Postdoctoral Position in Linguistics
University of Gothenburg
Sweden

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 56 000 students and 6 600 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract researchers and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

Doctoral position in Linguistics   

We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations. 

We offer 

The University of Gothenburg is a state authority, which means excellent employment benefits such as wellness time during working hours, compensation for medical visits, a base vacation of 28 days, and an occupational pension. You can read more about our employment benefits here. 

At the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics, and Theory of Science (FLoV) within the Faculty of Humanities, we have around 120 employees and a teaching volume that includes around 350 full-year students. We are engaged in numerous large international and interdisciplinary research projects in areas such as theoretical and practical philosophy, logic, linguistics, computational linguistics, language technology, and theory of science. Our research has many applications and collaborations with other scientific fields, including biology, computer science, economics, history of ideas, law, medicine, psychology, religion, political science, and engineering. We educate philosophers, logicians, linguists, language technologists, theorists of science, historians of philosophy, and teachers of philosophy. The department also conducts doctoral education and development work within its various academic domains. If you are interested in working in an international, dynamic and collaborative environment, FLoV offers an inspiring setting for research and education. Read more about us here. 

Our department offers postgraduate (third cycle) education in six subjects. Our research environment is international, with several recognised research projects and our staff representing over twenty countries. Read more here.

FLoV is seeking a PhD student in linguistics. Linguistic interaction is the main overarching theme for research in linguistics at FLoV. This entails an interest in the formal modelling of not only the systems of conventions that make up particular languages but also the social practices and psychological mechanisms enabling language use.

Project description

The research project The Impact of Parkinson’s Disease on Everyday Conversations focuses on Parkinson’s Disease (PD), with an emphasis on the impact of the condition on everyday conversational interaction. The project aims to:  

• Investigate how PD affects language, communication, and interaction in conversations with conversation partners and how this changes over time.  
• Highlight the relationship between clinical measures of linguistic abilities and behaviour in conversations with a partner.  
• Study whether and how conversation partners adapt their communication during interactions with individuals with PD.  

The results will have both theoretical and clinical relevance. The project will contribute to the advancement of knowledge about human communication and to the development of intervention strategies for Parkinson’s disease, one of the most common neurological disorders in the world.  

The PhD project will be divided into three sub-studies, involving a total of 50 participants with PD and 50 participants without known neurological conditions. We will assess the participants’ cognitive and linguistic functions and collect and analyse data from conversations between individuals with PD and various conversation partners. Over several years, the studies will include:  

1. a) Clinical tests measuring cognitive and linguistic abilities (e.g., word retrieval) (sub-study 1),  
2. b) Tasks requiring interaction with a conversation partner (sub-study 2), and  
3. c) Everyday conversations in the home environment (sub-study 3).  

The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council (grant number 2024-00869).

Duties   

Participate in the research group's collaborative efforts to develop the project. Recruit study participants. Collect data, including materials for general linguistic and cognitive assessments in PD. Process and analyse data. Conduct linguistic analyses of the collected data, focusing on clinical test tasks and conversational interaction in Swedish. Disseminate research results and engage in national and international collaborations within the research area.  

The doctoral student is expected to conduct their work in Gothenburg and to participate in the department's activities, such as workshops, seminars and conferences.

A doctorate consists of four years of full-time study, and leads to a doctoral degree.  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, and result in a corresponding extension of the studies. Departmental duties usually consist of teaching at first- and second-cycle levels, but may also include research and administration.   

Eligibility   

Doctoral education requires general eligibility and, where appropriate, specific eligibility as set out in the general syllabus for the subject.  

The general eligibility requirements for doctoral studies are:    

1. having completed a degree at second-cycle level, or
2. the fulfilment of course requirements totaling 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 this subject, according to the general syllabus, are:

1. A minimum of 60 higher education credits in linguistics, phonetics, language technology, or speech and language therapy at second-cycle level, of which 15 credits comprise an independent project; additionally a minimum of 90 hecr in closely related subjects such as philosophy, cognitive science, communication or language subjects or equivalent knowledge.

or

2. a minimum of 90 higher education credits in linguistics, phonetics, language technology, or speech and language therapy, of which at least 30 higher education credits at second-cycle level, of which a minimum of 15 credits comprise an independent project or equivalent skills.

(These two entry requirements are a result of the two recommended study routes at second-cycle level; the student has either 90 higher education credits in philosophy, cognitive science, communication or language subjects at first-cycle level, followed by 60 higher education credits in linguistics, phonetics, language technology or speech and language therapy at second-cycle level. Alternatively, the student has 90 higher education credits in linguistics, phonetics, language technology or speech and language therapy.)

3. A necessary performance criteria for the successful candidate is to have the level of English and Swedish skills needed to benefit from compulsory courses and to be able to actively participate in seminars and similar activities.

For further information about the general and specific requirements please refer to the general study syllabus you will find through the following webpage.

Assessment criteria   

The selection of applicants who meet the basic and specific eligibility requirements will be based on the ability to assimilate the doctoral studies.   

We will base this assessment primarily on the following:

• The applicant’s documented subject knowledge relevant to the research area.  
• The applicant’s documented knowledge of scientific theory and method.  
• The applicant’s analytical skills, demonstrated through a scientific report, thesis, or similar work.  
• Bachelor’s thesis, master’s thesis, degree projects, and (if applicable) up to three other research 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, independence.

Additional merits:  

• Speech and language pathology degree.  
• Clinical experience with the target group (i.e., individuals with Parkinson’s disease).  
• Experience in data collection and analysis related to the research area.  

Admission and selection are also conditional on the Department’s supervisory resources within the doctoral student’s research focus. Admission may also include an interview in addition to a review of qualifications submitted. Admission decisions are made by the Head of Department following preparation at the Department.

Admission and employment   

Once you have been admitted to doctoral studies, 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 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 education at doctoral level for four years.

Please note, doctoral studies at FLoV require physical presence to conduct the studies. If the admitted applicant needs a residence permit for higher education to pursue studies in Sweden, the department has the right to revoke the admission decision if the applicant cannot present a valid residence permit no later than at the start of the studies.

Type of employment: Fixed-term employment, HF 5 kap 7§
Extent: 100 %
Location: Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, Gothenburg
First day of employment: By agreement (Earliest starting date: August 18^th, 2025)

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 assessments are conducted by the recruitment group at the department.

More information regarding the University’s recruitment process you will find here.  

Contact information 

For questions about our third-cycle studies please contact Associate head of third cycle studies, Alva Stråge, alva.strage@gu.se +46 (0)31-786 5963

For questions about the subject please contact Professor Christine Howes, christine.howes@gu.se , +46 (0)31- 786 5911

For questions regarding the application, recruitment process, or employment conditions, please contact HR-officer Jennifer Stråle, jennifer.strale@gu.se+46 (0)31-786 4570  

Unions 

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here. 

Application   

You can apply to be admitted to doctoral education via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal. It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per this notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline. Selection of candidates is based on their qualifications registered in the application. Any documents which cannot be submitted electronically should be sent in two copies to the following address and marked with the reference number of this vacancy notice. University of Gothenburg, Att: FLoV HR-administrator, Box 200, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, SWEDEN. The documents should be 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.

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

For the application to be considered complete it must include:

1. An introductory letter of 500 words maximum (approx. 1 page). The letter should consist of four paragraphs in the following order: a) a short presentation of yourself, b) a short presentation of your merits, c) a short presentation of the intended research project and d) a short account for why the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science and the project is of interest to you.
2. A CV, including a list of publications (if applicable).
3. Bachelor’s thesis, master’s thesis, degree projects, and (if applicable) up to three other research publications.
4. Certificates of examination.
5. Other documents (optional).

Applications must be received by: March 24, 2025 

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: 

https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services 
https://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.