Job description

A doctoral research fellowship (SKO 1017) within Music and Contemporary Media is available at the Department of Musicology (IMV), University of Oslo. The position is affiliated with the research project Platformization of Music Production (PLATFORM). The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway and is led by Associate Professor Yngvar Kjus, the Department of Musicology.

More about the position

The PLATFORM project studies how music production evolves in the digital and online environment in terms of the ways in which production technology is developed, used, and brought to bear on creative roles and modes. The project focuses on digital audio workstations (DAWs) such as Logic Pro and BandLab and how these networked clusters of music technologies are reshaping the foundations of creative audio work, including composition, performance, and collaboration. Its hypothesis is that the developers of DAW technology, as well as their various user groups, are all involved in a platformization process that has profound cultural, social, and economic ramifications for the music sector. The project is organized in six work packages, some focused on central aspects of technological development and use, others engaged with technology’s entanglement with its surroundings, including production milieus and genre communities. The project description can be obtained by contacting the project leader Yngvar Kjus (see contact details below).

The PhD will be a central member of the project team and a core contributor to the empirical studies of how DAWs are used by music makers. The candidate is expected to investigate how particular kinds of user groups makes use and sense of the contemporary production technology.

Key methods may include qualitative interviews, case-studies and questionnaire-based surveys that explore how DAWs are employed by individuals and/or collectives (work package 3 and 4). The empirical data will largely encompass material in Norwegian, and it is therefore an advantage if the candidate is fluent in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language. The applicant is expected to develop a PhD project description, which must be submitted as a part of the application.

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 research milieu at the Department of Musicology and participate in its working environment and development. The candidate is expected to live in the vicinity of Oslo, Norway. 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 3 years or 3 1⁄2 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 Musicology, Media Studies, Sociology, or other disciplines relevant for the project. The Master's degree must have been obtained and the final evaluation must be available by the application deadline.
• The candidate’s research project must be closely connected to and relevant for the PLATFORM project.
• The candidate will participate in research (work package 3) that is partly based on a questionnaire-based survey and it therefore an advantage that the candidate has experience with quantitative and statistical methods or is interested in acquiring such competency during the course of the project.
• The candidate is expected to take part in conducting research interviews with Norwegian music practitioners, and it is therefore an advantage that the candidate has fluent oral and written communication skills in Norwegian or other Scandinavian language.
• 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 originality, scientific merit and innovation.
• The applicant's estimated academic and personal ability to complete the research training and his/her research project within the stipulated time frame
• Knowledge of the theories and methods used in the PLATFORM project
• Knowledge and interest in music production technology and practice
• Good collaboration skills and an ability to join and contribute to the Department’s research environment and interdisciplinary academic communities
• Research ambition such as demonstrated through academic publications and conference presentations is advantageous, but not a requirement.

Provided the conditions above are met, applicants who have recently graduated with excellent results may be given preference.

We offer

• Salary NOK 491 200 – 534 400 per annum depending on qualifications (lønnstrinn 54-59 LO/YS/UNIO)
• A professionally stimulating working environment
• Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Attractive welfare benefits

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, publications. Information about publications should preferably include DOI or downloadable links.)
• Educational certificates 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)
• A list of 2-3 reference persons (name, relationships to the candidate, contact information)

DO NOT include any certificates or transcripts that are not listed above

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

Other educational certificates and master thesis 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, jobbnorge.no.

Short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview.

The tentative starting date is May 2022.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

This is a project funded by the Research Council of Norway and applicants with a previous doctoral degree within another field cannot be appointed for this position.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. We also want to have employees with diverse expertise, combinations of subjects, life experience and perspectives. We will make adjustments for employees who require this.

If there are qualified applicants with special needs, gaps in their CVs or immigrant backgrounds, we will invite at least one applicant in each of these groups to an interview.

Contact information

• Project leader of PLATFORM project, Associate Professor Yngvar Kjus, phone number: +47 92084733, e-mail: yngvar.kjus@imv.uio.no
• Head of Department Zafer Özgen, phone number +47 22854004, e-mail: zafer.ozgen@imv.uio.no
• HR Adviser Hilde Kristine Sletner, e-mail: h.k.sletner@hf.uio.no

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