LEDIG STILLING VED UIT NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET
PhD fellow in Child Development
Deadline: 13.03.2026
Publisert
.
UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus research university and the northernmost university of the world. Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners.
The Faculty of Health Sciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway represents a newly created entity gathering almost all possible health study programs. This facilitates an unique interdisciplinarity and innovation in health education and research. We work closely with the services in the North to solve tomorrow's challenges. Read more about us at uit.no/helsefak
The position is for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other duties. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.
The workplace is at UiT Campus Tromsø (Northern Norway). You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.
The project / The position’s field of research
The position is affiliated with the research group of Child Development at the Department of Psychology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. The position is associated with a project exploring how cultural identity, values, and psychological needs contribute to a sense of meaning in life across diverse communities and how these are transmitted to children through child-rearing practices.
The goal of the project is a comparative ethnography of meaning making, analyzing patterns across different livelihood systems, such as hunter-gatherers, animal herders and subsistence farmers in different parts of the world. This research addresses a critical gap in psychological studies by focusing on small-scale, traditional societies often overlooked in mainstream research.
The PhD fellow will conduct observations of child rearing practices and semi-structured interviews with adults to examine cultural perspectives on meaning making and child rearing, enabling a culturally informed interpretation of observed practices.
The successful applicant ideally has experience with a hunter-gatherer-, indigenous- or other small-scale communities. Of particular interest for this position are hunter-gatherer communities, for example in the Phillipines, though scholars with other expertise may also apply. It is an asset if the applicant has conducted ethnographic or observational research before.
Contact
For further information about the position, please contact Associate Professor Monika Abels:
Master’s degree or equivalent in psychology or a related field (candidates near completion will also be considered)
Documented fluency in English and be able to work in an international environment. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.
It is considered an advantage if you have:
Experience with hunter-gatherer, indigenous or other small-scale cultures
Professional experience in the areas of child-rearing and meaning making
Experience with ethnographic and observational research methods
Authored publications
Cross-cultural experience
Documented level A2 in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish or the willingness to acquire Norwegian
Experience from popularization/dissemination and academic policy and administrative activity.
In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. In addition, other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme may be given consideration.
We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates with:
Interest in culture, particularly hunter-gatherer, indigenous or other small-scale cultures
Interest in child-rearing and meaning making
Interest in ethnographic and observational research and willingness to use these methods
Willingness to conduct field-work
Willingness to reside within a commutable distance to our campus in Tromsø
Good collaboration skills
Good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
Desire to contribute to a good working environment
As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.
Admission to the PhD programme
For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Health Sciences and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.
Admission normally requires:
A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS.
A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
Applicants must have a grade of C or better on the master's thesis and have a grade point average of C or better for the master's degree. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.
If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position.
Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree. UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.
Inclusion and diversity
UiT The Arctic University of Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.
If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite at least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.
A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
Pension scheme through the state pension fund
PhD Fellows are normally given a salary of 550 800 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase
Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.
Please note that the application will only be assessed based on the information submitted by the application deadline via Jobbnorge. It is therefore important that you include all necessary documents demonstrating your qualifications for the position.
Your application must include:
Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests
CV
Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
Official transcripts of grades/academic record for bachelor's and master's degree
Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must still submit your transcript of grades for the master’s degree with your application.
All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position.
Assessment
The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description drawn up for the position. A copy of the assessment report will be sent to all applicants.
The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position.
General information
The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.
Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.
A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years.
We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure.
In case of discrepancies between the Norwegian and the English version of this description, the Norwegian version takes precedence.
