The Department of Psychology announces a PhD position in Environmental Psychology for a period of 3 years, without teaching duties. This is an educational position that shall provide promising research recruits the opportunity for professional development through studies towards a PhD. The position is connected to the PhD-program at the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences, and the faculty will be the employer. The working place will be at the Department of Psychology.

The Department of Psychology currently has approximately 110 employees and 1100 students. The Department holds a large and diverse research community covering a variety of disciplines within psychology, and offers studies at the bachelor-, master- and PhD level in addition to a study programme in clinical psychology. The Department also has three outpatient clinics that offer outpatient treatment as part of the educational programme in clinical psychology. In addition, the Department participates in extensive local, national and international research collaborations. Our research ambition is to be internationally and nationally leading in various disciplines of psychology.

The position is connected to the project World of Wild Waters (WoWW) and is part of NTNU’s strategic portfolio of projects to pursue transformative research on the development and application of digital transformation technology. Multidisciplanarity is a key objective in all the projects and the positions in WoWW are at four departments at three faculties. A close cooperation between the PhD research fellows and the departments will be the backbone of WoWW.

WoWW is focused on gamification of Natural Hazards and aim at bringing together knowledge on the physical and statistical behaviour of Natural Hazards with knowledge on digital storytelling and human behaviour to create an immersive user experience based on real data, realistic scenarios and simulations. Experiences stakeholders, planners, decision makers and emergency agencies can base their preventive and emergency measures on to safe live and cost. WoWW aim at being the future tool for analysing and communicating the potential causes and effects of Natural Hazards as floods and landslides. This is a possibility to shaping the future way of working at a field of high societal importance.

The focus of research in this position is to develop an understanding for how the design of the virtual environment and human decision-making interact and a methodology to design the gamification elements in a way that fosters decision-making. It will build on psychological knowledge about risk perception, human-machine interfaces, virtual reality perception, behaviour determination, etc.

Qualifications
Employment will be activated in accordance with existing regulations of 31 January 2006 (http://www.lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2006-01-31-102).

The requirement for the position is a completed master’s degree in psychology (or neighbouring disciplines in behavioural science) or education to an equivalent in a relevant field or an equivalent foreign master’s degree approved as equivalent to a Norwegian degree. The master’s thesis must be submitted prior to the application deadline, and the final oral examination must be passed in order to be employed in the position. Applicants must have a strong academic record from their previous studies, and must have a weighted average grade for the last two years of their master’s or equivalent education (equivalent to 120 credits) of B or higher in terms of NTNU’s grading scale. Applicants with no letter grades from previous studies must have an equally good academic foundation. Applicants who are unable to meet these criteria may be admitted only if they can document that they are particularly suitable candidates for education leading to a PhD degree.

The following will be emphasized:

  • A background in behavioural research is required.
  • Documented background in quantitative psychological methods is required.
  • Good understanding of psychological theories and methods is required. If the candidate does not hold a degree in psychology, this understanding has to be documented.
  • Experiences in interdisciplinary research and an interest and openness for other disciplines is required.
  • Fluency in English (spoken and written) is mandatory.
  • Experience with participating in research projects will be considered as an advantage.
  • Experience with studies of risk perception, climate change adaptation, water management, or gamification from a psychological perspective will be an advantage.
  • Personal qualifications such as scientific curiosity, independence, flexibility, and the ability to work in an interdisciplinary team will be ascribed high importance.

Payment- and working conditions
The PhD position, code 1017, is paid according to the national salary scheme, from gross NOK 436 900 per year, of which 2 % is deducted for the State Pension Scheme.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants. The employee is expected to accept possible changes in work tasks. It is essential that the successful candidate is present and available at the Department of Psychology in Trondheim. Employment in the PhD position requires admission to a PhD program at the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences. Application for admission to the PhD program must be submitted as soon as the candidate is employed in the position. More information about the PhD program is available at: http://www.ntnu.edu/studies.

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender, disabilities or cultural background. NTNU is an inclusive workplace.

We offer

  • Becoming member of the interdisciplinary PhD cluster WoWW, and the motivated, international research group for Consumption, Environment, and Traffic
  • Academic challenges
  • An open and including work environment
  • Attractive schemes for home loans, insurance and pensions in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

Applications should include:

  • A motivation letter of max. 1 page
  • CV with information on education, and previous research experience
  • Publication list (if applicable)
  • Relevant sample publications (max. 5, if applicable)
  • Authorized documentation of certificates and study records.

The application must contain information about education, examinations and previous practice. Confirmed copies of certificates and references must be included.

Joint work will be evaluated. If it is difficult to identify the contributions from individuals in a joint piece of work, applicants should enclose a short descriptive summary of what he/she contributed to the work.
Information about the applicants may be open to public inspection as provided by the Freedom of Information Act.
Further information about the position is available by contacting Professor Christian A. Klöckner at the Department of Psychology, phone (+47) 735 91977, e-mail christian.klockner@ntnu.no.

An application including attachments should be sent electronically through: www.jobbnorge.no.