Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Section for Cognitive and Clinical neuroscience

Job description

Applications are invited for a 3-4 year PhD fellowship available at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway.

The position is open for candidates with a Master’s degree or equivalent in Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Biology, or other relevant areas.

The successful applicant will join the lab of Prof. Sascha Frühholz, which is part of the Section for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience. Our lab studies the neural foundations of emotional processing from various social and environmental signals using a variety of neuroscientific methods (fMRI, EEG, intracranial recordings, psychoacoustic experiments, etc.). For further information, please visit here.

More about the position

The position is funded by the Psychology Department of the University of Oslo.

The appointment is a fulltime position available for a period of three to four years. Fellows who are appointed for a period of four years are expected to contribute to teaching and administration with about 25% of their working time. Teaching and administrative duties would contribute to activities of the Department of Psychology.

The project aims to study the neural processes that underlie the perception and classification of emotional signals from natural and digital voices.

The project mainly focusses on the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the neural network that allows healthy humans to detect emotions in various voice signals.

The project especially tries to investigate the neural interactions between the limbic and the auditory system that support the classification of emotions perceived from digital and computer-generated voices. The applicant will have the opportunity to contribute to the shaping of the research agenda.

Qualifications and personal skills

• Applicants must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent in psychology, cognitive or computational neuroscience, biology, or a related field.
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English, and at least basic understanding of Norwegian (or another Scandinavian language).
• Previous training in brain imaging or biosignal analysis (e.g. fMRI, EEG data).
• Experience with statistical analysis and programming in at least one of following languages: Matlab, R, Python, C++/C, Java.

• Optimally, the candidate’s prior work already relates to research activities of the lab in the fields of auditory neuroscience, affective neuroscience, or cognitive neuroscience.
• The candidate must be qualified for admission to the PhD program at the Faculty of Social Science, University of Oslo.
• Candidates who are creative, motivated, and organized will be preferred.

We offer

• a salary of NOK 491 200 - 534 400 per annum depending on qualifications.
• a professionally stimulating working environment.
• attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities.

How to apply

The application must include:

• a cover letter (statement of motivation, relevant research experience, and research interest).
• a short project description (max. 2 pages), detailing project ideas and the candidate’s potential contributions within the research focus described above.
• a CV (summarizing education, prior positions, relevant research experience including publications, if applicable).
• copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only).
• a list of 3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number).

The application with attachments must be delivered via our electronic recruiting system. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications, the project description, as well as the candidate’s motivation and personal suitability. Interviews with the best qualified candidates may be arranged.

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.

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.

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.

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

Contact information

• Associate Prof. Sascha Frühholz, sascha.fruhholz@psykologi.uio.no

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