LEDIG STILLING VED UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN

PhD position (4 years) - Department of Comparative Politics

Deadline: 11.10.2021

University of Bergen

The University of Bergen is a renowned educational and research institution, organised into seven faculties and approximately 54 institutes and academic centres. Campus is located in the centre of Bergen with university areas at Nygårdshøyden, Haukeland, Marineholmen, Møllendalsveien and Årstad.


There are seven departments and three centres at Faculty of Social Sciences. Read more about the faculty and departments.

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PhD position

The Department of Comparative Politics at the University of Bergen is advertising a 4 years PhD position to work on the project INSTAPARTY: Party Instability in Parliaments funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The successful applicant will work with an exciting international team of three renowned experts of party politics: Raimondas Ibenskas (lead investigator, University of Bergen), Sona Golder (Penn State University, PSU) and Allan Sikk (University College London, School of Slavonic and East European Studies).

Research project description and duties:

INSTAPARTY examines party instability in parliaments in European democracies. It has three objectives: to map out diverse forms of instability, to explain why instability occurs, and to understand whether and how instability affects voter support of parties. More information about the project can be found here.

The PhD fellow is expected to complete and defend successfully a doctoral dissertation. The topic of the doctoral dissertation is chosen by the PhD fellow but should be related to the goals of the project. Connections to one or several fields in comparative politics, including party politics, legislative politics, public opinion, elections, executive politics or representation, are welcome. The PhD fellow will contribute to the data collection on party instability in Europe and will be able to use these data for her/his research. As such, the main empirical focus of the dissertation should be on countries in Europe. The use of diverse methodological approaches is encouraged, but the dissertation is expected to have a quantitative component. The PhD fellow will be jointly supervised by the three investigators in the project and will be encouraged to conduct research visits to the partner institutions (travel regulations by the respective countries permitting). She/he will also be involved in organizing the project events and dissemination of project findings.

Qualifications and personal qualities:

The successful candidate is expected to relocate to Bergen, participate in the scholarly activities of the Department, and conform to the regulations that apply to the position.

The applicant should:

  • Hold a master's degree or the equivalent in political science, comparative politics or in a relevant field in social sciences (for example, public administration, economics or sociology) or must have submitted her/his master’s thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline.
  • Must meet the educational requirements for admission to the PhD-programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences, UiB. The requirements are generally a grade B or higher on the master thesis and for the Master’s degree in total (according to the Norwegian grading scale).
  • Have an interest in writing a doctoral dissertation on the topic related to the project goals.
  • Be proficient in both written and oral English. Knowledge of Italian is an advantage.
  • Have good quantitative methods skills. Experience with the collection, management and analysis of quantitative data is desirable.
  • Have the ability to work independently and in close collaboration with others.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to the Department for an interview.

The teaching language is Norwegian and English.

About the PhD position:

The duration of the PhD position is 4 years, of which 25 per cent of the time comprises obligatory duties associated with research, teaching and dissemination of results. The employment period for the successful candidate may be reduced if he or she previously has been employed in a PhD position.

About the PhD training:

As a PhD research fellow, you will take part in the PhD programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences, UiB. The programme corresponds to a period of three years and leads to the PhD degree. To be eligible for admission you must normally have an educational background corresponding to a master’s degree with a scope of 120 ECTS credits, which builds on a bachelor’s degree with a scope of 180 ECTS credits, or an integrated master’s degree with a scope of 300 ECTS credits (5 years). Master’s degrees must normally include an independent work of a minimum of 30 ECTS credits.

We can offer:

  • An opportunity to be part of an international project team that involves three investigators and several research assistants at three leading academic institutions in Norway, the UK and the US.
  • A vibrant and international research environment at the University of Bergen.
  • Salary at pay grade 54 upon appointment (Code 1017) on the government salary scale (equivalent to NOK 491 200 per year). Further promotions are made according to length of service in the position
  • Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
  • Good welfare benefits

Your application must include:

  • A cover letter including a brief account of your research interests and motivation for applying for the position.
  • The names and contact information for two reference persons. One of them must be the main advisor for the master's thesis or equivalent thesis.
  • A research proposal (2-5 pages) outlining the research question(s) motivating the PhD research project as well as the choice of theory and methods. Admittance to the PhD programme will be based on the research proposal.
  • CV.
  • Transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor's and master's degrees.
  • Relevant certificates/references.
  • A list of academic publications if available.
  • Academic publications that you want to submit for assessment (including your master’s thesis or equivalent).
  • If you have a master's degree from an institution outside of the Nordic countries, or a 2-year discipline-based master's degree (or the equivalent) in a subject area other than the one associated with the application, you may later in the application process be asked to submit an overview of the syllabus for the degree you have completed.

The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge following the link on this page marked “Apply for this job”.

Closing date: October 11th.

The application has to be marked: 2021/11547.

Applications submitted without a project description or applications sent as e-mails will not be considered. Only submitted documents will be subjected to an expert assessment.

General information:

Detailed information about the position can be obtained by contacting:

Practical questions regarding the application procedures should be directed to Adviser – HR, hanne.cappelen@uib.no.

Appointed research fellows will be admitted to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Questions about the programme may be directed to Adviser - PhD, hanne.gravermoen@uib.no

The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. Women, people with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.

The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.

Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.

The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times.

For further information about the recruitment process, click here.

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