Changing Arctic Research School

The transdisciplinary Changing Arctic research school brings together PhD candidates and supervisors from all seven faculties at UiT the Arctic University of Norway. The research school has a focus on renewable energy, food security, health and welfare. “Changing Arctic” will collaborate with actors in private and public sector. The research outcomes will contribute to resilience and transformation in the Arctic and will thus operationalize Sustainable Development Goals.

The training will provide PhD candidates with knowledge, professional and transferable skills, and general competences that enables them to contribute to innovative and sustainable solutions for the Arctic. The research school will arrange courses, seminars, workshops, and excursions, and will organise secondments in private enterprises, NGOs, and public institutions. This is to ensure the relevance of project outcomes and enhance the employability of the PhD graduates. Read more about the research school Changing Arctic | UiT.

The position

This PhD project is attached to the Norwegian Research Council and UiT funded ‘Viking to Christian Landscapes across the Norwegian Sea (V2C)’ project (PI Tony Brown). The successful candidate will join a team coring lakes and mires in Central and Northern Norway, Orkney and Shetland Isles, UK and undertake metabarcoding and lithological analyses of lake-sediment cores to obtain information on past vascular plant species including crops, and herbivores in a region at the edge of agriculture in Europe. These data, together with similar data from southern Norway will be used together with the V2C team (UiT, University of Bergen, University of Durham UK, Highlands and Islands University UK) to a) investigate landscape change, crop use and farming from c. 500-1500 CE, b) Examine the causes of these changes and relate to archaeological and textual data, c) trial new techniques in environmental archaeology from cores including pOSL and pathogens. The research outcomes will contribute to resilience and transformation in the high latitudes and Arctic and will thus operationalize Sustainable Development Goals.

The position is a fixed term position for a duration 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 (10%) and other duties such as secondments and interactions with the industry or the public sector (15 %). 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 workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer. The Research School starts in the end of August 2025.

The position’s affiliation and field of research

This position is attached to the Research Groups of Natural Sciences and Archaeology and the ArcEcoGEN Aurora Research Centre. Natural Sciences is responsible for developing and maintaining scientific collections of objects (animals, plants, fossils and minerals) as well as public outreach, including the Tromsø Arctic Alpine Botanical Garden. Archaeology is responsible for the archaeological collections at the Tromsø University Museum as well as cultural heritage management and research-based excavations in Northern Norway. All excavated archaeological finds are incorporated into the existing museum collections. Combined the research areas of Botany and Archaeology have a permanent staff of approximately 21, of which 16 are in academic positions. At the moment, 9 PhD students and 4 postdoctoral researchers are connected to the research area and ArcEcoGEN Centre. The departments have laboratories for environmental archaeology, modern and ancient DNA analyses. The Archaeology Group has 5 permanent academic research positions and a variable number of field archaeologists in technical positions. The primary focus of ongoing research is on prehistoric and historic archaeology within the region and comparative regions.

The successful applicant is expected to spend most of the time in Tromsø, but there will also be extensive fieldwork in Norway and the Northern Isles (UK). The candidate may also undertake a research stay abroad for up to 3 months with one or more of the project collaborators.

The project is a collaboration among staff at the Tromsø University Museum, The University Museum of Bergen, Geography at the University of Durham UK, Archaeology Department at the Highlands and Islands University, Orkney UK.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact:

Professor Antony Brown or Researcher Stephen Wickler:

or

The Changing Arctic Research School

Professor Michaela Aschan and Senior Adviser Hanne Risan Johnsen

email: ChangingArctic@uit.no

Qualifications

This position requires:

A master's degree in subject relevant to the research description (see also specifications below in “Admission to PhD programme”)
A master's thesis (see specifications below)
Documented fluency in English. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

It is considered an advantage if you have:

Working experience in the field in question
Experience from bioarchaeology, palaeoecology or bioinformatic/working on genetic data
Knowledge of cool-temperate ecosystems
Experience from working in a team
A national and/or international research network that you can refer to
Publications and/or reports
Working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language

In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the grades in the master programme, 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, e.g. working experience.

We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates who:

Have good collaboration skills
Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
Wants to contribute to a good working environment

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.

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 Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics 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.

Grade requirements applies both to the master thesis as well as courses part of the master’s degree. The minimum requirements are grade B or better on the master’s degree, and an average grade of B or better on courses that are part of the master’s degree, or the last two years in an integrated master's degree. 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 in a transdisciplinary research school
A good and interdisciplinary academic environment with dedicated colleagues
Good career opportunities, and high employability after successful graduation
A stunning Arctic landscape and diversity of outdoor activities
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
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
Documentation of proficiency in Norwegian or a Scandinavian language (if applicable)
2-3 references with contact information
Master’s thesis, and any other academic works
Project description (max. 4 pages)

The applicants must present a description outlining the academic basis of the PhD project. The project description shall not exceed 4 pages, literature references included. It must include a description of the theme, research question(s), and a reasoning of the choices. It should also indicate the methodologies to be used, and what actors outside the academia to involve. The final project description will be developed in cooperation with the supervision team after employment.

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. 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.

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