Fully funded PhD fellowship (3 years) in Foundations and Philosophy of Entanglement

Are you interested in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of philosophy and physics? Then you might be the candidate we are looking for. This PhD fellowship is associated with the interdisciplinary research project “Entanglement Metaphysics without Spacetime” (EMwiS) led by dr. Rasmus Jaksland. The aim of metaphysics is to give an account of how the world fundamentally is, and many metaphysical theories tacitly assume the fundamental existence of space and time. EMwiS is motivated by the growing body of work in theoretical physics suggesting that spatiotemporal structure may be derivative rather than fundamental. EMwiS explores whether this calls for a corresponding revision at the level of metaphysics: one in which the foundational role of spacetime in explaining physical order, connectedness, and world structure is replaced by patterns of entanglement, information‑theoretic constraints, or other non‑spatiotemporal structures.

The PhD project is open within this framework (more on example topics below). We are looking for philosophers who are comfortable engaging closely with the conceptual and formal aspects of quantum theory, as well as for physicists who are drawn to foundational and metaphysical questions. The project provides an environment in which technical competence and philosophical analysis are treated as mutually reinforcing components of a single research programme.

The fellowship is fully funded and your gross salary will normally be NOK 550 800,- per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. The employment period is 3 years for the doctoral work. The fellowship comes with generous travel funds that can, for instance, be used for international conferences and research stays abroad.

To apply for the fellowship, you must have a relevant master's degree in philosophy, physics, mathematics, or equivalent. Your course of study must normally correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master's level. Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position.

The application must include: 

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees.
• CV.
• A list of your scientific work (if any).
• Names and contact information of two relevant referees.
• Writing sample (maximum 10000 words/25 pages). The writing sample can be any published or unpublished work by you that you think reflects your general academic qualifications.
• A research reflection (maximum 2500 words) in which you: identify one or more research questions you would be interested in exploring and why they are relevant within the thematic scope of the fellowship; indicate how you would begin to approach the questions, including relevant literature, frameworks, or methods where appropriate; explain how your academic background, training, and skills prepare you for this work.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an online interview in the second half of June or early July.

Possible thesis topics include:

• How quantum‑theoretic frameworks that relax fixed temporal or causal order should be interpreted, and what they reveal about the status of temporal and spatiotemporal ordering in fundamental ontology.
• The implications of information-theoretic constraints—such as monogamy of entanglement, no cloning, information causality, or entropy inequalities—for the global structure of admissible quantum states, and whether these constraints challenge the possibility of entanglement playing the connective role traditionally played by spacetime.
• The implications of global and robust entanglement structures—such as those encountered in topological phases of matter or many body systems—for metaphysical views that attempt to construct worlds from local states or localised properties.
• The implications of density‑matrix‑based and open‑systems perspectives for entanglement realism, including whether a fundamentally mixed quantum state undermines the distinction between genuine entanglement and mere mixedness, and what this means for treating entanglement as a constitutive feature of world structure.
• Questions concerning subsystem structure and separability in quantum theory, including the non‑uniqueness of tensor factorisations, and their impact on how entanglement relations should be understood when spatiotemporal localisation or system individuation is not fundamental.
• Whether recent relational and perspective‑dependent approaches in quantum theory—such as quantum reference frame frameworks—pose a challenge to perspective‑free accounts of world structure, and whether entanglement‑based metaphysical proposals can accommodate or respond to such challenges.
• More general investigations into whether contemporary quantum physics motivates shifting the focus of ontology away from localised entities and spacetime relations toward relational, structural, or constraint‑based foundations.

The precise direction and focus of the PhD project will be developed in the initial period of the fellowship in dialogue between the candidate and the supervisors and within the scope of the EMwiS project.