PhD Candidate in Political Science/Sociology/Media & Communication Research

Want to make a difference to how Norway transitions to a sustainable energy future? Want to leverage the capabilities and insights of social sciences to make the green energy transition efficient, legitimate, and rooted in reality?

Join an interdisciplinary team of scholars and PhD students conducting cutting-edge research on energy policy incubators—collaboratively develop scenarios, optimize policy outcomes and public acceptance.

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate which opens exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia. The duration of the position is 3 years. If career promotion work, such as teaching, is added the position will be extended.
Your immediate leader will be the Head of Department.

Sustainable, renewable energy—a promising vision for the future that has often turned into a polarizing issue, where the lines between truths and falsehoods have turned blurry. Experts and policymakers have often erroneously presumed that citizens would share their vision and arrange with the immediate problems and challenges.

The NOTRAP project is developing Energy Policy Incubators (EPIs)—a systematic evaluation tool for energy policies. EPIs systematically leverage insights frompolicymakers, experts, stakeholders, and the public to identify common ground and avoid policymaking traps that have roadblocked energy transition policies in the past.
The candidate will contribute to the following four work packages in the project:
•    Work packages B/G: Current Policy Pathways & Redefining the Policy Landscape
•    Work packages C/H: Socio-Political Contexts and Effects

We are looking for a candidate with strong quantitative methods skills, qualitative methods literacy and a willingness to learn and apply innovative methods (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed) in a multidisciplinary team. The role involves two primary research areas, with the possibility to specialize in one in consultation with the supervisors and the project leadership:
•    Policy Document Analysis: Utilizing document and content analysis, including text mining, to identify policy proposals, arguments, frames, and discourses from relevant policy documents and other texts
•    Public Opinion Research: Designing and conducting survey experiments to assess the impact of policy presentation, policy design, citizen involvement, and decision-making processes on acceptance of policy packages.

•    Active participation in the VISTA Center NOTRAP
•    Collaboration with other PhD students and senior scholars in the VISTA center NOTRAP
•    Participate in the research groups Environment, Sustainability and Governance and Elections, Values and Political Communication (EVPOC) (candidate can choose their main group)
•    Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions
•    Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above
•    Academic publications and popular science dissemination
•    Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate

The PhD is obliged to conform with the regulations concerning changes and developments within the position, and/or the organizational changes concerning activities at NTNU.

•    You must have an academically relevant background within Political Science, Sociology, Media and Communication Research or equivalent
•    You must have a Master’s degree in Political Science, Sociology, Media and Communication Research or equivalent. Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian study program, where 120 credits have been obtained at master’s level. Master’s students can apply, but the master’s degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position.
•    You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master’s degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
•    You must meet the requirements for admission to the Political Science or Sociology PhD program
•    Good oral and written presentation skills in English
•    Good quality of the project outline

Please note: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations for the Universities and Colleges Act (university and colleges regulations) and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for general criteria for the position.

Among candidates that satisfy the required selection criteria, the following criteria will be an advantage
•    Specialization in, and excellent grades in Political Communication, Political Behavior, Political Psychology, Public Opinion, Media Effects or Behavioral Economics courses. and research practice, preferably in one or several of the following methods: :
–     experimental social research
, survey research, quantitative content analysis, text mining, or (serious) game design,
•    Good oral and written presentation skills in Norwegian/Danish/Swedish equivalent level A1/A2/B1/B2/C1/C2 (the higher the better)
If you cannot document skills in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish upon employment, NTNU facilitates so that you may attend a relevant language course.

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to:
•    Work independently
•    Work in a structured way, set goals and make plans to achieve them
•    Present and discuss your research with other professionals
•    Get involved and contribute constructively with feedback

A positive and pleasant working environment is important to us. We strive for an atmosphere that is engaging, friendly, and characterized by collaborative relationships between our employees. We are looking for a person who:
•    works from campus and actively participates in social and academic department activities, such as lunch gatherings and weekly research seminars,
•    has a cooperative spirit, and
•    constructively engages in academic discussions with colleagues.
Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• As a public employee, you have favourable benefits as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)

You will be employed as a PhD Candidate at NTNU and will have access to employee benefits and discounts.

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population’s collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 550 800,-  per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary.

The employment period is 3 years. The employment period can be extended if career promotion work will be added.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Political Science within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

The position is conditional on external funding.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary academic and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in Norwegian/a Scandinavian language or English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates.

The application must include:

•    Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees
•    CV
•    Copy of Master’s thesis. If you have recently submitted your Master’s thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed Master’s degree must be presented before taking up the position.
•    Project outline containing proposals for an overall description of research questions, theoretical perspectives, methodological design for the project and progress plan (maximum 1500 words/4 pages)
•    A short application letter that specifies your motivation for the position (400 words/1 page)
•    Possibly publications etc. other relevant research work
•    Possibly certificates
•    Names and contact information of three relevant referees

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor’s and Master’s education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU’s social mission).

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Stefan Geiß, telephone +47 93491983, email stefan.geiss@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Advisor Renate Lillian Johansen, e-mail: renate.johansen@ntnu.no

Application deadline: 18.08.2025