Call for applications for a doctoral contract at Sciences Po in policy evaluation (LIEPP)

Context

The Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP), a research platform at Sciences Po, is calling for applications for a doctoral contract in Public Policy Evaluation. 

Created in 2011, LIEPP has been redeployed since 2020 in partnership with Université Paris Cité. Its aim is to develop policy evaluation through an interdisciplinary scientific approach.

LIEPP is based on an innovative evaluative approach, combining research drawing on quantitative, qualitative and comparative methods, and combining a high level of scientific requirements with the concern for the dissemination and translation of research results among policy stakeholders.

The purpose of this call for applications is to promote and support doctoral research in evaluation carried out at Sciences Po’s various research centers. It also aims to strengthen LIEPP’s contribution to the international field of evaluation through innovative research that highlights the evaluative contribution of research that meets the highest scientific disciplinary standards while being open to interdisciplinarity. 

Position to be filled 

LIEPP is launching a call for applications to fill a doctoral contract for a thesis project evaluating a public intervention, program or policy in line with the thematic priorities of one or more of its research groups (see the online description of each group for more details):

• Discrimination and category-based policies
• Evaluation of democracy
• Educational policies – While interested in the full range of research on the effects and evaluation of educational policies, the research group will focus in particular on projects dealing with special educational needs, school curricula and the inequalities faced by students from immigrant backgrounds.
• Environmental policies 
• Health policies 
• Socio-fiscal policies 

Submitted projects must clearly fall within the scope of program or policy evaluation, specifying the program or policy being evaluated, the evaluative question(s) and the method(s) chosen to answer the question. LIEPP promotes a broad vision of evaluation, not limited to impact measurement, but also including qualitative or mixed approaches covering, for example, implementation, reception and all the processes involved in explaining the impact of a policy or program. Questions relating to the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of policies or programs may also be addressed. LIEPP’s website offers a series of resources on evaluation frameworks. 

Applicants must be enrolled in one of the five doctoral programs offered at Sciences Po: law, economics, history, political science or sociology. The doctoral student will be hosted by one of Sciences Po’s ten research centers. He/she will also be affiliated with LIEPP, where he/she will benefit from a shared workspace. He/she will receive appropriate training in these two structures (host research center + LIEPP) as well as at the Sciences Po School of Research. 

LIEPP, in particular, will provide a positive environment to develop specific skills in policy evaluation. The doctoral student will be required to work on LIEPP’s premises for at least a third of the time of the doctoral contract. He/she will have a research budget of €2,000 to be used over the duration of the doctoral contract.

The doctoral student undertakes to:

• Participate in LIEPP’s “Young Research” workshop during the 2025-2026 academic year.
• Participate in the activities of the LIEPP thematic research group with which he/she will be affiliated.
• Respect the ethical charter LIEPP has co-signed with three other research and evaluation centers. 
• Produce a synthesis of his/her research in poster format to be presented at the poster session of LIEPP’s annual seminar.
• Participate in LIEPP’s annual seminar.
• Organize an interdisciplinary seminar around the research theme, enabling the PhD student’s approach to be compared with those of other disciplines and/or using other methods. 
• Mention LIEPP’s support in all scientific publications resulting from the thesis (in footnotes or acknowledgements): 

This research supported by LIEPP benefits from France 2030 investment plan through IdEx Université Paris Cité (ANR-18-IDEX-0001).

The doctoral student is also encouraged to: 

• Participate in the METHEVAL monthly seminar.
• Submit a Working Paper, corresponding to the pre-publication of a scientific article, in LIEPP’s publication collections, or participate in other open access publication projects in these collections (Débats du LIEPP, Fiches méthodologiques, etc.).

Theses co-supervised by Université Paris Cité researchers will be given special consideration. 

The successful candidate will be offered a 36-month full-time doctoral contract.

The contract start date is September 2025.

Prerequisites 

We are looking for strong candidates open to interdisciplinary dialogue. 

The candidate will hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent) with a strong research component, and will have received at least some training in one or more of the following disciplines: law, economics, history, political science or sociology. He/she should have a good command of quantitative and/or qualitative evaluation methods, and a keen interest in program/policy evaluation approaches and debates. 

Fluency in English is required. A basic understanding of French is recommended, since some of our seminars are in French

Applications

Applications must be submitted online, in accordance with the admission requirements and timetable of the Sciences Po School of Research.

Applications may be submitted in English or French.

More information on doctoral admissions to the School of Research here.

Application deadline: May 18, 2025 at 11:59 pm.

Once you have submitted your application, please send an email to ed.direction@sciencespo.fr and liepp@sciencespo.fr with the following subject line: “Candidature en doctorat – Contrat doctoral LIEPP”. 

Once you have submitted your application, please fill in the form below:

SEE THE APPLICATION CONFIRMATION FORM

The application must include the following documents:

• Two academic recommendations (an optional professional recommendation may be added). 
• Copy of identity document 
• Cover letter, mentioning the candidate’s discipline, research center, thesis direction and LIEPP research group.
• Thesis project presenting: the context; the research question(s); the theoretical framework; the methodology; the expected results; the contribution of the thesis to the evaluation; its inclusion in the thematic research priorities of one or more of LIEPP’ research groups; and the provisional work schedule (2,000-3,000 words). 
• Copies of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees (if available). For candidates in the process of obtaining the requested degree, please attach all transcripts available at the time of your application.
• CV with a full summary of education, academic and non-academic work experience, language skills and other extracurricular activities. The period during which the master’s program was followed must be specified (from admission to graduation).
• If applicable: up to two samples of academic writing (such as a master’s thesis or published articles).

NB: In Sociology only, your application can only be examined if it comes along with a letter of agreement from the PhD supervisor, and a letter from the director of the research unit stating that he or she accepts your integration into the research unit. Please make sure to anticipate any delays (contact the research unit in advance).

Applications will be ranked by LIEPP’s Laboratory Council and submitted to the Sciences Po School of Research for a final decision.

Contact

For further information, please contact ed.direction@sciencespo.fr and liepp@sciencespo.fr