Two PhD positions for the visual language(s) of comics (1,0 FTE)

The successful candidate will join a research team with Dr. Neil Cohn on the TINTIN project funded by the European Research Council (ERC). PhD students will analyze the patterns in comics from around the world, and design and carry out psychological experiments examining the comprehension of these patterns. Additional information about this research topic can be found at www.visuallanguagelab.com/tintin.

• (Research) Masters degree in psychology, linguistics, communication science, cognitive science, or a related field.
• Strongly motivated to carry out internationally competitive and cutting-edge research, and have shown an interest in research during their studies (either through doing a Research Masters or conducting experiments already).
• An accessible attitude, can function well in a team, and can establish and maintain interpersonal relations, with excellent communication skills in English.
• Ability to take initiative, be organized, be flexible, and work independently
• An interest in comics, language, cross-cultural analysis, and (neuro)cognition.
• Previous experience running experiments with comics examining behavioral cognitive processing and/or event-related potentials (EEG/ERP) is a plus.

• A full-time position. Ideal start date is September 2020.
• The selected candidate will start with a contract at Tilburg University at the Department of Communication and Cognition for one year, concluded by an evaluation. Upon a positive outcome of the first-year evaluation, the candidate will be offered an employment contract for the remaining three years.
• The PhD candidate will be ranked in the Dutch university job ranking system (UFO) as a PhD-student (promovendus) with a starting fulltime salary of € 2.325 gross per month in the first year, increasing up to € 2.972 the fourth year.
• The selected candidate is expected to have written a PhD thesis, which may be based on articles, by the end of the contract;
• A holiday allowance of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3% (annually);
• Researchers from outside the Netherlands may qualify for a temporary tax-free allowance equal to 30% of their taxable salary. The University will apply for such an allowance on their behalf;
• The University will provide assistance in finding suitable accommodation (for foreign employees);
• Tilburg University is rated among the top Dutch employers and offers very good fringe benefits (it is one of the best non-profit employers in the Netherlands), also including excellent technical infrastructure, savings schemes and excellent sport facilities. The collective labor agreement of the Dutch Universities applies.

Research and education at the Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences (TSHD) has a unique focus on humans in the context of the globalizing digital society, on the development of artificial intelligence and interactive technologies, on their impact on communication, culture and society, and on moral and existential challenges that arise. The School of Humanities and Digital Sciences consists of four departments: Communication and Cognition, Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Culture Studies and Philosophy; several research institutes and a faculty office. Also the University College Tilburg is part of the School. Each year around 275 students commence a Bachelor or (Pre) Master Program. The School has approximately 2000 students and 250 employees.

Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences

Who we are

The Department of Communication and Cognition (DCC) studies cognitive and social aspects of human communication through a multidisciplinary approach combining careful experimentation with survey methods, corpus analyses and computational modeling. We consist of about 70 researchers covering a broad range of topics relevant for cognition and communication, and this includes approximately 25 PhD students. Core research domains include communication and technology, cross-cultural communication, information visualisation, marketing and business communication, language production, and non-verbal communication.

Vacancy is open until 1 February. Applications can only be submitted online through the Tilburg University application website, and should include:

• A complete CV, including publications, theses, and software designed.
• Cover letter (maximum one page) explaining your interest in this project.
• Contact details of two references.
• Copy of one publication, thesis, or essay as a writing sample, preferably of a related topic.

Applications deadline is 1 February 2020.