Prof. Dr. Knut Petzold
Methods of Empirical Social ResearchZittau/Goerlitz University of Applied Sciences
knut.petzold (at) hszg.de
Knut Petzold is a sociologist with expertise in social stratification, sociological action theory, and sociological research methods with a specific focus on research designs and causal inference. His current research interest covers topics including higher education and work, mobility and migration, ethnic discrimination, social norms, and the validation of survey experiments.
He holds a doctoral degree in sociology (summa cum laude) from the University of Leipzig and received a postdoctoral graduation
(habilitation) from the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. At present, he is affiliated
as a Professor of Methods of Empirical Social Research at the Zittau/Goerlitz University of Applied Sciences.
In 2023/24 Knut Petzold was a Visiting Professor at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography of the Paris Lodron University Salzburg PLUS.
From 2024-2026, he is exempted as a Research Professor of the HZSG.
In 2025, he was co-opted as a Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy of the University of Leipzig.
News:
New position: Co-Opted Professor at Leipzig University, Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy, 2025 -New position: Research Professor at HSZG, 2024 - 2026
New acitivity: Research Stream on the Sociology of Spatial Mobilities at the 16th Conference of the European Sociological Association (together with Heiko Rüger & Gil Viry)
New article: Migration, daily commuting, or second residence? The role of location-specific capital and distance to workplace in regional mobility decisions. Demographic Research (together with Thomas Skora & Heiko Rüger)
Last update: May 2025