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*PhD position in Psycholinguistics*
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The Language Science and Technology department at Saarland University invites excellent students holding a master's degree to pursue a PhD (3 years) in the field of Psycholinguistics. You will join Vera Demberg’s lab, which works at the interfact of the highly interdisciplinary and fast-paced fields of psycholinguistics and computational linguistics.
What is the focus of the project?
When humans read and listen to language, they construct rich mental representations of the presented information. A crucial element of these representations is the construction of discourse relations: semantic-pragmatic links such as cause-consequenceand contrast. Comprehenders can make use of many different types of information to construct discourse relations, such as connectives (e.g., because, but), or even visual information such as gesture (e.g., two hands on opposing side of the body to signal on the one hand / on the other hand). However, we know little about what other cues signal discourse relations, and whether languages differ in the type of cues they contain and the effects of these cues.
The position will be funded as part of the Collaborative Research Centre 1102, project B2 “Cognitive Modelling of Information Density for Discourse Relations”. The goal of the project is to develop models that explain how readers and listeners can effectively make sense of discourse during online and offline processing. This is done by examining how discourse signals influence discourse processing and comprehension, at the level of linguistic cues, speech cues and gestural cues.The project adopts a multi-method approach, combining methods such as reading time studies, comprehension studies and acceptability studies.
What we offer you
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The position is intended to begin in April 2025 (start-date is negotiable in both directions, i.e. earlier start as soon as Jan 2025 or a later start are possible).
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Salary determined according to the German TVöD (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst) and is classified in salary group/level E13, 75%.
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30 holidays per year, based on full-time employment; in addition, we honor the German public holidays.
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Enrollment in a personal pension scheme to which both employer and employee pay a monthly contribution.
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Access to state-of-the art research and training facilities and a generous conference and travel budget.
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Immersion in an interdisciplinary community made up of cognitive and computational researchers.
What qualities does the successful applicant bring?
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A finished Master’s degree in a relevant field, such as linguistics, psycholinguistics, experimental psychology, cognitive science, data science, or a related discipline.
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Prior experience of research activities in experimental linguistics, including experimental design and data analysis.
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Excellent spoken and written proficiency in English.
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Willingness to learn new experimental methods through guidance from colleagues and training courses.
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Interest in bridging scientific fields, specifically cognitive and computational linguistics.
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Proficiency in programming languages such as R or Python.
How to apply?
Applicants are requested to submit their application, including a cover letter that specifies why you would like to work on this topic and what qualifies you for it, an academic CV, a list of academic publications, your BSc/ MSc thesis (or a current draft), copies of academic degree certificates and names of two potential references.
For application to the PhD position please quote opening number W2561. The official job ad document can be found here https://www.uni-saarland.de/fileadmin/upload/lehrstuhl/demberg/Ausschreibungen/W2561_Stellenausschreibung_PhD_3_yrs_75__Application_deadline_15.12.2024.pdf.
The applications should be sent via email directly to Prof. Vera Demberg:applications-vd(at)lst.uni-saarland.de
The application deadline is December 15th, 2024 / OR Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Saarland University is one of the leading centres for computer science and computational linguistics in Europe, and offers a dynamic and stimulating research environment. The group is affiliated with both the Department of Computer Science and with the Department of Language Science and Technology. The student will become part of the collaborative research center SFB 1102 “Information Density and Linguistic Encoding”, which offers a rich and vibrant environment of students working on related questions. On site, there is also the new research training group on Neuroexplicit models of Language, Vision and Action.
Our researchers and students come from all over the world, and our primary working language is English.
The Saarland University is an equal opportunities employer. In accordance with its policy of increasing the proportion of women in this type of employment, the University actively encourages applications from women. Women are given preference in cases of equal suitability, ability and professional performance.
Applications from severely disabled persons will be given preferential consideration in the event of equal suitability. Part-time employment is generally possible.
We welcome applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, disability, age, and sexual orientation and identity.
Pay grade classification is based on the particular details of the position held and the extent to which the applicant meets the requirements of the pay grade within the TV-L salary scale.
When you submit a job application to Saarland University you will be transmitting personal data. Please refer to our privacy notice for information on how we collect and process personal data in accordance with Art. 13 of the Datenschutz-Grundverordnung. By submitting your application you confirm that you have taken note of the information in the Saarland University privacy notice.
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Vera Demberg