PhD project in mathematical statistics

Organisation/Company KU LEUVEN Research Field Mathematics » Statistics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country Belgium Final date to receive applications 16 Feb 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Type of Contract To be defined Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 Mar 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number BAP
- Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

The project contributes in developing new statistical methodologies for data belonging to non-Euclidean spaces. It in particular deals with data on a circle, a hyper sphere, a torus, ...Such data are omnipresent in applications (e.g. wind directions or orientations, escape directions of animals, ...). Most applications often even involve a mix of Euclidean data (real-valued data) and non-Euclidean data, and hence developed methods should preferably be able to deal with a diversity of data (possibly in high-dimensional settings).Furthermore,

when developing appropriate statistical methods, one should avoid making unrealistic (too restrictive) assumptions. This calls for flexible modelling and inference, i.e. semi parametric or non-parametric methods, for directional data.

• Candidates must hold a Master degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Economics, Business Engineering, Civil Engineering or Computer Science, and should have obtained their master's degree with at least the grade of distinction.
• Students that are in their last year of Master degree studies are also invited to apply.
• Candidates should have a clear interest in mathematical foundations in statistics, and in developing methodology with the necessary theoretical support. Practical implementation of the developed methods is part of the project, and hence skills in computations and implementation (via codes written in open source software, such as R, Python, ...) are a plus.
• A good knowledge of written and spoken English is required.
• We offer a high-level and exciting international research environment.
• A very experienced team of supervisors (Professors Claeskens and Gijbels), with a recognized international reputation, and a large international research network.
• Funding is secured for four years. Contracts of one year are renewable (up to a maximum of three times; and a maximal duration of four years), upon a positive evaluation after each year.

Submit your application, including (i) A letter of motivation with statements on research interest and skills. (ii) A curriculum vitae. (iii) A transcript of grades obtained for all university courses taken at bachelors and masters level (for students in a last year of a Master program: grades obtained up to date). (iv) Names and contact information of 2–3 references (these persons will be potentially contacted for providing reference letters).
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Irène Gijbels, mail: , or Prof. dr. Gerda Claeskens, mail: