PhD or Postdoctoral fellowship in Criminology or Sociology of Law

Job description

One PhD fellowship or Postdoctoral fellowship is available to undertake research as part of the project “Promoting Justice in a Time of Friction: Scandinavian Penal Exports” (JustExports). The project is funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The candidate will work closely together with project leader Professor Kjersti Lohne at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law. The candidate will be able to work on cutting-edge research topics and get access to an international and interdisciplinary network of high expertise. The candidate has the possibility to conduct long-term fieldwork and to go on research stays abroad.

Applicants can read more about the general project here. The entire JustExports project description can be accessed on request from project leader Kjersti Lohne. Interested candidates are strongly advised to consult these before writing their project description. Applicants are not expected to have in-depth and interdisciplinary knowledge about this topic beforehand.

The PhD fellowship appointment runs for three years without teaching duties, or four years with 25% teaching duties. Applicants for the position of PhD fellow must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Law.

The Postdoctoral fellowship appointment runs for either three years or four years. Postdoctoral candidates in four-year appointments must acquire basic university pedagogical competence as part of the 25% teaching duties. Postdoctoral candidates in three-year appointments are required to have 10 % teaching duties.

For both the PhD and the Postdoctoral fellowship, a four-year appointment requires that the candidate can contribute to the current teaching needs at the Faculty of Law.

Qualification requirements and other qualities

For all candidates:

The applicant must hold a five year Master’s degree or a degree equivalent to the Master’s degree in Criminology, Sociology of Law, Anthropology, International Relations, International Law or other relevant social science background.
The candidate must be qualified to work theoretically and empirically in the described project. Qualitative research skills and experience is necessary.
Knowledge of Scandinavian foreign policy and/or rule of law promotion is desirable. A demonstrated knowledge or interest in global perspectives in criminology or sociology of law is highly desirable.
The applicants should have an excellent command of the English language, written and spoken. An excellent command of a Scandinavian language is also strongly desirable, but is not a requirement. Candidates that do not master a Scandinavian language must take this into account when developing their project description.
Applicants must be able to work in an independent and structured manner.
Applicants must have excellent collaboration skills and the ability, willingness and commitment to contribute in an interdisciplinary team.

For applicants to the PhD fellowship:

Applicants should normally have grades that place them among the top 10-15 percent of graduates. This requirement also applies to the master’s thesis.
Please read about the requirements for admission to the PhD program here.

For applicants to the Postdoctoral fellowship:

The doctoral dissertation must have been submitted for evaluation by the closing date.
Appointment is dependent on the doctoral thesis being approved.

How to apply

The application must include:

A cover letter describing the applicant’s qualifications and motivation for the position.
A project description of 5-10 pages, explaining how they would approach their research tasks in a 3-year PhD or postdoctoral project design. This includes a description of theoretical background, the aims, methodologies with suggestions for informants or entry points for case studies, and reflections about potential ethical challenges. The proposal must clearly demonstrate how the research will contribute to the aims of the JustExports project.
CV (with a list of education, positions, teaching experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activities).
Certified copies of diplomas with all grades included in the degree and certificates (if the original language of diplomas/certificates is not English or a Scandinavian language, an English language translation must be provided in addition to a copy of the original). Foreign diplomas must include an official documentation about the grading system together with the official grading scale.
If available: A complete publication list.
Up to three academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered. If work is written by several authors, the division of work between them must be documented with the coauthor’s declaration.
Names and contact details and description of their relation to the applicant for at least two reference persons.
For applicants to the PhD fellowship: A PhD thesis at the Faculty of Law can be a monograph or a collection of several scholarly articles. The applicant should present a publication strategy for the research done within the project. To ensure exchange of knowledge among project team members throughout the project, an article-based thesis is encouraged.
For applicants to the Postdoctoral fellowship: Postdoctoral fellows are expected to contribute with articles.The applicant should present a publication strategy for the research done within the project.