PhD Scholarships – Communication (CreAlte)

BI Centre for Creative Industries at the Department of Communication and Culture is currently inviting applications for a four-year Doctoral Scholarship with special focus on the impact of transformative technologies on cultural institutions and their audiences starting in April 2025 or on appointment.

The PhD scholarship is linked to the CreAIte research project. CreAIte (2025-2029) is a Norwegian Research Council funded research project led by BI Norwegian Business School in collaboration with Copenhagen Business School, Kristiania University College, and Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. The project will explore how transformative technologies, in particular generative AI and virtual presence technologies, are placing a range of values at stake in the cultural and creative sector: aesthetic, ethical, economic, legal, social, and more. With an interdisciplinary approach that brings together researchers from the humanities, cultural economics, law, AI ethics, and technology, CreAIte responds the overarching research question: What are the implications of transformative technologies for value creation, in the broadest sense of the term, for creators, cultural institutions and audiences? CreAIte focuses on what have been until recently the least digitized areas of the cultural and creative industries – performing arts, visual arts (including museums) and actors in film and television. With this focus, the project will investigate questions related to authenticity, creativity in art and cultural expression, the economic sustainability of cultural institutions and practitioners, value creation for audiences, copyright, and legal and economic regulation and policy.

The PhD candidate’s research will have particular focus on the consequences of transformative technologies for cultural institution offerings and value creation for their audience and visitors, including non-market public values.

BI’s Department of Communication and Culture, where the candidate will be based, is currently home to about 50 faculty. The Department is highly international in its faculty composition as well as its ongoing research and industry collaborations. The department hosts research groups within Creative Industries, Internet and Society, Corporate Communication, and Education. Ongoing research in the department is for instance concerned with the role of the arts in the digital transformation, the structural changes of the creative industries, the roles of communication technologies in shaping the future of work and new forms of labour and organizations, online organizing and communities, social legitimacy of technological transformations, and innovation in education management.

The candidate will join our four-year doctoral program which is designed for talented students who wish to pursue an international career within academia and who can contribute to the international arena with their research and publications. The recruitment of our PhD students is an important

element of the department’s research agenda, as part of our goal to meet BI’s vision of being one of

the leading business schools in Europe.

Eligible applicants must have completed a Master of Science degree with thesis work, a research masters/M. Phil degree, or a comparable degree relevant for the specialization in Communication (comprising such disciplines such as management, arts management, (cultural) economics, cultural studies, communication studies, political sciences, psychology, sociology, and philosophy) by the early summer of 2025. An MBA degree does not fulfil the requirements for admission. Final year Master of Science students are encouraged to apply.

Given the scope of the CreAIte project, any of the following qualities would additionally be viewed as favourable:

• Knowledge of content production and dissemination practices (onsite, hybrid or virtual) within cultural institutions, especially art museums and/or theatrical institutions
• Knowledge of cultural audiences, especially connected to art museum and theatrical institutions
• Knowledge and interest in the intersection of AI, virtual presence technologies (e.g. live streaming, virtual visitation), and the arts
• Skills in qualitative and/or quantitative study design, data collection, and analysis
• Knowledge of digitalization of cultural and creative industries

Th accepted applicant will be offered close supervision and follow-up by the research faculty.

The four-year scholarships are currently NOK 572 800- per year (will be adjusted during 2025). The positions provide for automatic membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (Statens Pensjonskasse). The scholarships require 25% of the teaching responsibilities of a full-time professor position. PhD candidates will have their place of work at BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo, Norway.

Additional information about the doctoral programme, admission requirements and the application can be obtained from the Doctoral Administration at BI Norwegian Business School (Email: phd@bi.no) and the department’s website.

Candidates are asked to upload the following information with their application:

• Certificate of a Master of Science degree or equivalent, including transcripts of grades
• Certificate of a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, including transcript of grades. Please note that BI requires a two year master program and average grades of B and up to be eligible.
• A Diploma Supplement or a similar document describing in detail the study and grade system and the rights for further studies associated with the obtained degree. Other relevant certificates and transcripts
• An original project proposal (5-10 pages including topic, proposed method, schedule, and relevant literature) that falls within the above-mentioned topics of the CreAIte project. If generative AI is used to generate any text this needs to be clearly stated and cited.
• CV
• Letters of recommendations from relevant employers/professors/supervisors providing evidence of your skills as a researcher (a minimum of 2 letters)
• Certificates from previously completed courses at the doctoral level, if requesting approval of these for the PhD programme at BI Norwegian Business School (see section 2 in our PhD Regulations). Approval form can be found here: Approval form
• A complete list of all publications and/or other documented relevant activities
• Signed verification document. Template to be found here: Verification document
• Applicants must take either TOEFL or IELTS. The minimum standards for test scores acceptable for admission are:

TOEFL – a total score of 575 points for the written test or 233 for the computer-based version or 90 points on the internet based test

IELTS – a score of 6.5

 Exemptions are made for applicants:

• whose native language is English
• who have two years or more of higher education where the language of instruction was English
• from a country which is a member of the EU/EEA and/or the Council of Europe/UNESCO- Cepes, who have English as the first foreign language taken over a period of at least 7 years in primary school, secondary school and upper secondary education.

Under certain circumstances, applicants may request a waiver for the TOEFL or IELTS when applying for admission. To request a TOEFL/IELTS waiver, the applicant must submit a waiver form.

TOEFL / IETLS scores must be from within the last two years. The codes for BI Norwegian Business School are as follows: GMAT 0529, TOEFL 0529, GRE 7365. For IELTS we accept copies as long as the TRF number is visible.

Faculty appointments and promotions approved after 1. August 2025 will have Norwegian language requirements, as stated in the national regulations. Research fellows must document language proficiency in Norwegian at minimum A2 level or complete the equivalent of 15 ECTS in Norwegian during the employment period.

Please note that all documents must be uploaded in the electronic application. Documents may not be submitted by e-mail. Furthermore, note that any documents forwarded after the application deadline will not be considered. Exceptions will only be made for students who are completing their master’s degree in 2025 and do not have a final certificate when applying. Please note that you will not be able to revise your application once it has been submitted.

Candidates may, at a later stage, be asked to forward further information and/or be called in for an interview.

Candidates who are accepted for the program, must provide a more detailed progress plan with milestones and courses for the four years of study.

More information

Further information about CreAIte can be obtained by contacting either of the co-directors for BI Centre for Creative Industries, Peter Booth (Email: peter.booth@bi.no) or Anne-Britt Gran (Email: anne-britt.gran@bi.no). Questions about the PhD specialization in Communication can be addressed to Associate Dean of the programme, Christian Fieseler (Email: christian.fieseler@bi.no).