Two year postdoc in Experimental Psycholinguistics and Computational Language Modelling at the Centre for Language Technology, Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, UCPH

The Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), Denmark, invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Experimental Psycholinguistics and Computational Language Modelling to be filled by the 1st of November 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics is home to 1600 students and 160 members of staff. It provides the setting for international research and education from BA to PhD studies within language, language technology, Natural Language Processing, literature, media, culture, and gender studies.

The successful candidate will be attached to the Centre for Language Technology (CST), which is one of the research centres of the department. CST conducts research in different areas of interest for language technology, such as Natural Language Processing, construction of NLP resources, Computational Cognitive Modeling and Multimodality, NLP infrastructure and policy, Representation Learning for NLP and Digital Humanities, among others.  It has a strong international profile, at the same time as pursuing the development of language technology methods and resources for the Danish language. The Centre has considerable experience managing international research projects, frequently attracts visiting researchers, and has organised major conferences in the field. In collaboration with the Department of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen, it offers an international MSc programme in IT and Cognition. The programme, which currently admits about 30 students a year, comprises a range of courses in Natural Language Processing and Cognitive Science. In addition, we teach at several BA programs and electives, such as the BA ‘Kognitions- and Datavidenskab’ hosted at the Department of Psychology and an elective package on Language-Centric AI for students in the Humanities.

Job content
The successful candidate will contribute to the project METALLM (Exploring Metaphors in LLMS), granted by the Independent Research Fund Denmark 2026-2029; see https://cst.ku.dk/english/projects/metallm.

The candidate will contribute to the project’s WP2 – Cognitive Processing of Metaphor. WP2 investigates how people understand metaphorical language and compares human processing with that of large language models (LLMs). Using reading tasks and eye‑tracking, the project examines how human attention and interpretation vary across different types of metaphors, and compares these patterns with the attentional mechanisms of LLMs tested on a comparable range of expressions. The overall goal is to better understand similarities and differences between human cognition and computational language models during metaphor processing.

The position involves designing and conducting psycholinguistic experiments using eye‑tracking, analysing eye‑tracking data, and collaborating on the implementation of cognitively informed language models.

Ideal candidates have a background in psycholinguistics, cognitive science, experimental psychology and/or computational modeling, with experience in eye‑tracking and strong quantitative and programming skills.

Teaching qualifications are not a requirement, even if the candidate will contribute with limited teaching. More details on our educational programmes are provided at https://www.ku.dk/studies/bachelor/cognitive-data-science, and https://www.ku.dk/studies/masters/it-and-cognition.

Qualification requirements
Appointment as a postdoctoral researcher requires research qualifications at a level at least equivalent to those obtained through the satisfactory completion of a PhD programme within the relevant field.

You can find further information about the qualification requirements for postdoctoral positions here: Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (In Danish only).

You can also find further information about the postdoctoral position on our English webpage on career paths for early‑career researchers at the University of Copenhagen: Career at The University of Copenhagen.

Assessment Criteria
Applicants will primarily be assessed in relation to their research qualifications, including their publications, ability to conduct independent research and participate in research collaborations, and their experience of research management. In addition, the applicant’s research plan and research potential will be assessed in relation to the overall project described above.

Teaching qualifications are not a requirement, but if the Postdoc is expected to teach, then documented teaching experience can be included in the overall assessment. 

You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with the faculty’s strategic landmarks here: Strategic landmarks.

Application
Applications must be submitted online in PDF or Word format. Click on the “Apply now” button at the bottom of this advertisement to apply.

Applications should be written English and must include the following attachments:  

1. Letter of motivation
2. CV
3. Documentation of qualifications (exam certificates and PhD diploma) 
4. Complete publication list (attached publications must be marked with an asterisk). The list must be structured systematically and divided into the following categories:

• Peer-reviewed publications:
  • Monographs and anthologies
  • Articles in journals
  • Book chapters/anthology contributions, etc.
• Non-peer-reviewed publications:
  • Publications disseminating research findings, etc.

The publication dates must be clearly marked on the list. The selected publications must be uploaded as attachments and numbered.

• Research plan (maximum 5 pages)

The plan should include a brief account of previous research, current research projects, and a forward-looking outline of the planned research contribution over the coming years. The plan should also describe your involvement in research organisation, research collaborations, and active participation in research environments at both local and international levels.

• Teaching portfolio (statement: maximum 5 pages; documented appendices: maximum 10 pages) Please refer to the UCPH guidelines for teaching portfolios available at: Job application portfolio.

Only documentation in English will be assessed.  

Applicants are invited to familiarize themselves with the faculty’s strategic landmarks here: Strategic landmarks – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Salary and terms of employment
Terms of appointment and salary will be in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The salary range starts at DKK 39,237.41 per month, (EUR 5,250) + a 18.07% contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.

The recruitment process
Once the deadline for applications has expired, the Head of Department will consider advice from the appointment committee and select applicants for assessment. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted. The Head of Department will then set up an expert assessment committee to consider the applications. The selected applicants will be informed who is serving on the committee. They will be offered the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment of their application before the appointment is announced.

Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here:  Recruitment process – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see HR Excellence in Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a wide variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark, here: For international researchers at the University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Contact Information
For additional information about the position, please contact Bolette Sandford Pedersen at email bspedersen@hum.ku.dk.

For more Information about the recruitment process, please contact HR South at hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk. Please refer to ID number: 211-2567/26-2I.

The application deadline is 11 June 2026 at 23:59 CEST.

Any applications or additional material submitted after the deadline will not be considered. However, changes may be made to the submitted application right up until the deadline.