The position

One Doctoral Research Fellowship (PhD) within Theoretical Linguistics is available in the Department of Language and Culture at the University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (UiT). The position is linked to the CASTL-FISH research group on theoretical linguistics and has an emphasis on projects related to the morphosyntax and semantics of lexical verbs.

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

UiT is a multi-campus research university in Norway and the northernmost university of the world. Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.

Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners.

The appointment is a fixed term position for a period of four years. The starting date is 1 January 2020 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The purpose of the PhD Research Fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a doctoral dissertation to be defended publically. The candidate will be affiliated with the Faculty's organised research training, and the academic work must result in a doctoral thesis aiming to obtain the degree of PhD within the period of employment. Admission to a PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.

More about the position’s field of research/field of work

The successful applicant will write a thesis on a topic that addresses the relation between the morphosyntax and semantics of lexical verbs. The topics that are considered relevant for this application include, but are not restricted to, the following:

• Argument structure changing operations (e.g. causativization, reflexivization, antipassive, etc.)
• The coding of aktionsart and event structure.
• Derivational processes with verbal lexical items as the base.

We especially welcome projects based on less well documented languages, although the position does not require the applicant to work on any specific set of languages.

The appointed Doctoral Research Fellowship must have her/his daily workplace at the UiT, campus Tromsø.

Once employed, the successful candidate will have the possibility to specialize in the areas of syntax, morphology and semantics. The purpose of the PhD Research Fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a doctoral dissertation to be defended publicly. The candidate will be enrolled in the CASTL graduate school, and the academic work must result in a doctoral thesis aiming to obtain the degree of PhD within the period of employment.

Furthermore, the duties of the position include active engagement in CASTL-FISH research seminars and other academic activities such as conferences and colloquia. On successful completion of the PhD-programme, the candidate will be granted a doctoral diploma from UiT.

A 6-12 months stay at a university abroad is encouraged.

Contacts

For further information about the position (and the project), please contact:

• Prof. Gillian Ramchand, gillian.ramchand@uit.no,
• Prof. Antonio Fábregas, antonio.fabregas@uit.no, or the
• Head of the Department of Language and Culture, Eystein Dahl, phone +47 77 64 42 90, e-mail: eystein.dahl@uit.no

Affiliation

The position is linked to the CASTL-FISH group in theoretical linguistics, and affiliated with the Department of Language and Culture (ISK). The Department consists of 75 permanent employees, 10 adjunct professors, and approximately 30 PhD fellows. Additionally, the Department has approximately 25 temporary research and teaching positions. The Department’s core activities are research, teaching, and dissemination within linguistics, literature, art history, and media and documentation studies.

The Department has a very active and diverse research profile. It houses one of the world’s most excellent research communities in linguistics, with research groups within cognitive linguistics (CLEAR), Sami language technology (Giellatekno and Divvun), sociolinguistics (LAIDUA), language acquisition (LAVA), and theoretical linguistics (CASTL-FISH). The Department’s research communities within literature, art history, and media and documentation studies are nationally highly competitive, and are organised into research groups such as Health Art Society (HAS), Russian Space, and WARGAME.

The Department offers one-year programme education, Bachelor, and Master programmes within general linguistics, literature, art history, media and documentation studies, English, Kven, Finnish, Norwegian, Russian, Sami, Spanish, and German. It also offers PhD education within cultural/literary studies, art history, media and documentation studies, and linguistics.

For a list of completed doctoral projects within the CASTL graduate school, see http://site.uit.no/castl/research/output/phd-dissertations/.

Qualifications

The successful candidate must meet the requirements for admission to the Faculty’s PhD program, cf. § 6 of UiT PhD regulations.

In addition, he/she must be able to document proficiency in English equivalent to Norwegian Higher Education Entrance Qualification, refer to the website about PhD regulations UiT.

The position requires a Master`s degree in Linguistics or a related discipline, or a foreign degree recognised as equivalent to a Norwegian Master`s degree.

The grade B or better in the Norwegian grading system for the Master’s thesis, is required. For more information, see also: Supplementary regulations HSL.

Personal suitability will be emphasised.

For more information, see also uit.no/hsl/phd.

Application

The application must be submitted electronically via the application form available on www.jobbnorge.no. Applications by e-mail are not accepted.

The application must include the following attachments:

• letter of application
• project description. Please see further information concerning the template for projectdescription
• CV (containing a complete overview of education, supervised professional training and professional work)
• diploma and transcript of records from Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• diploma and transcript of records from Master’s degree or equivalent
• diploma supplement for other completed degrees
• documentation of English language proficiency
• list of 2-3 academic referees, including contact details (name, relation to applicant, e-mail address and phone number)
• Master`s Thesis
• attestations
• other works (published or unpublished) which the applicant wishes to be taken into consideration during the assessment process and a description of these.

The list of works should contain the following information:

• author(s), title of work
• for articles: the name of the journal and volume, first and last page of the article, year of publication
• for book or other independent publications: publisher, place of print, year of publication, number of pages

All documentation must be certified and translated into English in order to be assessed. Information and material to be considered during the assessment must be submitted within the stipulated deadline.

Working and payment conditions

The normal period of employment is four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year, distributed as 25 % of each year, is reserved for teaching or other academic duties within the university. Please consult PhD Regulations UiT for further information.

A shorter period of appointment may be decided upon if the applicant has already completed parts of his/her research training programme or if the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position (PhD Candidate, research assistant, or the like) in such a way that the research training amounts to a total of three years.

Remuneration for the position of PhD Candidate is in accordance with the State salary code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. During this assessment process, emphasis will be attached to the applicant’s potential for research as shown by:

• Master’s Thesis or equivalent
• Other academic works, and
• Project description

In addition, consideration may be given to work experience or other activities of significance for the implementation of the PhD research. This includes teaching education, teaching experience, experience from popularisation and experience/education from other types of dissemination.

The best qualified applicants will be selected for interviews. The interview shall among other things aim to clarify the applicant’s personal suitability for the position.

General information

We make the appointment in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.

UiT The Arctic University of Norway has HR policy objectives that emphasize diversity, and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their age, gender, functional ability and national or ethnic background. The university will emphasize making the necessary adaptations to the working conditions for employees with reduced functional ability.

We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act. You may request to not be registered on the public list of applicants, but the University may decide that your name will be made public. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication.

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