PhD Fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience

The position

The PhD position is available at the Department of Psychology (IPS), Faculty of Health Sciences, in the Research Group for Cognitive Neuroscience.

The position is for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other duties. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.

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 project lies at the intersection of cognitive psychology and neuroscience. It focuses on identifying cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying task-unrelated thought (commonly referred to as “mind wandering”). The candidate is expected to conduct empirical studies involving healthy adult participants with the aim to understand how fluctuations in attention is related to cognitive performance, and whether it is coupled with changes in brain activity, as reflected by electroencephalography (EEG) and/or eye-tracking/pupillometry. Moreover, we plan to apply noninvasive brain stimulation (in the form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, rTMS) to causally interfere with neural processes that control switching between attentional states (on-task vs. mind wandering).

The project requires an enthusiastic and perseverant candidate, who has a strong interest and sufficient background knowledge in studying cognitive and neural processes in humans, and has the capacity and desire to deeply engage with cutting-edge computational and experimental methodology. It turn, the project offers an opportunity to obtain skills related to conducting studies that encompass collecting and analyzing data from cognitive tasks, EEG, eye-tracking/pupillometry and rTMS, involving advanced analytic approaches such as cognitive modeling. In close collaboration with the supervisor team, the candidate will also be responsible to prepare manuscripts for peer-reviewed scientific journals, which will serve as the basis for the PhD thesis

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Professor Gábor Csifcsák:

• phone: +47 77646776
• email: gabor.csifcsak@uit.no

Qualifications

Mandatory requirements include:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in psychology or another discipline related to cognitive science (e.g. biology, cognitive linguistics, medicine).
• Documention of good written and verbal communication skills in English and ability to work in an international environment. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.
• Demonstrated interest in theoretical and empirical topics related to the topics in this call.
• Demonstrated experience with, or understanding of, quantitative methods in psychology or social sciences.

It is desirable that the candidate demonstrates:

• Prior experience with conducting empirical studies (data collection and/or data analysis) involving human subjects using any of the following methodological approaches: cognitive testing, cognitive modeling, EEG, eye-tracking, pupillometry, non-invasive brain stimulation.
• Prior experience with programing environments, for instance: R, Matlab, Python.
• Prior experience with working in multi-national multi-cultural environment or international mobility for research/education.

The assessment will emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position, as well as the applicant's potential to complete a research education. The master's thesis or equivalent, and any other prior scientific work will be taken into consideration.

We are looking for a candidate who:

• Is motivated and able to engage in both theoretical work and lab-based research at the Tromsø campus related to the topics of this call.
• Has good communication skills and demonstrates experience and skills necessary to successfully undertake tasks related to participant recruitment, outreach and teaching. Working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is beneficial, but not a strict requirement.

As many 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

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 Health Sciences 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. 

UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

Applicants must have a grade of C or better on the master's thesis and have a grade point average of C or better for the master's degree. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.  

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 NOKUT.

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.

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. 

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.
• Possibility to gain research experience with cognitive testing, EEG, non-invasive brain stimulation and eye-tracking/pupillometry in human adults.
• 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 532 200 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 containing a complete overview of education, experience, professional work, pedagogical qualifications (if any) and references
• Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
• Transcript 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
• Contact information for two sources of references (references will be solicited only if the candidate is short-listed)
• Master’s thesis, and any other academic works

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 transcripts 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 application documents and the text of the announcement.

The Assessment Committee will give emphasis to the potential for research, as presented in the Master’s thesis or equivalent, or in any other academic works.

In the assessment, consideration may also be given to professional experience and any other activity which may be significant for the completion of the doctoral degree.

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview shall, among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s personal suitability for the position and motivations. A short trial presentation may also be held.

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. 

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UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus research university 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.

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We look forward to receiving your application!