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Research Fellow in Special Needs Education

Deadline: 01.06.2020

Job description

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.


The Department of Special Needs Education
is one of the three departments at UiO's Faculty of EducationalSciences. The department has today approximately 25 permanent employees that work with research, 14 temporary research fellows and postdoctoral fellows, in addition to 12 administrative employees. The department has approximately 800 students distributed between bachelor- and master’s degree studies in Special Needs Education, master’s degree studies in Special Needs Education, as well as PhD-studies.

Applications are invited for a position as Research Fellow in Special Needs Education to be based at the Department of Special Needs Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo.

The main research goal of the position is to investigate the cognitive mechanisms of reading fluency and its relationship to general reading skills. The project involves planning and conducting experimental and correlational studies in children and adults, potentially including eye tracking, aiming to map out and understand the components of and individual differences in reading efficiency as assessed with individual words, sentences, and texts. This will include the creation and validation of new methods and tools to assess reading efficiency across levels of processing. The research will be conducted within the research group Literacy and Numeracy in Context (LiNCon) and in association with Oslo Assessment, Intervention and Learning Lab (O-AILL) at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo.

More about the position

The fellowship period is 3 or 4 years. For Research fellows that are employed for a period of 4 years, the position entails a compulsory workload of 25% that consists of teaching and supervision duties and research assistance.

The research fellow must take part in the Faculty’s approved PhD program and is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period. The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree. For more information, please see our web site.

Qualification requirements

Applicants must satisfy the requirements for admission to the Faculty’s PhD program.

This normally includes:

  • Documented successful completion of a Master’s degree (120 ECTS) or an equivalent qualification in Psychology, Education, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Special Education, or related field. The Master’s degree must include a thesis of at least 30 ECTS
  • Minimum grade B or equivalent for the Master’s degree (ECTS grading scale)
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and Norwegian
  • Strong interest in the study of reading skill

The following qualifications will also count in the assessment of applicants:

  • Knowledge beyond the basics in the domains of cognitive psychology, reading psychology, reading development, or reading skills assessment
  • Experience with experimental methods of cognitive science such as eye tracking
  • Statistical analysis skills and knowledge of advanced statistical methods to analyze correlational studies of individual differences and experimental studies involving condition manipulation
  • Experience in designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting research
  • Computer programming skills and general facility with software tools
  • Experience in creating, administering, scoring, and interpreting psychoeducational assessment tests
  • Experience in working with children and/or within educational settings (schools, PPT)
  • Understanding of ethical research standards and open science practices
  • Evidence of commitment to high quality work and high achievement

Personal skills

In the assessment of applicants, emphasis will be put on:

  • The applicant’s personal suitability and motivation for the post, including his/hers ability to collaborate and to form part of a cross-disciplinary academic community
  • The applicant’s academic aptitude for completing the research training program
  • The project description

We offer

  • Salary NOK 479 600 – 523 200 per annum depending on qualifications in a position as PhD Research fellow, (position code 1017). Research fellows are normally allocated pay grade 54, NOK 479 600, on appointment
  • Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include

  • Cover letter, describing statement of motivation and research interests and clearly addressing the aforementioned required and desirable qualities and skills
  • Project description (8-10 pages cf. guidance)
  • Completed application form for admission to the doctoral degree Programme (see this page)
  • CV (summarizing education, positions, and academic work)
  • Certified copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only)
  • Documentation of English proficiency
  • master thesis and any other academic works that may be of relevance to the applications
  • List of reference persons: 2–3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number)

Incomplete applications will under normal circumstances not be assessed.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link: “Apply for this job”. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English or a Scandinavian language.

When evaluating the application, emphasis will be given to the applicant’s academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project. As a rule, interviews will be conducted as part of the appointment process-.

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the supervisor (Prof. Protopapas) to discuss possible project plans and objectives.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

Contact information

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