UNIVERSITY OF BERN, SWITZERLAND

TWO PHD ASSISTANTSHIPS IN LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

STARTING FEBRUARY 2015 OR SEPTEMBER 2015

Swiss/EU citizens 50% appointment, circa CHF 39,300 a year (+/‐ £25,500 or €32,000) Non‐Swiss/EU citizens * 35% appointment, circa CHF 27,000 a year (+/‐ US$30,000)

Professor Crispin Thurlow is looking to select two graduate students (with an MA or equivalent degree) interested in pursuing PhDs in Language and Communication under his supervision while working part‐time as teaching‐cum‐research assistants in the Department of English at the University of Bern, Switzerland. You should be committed to undertaking research in at least one of Professor Thurlow’s own research areas: new media language, tourism discourse, discourse/s of adolescence, language and sexuality, and professional discourse. An explicit commitment to interdisciplinarity and multimodality will be favoured. Previous teaching experience – as an assistant or instructor – is desirable.

POSITION

 A 50% or 35% PhD assistantship starting February 2015 or September 2015.  Three‐year appointment running until December 2017 or June 2018.

* Swiss study visas permit foreign students to work no more than 15 hours a week.  A 50% appointment is equivalent to 21 hours a week.  A 35% appointment is equivalent to 14.7 hours a week.  The duties of a PhD assistant typically include: o Teaching . 50% appointment: One and a half courses a year (i.e. three classes over two years with the fourth semester teaching‐free). . 35% appointment: One course a year. . Courses are either organized as a lecture series or as a seminar, meeting once‐a‐week for 90 minutes. . Semesters run for 14 weeks mid‐Sep to mid‐Dec, mid‐Feb to mid‐Jun. o Service . Modest research support for Professor Thurlow. . Minor administrative/service duties for the department. o Research . The rest of the working week is allocated for your own doctoral research and studies.

SALARY

 50% appointment: monthly salary of CHF 3,030 (gross) for 13 months = CHF 39,390 per year (gross).  35% appointment: monthly salary of CHF 2,121 (gross) for 13 months = CHF 27,500 per year (gross).  Salary subject to modest annual raises in accordance with Cantonal (i.e. local government) policy.  Salary does not include: . social security payments and income taxes (about 24%); . tuition fees of CHF300 per semester (same for all students regardless of citizenship); . personal health insurance (roughly CHF 200 to 300 a month depending on age, etc.).†

CONDITIONS

Doctoral research in Switzerland – like in much of Europe – is thesis‐driven and relies on students being mature, motivated, and well organized. You work under the supervision of a dedicated faculty advisor/mentor and are expected to participate in the research culture of your

† Health insurance is compulsory in Switzerland and is not organized by your employer. You may be exempt if you can show evidence of equivalent coverage under a foreign health insurance scheme. home department and our allied research centres (e.g. Center for the Study of Language and Society, Center for Cultural Studies). By the same token, you will find yourself with a lot of freedom, independence and collegiality, quickly becoming a valuable member of the department’s academic faculty/staff.

For more information about life (including cost of living) in Bern, see:

www.unibe.ch/eng/studies/living_bern.html

www.unibe.ch/eng/studies/doctoral_students.html

For more information about the Department of English:

www.ens.unibe.ch/content/index_eng.html

REQUIREMENTS

 The University of Bern is an equal opportunity employer: female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.  You must hold an MA (or equivalent) in sociolinguistics, discourse studies or linguistic anthropology. Degrees in communication studies or cultural studies will be acceptable if you can demonstrate a substantial engagement with language study.  You will must have a track record of successful academic study, exceptional English‐ language writing skills, and a clear commitment to the investigation of language and communication.  You should have a reasonably well‐developed research proposal (may be something that extends or develops a masters thesis). Projects must engage some aspect of Professor Thurlow’s own research priorities (see first paragraph above). For more information:

www.crispinthurlow.net

 To be eligible for doctoral studies, you will need to satisfy the University of Bern’s basic admission criteria:

www.zib.unibe.ch/content/internationals/bewerbung/doktorat/index_eng.html

 If successful with your application for an assistantship, Professor Thurlow will assist you with completing the University’s central application process for doctoral studies.  Non‐Swiss/EU candidates would need to work closely with Professor Thurlow to secure the necessary visas or permits for the right to live and study/work in Switzerland.

APPLICATION

To apply for one of these assistantships, please submit the following materials as a single PDF: . a cover letter (addressed to Professor Thurlow) . a Curriculum Vitae (aka résumé) . the names and email addresses of two academic referees (no letters needed now) . a short research proposal (no more than six pages) . a representative writing sample (e.g. a chapter from your MA thesis or a stand‐alone paper/essay)

In your cover letter, please explain what your writing sample is and why you have chosen to submit it. Please also explain who your referees are and why you have chosen to ask them for a possible recommendation. Please indicate clearly your desired start‐date and your citizenship.

DEADLINE

Your materials should be emailed to Professor Thurlow ([email protected]).

For start in February 2015: Submit your materials no later than 31st October 2014 (decisions by end of November)

For start in September 2015: Submit your materials no later than 31st January 2015 (decisions by end of February) NOTE: If you do plan to apply for the September start date, please alert Professor Thurlow (by email) sooner than this deadline.