The Department of Arctic Geophysics of the UniversityCentre in Svalbard havevacanciesfor two PhD position forfour years each within the Space Physics group focusing on optics of airglow and aurora, respectively. UNIS provides education and carries out scientific research based in Svalbard within the high Arctic, and benefits greatlyfrom this geographical location. Approximately half of the staff and students are from abroad,
and all teaching isin English. UNIS is located in a new building in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, withvery good
access to modern laboratories and equipment. UNIS is a state owned.

Qualifications :The successful candidatesmust have a Master degree in Physics or equivalent in a field related to the above described projects. Due to logistics, the candidates need to have driver licenses.Admission to the doctoral programme at one of the Norwegian mainland universitiesis a condition of employment in the position as PhD student. The final plan for researcher education shall be approved and a contract signed with the mainland university at the latest six months after commencement. The applications will be prepared by the candidates and the supervisors. Employment Conditions for Ph.D positions :The employment contracts are of 4 years and include mandatory duties of 25% each. The successful candidatesmust live in Longyearbyen. They are expected to contribute actively to ongoing scientific activities in the department. It is also expected that the Ph.D. students take an active part in the advancement of their field of research, and they must also be willing to contribute to the development of UNIS in a more general sense.

All salaries are set in accordance with the Norwegian government’s University salary scale. Ph.D students starts at salary step 48, which currently is a gross salary of NOK 383 900.As a resident in Svalbard an annual allowance of NOK 26 400.(Svalbardtillegg) will be added to the salary. A Social Security contribution of 2 per cent, to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, will be deducted from the salary. Income tax on Svalbard is 8 per cent, plus 7.8 per cent toward National Insurance coverage. Selection and appointment :An expert Committee appointed by the Managing director of UNIS, will evaluate the qualifications of the applicants. The Committee will review the applications in detail, and is the basis for interviews. The final appointment will be made by the Appointment Committee.

Scholarship Application Deadline:15 April 2011

Further Scholarship Information and Application