03/06/2025

Center for Metropolitan Studies Opens Applications for Postdoctoral Fellowships

Applications are open until June 22 for Brazilian and international researchers. Applicants must have completed their PhD no more than seven years ago.

Janaína Simões

The Center for Metropolitan Studies (CEM – Cepid/Fapesp) is now accepting applications for up to seven postdoctoral fellowships. Eligible candidates are Brazilian or foreign researchers who obtained their doctoral degree within the past seven years, without exception. Access the full call for applications here. Apply through this form.

Selected candidates will receive a monthly fellowship of R$ 12,000.00, plus a technical reserve equivalent to 10% of the annual fellowship amount. The use of the Technical Reserve is also governed by FAPESP rules. More information: https://fapesp.br/en/postdoc.

Fellows are expected to conduct theoretical and/or empirical research, in addition to participating in regular activities such as seminar presentations, paper development, and dissemination of research outcomes.

Applicants must submit several documents, including: curriculum Vitae (Lattes for Brazilians or an equivalent for international applicants), motivation letter, executive summary of a research project, aligned with one of the CEM's research areas listed below (which must be selected during the application process):

Research Tracks:

1. Urban Politics and Public Policies – actors, institutions, and urban space.

2. (In)Equities in Access to the City and the Prioritization of Urban Public Policies.
Requirements: Experience in geospatial data science, artificial intelligence, and quantitative methods for urban analysis.

3. Relationships Between Bureaucrats and Politicians – politicization of bureaucracies, political behavior, and electoral activities of public servants.

4. The Challenges of Social Protection in Brazil.

5. Interactions Between Actors, Fiscal and Budgetary Rules, and Their Impacts on Public Policies and Inequality.
Requirements: Experience in the analysis of federal and subnational budget data.

6. Civil Society and Policy Communities – institutionalization, policy change, and government transitions.

7. Multilevel Governance of Social Policies.

Fellows are expected to integrate with ongoing research projects at CEM. To learn more about CEM’s research lines and projects, visit: https://centrodametropole.fflch.usp.br/en/pesquisa/research-lines-and-subprojects.

The full list of required documents is available in the application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeaZbl4ZfuCxg0H9qF9ZFOjim6aCA3wAhbY0vN2il889g-zKA/viewform.

Selection Process:

The selection will be conducted in two stages:

Stage 1: Evaluation of the submitted materials and assessment of alignment with CEM’s research lines.
Stage 2: Interviews (held via videoconference) with members of the Selection Committee.

The final results will be published by August 11, 2025.

Questions and Additional Information:

Please email imprensa.cem@usp.br with the subject line: “Question – Postdoctoral Call”.

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📅 Timeline:

June 2, 2025 – Call for applications published
June 22, 2025 – Application deadline
July 4, 2025 – List of candidates approved for Stage 2 released
July 7, 2025 – Deadline for appeals for Stage 1
July 10, 2025 – Results of Stage 1 appeals released
August 5, 2025 – Stage 2 results released
August 7, 2025 – Deadline for appeals for Stage 2
August 11, 2025 – Final results announced