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PhD Research Fellowship - Section for Methodology,- Work-, Cultural and Social Psychology

Deadline: 10.01.2020

Faculty of Social Sciences

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 Psychology is one of seven units of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and has 75 permanent and 70 temporary members of scientific staff. Degrees are offered at bachelor and master level, plus a clinical training programme, and the PhD programme has 140 students.

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Department of Psychology

Section for Methodology,- Work-, Cultural and Social Psychology

Job description

A PhD Research Fellowship 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.

More about the position

The current position is linked to the transdisciplinary and international project “#Webimmunization: How online social networks can create collective resilience against misinformation.” Its main objective is to empirically investigate, from psychological, epidemiological, philosophical and computer-scientific perspectives, how misinformation spreads through online social networks, how this spread is facilitated and how it can be stopped. The project combines quantitative research methods and psychometric measurement at various levels of analyses with the use of machine learning.

The PhD candidate is expected to conduct the research as outlined by the project description. This involves, besides others, application for ethical approval, development of psychometric measures, testing of participants, analyses of data, and preparation of publications and presentations at conferences. The PhD candidate will in this process be supervised by Associate Professor Jonas R. Kunst. In addition, the project involves close collaboration with partners and PhD students from three major universities in Poland.

The fellowship is for a period of 3 years. A 4th year can be considered with the addition of 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 PhD program and is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period.

The position is financed by the Norwegian Research Council and the Polish National Science Centre.

For further questions about the position, please contact associate professor Jonas R. Kunst (j.r.kunst@psykologi.uio.no).

Qualification requirements

  • Applicants must hold a Master's degree (120 ECTS) or equivalent in psychology. Only applicants with grade points A or B on the ECTS scale will be qualified for admission to the PhD program
  • Excellent statistical skills, preferably documented through thesis work, publications and courses, and a strong motivation to learn new quantitative methods.
  • Experience with recruitment and testing of research participants
  • Fluent English communication skills, orally and in writing

Preferable qualifications

  • Documented experience in data-driven research methods in psychology (e.g., reverse correlation)
  • Documented experience in developing psychometric instruments
  • Documented knowledge in machine learning and/or epidemiology
  • Enthusiasm for the topic
  • Interest in programming
  • Ambitions for high-quality research within the project, as evidenced by the required letter of application, explaining the motivation for applying and how own qualifications are suitable for the announced position
  • Personal suitability, motivation and willingness to collaborate with academics from diverse backgrounds
  • Experience with software such as R, Mplus or SPSS.

Personal skills

  • Creative thinking and analytic abilities
  • High motivation and ambitions, and strong work ethics
  • Ability to work collaboratively in groups and independently

In assessing applications, particular emphasis will be placed upon the quality of the candidate's academic qualifications. Interviews with selected candidates will be arranged where the applicant's personal prerequisites and cooperative skills will be emphasized.

We offer

How to apply

The application must be submitted through the online application system and must include:

  • Cover letter statement of background, motivation, research interests and how own qualifications are suitable for the announced position (1-2 pages)
  • Curriculum Vitae summarizing education, positions and academic work
  • Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only)
  • A complete list of publications (if any)
  • 1 sample of independent academic writing (e.g., publication, if any; thesis)
  • Names and contact details of at least two references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

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. Applicants may be called in 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.

Contact information

  • Associate Professor Jonas R. Kunst: j.r.kunst@psykologi.uio.no
  • Head of administration: Birgitte Bøgh-Olsen: birgitte.bogh-olsen@psykologi.uio.no

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