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
- Founding source: La Caixa Inphinit
- Research Field: Psychology > Cognition and Language
- Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary, maximum duration 4 years
- Job Status: Full-time
- Hours per week: 35
- Starting date: Fall 2026 (specific dates to be confirmed by the official La Caixa announcement)
- Application deadline: 30/10/2025
The Neurobiology of Language research group (https://www.bcbl.eu/es/investigacion/grupos-de-investigacion/neurobiologa-lenguaje) at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (San-Sebastián-Donostia, Spain) aims to sponsor a candidate for an Inphinit Predoctoral Fellowship, a competitive call for predoctoral fellowships awarded by the La Caixa – see last year’s call here).
Our group studies how sign language is structured and represented by the mind. Sign languages offer unique insight into how language can operate in a different modality and, more generally, how modality affects language structure and processing. Such work contributes to understanding the cognitive reality of deaf individuals’ language use and development, and also to broadening our understanding of language per se. Our group has developed resources such as a lexical database of LSE (lengua de signos española – Spanish Sign Language), an on-line platform for presenting and collecting sign language video data, and a motion capture system for characterizing sign production. We use these resources together with a variety of behavioral and neuroimaging techniques (https://www.bcbl.eu/en/infrastructure-equipment) to investigate how the sign language lexicon is structured and represented cognitively, and how bimodal bilinguals represent their languages.
Project summary:
The position is not linked to a specific project. The PhD student will have the opportunity to join an on-ongoing research line of the Sign Language research group and/or develop a research project within the broader scope of the group research. Potential projects include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- The structure of the sign language lexicon and the role of iconicity
- Cortical tracking in sign language
- Bimodal bilingualism
- Sign language assessment and evaluation (as L1 or L2)
- The impact of modality on language and the use of space in sign language
In any case, the PhD student is expected to develop original experiments under the supervision and guidance of the PI(s).
Job description
The successful candidate will be involved in developing and running behavioral, eye-tracking and/or neuroimaging experiments, analyzing data, and disseminating the results in scientific conferences (presentations/posters) and peer-reviewed journals.
PI and research group:
The candidate will form part of the Sign Language research group under the direct supervision of Dr. Brendan Costello.
- CANDIDATE PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Elegibility:
- Young researchers of any nationality are eligible to apply for the Doctoral INPhINIT Incoming and Retaining Fellowships Programmes
- Candidates must not have carried our more than four years of research activity before the closing date of the call (to be announced, but approximately second fortnight of January 2026 for the Incoming and second fortnight of February 2026 for the Retaining).
- At the time of recruitment, candidates must have completed the studies that allow them to enroll in an official PhD programme in Spain/Portugal. The verification of the required level of studies will be carried out by the host university when the admission procedure begins.
- Candidates cannot have started doctoral studies prior to the start of the fellowship.
INPhINIT Incoming Fellowships Programme:
- Candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in Spain/Portugal for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately preceding the closing date of the call.
INPhINIT Retaining Fellowships Programme:
- Candidates must have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain/Portugal for more than twelve months in the 3 years immediately preceding the closing date of the call.
Required skills:
- Excellent written and communication skills in English
- A university degree (Bachelor’s) in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Linguistics, Speech Pathology, Education or neighboring areas
- A minimum of 300 ECTS, 60 of which should correspond to Master’s degree level
Desirable skills:
- Previous experimental experience in psycholinguistic research especially with sign language
- Statistics skills (e.g., R, Jamovi)
- Programming skills (e.g., Python, Matlab)
- Knowledge of a signed language
- WORKING CONDITIONS
Salary:
- 25.000€ gross annual salary
- Additional 3.500€ are provided to cover other research costs such as conferences, courses, research stays and tuition fees to the doctoral program.
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, sex, sexual orientation, age, sociocultural background, nationality or impairments. We are proud to have in place both an LGTBIQ+ Plan and a Gender Equality Plan to actively promote inclusion and equal opportunities. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us.
- OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION
Language policy
- The corporate language at the center is English; the Sign Language Group uses English, Spanish and LSE (Spanish Sign Language) and various members have working knowledge of International Sign.
- Knowledge of Spanish, Basque and/or LSE will be an asset for this position, but it is not required
- The center provides initial level Spanish, Basque and LSE lessons to all the international staff members
- The interview will be conducted entirely in English or adapted to the communicative needs of deaf candidates
- APPLICATION PROCESS
Submission of the application and documentation:
Interested candidates are invited to send their CV and a brief research statement describing their research interests and previous experience (if any), as well as contact data of 1-2 referees to Dr. Brendan Costello (b.costello@bcbl.eu) by 30/10/2025.
Timeline:
- Deadline for application: 30/10/2025
- Interviews: 20/10/2025-15/11/2025
- Final decision: 16/11/2025
- The selected candidate will be invited to apply for an Inhipinit Predoctoral Fellowship. The BCBL admin team will support the selected candidate within the application process.
Contact details for enquiries:
For technical problems please contact: hr@bcbl.eu
For inquiries or questions related to the content of the position and/or information about the project and the research group please contact: b.costello@bcbl.eu
