PhD at University of Zurich
The Chair of Developmental Psychology: Infancy and Childhood (Prof. Dr. Moritz Daum) offers a position in the field of multilingual language development (initially limited to 2 years) for a doctoral student starting August 1, 2023 or by agreement.
PhD Project
The chair's research area centers around the cognitive and social development during infancy and childhood. The project specifically examines the development of language skills in multilingual children during early childhood. Previous studies have demonstrated variations in the communicative abilities and adaptability between monolingual and multilingual children. The proposed research project aims to delve deeper into these differences observed in early childhood (ages 0 to 6) and explore the underlying mechanisms. Various methodologies including behavioral analysis, eye tracking, and electroencephalography (EEG) may be employed to investigate this topic.
Your responsibilities are:
Scientific qualification (PhD); cumulative, quantitative with cross-sectional and possibly longitudinal analyses. This contains:
- Conception, implementation and organization of the dissertation project under the guidance of a senior researcher
- Conception of the research project derived from previous literature
- Contacting and recruiting study participants
- Coordination of personnel, resources and infrastructure
- Data collection and analysis
- Presentation of results (writing of scientific manuscripts, presentation at internal laboratory meetings and national/international conferences)
- Writing scientific articles and publishing them in international peer-reviewed journals and according to open science practices
- Assisting in the communication of research results to the general public
Supervision of master students and teaching.
PhD Requirements
- Very good master's degree in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, data science, linguistics, or similar field
- Strong research interest in quantitative research methods
- Strong interest in issues related to developmental psychology in early childhood, especially early multilingual development
- Strong interest in data organization and statistical analysis
- Strong interest in pursuing an academic career
- Very good knowledge of research methods and statistics as well as computer application skills (MS Office, R)
- Very good written and spoken German and English language skills
- Efficient, flexible, self-organized and self-reliant working style
- Competence in the exchange of ideas in an interdisciplinary team
- Very good social and communication skills in dealing with children, including their families
What we offer
- Embedding in a multidisciplinary, highly committed team
- Opportunity to present research findings at national and international conferences
- International research contacts
- Salary and employment conditions according to cantonal guidelines
How to Apply
August 1, 2023 or by arrangement.
Applications consist of the usual documents (CV, references, letter of motivation), the contact addresses of one or two references (e.g. Master's thesis supervisor) and a 1 to 2 page career plan. This should include highlights of previous research as well as your plans after the dissertation. Please send your application electronically only in one summarized PDF format to Ines Florin (i.florin@psychologie.uzh.ch) by 31/05/2023. The position will remain advertised until filled.
