Upcoming opportunities

Two new projects will hire PhD students starting from summer 2025. Please keep posted for updates about calls and deadlines.

Are you looking for PhD stipend?

PhD studies at University of Bergen are based on employment at UiB or a cooperating research institute such as Norce or the Institue of Marine Research. All PhD positions at UiB must be openly advertised. There is thus no reason to contact a TEG researcher to ask for a PhD opportunity. It is possible, however, to contact a researcher to propose a PhD project within one of TEGs research fields, and to work on a joint grant application that can be submitted to the Research Council of Norway (RCN). The deadline for such applications is normally in March, and RCN requires that the supervisor is the formal applicant. The competition within RCN is strong, with more than 90% rejection rate. Suggestions for such proposals must therefore come months before the deadline.

Looking for a Master’s project?

The Theoretical Ecology Group welcomes new Master’s students in all our research themes. Here are some potential topics:

• Modelling: Optimal spawning time in cod, behavioural flexibility and physiological constraints (Anders F. Opdal, Øyvind Fiksen)
• Modelling: Coastal water darkening and the competition between fish and jellyfish (Anders F. Opdal, Johanna Aarflot (Institute of Marine Research))
• How do lunar cycles structure plankton communities? Predictions from MinMod and field data from the Canary Islands (Øyvind Fiksen and Tom J. Langbehn with support from Dag L. Aksnes and Santiago Hernández-León).
• Literature mining: Barriers and solutions for supplying more small pelagic fish for direct human consumption in Norway (suitable for 30 ECTS in Marine sustainability) (Gabriella Ljungström, Tom J. Langbehn, and Katja Enberg)
• Literature review and data analysis: Environmental and nutritional consequences of replacing fish with land-based protein sources (suitable for 60 ECTS in Marine sustainability) (Gabriella Ljungström, Tom J. Langbehn, and Christian Jørgensen)
• Literature review: Harvesting of small pelagic fish worldwide - is there evidence for capping management strategies? (suitable for 30 or 60 ECTS in Fisheries /Marine biology / Marine sustainability) (Gabriella Ljungström, Tom J. Langbehn, and Katja Enberg)
• Is advective feeding on gelatinous prey at depth in the dark a low-cost, low-risk, low-reward strategy for Greater Argentine? Otolith reading, data analysis, and perhaps modelling. (Tom J. Langbehn and Katja Enberg or Christian Jørgensen)

Insitute of Marine Research maintains a list of potential Master's topics.

Some of our colleagues in Bergen and nearby offer projects on related topics. Check their pages for updates:

• Terje Lislevand at the University Museum of Bergen offers field projects on birds.
• Monica Solberg at the Institute of Marine Research offers masters theses on interactions between wild and farmed Atlantic salmon.

You can also check our Research web pages and contact potential supervisors directly to inquire whether they will have an opening for new MSc students in the near future. The best way to make first contact is to present your background and research interests briefly in an email.

Information on application dates, recommended or required courses, and many other practicalities for being a Master of Science (MSc) student at Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, can be found here.

Most or all MSc education at the Department of Biological Sciences (and the Faculty of Science) is in English, and most MSc theses are written in English.

Past Masters Students

Frida Wickmann
MSc student 2022-2024
I study biodiversity, ecology, and evolution. I am interested in how biotic and abiotic factors structure life history, physiology, and behavior in marine organisms. Supervisors: Andrea Campos-Candela and Christian Jørgensen.

Eirik Hoddevik Hovstad
MSc 2023
Thesis title: Tråd og tare. Korleis sikre grøn produksjon gjennom bærekraftig materialval.
  [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Gabriella Ljungström and Roger Strand (Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities).

Ingvild Marie Krohn Riska
MSc 2023
I will combine insights from an individual based model with field-based observations to study the effect of artificial light on the behaviour and distribution of pelagic organisms in the water column. Specifically, what is the sampling bias introduced by a lit research vessel.
Supervisors: Øystein Varpe, Anders F. Opdal, and Tom J. Langbehn.

Nadja Meister
MSc 2022
Thesis title: The role of crawling predators in the decline and distribution of blue mussels in Norwegian coastal waters [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Tom J. Langbehn, Øystein Varpe, and Christian Jørgensen. Nadja’s MSc thesis is now published as a research arcticle in Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Astrid Holtan Fredriksen
MSc 2021
Thesis title: Trophic structure of mesopelagic species in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean based on stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen.
  [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Eva Garcia Seoane (Institute of Marine Research), Tom J. Langbehn, and Christian Jørgensen.

Andreas Hjartåker
MSc 2020
Thesis title: Effects of multiple mating and male harassment on female fecundity and longevity in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus.   [ open access pdf ]
Supervisor: Sigrunn Eliassen.

Steinar Thorsen Trengereid
MSc 2020
Thesis title: Effect of sex ratio variation on mating behaviour in a parasite, the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis).
Supervisors: Adèle Mennerat and Sigrunn Eliassen.

Andreas Næss Holme
MSc 2019
Thesis title: Male mate choice and selectivity in relation to female body size, in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus.   [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Sigrunn Eliassen and Laura Hildesheim.

Margot Ulfsdatter Nyeggen
MSc 2019
Thesis title: Seasonal zooplankton dynamics in Svalbard coastal waters: The shifting dominance of mero- and holoplankton and timing of reproduction in three species of Copepoda.
  [ open access pdf ]
Supervisor: Janne Søreide (UNIS) and Dag L. Aksnes.

Sigrid Tveitnes
MSc 2019
Thesis title: Reproduktiv investering hos flekket frøbille, Callosobruchus maculatus.   [ open access pdf ]
Supervisor: Sigrunn Eliassen.

Marte Ulltang
MSc 2019
Thesis title: The effect of foraging ecology on the onset of dawn song for passerine species.    [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Sigrunn Eliassen and Christian Jørgensen.

Valeriya A. Vyalkova
MSc 2019
Thesis title: Effect of supplemented water on fecundity and longevity of female bean beetles, Callosobruchus maculatus, in sex ratio manipulated environments.   [ open access pdf ]
Supervisor: Sigrunn Eliassen.

Kamilla Flateseth Furseth
MSc 2018
Thesis title: Fangst av krill og torsk (Gadus morhua) ved bruk av lys; effekt av lyskildens egenskaper.
  [ open access pdf ]
Supervisor: Anne Christine Utne Palm and Dag L. Aksnes.

Julianne Netteland
MSc 2018
Thesis title: Predation risk at dawn: How changing light and birds' traits affect the temporal risk landscape during sunrise.  [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Sigrunn Eliassen and Christian Jørgensen.
Julianne is working with nature management in Porsanger kommune, Northern Norway.

Kristine Rokke
MSc 2018
Thesis title: Mesopelagic sound scattering layers and possible explanations for their diel variations in Bjørnafjorden, western Norway.
  [ open access pdf ]
Supervisor: Thor Klevjer (IMR), Espen Strand(IMR), Anne Gro Salvanes, and Dag L. Aksnes.

Synne Myhre Sunde
MSc 2018
Thesis title: Fødebiologi til nordlig lysprikkfisk (Benthosema glaciale, Reinhardt 1837) i fire Nordatlantiske havbassenger.
  [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Thor Klevjer (IMR), Anne Gro Salvanes, and Dag L. Aksnes.

Elinor Tessin
MSc 2018
Thesis title: Drivers of spatial variability in spring bloom onset and magnitude along a latitudinal gradient in the Nordic Seas.    [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Øystein Varpe and Dag L. Aksnes.

Marie Danielsen
MSc 2017
Thesis title: Effects of perceived predation risk on extra-pair mating in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus).    [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Adèle Mennerat, Sigrunn Eliassen, and Christian Jørgensen.

Lars Kristian Landsrød
MSc 2017
Thesis title: Decision-making in a proximate model framework: How behaviour flexibility is generated by arousal and attention.    [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Sergey Budaev and Sigrunn Eliassen.

Vilde Steinsdotter Ihler
MSc 2016
Thesis title: Climate change and the effect of darker coastal water on NCW euphotic zone properties: a theoretical study.
  [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Dag L. Aksnes.

Thomas Njerve Olsen
MSc 2016
Thesis title: En Killing the Winner studie av visuelle og taktile organismer i Svartehavet [In Norwegian].    [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Anders F. Opdal and Dag L. Aksnes.

Punam Sharma
MSc 2016
Thesis title: Solar radiative heating of the ocean.
Supervisors: Børge Hamre (Department of Physics and Technology) and Dag L. Aksnes.

Randi Elisabeth Åsly
MSc 2016
Thesis title: Sammenhengen mellom sidefarskap og samarbeid i fuglenabolag av ulik størrelse [In Norwegian].
Supervisors: Sigrunn Eliassen and Christian Jørgensen.

Daniel Einarsen Sellæg
MSc 2015
Thesis title: Inferring female extra-pair mating behaviour from observed patterns of extra-pair paternity with a process-based model.    [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Sigrunn Eliassen and Christian Jørgensen.

Simon Miljeteig
MSc 2015
Thesis title: Neighborhood effects of extra-pair mating on female fitness: testing model predictions on data from blue tits (Parus caeruleus).
Supervisor: Adèle Mennerat, Sigrunn Eliassen, and Christian Jørgensen.

Bjørn Snorre Andersen
MSc 2014
Thesis title: Effects of genetic complexity and time resolution in an individual-based model of mesopelagic fish with hunger and fear.    [ open access pdf ]
Supervisor: Jarl Giske.

Zofia Burr
MSc 2014
Thesis title: Breeding later at higher latitudes: explaining seabird reproductive timing in the northeastern Atlantic..
Zoe's MSc thesis was the basis for her paper Burr et al. 2016 in Ecosphere. Supervisors: Rune Rosland, Øyvind Fiksen, and Øystein Varpe.

Eirik Norheim
MSc 2014
Thesis title: Distribution of mesopelagic scattering layer (MSL) in relation to the physical environment in the Norwegian Sea.    [ open access pdf ]
Supervisor: Dag L. Aksnes.

Stian Indrevåg
MSc 2010
Thesis title: Klimavariasjon eller fiske: Hvorfor silda kollapset [In Norwegian].
Supervisor: Øyvind Fiksen.

Dorothy J. Dankel (Dorothy J. Housholder)
MSc 2004
Thesis title: Evaluation of harvest control rules: simple one-parameter versus complex multi-parameter strategies.    [ open access pdf ]
Supervisors: Mikko Heino and Øyvind Fiksen.
Dorothy is now researcher at BIO.