Questionnaire on Precarity Among PhD Candidates

Maydan promotes a questionnaire dedicated to the issue of precarity among PhD candidates, aimed at those currently pursuing a doctorate in Italy or who have completed their doctoral programme within the last 12 months and are seeking a post-doc position, with particular focus on SWANA (South-West Asian and North African), Arab, and Islamic studies.

Objectives of the Survey

The questionnaire aims to collect concrete data on the working, economic, and personal conditions of those conducting academic research. The thematic areas covered include:

• Demographic and academic situation: doctoral cycle, expected duration, university affiliation
• Financial support: scholarships, coverage of research and living expenses, savings capacity
• Extra-academic work: need to carry out parallel work activities and impact on doctoral progress
• Period abroad: mandatory requirements and funding adequacy
• Career support: guidance from supervisors, academic visibility, information on post-doctoral pathways
• Rights and protections: awareness of rights (illness, maternity/paternity leave, unemployment), access to leave and support
• Safety and conflicts: experiences of discrimination or abuse, reporting channels
• Psychological wellbeing: availability of university psychological support, out-of-pocket costs
• Impact on personal life: effects of precarity on housing, relationships, and family choices

Take the Questionnaire

The questionnaire is anonymous and takes approximately 15–20 minutes to complete. The data collected will be used to produce an analysis of precarious conditions in the academic research world.