PhD Research Fellowships in Economics

About the positions

The Department of Economics invites applications for PhD Research Fellow positions, with a deadline of 15 January 2027. PhD Research Fellows will automatically be admitted to the Faculty of Social Sciences' PhD programme in economics and benefit from organized research training.

Our PhD programme trains economists for the international academic job market and for research positions in policy institutions, central banks, and research organisations. Our candidates also work in government, finance and the consulting sector.

Our fellows receive thorough training in high-quality scientific research, working with state-of-the-art empirical and theoretical methods, and pursue their own research from the outset.

The Department of Economics offers an international and research-active environment with 55 faculty members and about 25 PhD students in various fields. The Department has in recent years attracted a number of prestigious ERC grants, and it hosts a centre for public economics, Norwegian Fiscal Studies (NFS) and a centre for international economics, Norwegian Centre for International Economics (NORCIE).

The Department encourages interaction between PhD students and faculty through social gatherings and a wide variety of seminars and workshops in which PhD students are fully involved. In addition to the training described above, PhD students are integrated into the Department’s international research network.

Job description

3 – 5 PhD Research Fellow positions (SKO 1017) for the PhD programme are available. The appointments are for a period of 4 years with 25% teaching and administrative duties.

One position is funded by the Norwegian Centre for International Economics and requires that the candidate’s research interests and project proposal is related to international economics and/or development economics.

The remaining positions are not linked to specific topics or research projects. Applications from candidates in all fields of economics are encouraged, in particular in fields where the Department has a strong research base and supervision capacity.

Qualification requirements

Proven academic record:

Candidates must hold a 2-year Master's degree (including master’s dissertation) or an equivalent qualification in economics.

Candidates completing their Master's degrees (or equivalent) in the spring semester 2027 before 1 August, 2027, may apply.

Please note that:

• Accounting, auditing, business, marketing or management do not count as economics.

• Candidates who have completed a PhD programme in Economics will not be accepted.

• Candidates who have already been accepted to a PhD programme in Economics must inform about this.

• Candidates from institutions that do not use ECTS grades must include an official conversion of their grades to ECTS grades.

Candidates who have already completed economics courses at the postgraduate level in econometrics, microeconomics and/or macroeconomics will have a distinct advantage in the ranking of candidates, but strong candidates who lack this background may also be accepted and will be required to take such courses as part of the PhD programme. Candidates with a degree from another institution than the University of Oslo will need to document qualifications based on detailed course descriptions and syllabuses.

GRE test

For candidates with education from an institution outside the European Economic Area/the European Union, the UK, or Switzerland a score from the general GRE test that is no more than five years old at the application deadline is required as part of the documentation of qualifications.

• The required scores are 152 points on the Quantitative reasoning section and 153 points on the Verbal reasoning section.

• Please add UiO as a recipient of your GRE test using our institutional code 0756.

You must scan and upload a copy of your test result to the application portal.

• The Department of Economics does not accept GMAT scores as a substitute for the GRE.

Proof of proficiency in English

A good command of English is required of all applicants. Applicants must document their proficiency in English by taking either a TOEFL or an IELTS test.

For information about score requirements, see Requirements for admission to the PhD programme in Economics.

Applicants are exempt from TOEFL/IELTS if they are native English speakers, have a qualifying Master’s degree from a Nordic school or have a qualifying Master’s degree where the language of tuition was English.

Working environment

It is expected that the candidate will contribute to a high standard of collegiality and the Department’s working environment. Residence in or close to Oslo is expected.

For further information, please visit the Faculty of Social Sciences’ homepage for the PhD programme: Applying for a PhD fellowship at the Faculty of Social Sciences

We offer

• Salary NOK 590 000 to 650 000 per annum depending on qualifications. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.

• A comprehensive course curriculum

• Supervision by one or two academic supervisors

• A stimulating and international research environment with multiple research groups and seminar series.

• A friendly and inclusive workplace allowing for a good work-life balance.

• Access to Norway’s excellent public services and welfare schemes, including generous parental leave provisions and affordable and accessible childcare (including the university’s kindergartens).

• Fellows will be provided with an office space and will have access to all the facilities of the Department

Evaluation of the application

We seek candidates with a strong background in economics. When evaluating the application, emphasis will be given to the applicant's proven academic record, the project proposal and the applicant’s motivation and academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project. Emphasis will moreover be placed on how the project fits the research strategy of the Department of Economics and supervision capacity. For further information, please see detailed guidelines for the project proposal.

Relevant applicants will be invited to an interview.

Application

The application must include:

• Application letter

• Project proposal of 5–10 pages

• CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work)

• Copies of (both) transcripts with ECTS conversion and diplomas

The application may also include:

• List of relevant publications and other academic work

• Research papers including the Master's dissertation. Where research work is co-authored, the contribution of the candidate should be indicated

• Letters of recommendation may be included in the application but are not required. Letters of recommendation can also be sent via email to Valeriia Rava (see email address below).

Your CV must be entered in Jobbnorge’s CV form and cannot be submitted only as an attachment. This requirement is intended to ensure correct documentation and record-keeping in accordance with the Public Administration Act, Section 15.

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for this job".

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Grades from institutions not using the ECTS system must be accompanied by official conversion to ECTS grades (A-F).

Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

Applications without sufficient documentation will not be considered.

Contact persons

• Head of the PhD programme, Professor Jo Thori Lind: j.t.lind@econ.uio.no

• Adviser Valeriia Rava: valeriia.rava@econ.uio.no

Please consult our FAQ page for frequently asked questions. We are unable to review research proposals or supporting documents before the application deadline.

We need different perspectives in our work

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives.

We will provide appropriate accommodations should you need them. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps, we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports.

More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here.

General information

Please note that we are unable to add documentation after the application deadline. As the deadline applies equally to all applicants, this policy ensures equal treatment throughout the recruitment process. If you experience difficulties uploading documents in Jobbnorge, please contact their customer service: Phone: +47 75 54 22 20 or Email: support@grade.com

The primary method of communication throughout the process will be e-mails and messages through the recruitment system Jobbnorge. When you receive a notification of a message in Jobbnorge, please log in to read it, as it may be important.

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we cannot, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian), Guidelines concerning appointment to recruitment positions at UiO and Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees to secure the rights to all research results and related intellectual property.