The Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science at the Faculty of Arts has about 120 staff members and a student body corresponding to about 350 full-time equivalents. It is home to a large number of national and international research projects and offers courses and degree programs for philosophers, logicians, linguists, language technologists, theorists of science, historians of philosophy, philologists and philosophy teachers. The Department also arranges doctoral education and development work in its various academic domains.

At the department, there is also the Centre for Linguistic Theory and Studies in Probability (CLASP), funded by a 12-year grant from the Swedish Research Council (2015-2025). CLASP is devoted to research and advanced training in the application of probabilistic modelling and machine learning methods to core issues in linguistic theory and cognition. 

The successful applicant will be employed by the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics, and Theory of science (FloV), as a doctoral student in the ERC Starting Grant Project: DivCon: Divergence and convergence in dialogue: The dynamic management of mismatches. The project is led by Christine Howes and started in May 2023. For a description of DivCon see Christine Hows’ webpage through: www.gu.se/en/about/find-staff/christinehowes

General information about being a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg can be found on the university’s doctoral student pages: medarbetarportalen.gu.se/doctoral_student/?languageId=100001   

 

Key Responsibilities

Education at third-cycle level comprises four years of full-time study and leads to a doctoral degree. The successful candidate is expected to devote their time primarily to the completion of obligatory course work and to write a doctoral dissertation. As part of your employment as a doctoral student, you may have departmental duties corresponding to up to 20 % of full-time employment, distributed throughout your study period. Departmental duties usually consist of teaching at first- and second cycle levels, but may also include research and administration. Such duties extend the position accordingly.

As more and more of our interactions take place through digital channels, it has become increasingly important to understand how we communicate and interact with others via computers and digital devices. In this context, the DivCon project, funded by the European Research Council, aims to transform our understanding of human interaction, particularly in computer-mediated communication. It will create a novel experimental platform for live multimodal interactions using avatars and virtual reality and develop a precise theory of divergence and convergence in interaction that unifies verbal and non-verbal dialogue phenomena. Ultimately, the project’s findings will pave the way for more adaptive conversational AI systems that can better simulate human-like communication.

Specifically, the project will use the following methods:

• Corpus collection, annotation, and analysis
• Computational and experimental methods in cognitive science
• Formal models of dialogue and interaction
• Type Theory (or logics) and probability
• Combining logical, computational, and psycholinguistic approaches

Applicants with interests in these or related domains are encouraged to apply. The doctoral student is also expected to participate in the department’s activities, such as workshops, seminars, and conferences.

  

Eligibility   

Education at third-cycle level requires general eligibility and, where appropriate, specific eligibility, as set out in the general syllabus for the subject.  

The general eligibility requirements for education at third-cycle level are:    

1. Having completed a degree at second-cycle level, or
2. the fulfilment of course requirements totalling at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits must be at second-cycle level, or  
3. the acquisition of equivalent knowledge in some other way, either in Sweden or abroad. 

Specific entry requirements for the third-cycle programme in Computational Linguistics and/or Cognitive Science entails one of the following three criteria are fulfilled:

• At least 30 credits from second-cycle courses in subject area 1 (Computational Linguistics, Language Technology, or Natural Language Processing), including a thesis of at least 15 credits, or equivalent qualifications.
• At least 30 credits from second-cycle courses in subject area 2 (Linguistics or Cognitive Science), including a thesis of at least 15 credits, plus at least 30 credits from first or second level courses in subject area 1 (Computational Linguistics, Language Technology, or Natural Language Processing) or subject area 3 (Computer Science, Logic, or Mathematics), or equivalent qualifications.
• At least 30 credits from second-cycle courses in subject area 3 (Computer Science, Logic or Mathematics), including a thesis of at least 15 credits, plus at least 30 credits from first or second-level courses in subject area 2 (Linguistics or Cognitive Science) or subject area 1 (Computational Linguistics, Language Technology, or Natural Language Processing), or equivalent qualifications.

For further information about the general and specific requirements please refer to the general study syllabus you will find through the following webpage: medarbetarportalen.gu.se/internal-flov/phd-students-at-flov/general-syllabi-at-flov

 

Assessment criteria   

The selection of applicants who meet the basic and specific eligibility requirements will be based on the ability to assimilate the education at third-cycle level. The selection also depend on the Department’s resources to supervise within the doctoral student’s focus of research, as well as the compatibility of the candidate’s project proposal with DivCon. A necessary performance criterion for the successful candidate is to have the level of English skills that are needed in order to be able to benefit from compulsory parts of the course and to be able to actively participate in seminars and similar activities. For a more detailed account of the selection process please refer to the study syllabus linked in the section above.

As basis for the assessment, the following documentation should be submitted with the application:

1. Theses, degree projects and any publications.
   These are assessed based on the following five quality criteria, of which the final two have the heaviest weighting: Suitable subject definition, relevant questioning, suitable command of the subject and structuring of the thesis, suitable use of language, formalities, academic quality and independence.
2. A short project draft of a maximum of 1200 words (excluding bibliography) in which the applicant formulates preliminary ideas about how their thesis work could be designed, and discusses which theories, methods and materials that may be relevant.

In addition to the assessment of the submitted application the process may also include interviews.

 

Employment   

Once you have been admitted for education at third-cycle level, you will be employed as a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg. The provisions for employment as a doctoral student can be found in the Higher Educational Ordinance (SFS 1993:100). Initial employment as a doctoral student may apply for a maximum of one year, and may be renewed by a maximum of two years at a time. A doctoral student may be employed as a doctoral student for a maximum of eight years, but the total period of employment may not be longer than the equivalent of full-time for four years.

Type of employment: Fixed-term employment
Extent: 100 %
Location: Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, Gothenburg
First day of employment: By agreement

The University applies a local agreement on salaries for doctoral students, the agreement is only available in Swedish, please contact us if you would like to know more.

  

Selection process

Selection, interviews and assessment is made by a recruitment group at the department. A list of top-ranked applicants will be assessed more closely based on the information provided by the applicants. The top-ranked candidates may be invited to interviews (in Gothenburg or via video link).

 

Contact information 

For questions regarding the subjects, research projects, responsibilities, or the workplace, please contact project leader Christine Howes, christine.howes@gu.se

Queries about the application, recruitment process, or employment conditions, should be directed to HR-officer Cecilia Groglopo, cecilia.groglopo@gu.se

 

Unions 

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here:   
www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/work-at-the-university-of-gothenburg/how-to-apply#Union-representatives   

  

Application   

You can apply to be admitted for education at third-cycle level via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal. Click “Apply” and register an account in our online recruitment system.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per the vacancy notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline.   

It is preferable if your application is written in English since the recruitment group have English as working language.

Any documents that are not available in electronic format should be mailed to:
HR Officer
University of Gothenburg, Dep.: FLoV
Box 200
SE-405 30 Gothenburg
SWEDEN
Please write the vacancy note reference number (PAR 2024/68) on each document.
The documents should have been delivered no later than three workdays after the last day for online applications, or the sender should be able to show the documents have been mailed no later than the last day for online applications.
 

Applications must be received by:  February 29, 2024

 

Information for International Applicants 

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. Thus, to give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner please visit: 

www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services
www.movetogothenburg.com 

  

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.