PhD student in risk- and environmental studies - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Description

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is accepting applications for a doctoral studentship leading to a PhD in Risk and Environmental Studies at the Department of Political, Historical, Religious and Cultural Studies.

The multidisciplinary subject of Risk and Environmental Studies features elements of the social sciences, the humanities, medicine, and the natural sciences. The subject is largely founded on environmental science, injury prevention, , and disaster risk management as well as connecting issues between these areas. The environmental science research uses a sustainability perspective to understand and manage today's and future's environmental problems and risks. Injury prevention is about understanding the individual's vulnerability and its capacity to handle various hazards, as well as how society handles these risks. Disaster risk management is focused on research into climate-related hazards and their consequences for society, ecosystems and people's lives and health. The subject is closely tied to two research centres at Karlstad University: The Centre for Societal Risk Research, CSR (https://www.kau.se/en/csr) and the Centre for Research on Sustainable Societal Transformation, CRS (https://www.kau.se/en/crs).

Education in Risk and Environmental Studies is primarily conducted in the Bachelor’s programme Environment and Safety and the Master’s programme (120 credits) Risk Management in Society. There are currently nine active doctoral students at the subject. The subject has a total of 25 staff members. For more information on research and the doctoral programme in Risk and Environmental Studies at Karlstad University, go to https://www.kau.se/en/risk-and-environmental-studies.

Duties

A doctoral student is primarily expected to engage in doctoral studies. The doctoral programme, comprising 240 higher education credits for a Degree of Doctor and 120 higher education credits for a Degree of Licentiate, is an opportunity to study while being paid a salary in combination with work and provides a stepping stone for a career in academia. You will for the most part be conducting doctoral studies in the form of an original thesis project as well as taking courses. Your thesis project is valuable in many ways, for example by contributing to furthering the subject’s theoretical foundation, which will benefit the wider community as well as future students. As a doctoral student, you are expected to work independently and be prepared to contribute to the activities at the subject and the department, as well as taking on teaching and administration duties. This is referred to as departmental duties and may not constitute more than 20% of full-time. Work as a doctoral student allows for great freedom and flexibility in terms of how you structure your day. It takes commitment, discipline and a structured approach in order to progress with the thesis. Experienced supervisors guide and support you along the way. To contribute to a positive work environment and further the department’s activities, we expect you to be a present and active part of the day-to-day operations and workplace community.

More information about doctoral studies is available on the University website: https://www.kau.se/en/research/doctoral-studies.

Qualification requirements

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must meet the general and specific entry requirements (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35)

To meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must have been awarded a second-cycle qualification, satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad (Higher Education Ordinance 7, Sect. 39).

To meet the specific entry requirements, the applicant must hold a Degree of Master (60 or 120 credits) with a major in Risk and Environmental Studies or another discipline of relevance to the research domain, or in some other way has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge, in Sweden or abroad.

Admission and assessment criteria

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must be considered to have the ability required to benefit from the programme (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35). Admission is based on individual assessment. Candidates will be selected based on their assessed capacity to benefit from a programme at the doctoral level. The selection will be based on the applicant’s results in previous studies, the quality of independent written work included in these studies, the research plan where the applicant accounts for the intended thesis project, language skills, and the extent to which the applicant intends to be a physically present and active member of the research environment, which is an important success factor in doctoral studies.

The research plan should be informed by one or more of the subject’s areas (environmental science, injury prevention, and disaster risk management) and preferably demonstrate connections between these areas. Good ability to express oneself both orally and in writing in English is required. If the PhD student lacks knowledge of the Swedish language, the student is expected to learn Swedish within two years in order to be able to participate in Swedish-language teaching and collaboration with societal actors. Considerable weight will be given to personal qualities such as the ability to conduct and complete individual projects, as well as the ability to collaborate in various contexts.

Terms

Upon admission to doctoral studies, the person will be offered the appointment of doctoral student (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5, Sect. 3). The position comprises four years of full-time studies, or five years at a study rate of 80% with 20% teaching or other departmental duties. The position is fixed-term – one year initially, followed by possible extensions of a maximum of two years at a time. Start date as negotiated.

The salary for the doctoral studentship corresponds to the standard level of salary for doctoral students at Karlstad University.

Application

Submit the application via the University’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi. Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications. Include two references.

The application should include:

• A cover letter where you describe your interests in relation to the position.
• A 3–5 page research plan with a proposed specialisation for a future doctoral thesis, including a research design to demonstrate the potential outline of a thesis project. The research plan is not binding. The successful applicant’s plan will be finalised in consultation with a supervisor.
• A list of qualifications (CV).
• Relevant degree and course certificates.
• A copy of the applicant’s Master’s thesis or similar.
• Where applicable, copies of publications or certificates for other qualifications.
• Any letters of recommendation.

The application should include well-documented qualifications. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. For advice on how to draft your application, refer to “Application Guidelines” on our website: https://www.kau.se/en/work-us/work/vacancies

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content.

Documents that cannot be submitted electronically should be sent to the following address:

Karlstads universitet
Erika Bergare
651 88 KARLSTAD

Application deadline: 2023-08-15

State the ref. no: REK2023/107

We look forward to your application!

Karlstad University has chosen advertising channels for this recruitment and firmly declines any contact with advertising or recruitment agencies.