Kristiania University College

Kristiania University College offers study programs in management, organization, marketing, communication, computer science, information technology, health sciences, innovation and creative arts. Kristiania University College is Norway's largest independent comprehensive university college with its 18,000 students and a large education offering in Oslo, Bergen and online. Our mission is to strongly contribute to the country's social and economic development through problem-driven and applied knowledge development and dissemination, in close cooperation with society at large.

Kristiania University College, School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing (SCLM), is offering a fully funded PhD fellowship in Communication and Leadership. We seek candidates with a solid background in social science, media and/or communication, leadership, management, human resources, organisational science, business, sociology, anthropology or marketing. The successful applicant will be included in a team of researchers with ambitious plans to further develop research and pedagogical activities at the university college.

The fellowship is part of the project ‘Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE)’. This is a project aimed at improving the public's ability to take self and community-protective behaviors in future crises ranging from health to disaster.

Possible research topics for this particular PhD position include: 

• Understanding the pandemic and crisis experiences of vulnerable and neglected populations
• Evaluating pandemic and post-pandemic communication by governments and health ministries  
• Exploring the role of visual communication as a part of communication strategy 
• Evaluating different peoples' susceptibility to 'infodemics' by better understanding information consumption within the context of crises, competitive message environments, and 'fake news'

Full description of the project can be found here.

The PhD programme addresses the relation between communication and leadership in societal and organisational phenomena. Kristiania offers a comprehensive supervision of PhD candidates who will have at least two academic supervisors, one of whom will be the main supervisor. They will also be offered a mentor as a supplement to the supervisor team. PhD candidates will be members of one of Kristiania’s research groups and are expected to participate actively in scientific discussions at meetings and seminars organised by the group. Activities include lunch seminars/coffee breaks and the bi-monthly PhD forum, which support PhD candidates on professional, practical and psychosocial matters. 

Confirmed admission to the PhD programme must be available at the latest three months after signing the employment contract. To be accepted for this programme, it is required that the applicant holds a relevant 180 ECTS bachelor’s degree, and a relevant 120 ECTS master’s degree (or integrated bachelor and master) with minimum 30 ECTS master thesis, and with grade similar to the Norwegian/European grade B or higher in average and for the master thesis. 

The application must hold: 

• Motivation letter for the position 
• Approved Diplomas and Transcripts (in Scandinavian or English language) 
• CV  
• At least two references 
• Master`s thesis 
• A proposal for a research project of a maximum of five pages. It must include a brief overview of the specific issue the applicant wishes to focus on; ideas regarding planned subprojects and how they relate to the overarching goal of the project; and reflections on methods and theoretical perspectives   
• Application form for admission to a PhD programme

Templates for the research proposal and the application form can be found here.

The starting salary is 492,000 NOK per year. 

The PhD research fellowship is 3 years and is scheduled to start as soon as possible.

Place of work is School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing. Kristiania is located in downtown Oslo, with numerous amenities, recreational spaces, and urban fun right next door.  

Kristiania University College value diversity, and we encourage all qualified applicants to apply for this position.

Application deadline : 15. September 2022

If you have any questions regarding the position, please contact Associate Professor Audra Diers-Lawson at audra.diers-lawson@kristiania.no (+47 412 13 467).  

We use Semac background checks in our recruitment process.

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