PhD opportunity: EXCURSE
I do not expect you to arrive knowing how to do a PhD. A PhD is, precisely, the time we will spend learning how.
I have room for two doctoral candidates within EXCURSE — Muscle Excursion Range in Strength Training: Implications for Performance and Injury Prevention (2025–2028).
- Places
- Two
- Starting
- Late 2026
- Funding
- No predoctoral contract awarded. You must win a competitive scholarship.
- Location
- Lleida, on site. Not remote.
- Teaching
- Yes, there are associated duties.
- Entry requirement
- An official master’s degree
- First step
- Write to me — rcirer at gencat dot cat
The rest of this page explains each of those points, and how I supervise.
Funding and conditions
This is not a funded predoctoral position. EXCURSE has funding for research costs, but no predoctoral contract has been awarded. You would need to apply for and win a competitive predoctoral scholarship, such as AGAUR/FI, FPU, or an equivalent scheme in your own country. I can help develop the application, but I cannot guarantee its outcome. Supervisory capacity for two candidates does not imply that scholarships will be awarded.
The work is on-site at the faculty in Lleida, not remote. It has associated teaching duties.
Admission requires an official master’s degree, in accordance with the requirements of the UdL doctoral programme in Physical Activity and Sports.
The research
EXCURSE examines how the muscle lengths used during strength training shape subsequent adaptation. We compare training across different regions of muscle excursion and study changes in muscle architecture, strength, neuromuscular activation, and mechanical properties.
A doctoral project could address how adaptations differ across regions of muscle excursion, how responses vary between people, or how those responses develop over time. I may also consider proposals on field-test validation or the modelling of physiological responses to exercise when there is a clear question and a strong methodological fit.
How we will work
We will meet every week. The purpose is not to account for what you have done, but to create a regular space to think aloud, revisit decisions, and agree on the next step.
You will have freedom to plan your work and explore your own ideas. I will ask questions, help identify problems, and offer guidance while you develop your own judgement. I will not write the papers or solve the analyses for you, but I will not assume that you already know how to do them.
The aim is that, by the end, you can formulate a question, design a study, analyse the data, write the work, and defend your decisions without depending on me.
How we do research
The work sits at the intersection of exercise physiology, measurement, and modelling. We will read, write, code, and prepare publications almost entirely in English. Meetings may be in Catalan or Spanish.
We currently use R for data analysis because it is the most useful tool for our work, not because it is an identity or a doctrine. Tools may change when another option genuinely improves the work.
Artificial intelligence will be part of the workflow for coding, exploring ideas, and reviewing writing. It will not replace judgement. We will distinguish between what can be delegated, what must be checked, and what cannot be accepted without understanding it.
What I look for
You do not need prior publications or advanced statistical training. You do need curiosity, consistency, and a willingness to develop independence.
I am looking for someone willing to write from the beginning, work with data before feeling fully confident, and ask why an analysis works or fails rather than only whether it produces a statistically significant result. I value the ability to learn more than prior skills.
How to begin
Talk to me before starting any formal application. Write briefly about your academic background, the questions that interest you, and the scholarship scheme for which you may be eligible.
rcirer at gencat dot cat