Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Animal and Veterinary Sciences programme. The position is available from 01 September 2026 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.
Title:
Developing and validating animal-based measures of broiler welfare
Research area and project description:
Robust animal welfare assessments depend on several factors, including the validity of the animal-based indicators employed and the availability of indicators to ensure that a range of welfare concerns can be addressed. The advertised PhD position involves both the development and validation of animal-based welfare indicators for use in broiler chicken production.
The PhD candidate will be involved in two projects. One project focuses on developing and validating animal-based indicators related to thermal stress and dehydration during the transport of broiler breeders and will be linked to a study examining the importance of feathering for the transportability of end of lay broiler breeders. The second project centres on developing and validating animal-based indicators and associated methods for assessing primarily positive welfare on organic broiler farms. This project forms part of a larger initiative aimed at developing a holistic framework for evaluating the sustainability of organic broiler production, with explicit consideration of animal welfare.
The PhD candidate will be responsible for planning experimental studies, as well as collecting, analysing and interpreting the resulting data. The PhD candidate will benefit from working within an interdisciplinary team of research collaborators in the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, across Aarhus University and with international partners.
Project description: For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.
Qualifications and specific competences:
Applicants to the PhD position must have a master’s degree (120 ECTS) in Animal Science.
Further requirements:
- previous experience with data collection of poultry behaviour. It will be considered a benefit if the candidate has experience collecting data on play behaviour in broiler chickens.
- completed a course on animal experimentation (minimum EU functions A and D).
- knowledge of Danish is considered a benefit.
- a driver’s license valid in Denmark.
Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Blichers Alle 20, DK-8830 Tjele.
Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:
- Anja Brinch Riber, anja.riber@anivet.au.dk (main supervisor)
- Emily Leishman, emily.leishman@anivet.au.dk dk (co-supervisor)
For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:
How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.
Application deadline is 19 February 2026 at 23:59 CET.
Preferred starting date is 01 September 2026.
Please note:
- Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be taken into account.
- The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
- Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.
Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.
INFORMATIONER OM STILLINGEN:
- Arbejdspladsen ligger i:
Viborg Kommune
-Virksomheden tilbyder:
-Arbejdsgiver:
Aarhus Universitet, Blichers Alle, 8830 Tjele
-Ansøgning:
Ansøgningsfrist: 19-02-2026;
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