PhD Candidate in Political Science/Public Policy and Administration

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NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

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About the position

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate which opens up exciting career opportunities?

As a PhD Candidate at the Department of Sociology and Political Science you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, both within and outside academia.

This PhD position in Political Science offers an excellent opportunity for scientific development through designing, conducting, and disseminating research on a contemporary topic. The goal of the PhD. position is to complete doctoral-level education and to complete a doctoral degree.

The position is 4 years, including one year of promotion work such as teaching.

The candidate will be part of the active research group Public Policy and Administration at the Department of Sociology and Political Science and be part of a broader international network of researchers working in the field of Public Administration & Management and Digital Government.

For more information about the research group, see Public Policy and Administration - NTNU.

Your immediate leader will be the Head of Department.
 

About the project Cybersecurity Governance in Critical Public Infrastructures

The PhD project will investigate how sector specific institutional contexts shape the governance of cybersecurity in critical public infrastructures. Candidates may focus on selected sectors—such as energy, transport, education, or health—to analyze why governance models differ and how variations in administrative capacity, regulatory design, risk exposure, and public–private collaboration contribute to these differences. The project aims to identify institutional arrangements that enable effective coordination between governmental authorities and private actors and to develop a comparative framework for understanding alternative pathways to effective cybersecurity governance.

Applicants are expected to develop a proposal that contributes to this comparative agenda, drawing on relevant theoretical perspectives from public administration, governance, or digital government studies. Qualitative or mixed methods approaches are welcome.

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate.
• Carry out research of high academic quality within the framework described above, and develop your own approach to the project.
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination
• Be an active participant in the research group Public Policy and Administration.
• Participate in international activities such as conferences, workshops, PhD courses and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions.
• Teaching in relevant study programs at the Department.
• Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.
  

  The PhD is obliged to conform with the regulations concerning changes and developments within the position, and/or the organizational changes concerning activities at NTNU.

  
   

Required selection criteria

To be qualified for this position you must fulfill the following criteria.

• You must have a master's degree in Political Science, Social Science interdisciplinary digitalisation‑oriented programmes such as Organisation, Digitalisation, Administration and Work (MODAA), Public Management, Public Governance, Public Administration, or equivalent. Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where normally 120 ECTS credits have been obtained at master's level included a master’s thesis or equivalent work with a scope of at least 30 ECTS credits. Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you maybe considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's Doctoral Programme in Social Science.
• Good quality of the project proposal.
• Experience with qualitative research as the main methodological approach, with the ability to engage in quantitative statistical analysis when relevant.
• Good written and oral skills in English. 

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Demonstrated experience with qualitative data collection, including interviews.
• Familiarity with qualitative coding and analysis using tools such as NVivo, Atlas.ti, or similar.
• Ability to design and conduct rigorous qualitative research, including sampling strategies, interview protocols, and ethical considerations.
• Beneficial additional competence includes knowledge of digital transformation/digital government, especially an interest in or experience with cybersecurity.
• The position is ascribed one year of promotion work such as teaching, and good written and oral language skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language is an advantage. 

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to: 

• show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject 
• work independently and structured
• set goals and make plans to reach them, 
• creatively approach your subject matter, and present and discuss your research and constructively engage with feedback from colleagues.
   

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

Evaluate and remove/add what is relevant for the position.

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Working expenses funding that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• As a public employee, you have favorable benefits as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals. 

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education. 

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 550 800,-per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. 

The employment period is 4 years including 1 year of career promotion work such as teaching. 

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Social Sciences – specialization Political Science within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme through out the period of employment.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in Norwegian/a Scandinavian language or English. 

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request.

The application must include:

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees
• CV 
• Copy of Master's thesis. If you have recently submitted your Master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed Master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Project outline containing proposals for an overall description of research questions, theoretical perspectives, methodological design for the project and progress plan (maximum 1500 words/4 pages) 
• Possibly certificates, publications etc. other relevant research work
• Names and contact information of three relevant referees

In addition, applicants are required to answer the position-related screening questions in Jobbnorge when submitting their application.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor's and Master's education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found

here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint work will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions, and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to

The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Barbara Zyzak, telephone: +47 96744330, e-mail: barbara.k.zyzak@ntnu.no.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Advisor Renate Lillian Johansen, e-mail: renate.johansen@ntnu.no.
 

Application deadline: 01.09.2026

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 
 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.