Job description

A 3-4-year position as a Ph.D. Fellow is available in the Section of Methodology, Work-, Cultural-, and Social psychology (MAKS) at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. The position is linked to the Culture, Society & Behavior Lab (CSB Lab). The goal of the CSB Lab is to understand how cultural and societal phenomena psychologically influence humans and vice versa. The lab is interdisciplinary and offers a stimulating, inclusive, and highly productive academic environment. It currently hosts 4 Ph.D. students, 2 post-docs, and 3 professors. For more information, please visit CSB Lab page.

More about the position

The fellowship is devoted to carrying out a Ph.D. project within the context of "The nexus of violent extremism and climate change." The main objective of the project is to investigate how climate change and violent extremism may reinforce each other or intersect, thereby leading to intergroup conflict between different ethnic and cultural groups. This research is also aimed at producing global and inclusive research which may entail exploring contexts that are non-WEIRD, and zones of climate change related urban violence.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to co-develop the exact focus of their Ph.D. with their advisor(s) and conduct the research within this context. The Ph.D. candidate will be responsible for finalizing the research design, applications for ethical approval, in-person data collection, data analyses, and preparation of publications and presentations at conferences besides other tasks. The successful candidate will conduct several studies over the course of the fellowship, which will result in 3-4 papers to be published in relevant international peer-reviewed psychological journals. These papers will tackle the topic from different angles, and the respective study designs will use different methodologies with a strong quantitative focus that investigates factors at different levels of analysis.

The fellowship is for a period of 3 years. A 4th year can be considered with the addition of a 25% teaching requirement, depending on the competence of the applicant and the needs of the Department. The research fellow must take part in the Department's approved Ph.D. program and is expected to complete the project within the stated fellowship period.

This fellowship position will be supervised by Associate professor Milan Obaidi and the co-supervisor will be Associate Professor Gulnaz Anjum.

For further questions about the position, please contact associate professor Milan Obaidi, who will be the main Ph.D. advisor for this position.

Qualification requirements

• Applicants must hold a Master's degree (120 ECTS) in psychology or related social sciences.
• Average grade on the master's degree that are A or B. Candidates with an average grade C on the master's degree can be assessed individually upon application
• Applicants are required to have knowledge of and practical experience with quantitative research methods, preferably documented through thesis work, publications and courses, and a strong motivation to learn new quantitative and qualitative methods.
• Experience with recruitment and testing of research participants is required.
• Applicants must be familiar with open-science practices and have a strong work ethic to pursuing these.
• Excellent English communication skills, oral and written, are required

Preferable qualifications

• Applicants must be enthusiastic about the topic of violent extremism and climate change and have excellent ideas about how to theoretically and empirically advance the existing state of knowledge about the nexus of violent extremism and climate change.
• Ideally, the applicants should have experience with quantitative, longitudinal data analysis, and/or mixed-methods.
• Experience in analyzing data using R, Mplus, or SPSS is preferred.
• Ambitions for high-quality research within the project, as evidenced by the required letter of application, explaining the motivation for applying for this call and how applicants’ own qualifications are suitable for the announced position
• You have some experience with publishing academic research.
• Experience with working with a variety of communities, in different cultures and settings, or across research disciplines, is an advantage
• Prior theoretical, empirical or practical work on extremism or consequences of climate change for intergroup relations also counts positive

Personal skills

• Creative thinking, analytic abilities and ambition to conduct high-quality empirical research.
• Resilient to cope with research related setbacks during the process.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in groups and interest in co-developing research ideas.
• Open to bridge the gap between disciplines within psychology in developing creative and thought-provoking ideas on how to study the nexus of violent extremism and climate change.

We offer

• A job opportunity in an international research team that is looking forward to working with you and supporting you.
• A salary of NOK 501 200 - 544 400 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

Are you interested in this position?

Then please send us the following documents:

• Cover letter describing your background, motivation, research interests and how the candidate’s qualifications are suitable for the announced position. Explain why this job is a good match with you and why you want to work with us (1-2 pages).
• Applicants must formulate a 2-3 page project description for the PhD project that lays out a promising research project that can be fulfilled in the course of three years.
• Curriculum Vitae: summarize your education, positions, teaching experience and academic work and publications, including conference presentations.
• Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only).
• Copies of publications/academic work (if any) that you wish to be considered by the evaluation committee, such as your master thesis.
• 1 sample of independent academic writing (e.g., publications, theses, if any).
• Names and contact details of at least two references (name, relation to you, e-mail and telephone number).
• Documentation of fluency in English (e.g., sample of independent academic writing).

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

When evaluating the application, emphasis will be given to the applicant's academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project.

Only shortlisted applicants may be invited for an interview.

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.

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. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

Contact information

• Associate professor Milan Obaidi: milanob@psykologi.uio.no
• Head of administration Joakim Dyrnes: joakim.dyrnes@psykologi.uio.no

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