PhD Fellow in Nordic Linguistics with focus on Norwegian as a Second Language

The position

A PhD position in Nordic Linguistics with focus on Norwegian as a Second Language is available at the Department of Language and Culture, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education.

The Department has 78 permanent employees, 7 professor II and about 15 PhD students. In addition, there are about 40 temporary employees in research and teaching positions.

The Department of Language and Culture has a very active and diverse research profile. The Department houses one of the world’s foremost research communities in linguistics represented by Center for Language, Brain and Learning (C-LaBL). In addition, there are research groups within language acquisition and multilingualism (Acquisition, Variation, and Attrition with focus on Norwegian contexts – AcqVa-Nor), cognitive linguistics (CLEAR), theoretical linguistics (CASTL-FISH), Sami language technology (Giellatekno and Divvun), and sociolinguistics and revitalization (Multilingual North: Diversity, Education and Revitalisation – MultiNor).

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 and Society (HAS), Russian Space (RSCPR), Interdisciplinary Phenomenology (IP), Arctic art and culture (WONA and Arctic Voices), Just Literature (JUL) and LAMCOM – Libraries, archives, and museums in the community.

ISK offers teaching in the following fields: linguistics, literature, art history, media and documentation studies, English, Kven, Finnish, Norwegian, Russian, Sami, Spanish, and German, as one-year programmes, as well as full Bachelor and Master programmes. It also offers PhD programmes in cultural/literary studies, art history, media and documentation studies, as well as linguistics.

The person hired in this position will be part of a research community with an excellent international reputation, and will also take part in a specific ongoing research project with excessive national and international collaborations. The PhD candidate will be supervised jointly by members of Nordic and English linguistics, and will collaborate with the section of Norwegian as a second language, the research group AcqVa-Nor and the research center C-LaBL.

At the department, the sections of Nordic, Norwegian as a second language, and English are all interested in language diversity and variation, especially in Northern Norway. These groups have experts within linguistics, second and third language acquisition, multilingualism, Norwegian grammar and Norwegian dialects. AcqVa-Nor and C-LaBL consist of about 40 active researchers. C-LaBL has two labs, the AcqVA lab and the PoLaR lab, both using modern tools for various methods used within psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic studies on language use, acquisition and multilingualism.

The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position. The PhD fellow position is for a period of three years and full time studies with the possibility of an extension of the appointment period. If the doctoral dissertation is submitted for appraisal within 3 years or within 3.5 years, the PhD candidate is qualified for a completion grant for either 12 or 6 months. The completion grant should be used to further qualification measures such as courses in teaching in higher education, lecturing and other relevant work at the faculty. More information about the completion grant scheme can be found here.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The project / The position’s field of research

The Topic For The PhD Project Is Norwegian As a Second Language With a Focus On Language Acquisition, Second Language Didactics And Multilingualism. The Project Will Focus On One Or More Of These Three Specific Themes

• Norwegian as a second language in academia: What is the position of the Norwegian language among international employees and second langauge learners of Norwegian at UiT and other Norwegian universities and colleges? How do second language learners relate to Norwegian in an academic context? What thoughts do they have about the relevance of mastering Norwegian? And to what extent are questions about Norwegian as a subject language in academia incorporated into Norwegian second language education?
• Norwegian as a second language and multilingualism: What is it like to acquire two new languages in parallel as an adult, for example Norwegian and another language (typically English)? How can a second language teacher facilitate this didactic approach?
• Norwegian as a second language and the Norwegian dialect landscape: When learning Norwegian as a second language, how does the learner relate to the rich dialect landscape in Norway? What challenges does the use of dialect pose for the learner? What choices do learners make with regard to whether they want to focus on learning the local dialect or "a standard language"/bokmål/nynorsk? What didactic challenges does dialect diversity lead to for a second language teacher?
  
  

The applicant should specify which topics and research questions they wish to focus on in their project description, which can be up to three pages long, including references. Template for project description can be found here.

The research themes (1-3) are wide, and together with their supervisors (and the research team), the successful candidate will develop a more specific topic for their PhD project within one of these themes, with concrete research questions and relevant research methods.

The Following Tasks Are Included In The Position

• Conduct an independent research project within the framework of this announcement, leading up to a completed dissertation
• Learn relevant methods and theories to be used in the research
• Complete the obligatory training component of the PhD programme
• Participate in organising activities in the relevant research groups
  
  

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Professor Kristine Bentzen, Professor Yulia Rodina or Head of Department Cathrine Theodorsen.

Qualifications

Required qualifications:

• A master's degree in Nordic linguistics (including also teacher training with Nordic as the main subject), linguistics, or other relevant fields, with the grade B or higher. Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must still submit your transcript of grades for the master’s degree with your application.
• Proficiency in English. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.
  
  

Desired Qualifications

• Excellend command of a Scandianvian language (Norwegian, Swedish or Danish)
  
  

In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. The project description will also be considered. In addition, other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme may be given consideration.

The applicant’s potential for research, personal suitability and motivation for the position will be emphasized.

As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

If the candidate does not document proficiency in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2, then the doctoral fellow must complete a language course equal to 15 ECTS before the end of the fixed-term period. UiT will facilitate this.

Admission to the PhD programme

For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission Normally Requires

• A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS.
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
  
  

All applicants should have a grade point average of B (or equivalent) on their master’s degree in order to be admitted to the PhD programme. The grade point average also applies to 300 ECTS points integrated five-year master’s degrees, in which all courses are to be included in the grade point average. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position.

Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree. UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite at least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

We offer

• Involvement in an interesting research project
• Good career opportunities
• A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues 
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement 
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund 
• PhD Fellows are normally given a salary of 550 800 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase
  
  

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

More practical information about working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility

Application

Your Application Must Include

• Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests
• CV
• Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
• Official transcripts of grades/academic record for bachelor's and master's degree
• Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• Documentation of proficiency in Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish at a minimum of level A2 (if available)
• References with contact information
• Master’s thesis, and any other academic works (published or unpublished)
• Project description (max 3 pages, including references)
  
  

Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must still submit your transcript of grades for the master’s degree with your application.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position. A copy of the assessment report will be sent to all applicants.

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position.

General information

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.

Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.

A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years.

We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure.

Eallju - Developing the High North

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus comprehensive university at the international forefront. Our vision is to be a driving force for developing the High North. The Northern Sami notion eallju, which means eagerness to work, sets the tone for this motive power at UiT. Along with students, staff and the wider community, we aim to utilise our location in Northern Norway and Sápmi, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio and interdisciplinary advantage to shape the future.

Our social mission is to provide research-based education of high quality, perform artistic development and carry out research of the highest international quality standards in the entire range from basic to applied. We will convey knowledge about disciplines and contribute to innovation. Our social mission unites UiT across various studies, research fields and large geographical distances. This demands good cooperation with trade and industry and civil society as well as with international partners. We will strengthen knowledge-based and sustainable development at a regional, national and international level.

Academic freedom and scientific and ethical principles form the basis for all UiT’s activities. Participation, co-determination, transparency and good processes will provide the decision-making basis we need to make wise and far-sighted priorities. Our students and staff will have the opportunity to develop their abilities and potential. Founded on academic integrity, we will be courageous, committed and generous in close contact with disciplines, people and contemporary developments.

We will demonstrate adaptability and seek good and purposeful utilisation of resources, so we are ready to meet the expectations and opportunities of the future. We will strengthen the quality and impact of our disciplines and core tasks through the following three strategic priority areas.