Graduated Research Assistants in Criminology

Introduction

A leading international teaching and research institution, UNIL has nearly 5,000 staff members and 17,000 students, distributed between the Dorigny campus and the CHUV and Epalinges sites. As an employer, it promotes excellence, recognition of individuals, and responsibility.

unil.ch/travailler

Presentation

The School of Criminal Sciences (ESC) of the Faculty of Law, Criminal Sciences and Public Administration at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) is seeking a graduated research assistant wishing to develop their thesis, under the supervision of Prof. Stefano Caneppele, in the field of performance measurement of criminal justice systems.

Potential research topics include notably:

• The development of performance indicators for police services, public prosecutors, courts, and penitentiary institutions;
• The measurement of effectiveness, efficiency, quality, fairness, transparency, and legitimacy of criminal justice institutions;
• The development of multidimensional evaluation frameworks based on administrative data, official statistics, and other data sources;
• The evaluation of the impact of public policies and reforms of criminal justice systems;
• The analysis of relationships between institutional performance, public trust, and governance quality;
• The use of quantitative and computational methods applied to the evaluation of public policies.

The research aims to contribute to the development of scientific methods to improve the evaluation of criminal justice systems and to support public authorities in strategic management, monitoring of public policies, and evaluation of reforms.

Position Information

Start date: 01.10.2026 or to be agreed

Contract duration: 1 year, renewable 2 x 2 years, maximum 5 years

Work rate: 80% - 100%

Workplace: Lausanne-Dorigny

Your Activities

In your role, you will notably be expected to:

• Scientific responsibilities: at least 50% of the time will be dedicated to completing a doctoral thesis in criminology. The candidate is expected to actively participate in research activities, develop scientific publications, present their work at national and international conferences, and contribute to the methodological development of the project;
• Teaching and coordination duties: the candidate will participate in teaching activities of the Master in Criminology and Security, notably preparing teaching materials, supervising practical work and student research projects, as well as supporting the Master’s coordinator in academic coordination and programme management;
• Administrative tasks.

Your Profile

We wish to recruit, to complete our team, a person with the following profile:

• Master’s degree in criminology, public administration, political science, sociology, public economics, data science, statistics, law, or a related discipline;
• Strong interest in the evaluation of public policies and criminal justice systems;
• Solid skills in quantitative methods or strong motivation to develop them during the doctorate;
• Experience in data analysis using software such as R, Python, Stata, or SPSS is an asset;
• Excellent analytical, organisational, and scientific writing skills;
• Ability to work independently as well as within interdisciplinary teams;
• Excellent command of French from the start of employment;
• Good command of English;
• Strong motivation to work in an interdisciplinary research and teaching environment.

Your Benefits

A pleasant working environment in a multicultural and diverse academic setting.
Opportunities for continuing education, a multitude of activities, and other benefits to discover.

More information at unil.ch/travailler

For Further Information

Prof. Stefano Caneppele

stefano.caneppele@unil.ch

Your Application File

Application deadline: 14.08.2026

Interested persons are requested to send us the following documents in PDF format, via the University’s online system:

• Curriculum vitae, copies of certificates and diplomas, etc.;
• Cover letter;
• Concise research topic proposal you wish to pursue (4-5 pages max).

Only applications submitted via this site will be considered.

Thank you for your understanding.

Remarks

UNIL is committed to:
• Equality, diversity, and inclusion within its community;
• Ensuring an open, respectful, and supportive environment for personal development;
• Offering working conditions favourable to balancing different spheres of life;
• Supporting the next generation of scientists.

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