Job description

A PhD Research Fellowship (SKO 1017) within the project “Criminal justice, wildlife conservation and animal rights in the Anthropocene” (CRIMEANTHROP) is available at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo.

CRIMEANTHROP is an interdisciplinary project run by Professor Ragnhild Sollund, and a core group from the disciplines of political science, law and criminology, doing case studies in Norway, Germany, the UK and Spain. The PhD position is located at the University of Oslo.

The project will investigate human-animal relationships with a focus on wildlife conservation. Attention will be paid to the legal and ethical foundations for, and political practices of, wildlife conservation and its converse, wildlife exploitation. The project will use and develop theoretical approaches and concepts from green criminology such as harm, speciesism, species justice and eco-justice.

Candidates are expected to present an up to five pages long description of a research project closely connected to the main project, please refer to the full project description which will be provided upon request. Please note that both the application and the project outline must be in English.

The PhD candidate will contribute to research on the Norwegian case and the description must outline a project that includes an analysis of verdicts concerning the killing of protected predators. S/he will explore if and how arguments in the verdicts regarding large predator conservation relate to issues of species justice, animal welfare and animal rights. The candidate will further conduct qualitative interviews with police (Økokrim) and judges about their interpretation of legislation connected to the Bern Convention, to broaden our insight into the legal enforcement of the conventions. The case study will also contribute to exploring norm entrepreneurship in relation to wildlife conservation.

More about the position

The successful candidate is expected to become part of the research environment of the department and contribute to its development. The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree. The selected candidate will automatically be admitted to the faculty's PhD program.

The appointment is for 3 years and may, in special circumstances, be extended to 4 years, with teaching, supervision duties and research assistance constituting 25 % of the overall workload. A prerequisite for such an extension is that the appointee meets the current teaching needs of the Faculty of Law.

Qualification requirements

The applicant must hold a five year master's degree or equivalent studies of high quality in criminology, sociology of law, law or in an equivalent discipline that covers training in theories and methods that are relevant to criminology, preferably green criminology, wildlife conservation and human-animal relations.

Please read about the requirements for admission to the PhD program here.

The project language is English, and candidates should have an excellent command of English, written and spoken. A good command of a Scandinavian language is also a requirement, since much of the data will be in Norwegian.

In the evaluation of the applications, emphasis will be placed on:

• The quality of the project description;
• Academic and personal ability to carry out the project within the allotted time frame and contribute to the CRIMEANTHROP project;
• Good co-operative skills and the ability to successfully participate in academic collaboration within and across disciplin

We offer

• Salary 449 400 – 505 800 NOK
• An inspiring and friendly working environment
• Attractive welfare arrangements

How to apply

The application must include

• Cover letter (statement of motivation and research interests)
• CV (summarizing education, positions, academic work, scientific publications)
• Certified copies of certificates and academic diplomas. (If the original language is not English or a Scandinavian language, an English language translation must be provided in addition to a copy of the original.)
• Project description (up to 5 pages), including a progress plan
• A complete list of academic publications
• Up to 3 publications. (If the publications are written by more than one author, a declaration of authorship and of the contribution of the applicant should be submitted.)
• A list of up to 3 references. (Name, relation to candidate, e-mail address and telephone number)
• The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system

The short-listed candidates will be invited to an interview at the University of Oslo or we will arrange for an interview on Skype.

Applicants from countries outside the Nordic countries where English is not the official language must attach a TOEFL test with a minimum score of 550 unless they have a diploma from a university in an English-speaking country.

Formal regulations

See the guidelines concerning appointments to research posts at the University of Oslo for more details.

The University of Oslo has an agreement in place for all employees that aims to secure the rights to research results.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25 (Offentleglova), information about the candidate may be included in the public applicant list even if the candidate has requested non-disclosure.

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

Contact information

• Professor Ragnhild Sollund, ragnhild.sollund@jus.uio.no
• HR-officer Siri Martenson +47 22850013 siri.martenson@jus.uio.no

http://www.jus.uio.no/ikrs/

https://www.jus.uio.no/ikrs/english/research/projects/crimeanthrop/index.html

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