣ 1 October – Start-of-the-Year Practical Orientation Session
🕚 11:00–13:00
📍 Room 268, Staszic Palace

3️⃣ 14 October – Opening Ceremony & GSSR Inauguration of the Academic Year 2026/2027
🕥 10:30–13:30
📍 Majewski Room, Staszic Palace

This year’s keynote lecture will be delivered by Anna Domaradzka, Director of the Robert Zajonc Institute for Social Studies at the University of Warsaw and Head of the Civil City Lab: “Smart, green, but for whom? Investigating urban innovations through a Lefebvrian lens”

📌 Save the dates and see you at GSSR!

25/08/2026

Call for applications: PhD scholarship in the project "Effects of data quality in the international survey projects on the estimates of political attitudes and behaviors"

IFiS PAN announces a call for applications for one PhD scholarship in the project "Effects of data quality in the international survey projects on the estimates of political attitudes and behaviors" (grant no. 2025/59/B/HS6/01606), led by Prof. Kazimierz M. Slomczynski.

The project, funded by the National Science Centre, Poland, under the OPUS 30 competition, develops methodology for taking survey data quality explicitly into account when political attitudes and behaviors are compared across countries and over time using ex-post harmonized measures.

The PhD scholarship is awarded for four years, including 36 months funded from the project budget and 12 months from IFiS PAN. Its amount is determined by the Polish Law on Higher Education and Science, currently PLN 3,571 gross per month before the mid-term evaluation and PLN 5,501 gross per month after it. The successful candidate will be admitted to the Sociology doctoral program at the Graduate School for Social Research (GSSR) through the externally funded doctoral positions track. S/he will also join the Comparative Analyses of Social Inequality (CASIN) team at IFiS PAN and develop an original dissertation within the project.

Applications must be submitted by 31 August 2026.
Interviews will take place between 8 and 10 September 2026.
The project starts on 1 October 2026.

Please click the link for application details

https://www.gssr.edu.pl/news-events/call-for-applications-phd-scholarship-in-the-project-effects-of-data-quality-in-the-international-survey-projects-on-the-estimates-of-political-attitudes-and-behaviors/

18/08/2026

Call for applications: PhD scholarship in the project "Effects of data quality in the international survey projects on the estimates of political attitudes and behaviors"

IFiS PAN announces a call for applications for one PhD scholarship in the project "Effects of data quality in the international survey projects on the estimates of political attitudes and behaviors" (grant no. 2025/59/B/HS6/01606), led by Prof. Kazimierz M. Slomczynski.

The project, funded by the National Science Centre, Poland, under the OPUS 30 competition, develops methodology for taking survey data quality explicitly into account when political attitudes and behaviors are compared across countries and over time using ex-post harmonized measures.

The PhD scholarship is awarded for four years, including 36 months funded from the project budget and 12 months from IFiS PAN. Its amount is determined by the Polish Law on Higher Education and Science, currently PLN 3,571 gross per month before the mid-term evaluation and PLN 5,501 gross per month after it. The successful candidate will be admitted to the Sociology doctoral program at the Graduate School for Social Research (GSSR) through the externally funded doctoral positions track. S/he will also join the Comparative Analyses of Social Inequality (CASIN) team at IFiS PAN and develop an original dissertation within the project.

Applications must be submitted by 31 August 2026. Interviews will take place between 8 and 10 September 2026. The project starts on 1 October 2026.

Please click the link for application details

https://www.gssr.edu.pl/news-events/call-for-applications-phd-scholarship-in-the-project-effects-of-data-quality-in-the-international-survey-projects-on-the-estimates-of-political-attitudes-and-behaviors/

11/08/2026

Call for applications: PhD scholarship in the project "Effects of data quality in the international survey projects on the estimates of political attitudes and behaviors"

IFiS PAN announces a call for applications for one PhD scholarship in the project "Effects of data quality in the international survey projects on the estimates of political attitudes and behaviors" (grant no. 2025/59/B/HS6/01606), led by Prof. Kazimierz M. Slomczynski.

The project, funded by the National Science Centre, Poland, under the OPUS 30 competition, develops methodology for taking survey data quality explicitly into account when political attitudes and behaviors are compared across countries and over time using ex-post harmonized measures.

The PhD scholarship is awarded for four years, including 36 months funded from the project budget and 12 months from IFiS PAN. Its amount is determined by the Polish Law on Higher Education and Science, currently PLN 3,571 gross per month before the mid-term evaluation and PLN 5,501 gross per month after it. The successful candidate will be admitted to the Sociology doctoral program at the Graduate School for Social Research (GSSR) through the externally funded doctoral positions track. S/he will also join the Comparative Analyses of Social Inequality (CASIN) team at IFiS PAN and develop an original dissertation within the project.

Applications must be submitted by 31 August 2026. Interviews will take place between 8 and 10 September 2026. The project starts on 1 October 2026.

Please click the link for application details

The Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN) announces a call for applications for one PhD scholarship in the

29/07/2026

The next edition of the course “Critical Epistemologies, Intersectionality, and Gender Equality in Doctoral and Postdoctoral Research” is coming this fall!

The first edition was taught by Magdalena Grabowska, Wiktoria Morawska, Dorota Hall, and Kuba Malec. The starting point was feminist epistemologies, but we also explored the requirements placed on scientific research today in the context of intersectionality and equality: especially in programs like Horizon Europe and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grants. We discussed how critical epistemologies, an intersectional perspective, and gender equality can strengthen social research and meet these requirements. 📚 The program included sessions on feminist epistemologies, epistemic injustice, intersectionality in qualitative and quantitative research, activist research, ethics, researcher positionality, how to incorporate a gender perspective into research projects and grant applications, and the ethical implications of research within the broader political and social landscape.

☑️ NEXT EDITION OF THE COURSE: 2026/27

We invite you to join us for the next edition of the course in the 2026/27 academic year! The program has been expanded to include both new practical elements and new theoretical themes.

📝 We invite both those who attended the seminar in 2025/26 and new participants to join us. The course is open to researchers at all career stages: doctoral candidates and those with a PhD🎓

From the beginning of the course, participants will discuss theoretical texts, but above all, they will develop their own research project on a working poster, which will serve as a "working tool" throughout the semester and form the basis of the final presentation. The goal is to systematically work on the development of one’s own research project: a doctoral dissertation, a postdoctoral project, and/or a grant application in progress (particularly European grants, but also applications for other calls for proposals, including those from the National Science Center). In addition, workshops are planned on preparing grant proposals in accordance with the European Commission’s requirements, using SGBA+ tools, and analyzing actual, highly rated grant proposals that take into account various dimensions of research on gender, inequalities, and sexuality.

The program will also include new topics, such as the genealogies of the concept of “gender,” the place of Central and Eastern Europe in debates on equality, local hierarchies and intersectionality, and non-academic epistemologies. The schedule also includes meetings with invited experts, including representatives of the National Contact Point for EU Research Programs and the Research Support Department at the Institute of IFiS PAN, as well as feminist researchers from other institutions. 🌍

If you want to develop your research or grant project focusing on gender and intersectionality, or to properly fill out the sections on gender equality in your application, join us this fall!

27/07/2026

IFiS PAN announces a call for applications for one PhD scholarship in the project “Glass Bees: Knowing, Valuing and Engaging with Soil in the Age of Digital Agriculture” (grant no. 2025/59/D/HS6/00364), led by Dr Celina Strzelecka, IFiS PAN.

The project, funded by the National Science Centre, Poland, under the SONATA 21 programme, investigates how the digital transformation of agriculture is reshaping relationships between humans, soil, and technology. While sensors, artificial intelligence, digital platforms, and predictive algorithms are increasingly used in agriculture, little is known about how these technologies transform the ways in which soil is understood, valued, and cared for. The project addresses this gap by examining how digital agriculture reconfigures the ethical, epistemic, and temporal dimensions of human–soil relations in contemporary Poland.

The scholarship is awarded for four years, including 36 months of funding from the project budget. Its amount is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Polish Law on Higher Education and Science. The current doctoral scholarship amounts to PLN 3,571 gross per month before the mid-term evaluation and PLN 5,501 gross per month after successful completion of the mid-term evaluation. The successful candidate will be admitted to the Sociology doctoral program at the Graduate School for Social Research (GSSR).

Applications must be submitted by 31 August 2026. Interviews will take place between 16 and 18 September 2026.

For more information, click the link!

https://www.gssr.edu.pl/news-events/open-call-phd-scholarship-ncn-project-glass-bees-knowing-valuing-and-engaging-with-soil-in-the-age-of-digital-agriculture/

17/07/2026

The Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN) announces a call for applications for one PhD scholarship in the project “Glass Bees: Knowing, Valuing and Engaging with Soil in the Age of Digital Agriculture” (grant no. 2025/59/D/HS6/00364), led by Dr Celina Strzelecka, IFiS PAN.

The project, funded by the National Science Centre, Poland, under the SONATA 21 programme, investigates how the digital transformation of agriculture is reshaping relationships between humans, soil, and technology. While sensors, artificial intelligence, digital platforms, and predictive algorithms are increasingly used in agriculture, little is known about how these technologies transform the ways in which soil is understood, valued, and cared for. The project addresses this gap by examining how digital agriculture reconfigures the ethical, epistemic, and temporal dimensions of human–soil relations in contemporary Poland.

The scholarship is awarded for four years, including 36 months of funding from the project budget. Its amount is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Polish Law on Higher Education and Science. The current doctoral scholarship amounts to PLN 3,571 gross per month before the mid-term evaluation and PLN 5,501 gross per month after successful completion of the mid-term evaluation. The successful candidate will be admitted to the Sociology doctoral program at the Graduate School for Social Research (GSSR).

Applications must be submitted by 31 August 2026. Interviews will take place between 16 and 18 September 2026.

For more information, click the link!

The Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN) announces a call for applications for one PhD scholarship in

08/07/2026

The Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN) announces a competition for one PhD scholarship in the project “The Epistemic Dimension of Clerical Child Sexual Abuse” (grant no. 2025/59/B/HS2/00826), led by dr hab. Dorota Hall, prof. IFiS PAN. The project is financed by the National Science Centre, Poland, under the OPUS 30 competition, with a projected start in October 2026.

The project applies the epistemic injustice framework to the production and circulation of knowledge about clerical child sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in Poland and Scotland. The PhD student will conduct field research in two to three local communities in Poland, under the Principal Investigator’s supervision, and will be registered as a PhD student in sociology at the Graduate School for Social Research (GSSR).

Applications must be submitted by August 31, 2026. Interviews will take place between 14 and 18 September 2026.

For details, please click the link

The Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN) announces a competition for one PhD scholarship in the project "The