Job description

A 3-year full-time Doctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1017) in Medical Ethics is available at the Centre for Medical Ethics, University of Oslo.

The position form part of the European Research Council-funded Starting Grant-project “Ethics of Mortality Measurement” (ETHME), which will consist of Principal Investigator Carl Tollef Solberg , two postdoctoral research fellows, two associated doctoral candidates, and a research coordinator. In addition, five leading researchers constitute the advisory board of ETHME. ETHME is a theoretical project that investigates the theoretical and normative grounds for measuring deaths and evaluating their disvalue in summary measures of population health, such as the disability-adjusted life year (DALY). The project seeks to develop an “ethics of mortality measurement” which involves deliberation on choices and rationales behind the scope, construction and applications of mortality measurements. ETHME consists of three work packages: WP1 – Understanding the nature of harm in death, WP2 – Building theoretically robust summary measures and WP3 – Evaluating procreation in future individuals.

The tasks of the Doctorial Research Fellow will be to work on WP1. The candidate’s research project will focus on foundational philosophical aspects of the harm of death, in addition to applied aspect related to epidemiological measurement of mortality. Central research questions are: What is the nature of harm in death? What is the relationship between the badness of death for those who die and others? Is it possibility numerically measure the harm of death? The Doctoral Research Fellow will participate in ETHME’s research group based at a leading research centre on medical ethics.

More about the position

The fellowship period is 3 years and will be devoted to carrying out a doctoral thesis project focusing on the project themes specified above.

The research fellow must take part in the Faculty of Medicine’s approved PhD program and the candidate is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period. The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

The applicant must, in collaboration with her/his supervisor, within three months after employment, have worked out a complete project description to be attached to the application for admission to the doctoral program. For more information, please see our web site.

The suggested starting date is September 1st, 2024.

Qualification requirements

A Master’s degree or equivalent in Philosophy, Medical ethics, Medicine, or another university degree of relevance to the ETHME project
Knowledge and interest in medical ethics, applied ethics, and/or philosophical value theory is an advantage
Excellent knowledge of everyday and academic English
Strong analytical skills

The following aspects will be emphasized in the assessment of the applicants:

The applicant’s interest in the research themes of the ETHME project
The applicant’s personal suitability, collaborative skills, and motivation for participating in an interdisciplinary research group

We offer

Salary NOK 532 200–575 400 per annum depending on qualifications
A stimulating working environment at a leading centre of medical ethics
Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include

Cover letter with a statement of personal motivation for the position, and a short summary of qualifying experiences and research interest, and reflections upon potential contributions to ETHME (max. 2 A4-pages)
CV (summarizing educational achievements, positions and other qualifying experiences, and, if applicable, list of publications)
A writing sample
Copies of academic transcripts from Bachelor’s and Master's degrees. Applicants with education from a foreign university must attach an explanation of their university's grading system.
Letters of recommendation
List of 2–3 references (specifying their relation to candidate, e-mail, and phone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “apply for this job”. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

When evaluating the application, emphasis will be given to the motivation letter and the applicant's academic and personal prerequisites for carrying out and completing a research project within the specified time frame.

A selection of these short-listed candidates will be called in for interviews and references will be asked for.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

Contact information

For questions regarding content, please contact: Associate Professor Carl Tollef Solberg, e-mail: c.t.solberg@medisin.uio.no

For questions regarding administrative issues, the recruitment system and process, please contact: HR Adviser Helle Fritzsønn, e-mail: helle.fritzsonn@medisin.uio.no

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.

The Institute of Health and Society is one of three institutes at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oslo. The Institute covers various disciplines and consists of six departments: General Practice, Health Sciences, Health Management and Health Economics, Medical Ethics, Community Medicine and Global Health and Public Health Science.

The Institute of Health and Society bases its work on a complex understanding of disease, health and health systems. Culture, environment, economics, society and biology play direct and indirect roles. Our teaching responsibilities include seven Master’s programs, one Bachelor program and part of the Faculty’s medical school and PhD-program. We employ about 220 FTE and have almost 700 Bachelor and Master students. Annual income is about 200 mill NOK, half of which is external funding. Our researchers play an active part of public policy and disseminate new knowledge through many channels.

Doctoral Research Fellowship (PhD) in Medical Ethics in an ERC-funded project