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Doctoral Research Fellowship in Russian Studies

Deadline: 04.05.2020

Job description

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.


The Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages is involved in extensive research, teaching and outreach in the fields of literature, area studies and linguistics within European languages apart from the Nordic ones. The Department has an active research environment with a wide range of international collaboration. Many of our researchers play a part in giving the general public insight into the results of this research. The Department has about 130 members of staff: approximately 80 in academic posts, approximately 30 Ph.D. fellows and postdoctoral fellows, and 18 in administrative posts. The Department has approximately 300 master students and 1000 bachelor students.

A Doctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1017) in Russian area studies is available at the Department of literature, area studies and European languages (ILOS), University of Oslo.

The Doctoral Research Fellow will be affiliated with the research project “Values-based legitimation in authoritarian states: top-down versus bottom-up strategies, the case of Russia” (LegitRuss), funded by the Research Council of Norway. The project runs for four years, from September 2020 to August 2024. The project outline can be downloaded here.

More about the position

The applicant should design an individual project within the framework of the overall project. He or she is supposed to contribute to the project’s Work Package 3 “Intermediate societal level”, addressing the role collective societal actors (for example lobby groups, think tanks, NGOs, or the Orthodox Church) play in the ongoing “battle of values” in Russia. The research method can be qualitative or quantitative or a combination of these. Qualifications in statistical methods are not a prerequisite but are desirable. The applicant is expected to carry out fieldwork in Russia.

As affiliated with the LegitRuss project, the Doctoral Research Fellow is expected to take an active part in project-related activities, such as seminars and workshops.

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 existing research milieu or network and contribute to its development. 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 ½ 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 Russian Area Studies or in Social Sciences (e.g. Political Science or Sociology) related to contemporary Russian politics and society. The Master's degree must have been obtained and the final evaluation must be available by the application deadline.
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and working knowledge of Russian
  • 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.

Further qualifications

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on

  • The project's scientific merit, research-related relevance and innovation
  • The applicant's estimated academic and personal ability to complete the project within the time frame
  • The applicant's ability to complete research training
  • Good collaboration skills and an ability to join interdisciplinary academic communities

Applicants who have recently graduated with excellent results may be given preference.

We offer

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, including a complete list of publications)
  • Transcript of records 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
  • Project description, including a detailed progress plan for the project (3 - 5 pages, see Template for project descriptions)

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

Educational certificates, master theses and the like 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, please follow the link “Apply for this job”.

Short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview.

Formal regulations

See also regulations as well as guidelines for the application assessment process and appointments to research fellowships.

Following the Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) § 25, Chapter 2, demographic information about the applicant may be used in the public list of applicants even if the applicant opts out from the entry in the public application list.

The University of Oslo has an Acquisition of Rights Agreement for the purpose of securing rights to intellectual property created by its employees, including research results.

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

Contact information

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