Research at the Faculty of Humanities

Research at the Faculty of Humanities (HF) focuses on language, history, culture and aesthetic expression. The research provides access to other cultures and times, from the first human to artificial intelligence.

PhD programme at the faculty More about research at the faculty
Intenst blått foto av person iført 3D-maske og kinesisk drakt, i futuristisk stil.
As of 2025, the Faculty of Humanities has got two Centers of Excellence. The newest, the Center for Digital Narratives, will during the period 2023–2033, build an international powerhouse for research on digital culture. The center will explore how we as individuals and societies are affected by the fact that our lives are increasingly controlled by algorithms. Photo: Eivind Senneset

Key figures

  • Research at HF takes place at four departments and two interdisciplinary centers
  • The faculty has two Centres of Excellence (SFF)
  • The faculty employs around 500 staff members in academic positions
  • There are over 50 research groups at the faculty
  • The faculty graduates between 15 and 25 PhD candidates a year

Research at the faculty

Language, history, literature, philosophy and art are keys to understanding the community we live in. Our research creates new knowledge about humanity's place in the world, and contributes to solving the societal challenges we face today.

Historically, humanities research has been based on archives, collections, dictionaries and libraries. In recent years, the digitization of previous physical humanities research infrastructures at UiB has made these more accessible to the research community, but also to students, schools, administration, industries and the general public.

Research activity at the faculty takes place in research groups or as individual projects linked to national or international networks, with internal or external funding.

Centres, research groups and research projects

Read more about research at the Faculty of Humanities
Last updated: 24.06.2025