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Doctoral Research Fellowship in Archaeology / Critical Heritage studies

Deadline: 01.09.2021

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.


The Department of archaeology, conservation and history (IAKH) is comprised of three disciplines which in different ways study the past. The department has internationally oriented archaeologists, the only conservation program in Norway and the biggest group of historians in Scandinavia. The department has close to 100 employees, including non-permanent research fellows. The study programs span archaeology from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages, object and paintings conservation, and history from Antiquity to the present age.

Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History

Job description

A Doctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1017) in Archaeology/Critical Heritage studies is available at Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History (IAKH), University of Oslo.

The doctoral fellowship is affiliated with the research project «Relics of Nature: An Archaeology of Natural Heritage in the High North», led by Associate Professor Þóra Pétursdóttir and funded by the Norwegian Research Council. Rooted in archaeology, critical heritage studies and environmental humanities, Relics of Nature explores understandings and manifestations of natural heritage, as well as relations between natural and cultural heritage. With special focus on the High North, and with case studies in Iceland and Svalbard/Northern Norway, a central concern is to scrutinize the values and preferences grounding definitions and management of natural heritage in the context of climate change. To what extent do we need to rethink the conceptual and material preferences associated with heritage landscapes? What do terms such as sustainability and environmental ethics imply in a changing Anthropocene world? And, how can natural heritage perform as a venue where concerns for the environment are shared and critically negotiated? The project will reach its objectives by combining empirical and theoretical approaches, fieldwork and conceptual analysis.

The PhD candidate will be part of the project‘s core team and will contribute to its chief objectives in collaboration with the team. The candidate should apply with their own project proposal and while open to the selected candidate to define, the proposed research project must correspond with the overall framework of Relics of Nature (in terms of thematic and northern focus).

More about the position

The person appointed will be affiliated with the Faculty's organized research training. The academic work is to result in a doctoral thesis that will be defended at the Faculty with a view to obtaining the degree of PhD. The successful candidate is expected to join the existing research milieu at the University of Oslo and contribute to its development. Read more about the doctoral degree.

The appointment is for a duration of 3 years. All PhD Candidates who submit their doctoral dissertation for assessment with a written recommendation from their supervisor within 3years or 3 ½ years after the start of their PhD position, will be offered, respectively, a 12 or 6 month Completion Grant.

Qualification requirements

  • A Master's degree or equivalent in Archaeology or Heritage studies. The Master's degree must have been obtained and the final evaluation must be available by the application deadline.
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English, see Language requirements.
  • Personal suitability and motivation for the position.

To be eligible for admission to the doctoral programmes at the University of Oslo, applicants must, as a minimum, have completed a five-year graduation course (Master’s degree or equivalent), including a Master’s thesis of at least 30 ECTS. In special cases, the Faculty may grant admission on the basis of a one-year Master course following an assessment of the study programme’s scope and quality.

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on:

  • The project's scientific merit, research-related relevance and innovation.
  • The applicant's ability to contribute to the main project.
  • The applicant's estimated academic and personal ability to complete the project within the time frame.
  • The applicant's ability to complete research training.
  • Good collaboration skills and an ability to join interdisciplinary academic communities.

Applicants who have recently graduated with excellent results may be given preference.

We offer

How to apply

The application must include

  • Application letter describing the applicant’s qualifications and motivation for the position
  • Curriculum Vitae (with a list of education, positions, teaching experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activities, including a complete list of publications)
  • Transcript of records of your Bachelor’s and Master's degrees. Applicants with education from a foreign university must attach an explanation of their university's grading system
  • Documentation of Language requirements
  • Project description, including a detailed progress plan for the project (3 - 5 pages, maximum 14,000 characters. See Template for project descriptions

Please note that all documents must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

Educational certificates, master theses and the like are not to be submitted with the application, but applicants may be asked to submit such information or works later.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”.

Short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview.

Formal regulations

See also regulations as well as guidelines for the application assessment process and appointments to research fellowships.

Following the Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) § 25, Chapter 2, demographic information about the applicant may be used in the public list of applicants even if the applicant opts out from the entry in the public application list.

The University of Oslo has an Acquisition of Rights Agreement for the purpose of securing rights to intellectual property created by its employees, including research results.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Contact information

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