I have just learned that the University of Agder will soon announce two new Ph.D. stipend positions in theology. 

For those of you in the US, Great Britain (or elsewhere) who are not familiar with the Norwegian system, becoming a PhD stipend here means that you are employed by the University for three years and given a salary of approximately 330,000 kroner (about 56,000 US dollars) per year, as well as office space, travel funds, etc.

The Institute for Religion, Philosophy and History is emphasizing internationalization and so explicitly encourages non-Norwegians to apply for the stipends.  Dissertations can be written in ENGLISH.

I am still on sabbatical and will be gone most of January, and will not be able to respond to questions about the details of the process, but requests for more information can be sent to the Institute leader, Dr. Årstein Justnes:

arstein.justnes@uia.no

The official announcement should come in mid-January and the deadline for writing a "project description" will probably be in March or April. 

In the Norwegian process, this approximately 8-page description is the key document that is reviewed by the committee.  Details about this process will be explained in the announcement, or can be requested from Dr. Justnes.

"Theology" should be understood broadly.  Applicants can propose projects in sub-fields, such as contextual or comparative theology, or traditional themes in philosophical or systematic theology.  However, the PhD program is in "Religion, Society and Ethics" and requires interaction with empirical material as well.  This means that inter-disciplinary proposals are also encouraged.

Here are some links to general descriptions of the doctoral program and the University:

http://www.uia.no/en/portals/study/info_centre/ects/09-10/religion_ethics_and_society_phd_programme

http://www.uia.no/en/portals/study

About Kristiansand: http://www.sorlandet.com/

Watch this space for updates.