PhD Fellow in landscape architecture

The position

A PhD position is available at the Academy of Arts, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. The Academy of Arts has a creative and productive working environment, currently comprising 15 teachers and researchers in visual arts, creative writing, and landscape architecture. The Academy also includes Kabelvåg School of Moving Images.

Funded by the European Commission and part of the MSCA Doctoral Network LANDLABS, this position is affiliated with the Landscape Architecture Programme at the Academy of Arts, UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

The position is available from April 1, 2025, and is for a period of three years. The primary objective of the position is to complete research training leading to a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period commences with the start of the position.

The workplace is located at the Academy of Arts in Tromsø, and applicants must be able to commence the position from April 1, 2025.

Candidates can be of any nationality and must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Norway for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent by the researcher as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention90 are not taken into account.

The project

The PhD fellow will be part of the MSCA Doctoral Network LANDLABS - Landscape Laboratories: Design strategies for sustainable and beautiful urban landscapes in the Anthropocene.

LANDLABS operates across six landscape laboratories throughout Europe, exploring new perspectives on the interconnectedness between humans, animals, plants, water, air, soil, and technologies. Through an innovative site-based, research-through-design approach, LANDLABS offers young researchers the opportunity to contribute to the critical and urgent issue of the green transition of cities in alignment with the European Green Deal and the United Nations Goals of Sustainability.

As a member of LANDLABS, the PhD fellow will receive training in developing new modes of understanding urban landscapes in the Anthropocene and devising new methods to enhance their sustainability and beauty. LANDLABS unites researchers from Aarhus School of Architecture, University of Ljubljana, University of Porto, Vienna University of Technology, Leibniz University Hannover, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and associated partners from municipal planning departments.

All six PhD fellows affiliated with LANDLABS will engage deeply with a specific site in collaboration with the local municipal planning department. These sites will function as landscape laboratories for exploring new perspectives on interconnectedness and testing design strategies for sustainable and beautiful urban landscapes in the Anthropocene. The PhD fellows are expected to develop and implement design interventions in these landscape laboratories as part of their research.

The sites selected for LANDLABS are landscapes significantly impacted by human activities. The PhD fellow at the Academy of Arts, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, will collaborate with Tromsø Municipality on a former gneiss quarry that has been used as a landfill for several years. While parts of the site are still actively used as a deposit for clean earth masses, other parts have been decommissioned and left to ecological succession. The site hosts a novel ecosystem, exemplifies material processes characteristic of the Anthropocene, and holds potential as a new kind of public space.

The doctoral training in LANDLABS is organized into two main phases. In the first two years, each PhD fellow primarily focuses on their individual landscape laboratory site and related theory. In the third year, the six PhD fellows collaborate in a virtual PhD lab on joint tasks to develop transferable theory, evaluation criteria, and design strategies for sustainable and beautiful urban landscapes in the Anthropocene. The PhD fellow is required to participate in all joint activities and contribute three papers: two individual and one joint.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Professor of Landscape Architecture Thomas Juel Clemmensen:

• phone: +47 77660547
• email: thomas.j.clemmensen@uit.no

Qualifications

This position requires a master’s degree or equivalent in landscape architecture or a related design discipline, and any other requirements. Additionally, experience with projects dealing with landscapes significantly impacted by human activities, as well as knowledge of geology and ecology, will be advantageous.

Applicants must document fluency of in English and be able to work in an international environment. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma. Working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is also beneficial.

An application letter describing the applicant’s motivation for the specific project and the doctoral network, along with a portfolio documenting the applicant’s design competencies and a CV, is required as part of the application. Writing examples from thesis, seminar work or other publications should also be included.

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

We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. We are seeking candidates who possess strong collaboration and communication skills and an interest in working in an international context.

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 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

• Participation in an engaging research project/doctoral network
• Promising career opportunities 
• A stimulating 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: 

• A letter of application explaining your motivation (maximum two pages)
• A portfolio documenting design competency (maximum five projects/twelve pages, including the master’s thesis)
• Writing examples (maximum five pages)
• CV (max. two pages)
• 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

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. 

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.