Postdoctoral Fellow (MSoDA), Department of Sociology and Social Policy

About this position

Lingnan University is one of the eight publicly funded institutions in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and has the longest established tradition among the local institutions of higher education. It is widely recognised for providing quality education with a focus on whole-person development and conducting high-impact research for a better world. Moving forward, Lingnan University is well positioned to take lead as a comprehensive university in arts and sciences in the digital era, with impactful research and innovations.

Lingnan University offers undergraduate, taught postgraduate, and research postgraduate programmes in the Faculties of Arts, Business, Social Sciences, and the Schools of Data Science, Graduate Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies. To foster interdisciplinary collaboration and scientific progress, Lingnan University established the Lingnan University Institute for Advanced Study (LUIAS), attracting distinguished scholars from around the world to collaborate with its faculty and students. With traditional strengths in arts, business, social sciences, and interdisciplinary studies, the University aims to equip students with practical knowledge and critical thinking skills to thrive in the future.

Subsequent to the establishment of the School of Data Science and LUIAS, Lingnan University is transforming into a hub for global leaders to develop and promote human-centric technology and social policies. Further information about Lingnan University is available at https://www.ln.edu.hk/ .

Applications are now invited for the following posts:

Postdoctoral Fellow (MSoDA)

Department of Sociology and Social Policy

(Post Ref.: 26/241)

The Department of Sociology and Social Policy brings together scholars with international research experience and publication records in major outlets in Sociology and Social Policy. The Department is a recipient of the University’s Research Excellence Award and Teaching Excellence Awards. We offer teaching in Sociology and Social Policy, the Health and Social Services Management Major and co-host the Social and Public Policy Studies Major with the Department of Economics.

The Department hosts an MSocSc Programme in Comparative Social Policy (International) (IMCSP), and an MSocSc Programme in Sociology and Data Analytics (MSoDA), and has been successful in attracting MPhil and PhD students from around the world, as well as Hong Kong PhD Fellows, and winning other external competitive grants. For more information, applicants are advised to visit the departmental website , UG programme website , IMCSP programme website , MSoDA Programme website , and RGC Funding Schemes website .

General Requirements

Applicants should have obtained / been conferred a PhD degree in Sociology, Social Policy or any discipline related to computational social science, or an equivalent qualification for no more than three years prior to the commencement of the appointment, with relevant teaching and research experience. Applicants are required to provide their research portfolio, publication record, and teaching evaluation among other relevant information. Excellent communication and presentation skills in English are essential.

Experience with research utilizing computational methods will be a distinct advantage. The appointee should be able to take up teaching duties in some of the courses on the MSocSc Programme in Sociology and Data Analytics, including but not limited to: “Data Analytics for Social Research”, “Applied Analytical Statistics for Social Scientists”, “Machine Learning with Social Data” and “Social Networks Analysis”. The appointee should be prepared to actively support the coordination and development of our teaching programmes, as well as the research endeavours of faculty members in the areas of Sociology and Social Policy.

The appointee is expected to have a strong commitment to academic excellence and engagement in high-quality research and publication, and to submit applications for RGC grants, other local/overseas competitive grants and/or fellowship schemes.

Appointment

The conditions of appointment will be competitive. The remuneration will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Fringe benefits include annual leave, medical and dental benefits, mandatory provident fund, gratuity, incoming passage and baggage allowance for the eligible appointee.

The appointment will normally be made on a fixed-term contract of up to two years.

Application Procedure (online application only)

Please click "Apply Now" to submit your application. Applicants shall provide names and contact information of at least three referees to whom applicants’ consent has been given for their providing references. Personal data collected will be used for recruitment purposes only

We are an equal opportunities employer. The review of applications will start from October 2026 and will continue until the post is filled. Qualified candidates are advised to submit their applications early for consideration.

The University reserves the right not to make an appointment for the posts advertised, or to fill the posts by invitation or by search. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.