PhD student in Computational Linguistics with a Specialization in Scandinavian Languages

Do you want to attend graduate education with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favorable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a PhD student position at Uppsala University.

The Department of Linguistics and Philology conducts research and offers education in language studies and philology with a focus on the languages and cultures of Asia, the classical languages of Europe, general linguistics, and computational linguistics. Education is offered at basic, advanced, and doctoral levels. Some eighty people are employed by the department. Together with students and partners, they create a multicultural and intellectually vibrant environment.

The doctoral studies correspond to 4 years of full-time work, for which the PhD student receives a salary as an employee at the department. The PhD student is expected to conduct studies and research full-time as well as participate in and contribute to the department's activities. Teaching and/or administrative duties may add up to 20%, whereby the employment is extended by the corresponding time.

Duties

The doctoral studies will be carried out as part of the research project Language change and non-fictional texts – a large-scale investigation of Late Modern Swedish (1800–1950), financed by the Swedish Research Council. The project aims to study the development of the Swedish language in non-fiction during the relevant period, focusing on developing better tools for automatic large-scale analysis of high quality for older Swedish. The project is a collaboration between Computational Linguistics and Scandinavian Languages, and the PhD student is expected to contribute to both fields.

The PhD student will work on several aspects of the project, such as the development of tools for data that has been digitized with poor quality, evaluation of tools for older Swedish, which will also include annotating new datasets, development of methods for quantifying language change at different linguistic levels, and analysis of language change.

Requirements

To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in computational linguistics, language technology, or a computational or linguistic subject that gives a strong basis for education on the graduate level in computational linguistics, or
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level, including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other

Good knowledge of Swedish (or another Scandinavian language) is a requirement since the project focuses on analyzing Swedish texts.

Additional qualifications

A background in linguistics, Swedish language and linguistics, or Scandinavian languages will be considered an additional merit, as is previous experience working with historical texts, especially for Swedish and other Scandinavian languages.

Application procedure

The application should include:

• CV (maximum 2 pages)
• A letter where the applicant briefly describes themselves and their research interest.
• A plan for the graduate project, in a maximum of 3 pages.
• Copies of degrees and grades.
• MSc thesis and publications (if applicable).
• Other relevant documents.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

About the employment

The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 2025-09-01 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Docent Sara Stymne (sara.stymne@lingfil.uu.se) or Professor David Håkansson (david.hakansson@nordiska.uu.se)

Please submit your application by 3 March 2025, UFV-PA 2024/4415.

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