Phd in Evolutionary Semantics

vor 1 Woche

Zürich, Schweiz Universität Zürich Vollzeit

**Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE)**
**PhD in Evolutionary Semantics 80 %**: Start of employment 01.05.2026 (or later by arrangement), temporary

The project is situated in the Anthropological Linguistics Group at ISLE, and will also be connected with a much broader research consortium, the NCCR Evolving Language.

**Your responsibilities**:

- Each of the PhDs will develop a regional case study, and write a thesis consisting of three journal articles to be completed within four years. All articles will be written together with your supervisors and other coauthors, potentially including collaborators from other disciplines such as anthropology or archaeology. You will design and implement a research method that contributes to the overall goals of the funded project. The project has a particular focus on the Australian, Papuan and Pacific regions, though other regions may also be considered if clearly motivated

You will be integrated into a multidisciplinary institute with a strong focus on innovative methods in the language sciences. Your project will be highly collaborative and include exceptional opportunities for learning new research skills. Your dissertation work will be supervised by Professor John Mansfield and co-supervisors.

Employment is at 80% FTE and includes within this about 10% teaching assistant tasks. The position is a training opportunity and you are expected to use the remaining unpaid 20% for your own further training and skill development. The salary is internationally competitive and follows standards set by the Swiss National Science Foundation, see Salary ranges, guidelines for employees in SNSF-funded projects (PDF).

The position is offered as a one-year contract, renewable for up to four years based on performance.

**Your profile**:
To apply, please prepare the following documents as a single PDF:

- A CV with a list of course work and grades
- One or two short writing samples/publications that demonstrate your qualifications for the position

For further information about the project, please contact John Mansfield. For administrative questions, please contact Lena Zipp.

**What we offer**:
**Work-Life Balance**
- Flexible working models (such as part-time positions, mobile working, job-sharing)
- Childcare at the kihz foundation of UZH and ETH

**Learning and Development**
- Wide range of continuing education courses of UZH and the Canton of Zurich
- Language Center run jointly with ETH Zurich

**Food**
- Food and drinks at reduced prices in the UZH cafeterias
- Lunch-Check-card with UZH contribution

**Healthcare**
- Special conditions on the Academic Sports Association ASVZ
- Free seasonal flu vaccinations
- Rest and relaxation at the quiet room in the university tower

**Discounts**
- Private traffic: Carsharing, rent a vehicle, parking space
- Digitalization: Hardware, software, mobile phone subscriptions
- Special conditions on hotel reservations

**Conditions of Employment**
- Policies of the UZH
- Most UZH staff are employed according to public law

**International Services**
- Support for people from outside Switzerland

**Campuses**
- Campuses Zurich City, Zurich Irchel, Oerlikon and Schlieren
- Sites Zurich West, Old Botanical Garden, Botanical Garden and Lengg

**Location**:
**Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE)**:Affolternstrasse 56, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland

**Further information**:
**Questions about the job**:
**Prof. Dr. John Mansfield**
- Project Leader

**Working at UZH**:

  • PhD in Evolutionary Semantics

    vor 1 Woche

    Zürich, Zürich, Schweiz Universität Zürich Vollzeit

    Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE)PhD in Evolutionary Semantics 80 %Start of employment or later by arrangement), temporaryThe ISLE Institute invites applications for two PhD positions in a project investigating the evolution of abstract concepts in diverse languages. A brief statement of project goals can be found in this...

  • Phd Position in Evolutionary Anthropology and Medicine

    vor 2 Wochen

    Zürich, Schweiz Universität Zürich Vollzeit

    **Institute of Evolutionary Medicine** **PhD position in evolutionary anthropology and medicine 80 %**: Start of employment 01.07.2025, temporary **Your responsibilities**: - Propose, develop and conduct a PhD project in the course of four years. Earn a number of course credits and teaching hours PhD Program in Evolutionary Biology. Actively contribute to...

  • PhD position in English historical linguistics

    Vor 3 Tagen

    Zürich, Schweiz University of Zurich Vollzeit

    Your responsibilities This doctoral post is designed as a research position that culminates in a PhD thesis (cumulative or monograph) but also involves other publication goals, such as conference papers, articles, organization of academic events, and applications for additional funding. You will be a member of the WAW-ME team, responsible for collecting...

  • Postdoc in Population Genomics

    vor 2 Wochen

    Zürich, Schweiz Universität Zürich Vollzeit

    **Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies** **Postdoc in population genomics 80 %**: Start of employment 01.04.2025 **Your responsibilities**: - Similarities between genetic and linguistic evolution were first pointed out by Charles Darwin. Within the NCCR project, we used human population genomic data at a global scale to explore the...

  • Postdoc position in English historical linguistics

    vor 1 Woche

    Zürich, Schweiz University of Zurich Vollzeit

    Your responsibilities This post-doctoral post is designed as a research position that culminates in a habilitation thesis (cumulative or monograph) but also involves other publication goals, such as conference papers, articles, organization of academic events, and applications for additional funding. You will be a member of the WAW-ME team, responsible for...

  • Research Scientist

    vor 20 Stunden

    Zürich, Zürich, Schweiz Meta Vollzeit

    We are building a team focusing on personal multi-agent systems, that will go out in the world and act on our behalf. The team covers a broad range of topics, including cooperative and social LLM agents, multi-agent planning and reasoning, self-improvement and evolutionary techniques, multi-agent reinforcement learning, human-agent collaboration, simulation...

  • Research Scientist, Paradigms of Intelligence

    vor 1 Woche

    Zürich, Schweiz Google Vollzeit

    **Minimum qualifications**: - PhD degree in Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent practical experience. - One or more scientific publications in top-tier conferences or journals. **Preferred qualifications**: - First-authored publications in the fields of machine learning (e.g. ICLR, ICML, NeurIPS) or programming languages theory (e.g. PLDI,...

  • Research Scientist, Paradigms of Intelligence

    vor 2 Wochen

    Zürich, Schweiz Google Vollzeit

    **Minimum qualifications**: - PhD degree in Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent practical experience. - One of more scientific publication submissions for conferences or journals. - Experience in coding with Python, JavaScript, R, Java, or C++. **Preferred qualifications**: - Experience in post-doctoral research. - Experience in machine...

  • Ai Research Scientist

    vor 2 Wochen

    Zürich, Schweiz Meta Vollzeit

    We are building a team focusing on personal multi-agent systems, that will go out in the world and act on our behalf. The team covers a broad range of topics, including cooperative and social LLM agents, multi-agent planning and reasoning, self-improvement and evolutionary techniques, multi-agent reinforcement learning, human-agent collaboration, simulation...

  • Research Scientist

    vor 1 Woche

    Zürich, Schweiz Meta Vollzeit

    Overview Join to apply for the AI Research Scientist - XR Tech role at Meta . We are building a team focusing on personal multi-agent systems, that will go out in the world and act on our behalf. The team covers a broad range of topics, including cooperative and social LLM agents, multi-agent planning and reasoning, self-improvement and evolutionary...