at the BCBL- Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain) www.bcbl.eu
- INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION
- Position: PhD student
- Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1- up to the point of PhD)
- Number of vacancies: 1
- Location: Spain > Donostia-San Sebastián
- Research Field: Psychology > Cognition and Language
- Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary 1+3 years (i.e., the duration of the grant and the labour contract will be one year and can be extendable for 3 more years; maximum 48 consecutive months)
- Job Status: Full-time
- Hours per week: 35
- Starting date: 1st of February 2026 (to be confirmed by official announcement)
- Ending date: 17th of July 2025
The Spoken Language research group (https://www.bcbl.eu/en/research/research-groups/spoken-language) at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (San-Sebastián-Donostia, Spain) aims to sponsor a candidate for a Basque Government Predoctoral Fellowship (“Programa Predoctoral de Formación de Personal Investigador No Doctor”; a competitive call for predoctoral fellowships awarded by the Basque Government – see last year’s call here).
Our group studies how humans process the fundamental units of spoken language, focusing on speech sounds and words. For example, we investigate how words are decoded, how new words are learned, and how components of words (segments like consonants and vowels) are processed by listeners. We use behavioral, eye-tracking, and electrophysiological (EEG) paradigms, while our group also has access to state-of-the-art neuroimaging equipment (https://www.bcbl.eu/en/infrastructure-equipment).
Information about the project: Word learning is important for all aspects of language use, from the early acquisition of one’s native language and throughout childhood and adulthood. This project will focus on the fundamental cognitive mechanisms that subserve novel word learning, focusing on contexts where multiple languages are used together and are often intermixed. Specifically, the present project will assess the effects of language mixing on L2 and L1 word learning.
Job description: The successful candidate will be involved in developing and running behavioral and eye-tracking experiments, analyzing data, and disseminating the results in scientific conferences (oral presentations/posters) and peer-reviewed journals. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to develop original experiments under the supervision and guidance of the PI(s).
PI and research group: The candidate will form part of the Spoken Language group under the direct supervision of Dr. Efthymia Kapnoula.
- CANDIDATE PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Eligibility:
- Certificate of Residence in the Basque Country (empadronamiento) at the time of application and, at least, since: 1st January 2025
- A university degree (Bachelor’s) in Psychology, Neuroscience, Linguistics, and/or neighboring areas obtained on June 2021 or later (extensions may apply, e.g., in the case of maternity)
- A Master’s (or equivalent) degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Linguistics, and/or neighboring areas)
- A minimum of 300 ECTS, 60 of which should correspond to Master’s degree level
Required skills: Excellent written and oral communication skills in Englis
Desirable skills:
- Knowledge of Spanish and/or Basque
- Previous experimental experience in psycholinguistic research
- Previous experience with eye-tracking
- Statistics skills (e.g., R, SPSS)
- Programming skills (e.g., Python, Matlab)
- WORKING CONDITIONS
Salary: TBD (pending official announcement)
(Last year’s call can be found here[in Basque and Spanish], approximate gross salary was ~18.500 – 25.000€/year [depending on the year]. Additional amounts are provided to cover other costs, e.g., travel expenses.)
Entitlements and other benefits: https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/what-is-like-to-work-bcbl
Training opportunities and Career development plan:
Researchers at any stage of their career, regardless of their contractual situation, are given an opportunity for professional development and for improving their employability through access to a Personal Career Development Plan which includes:
(1) Training through individually personalized research projects under senior supervision
(2) Exchanging knowledge with the scientific community and the general public
(3) Network-wide training in theory and methods
(4) Complementary training courses
(5) Involvement in proposal writing, task coordination
(6) Development of skills for the organization of training and scientific events
BCBL seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support contact us.
- OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION
Language policy
- The corporative language at the Center is English
- Knowledge of Spanish and/or Basque will be an asset for this particular position, but it is not required
- The center provides initial level Spanish and Basque lessons to all the international staff members
- The interview will be conducted entirely in English
- APPLICATION PROCESS
Submission of the application and documentation:
Interested candidates are invited to send their CV and a brief research statement (1-2 pages) describing their research interests and previous experience (if any), as well as contact data of 1-2 referees to Dr. Efthymia Kapnoula (e.kapnoula@bcbl.eu) by 17 July 2025.
Learn more about the BCBL’s OTM-R policy
Timeline:
- Deadline for application: 17/07/2025
- Interviews: 30/06/2025-24/07/2025
- Final decision: 25/07/2025
- The selected candidate will be invited to apply for a Basque Government Predoctoral Fellowship (i.e., awarded by the Basque Government). The BCBL admin team will support the selected candidate within the application process.
Contact details for enquiries: hr@bcbl.eu
