PhD Research Fellow in Criminology

UiO/Anders Lien
13th February 2026
Languages
English

• Norsk Bokmål
• English

English

Would you like to be a part of the research project "Rehabilitation and Reintegration in Europe" (RaRiE)?  

PhD Research Fellow in Criminology
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Job description 

A position as a PhD Research Fellow (SKO 1017) is available as part of the project Rehabilitation and Reintegration in Europe (RaRiE), funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The fellow will be responsible for his or her own PhD project and work closely with Professor Thomas Ugelvik at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law on the Norwegian part of the RaRiE project.

The appointment period lasts three years without teaching obligations, or four years with teaching duties making up 25% of the total workload. A four-year fellowship requires that the candidate can contribute to the Faculty of Law's current teaching needs.

PhD fellowships are recruitment positions intended to lead to a PhD degree at The Faculty of Law.  Applicants must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Law. Read more about the Doctoral Degree here .

More about the position 

The RaRiE project is a comparative study of rehabilitation and reintegration in the penal sphere. By examining evidence from three countries that are often considered ‘progressive’ in penal policy and practice terms (the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland), the RaRiE project aims to help us better understand whether and where rehabilitation lives up to its ideals, and to creatively, critically and comparatively interrogate its development and prospects, its coherences and contradictions, its rhetoric and its realities, its pitfalls and its possibilities. Through a new approach called Dialogical Comparative Penology (DCP), RaRiE will provide a uniquely comprehensive analysis of the nature and impact of rehabilitation in these three nations. It will also develop new tools and metrics for critically assessing rehabilitative systems and practices, to better direct their future development. In and through dialogue with policymakers, senior leaders in prison and probation systems, practitioners, activists and people with lived experience of rehabilitation, RaRiE will help to improve the fairness and effectiveness of European penal systems. RaRiE’s ambition -- the ‘step-change’ it offers – lies both in developing a new approach to comparative penology, and in using that new approach to reshape how rehabilitation is understood and developed in Europe.

Our aim in the RaRiE project it to: 

• examine how the rehabilitative ideal has been understood, constructed, contested and represented in each country.
• map and measure the scale and shape of rehabilitation as it exists and is pursued in each country, and at what cost.
• examine and assess how and to what extent rehabilitation is operationalised via technologies (including tools and techniques) in each country. 
• explore how rehabilitation is understood and experienced by those directly involved in its everyday practices (i.e. those practising and those undergoing rehabilitation) in each country.

The candidate is expected to join and actively participate in the research community at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law. In addition to their PhD project, they will participate in RaRiE group activities with the core project team, such as seminars and workshops. The core Rarie team includes the Principal Investigator (PI), Prof. Fergus McNeill, and a Post-doctoral Research Fellow, both based at the University of Glasgow, as well as Prof. Miranda Boone, Associate Prof. Hilde Wermink (both based at the University of Leiden), and Prof. Ugelvik (based at the University of Oslo). The candidate is also expected to engage in international dissemination activities and collaborate with key scholars in the field outside the project group. 

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Qualification requirements

Qualification requirements

• The applicant must hold a Norwegian five-year Master’s degree or an equivalent qualification in Criminology, Sociology of Law, Sociology, Anthropology, or a related field.  
• Normally, the applicant should have grades that place them in the top tier. This requirement also applies to the master’s thesis.
• The project's language is English, and applicants should have an excellent command of English, both written and spoken.
• Data collection will take place in Norway; therefore, candidates must have a strong command of Norwegian or another Scandinavian language (Danish or Swedish).

Preferred qualifications: 

• Knowledge of the criminal justice system and its human consequences is beneficial.
• Knowledge of desistance theory is particularly relevant.
• Qualitative research skills and experience are desirable.

Personal skills

• Applicants must be able to work independently and in a structured manner.
• Applicants should possess good collaboration skills and demonstrate the ability, willingness, and commitment to contribute to the development of the research field.  
• Applicant should be able to take initiative and actively participate in an international and multidisciplinary research team.

Assesment of the applicants

In assessing applicants, priority will be given to their academic achievements, previous relevant publications, the project description, and their professional and personal qualifications, especially regarding their ability to complete the proposed project within the specified timeframe.

Applicants who progress through the selection process will be invited to interview for the position, either in person or via electronic means.

Applicants are assessed by an assessment committee that ranks them according to the above criteria and interviews the most suitable candidates. A separate interview committee may be used. The final decision is made by the faculty's appointment board.

The final PhD project description will be developed in consultation with the project leader following the appointment.

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We offer

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.  
• Committed colleagues and an inspiring, friendly, and inclusive working environment. Pension scheme in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
• Good welfare schemes. 
• Salary in position as Doctoral Research Fellow, position code 1017 in salary range NOK 550 800 – 595 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.

The application must include

• A cover letter describing the applicant’s qualifications and motivation for the position.
• A project description of 4-5 pages (excluding the list of references) outlining how they would approach their research tasks within the project period. This should include a description of the theoretical background, objectives, methodologies (including suggestions for participant recruitment), and reflections on potential ethical challenges. The proposal must clearly demonstrate how the research will contribute to the aims of the RaRiE project. The RaRiE project description is available upon request. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to review it before submitting their project description.
• A CV providing a comprehensive overview of education, previous positions, teaching experience, list of publications, and other relevant activities.
• Copies of diplomas with all grades included in the degree and certificates (if the original language of diplomas/certificates is not English or a Scandinavian language, an English language translation must be provided in addition to a copy of the original). Foreign diplomas must include official documentation about the grading system, together with the official grading scale.
• Up to three academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered should be submitted. If a publication has been authored by multiple individuals, the division of work must be documented with a declaration from the co-author(s).
• Names and contact details for at least two references. 

Please note that all documents must be in English or a Scandinavian language. The application with attachments must be submitted through our electronic recruitment system; please follow the link “apply for this job”. The tentative starting date is spring 2026.

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 are looking for great colleagues—could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. 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 (Norwegian), 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.

We hope you will apply for the position with us. 

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines concerning appointment to recruitment positions 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 §25 information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.

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University of Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 26 500 students and 7 200 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.

The Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law is located at the Faculty of Law. The Department is Norway's only institute for research and education in Criminology and Sociology of Law. Research, teaching and dissemination activities within both fields are conducted at the highest international level. The Department has about 40 staff members and 300 students.

Questions about the position

Thomas Ugelvik

Professor

thomas.ugelvik@jus.uio.no

Victoria Hatløy

Rådgiver

v.a.k.hatloy@jus.uio.no

Apply for this job
Deadline

13th February 2026

Employer

University of Oslo

Municipality

Oslo

Scope

Fulltime (1 positions) Fulltime (%)

Duration

Fixed Term

Place of service
Kristian Augusts gate 17, 0164 Oslo

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