Dr. Jan Freihardt

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Jan joined the Chair of International Political Economy and Environmental Politics as a postdoctoral researcher in 2025 after completing his PhD in 2019 at ETH Zurich. As an engineer and social scientist, Jan is driven to contribute to the 'Great Transformation' of global societies, facilitating a good life within the planet's natural limits. His current research focuses on climate migration adaptation and air quality monitoring in over-exploited urban areas. He is involved in the SNF project 'Clean Air Policy Urban Areas Global South: Identifying and Explaining Variation in Monitoring Behavior, Pollution Levels, and Citizen Preferences'. Jan has published the book 'Draußen ist es anders. Auf neuen Wegen zu einer Wissenschaft für den Wandel' and co-founded the association 'Wissenschaf(f)t Zukünfte e.V.'. He has been active in environmental NGOs and has researched environmental migration as part of the SNF project 'Climate Risk, Land Loss, Migration'. His research highlights how climate change impacts millions of people through rising sea levels and extreme weather events. Jan's PhD thesis, titled 'When River Breaks Land: Environmental (Im)Mobility of Rural Households in Bangladesh', is available open access, and he has collaborated on various multimedia projects to raise awareness about these issues.

Research Interests

Experience

Postdoctoral Researcher

2025-01-01 — Present

Chair International Political Economy Environmental Politics, ETH Zurich • Switzerland

Conducting research in climate migration and environmental politics.

Postdoctoral Researcher

2023-01-01 — 2025-01-01

Chair Global Health Engineering, ETH Zurich • Switzerland

Involved in projects related to health engineering and public health.

Awards

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PPE Young Scholars Award

2025-01-01
#

Jury Distinction

2024-01-01
#

Special Mention

2024-01-01

Requirements for ETH Zurich

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.4
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
TOEFL
Total
Required:100
GRE General
Verbal
Required:159
Verbal Percentile
Required:80
Quantitative
Required:168
Quantitative Percentile
Required:81
Analytical Writing
Required:4.5
Writing Percentile
Required:85
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in a related field (Engineering, Natural Sciences, or Mathematics) Minimum 180 ECTS credits Subject-specific knowledge equivalent to ETH Bachelor's programs
Application Checklist
  • Bachelor's degree diploma or transcript
  • Official academic transcripts
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Letter of Motivation (1 page)
  • Two academic recommendation letters
  • English language proficiency certificate
  • GRE General Test (for non-EU/EFTA applicants)
Specialization Notes

The GRE is mandatory for students who did not obtain their Bachelor's degree in an EU/EFTA state. Some departments (e.g., Computer Science) have specific ECTS credit requirements in core subjects.