free university amsterdam phd vacancies

PhDs in the Humanities

PhD candidates at our faculty are member of one of the research schools . Therefore, if you want to join our faculty as a PhD candidate, please read the descriptions of the six schools and choose one. In this section you can find all the information you need if you want to apply for a PhD position, the training we offer our candidates and all other practical matters.

Becoming a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Humanities

PhD Training

Some Practical Matters

PhD Council

Psychological service for PhDs

Well-being and Social Safety

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PhD Programme

Psychology Research Institute / PsyRes

• Application and Admission

Project & activities

During your PhD appointment, which typically lasts three to four years, your primary focus will be conducting research for your doctoral dissertation. However, we also encourage you to engage in other activities such as taking courses offered by the PhD Training Programme, teaching undergraduate courses in the Departments of Social Sciences, and actively participating in the research community, both within PsyRes and at national and international levels.

Close-knit community

As a PhD student at PsyRes, you will be part of a vibrant community that values your growth and development. We offer coaching, training, and a strong PhD Community to support you throughout your doctoral journey. We encourage our students to publish their research early in their careers, enhancing their academic profiles and fostering their future career prospects.

Programme Groups

You will be assigned to a programme group where you will conduct your research and be immersed in a supportive and collaborative environment. We are excited about newly interest in pursuing a PhD at the University of Amsterdam and look forward to welcoming postgraduate students to our dynamic academic community at PsyRes.

The Brain and Cognition programme aims to gain understanding of cognitive phenomena based on neurobiological principles, and has a focus on using cognitive research to understand clinical phenomena and to develop assessment tools or interventions for specific patient groups. The focus is thus on both typical and atypical brain functioning and cognition. The group has a relatively large number of PhD students and therefore there is ample possibility for interaction with other PhD students, both for research purposes (e.g. asking questions about methods or complicated analysis) as well as for social purposes. Interaction with other members of the program group, i.e. post docs and staff members, is actively encouraged through weekly program group meetings in which plenary talks are given by members of the group from all levels.

There is a strong research-oriented atmosphere and new experimental projects are generally discussed in smaller group settings to foster discussion and collaboration. PhD students are supervised by at least two staff members (promotor and co-promotor) and often part of the Amsterdam Graduate Network, a network organization with PhD students from both the UvA and the VU (in case the PhD project is mostly on the nature of human cognition and its neural basis) by a graduate school of choice (in case the PhD project is in the domain of clinical neuropsychology).

Should you have any questions about pursuing a PhD in the Brain and Cognition group, please click on the link below.

PhD students in Clinical Psychology are always supervised by at least two staff members (promotor and co-promotor) and participate in the teaching programme of the School of Experimental Psychopathology (EPP).

Individual studies of PhD students are generally discussed in small group settings. In these meetings, not only their own studies are discussed, but also major articles in the field. Further, PhD students are encouraged to present their work on international conferences.

Should you have any questions about pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology, please click on the link below.

The research group consists tenured staff and about 50% PhD students and postdocs. PhD students are supervised by at least two staff members and become a member of a lab group in which research is discussed in a constructive atmosphere. The interaction between PhD students and other staff is encouraged actively which results in considerable cross-fertilization between several themes of the program.

PhD students and their supervisors prepare a training program at the start of the PhD project, which includes taking courses, for example those offered by research schools like EPP or IOPS. Although PhD students are recruited on the basis of a research proposal, students are encouraged actively to make an independent contribution, especially during the final stages of the project. The progress made by PhD students and postdocs is continuously monitored by their supervisors, and on a yearly basis by the research institute.

Should you have any questions about pursuing a PhD in Developmental Psychology, please click on the link below.

Many topics are initiated by PhD students, who fulfill an important role in our research culture. Fortunately, in the last years the number of PhD students increased due to NWO funding. Generally, PhD students are supervised by at least two staff members.

Each month plenary talks are held. The objective of the internal collaboration is to increase the quality and productivity of the group and to improve the unity of the research. Finally, PhD students participate in activities organised by the  Interuniversity Graduate School of Psychometrics and Sociometrics (IOPS) , the institute for the advanced dissertation training in psychometrics and sociometrics.

Should you have any questions about pursuing a PhD in Psychological Methods, please click on the link below.

The Social Psychology research group has a relatively large group of PhD students, which generates a research-oriented atmosphere. Individual experiments are generally discussed in small group settings; these discussions focus on design and measurement issues.

PhD’s are always supervised by at least two staff members and are encouraged to participate in the summer school of the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology (EAESP), and to present their work not only at international conferences but also in smaller scale, more informal, meetings such as those of ESCON (European Social Cognition Network) or CERE (Consortium of European Researchers on Emotions); and in incidental small group meetings sponsored by the EAESP (European Association of Experimental Social Psychology.

Should you have any questions about pursuing a PhD in Social Psychology, please click on the link below.

PhD students in Work and Organizational Psychology work in a cooperative, research-oriented environment and are specializing on various topics in W&O psychology. PhD-students in our group are always supervised by at least two staff members (promotor and co-promotor), with whom PhD-students together actively discuss research ideas and papers. PhD-students also participate in the Work and Organizational Psychology teaching programme in the Bachelor and Master.

Individual studies and papers of PhD students are often discussed in our monthly research meetings with a large section of the programma group. Further, PhD students are encouraged to present their work on international conferences. Finally, they become a member of the Dutch research school Kurt Lewin Institute (KLI), where they follow courses and meet PhD-students (and faculty) from all over the Netherlands.

Should you have any questions about pursuing a PhD in Work and Organizational Psychology, please click on the link below.

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PhD research

How to become a phd student.

The main route to becoming a PhD student at the Amsterdam School of Economics is to follow the intensive 2-year Research Master's programme at the Tinbergen Institute (TI). The aim of this excellent Master's programme in economics, econometrics and finance is to prepare students for further academic research. In the 2 nd year of the Research Master's programme, students are usually assigned a supervisor, based on their research interests. Students who are assigned a supervisor from ASE have the opportunity to apply for a PhD position at our School.

For fields not covered by the TI, and for specific projects, vacancy announcements are posted on the website of the University of Amsterdam.

Candidates who are financially self-supporting (usually those who wish to pursue a PhD next to an appointment in a company or elsewhere) can apply for an external PhD. The conditions are stated in below document 'External PhD students ASE'.

Tinbergen Institute

Tinbergen Institute (TI) is one of Europe's top graduate schools and research institutes in economics, econometrics and finance. The institute uniquely combines the best of 3 leading universities in the Netherlands: the University of Amsterdam (UvA), VU University Amsterdam and Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). TI offers a Research Master's programme in Economics (with 3 tracks: Economics, Econometrics and Finance) as well as PhD opportunities under expert supervision by our international research fellows. With 30 nationalities in the institute and 70% of our students coming from abroad, Tinbergen Institute provides a truly international experience. The 3 universities also work together in the joint Research Master's Business Data Science .

PhD Council

At the beginning of 2021, the UvA Economics and Business PhD council was started. It represents the interests of all PhD candidates at the Faculty of Economics and Business, from both the Amsterdam School of Economics and the Amsterdam Business School. Aim of the council is to be a sounding board for organisational developments within the faculty that concern PhD candidates. In addition to this, they want to stimulate interaction and communication between PhD students at different sections and departments.

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PhD Recruitment Process

Timeline of hiring process 

(This is information of the hiring process in 2023/2024. For the 2024/2025 process, please refer back to this page after the summer break 2024)

Mid-October to Early-November

• applications open 

Late November/Early December

• selected candidates will be contacted with instructions on how their referees can submit the reference letters

Mid-December 

• successful applicants will be invited to our `PhD recruitment days’ in February 

8-9 February you will :

• give a presentation on your research work
• meet the staff offering PhD positions
• meet our current PhD researchers and postdocs
• be interviewed for the positions which you are interested in.

Mid-February to March

• offers for positions will be made
• positions expected to start (earlier or later starts may sometimes be possible and should be negotiated with the staff member offering the position).

Depending on availability, PhD positions may sometimes be offered at other times of year, so it helps to check our job vacancies webpage from time to time (positions will also usually be advertised on the AAS Job Register )

Main application requirements

         -you have done some advanced courses,           -your degree also includes a significant research project (at least several months in duration).

Reference letters 

Applicants who have cleared the first screening process will be contacted for references in late November/early December . Prior to hearing if you have been selected to send reference letters, it is not necessary to have them.

Academics  You have or are studying for an advanced (Masters or equivalent) degree in physics, astrophysics or a related subject.  This will usually be a separate Masters degree, carried out after doing a Bachelors degree, but in some cases it may be an enhanced (4 or more years) single degree including standard Bachelor-level and more advanced courses.  You do not need to have obtained your degree to apply: we only require that you obtain the degree before starting your PhD position.

Language English is the main language of our institute, socially, for research, and for teaching. A high level of proficiency in English is mandatory.  Although we do not request formal qualifications in English, we may ask for them to be sure that an applicant’s level of English is sufficient.

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PhD at the University of Amsterdam

Contrary to the situation in many other countries, PhD students in the Netherlands become employees of the university. PhDs are usually not required to follow classes and can concentrate on their research project through the 4 year PhD period. However, they are expected to teach as e.g. Teaching Assistants for about 10% of their time. This is often in the form of leading Tutorial or Lab sessions for BSc and MSc students. They will also participate in supervising BSc and MSc thesis research projects.

Requirements to enter a PhD

In order to enter the PhD program at GRAPPA, applicants will have to have completed an MSc in Physics and/or Astronomy or a closely related field at a recognized university. A good command of English is also required and computing skills are typically also strongly desired. Depending on the opening, additional competences may be necessary.

Employment Details

PhDs have an employment contract with the University of Amsterdam. They obtain a temporary contract for 38 hours a week for a duration of 4 years. The Initial appointment will be for a period of 18 months and after a satisfactory evaluation it can be extended for a total duration of 4 years. The employment should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.

The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be €2.325 to €2.972 (scale P) gross per month in 2020, based on fulltime employment (38 hours a week), exclusive of an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus. A favorable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

For more information please refer to University of Amsterdam website .

Nikhef's PhD vacancies are advertized at  https://www.nikhef.nl/en/vacancies/ .

PhD Programme Social Sciences

Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research / AISSR

• PhD Application
• PhD Training & Support
• Overview dissertations

Project & activities

During your PhD appointment, which typically lasts three to four years, your primary focus will be conducting research for your doctoral dissertation. However, we also encourage you to engage in other activities such as taking courses offered by the PhD Training Programme, teaching undergraduate courses in the Departments of Social Sciences, and actively participating in the research community, both within AISSR and at national and international levels.

Close-knit community

As a PhD student at AISSR, you will be part of a vibrant community that values your growth and development. We offer coaching, training, and a strong PhD Community to support you throughout your doctoral journey. We encourage our students to publish their research early in their careers, enhancing their academic profiles and fostering their future career prospects.

Programme Groups

You will be assigned to an AISSR programme group where you will conduct your research and be immersed in a supportive and collaborative environment. We are excited about newly interest in pursuing a PhD at the University of Amsterdam and look forward to welcoming postgraduate students to our dynamic academic community at AISSR.

Communication with others, categorizing and identifying people and objects, establishing symbolic and moral boundaries, is strongly influenced by culture. Moreover, culture is the way we try to understand and interact with the world around us. At Cultural Sociology, the way social meanings and expressions associate culture will be questioned. How do people create status differences and maintain boundaries between groups? How are international beauty standards (re)produced?

The Institutions, Inequalities, and Life courses programme (IIL) examines institutions in a broad way as the formal and informal rules and arrangements in society that govern individual behavior and social relationships. Examples of institutions are welfare states, labor market arrangements, educational systems, occupational groups, norms and rules in organizations, and gender role norms.

The programme group Political Sociology researches evolving relations of conflict and cohesion in various national and international settings. Our research on citizenship, politics, policies, social movements and the state extends beyond actor-centred approaches through relational analyses and a keen eye for power differentials.

Governance and Inclusive Development (GID) scrutinizes development dynamics at various geographical, jurisdictional and temporal scales, realizing that these are situated in different but interconnected multi-level processes. GID analyses and rethinks dominant development paradigms, and engages with international, national and local development practices, policies and debates to identify viable and socially just alternatives.

The Political and Economic Geographies (PEG) group investigates the role of multi-scalar relationships that are crucial in understanding contemporary economic and political geographies.

The researchers within Urban Geographies study the socio-spatial processes that shape cities and urban life across the world. Our research concentrates on the formation of urban difference and inequality. It seeks to understand how specific spaces, places and mobilities reflect, reproduce and transform social differentiation in terms of class, ethnicity, generation, gender and sexuality. In addition, it studies how resources, risks and political voice are distributed unevenly across urban spaces and populations, analyzing geographies of inequality within and between city regions.

Urban Planning research and teaching at the University of Amsterdam focuses on the relationships between the social, spatial, and environmental dimensions of urban processes, and on ways of purposefully and positively impacting on them.

The research program Challenges to Democracy studies the consequences of current political developments and their historical roots for democratic governance. How do democratic regimes maintain political stability? To what extent can they deliver political equality, legitimacy and prevent societal polarization?

Ongoing trends towards transnational integration of markets and economic transactions are giving rise to far-­reaching transformations of governance both within and beyond the nation-state. The Political Economy and Transnational Governance (PETGOV) programme group focuses on the drivers, dynamics, and consequences of these epochal developments in political and economic life.

In recent decades, there has been a growing divergence between the organisation of society and the inherited conceptual framework of the 20th century political sciences. The Transnational Configurations, Conflict and Governance group seeks to re-examine established notions of identities, categorizations and boundaries defined by classical political science concepts through different forms of empirical investigation.

We investigate the manifold ways gender, race, class, citizenship, religion, and sexuality are made and unmade in everyday life, including the ways in which differences and similarities among people, communities, and other living things are created, contested, celebrated or distrusted. We are interested in the everyday experiences of belonging and exclusion and how they shape individuals, institutions, and environments in lasting ways. Our research delves into the political dimensions and the impact these have on people's aspirations and pursuits. We investigate the aesthetics of these world making projects, their pasts, presents and futures.

The Health, Care, and Body programme group aims to analyse evolving health experiences, sexual identities, body practices, and social/cultural influences on scientific knowledge utilization in clinical settings. It also examines care and self-help practices, the exercise of biomedical power, and patterns of resistance or acceptance of medical regimes, scientific knowledge, and technology.

The social consequences of the mobility of people, goods, power, and ideas constitute the central focus of the Moving Matters research programme. Members of the research group explore migrating people and moving commodities, as well as the shifting networks that result from such practices. These networks stretch from the local to the transnational and necessarily involve encounters with the state through deportation regimes, access to resources and technologies, border infrastructures, decolonial and postcolonial movements, labour relations, and violence and conflict.

More information can be found on the AISSR wiki. This an informative platform for all (and only) AISSR researchers with internal information like guidelines, policy documents, templates and more.

If you have any questions or require further information, please don't hesitate to reach out to our PhD Coordinator, Mr. Simon Cijsouw.

AISSR PhD Coordinator

[email protected]

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• English (United Kingdom)
• Nederlands (Nederland)
• SPONTANEOUS APPLICATION

VUB IS LOOKING FOR TALENT

DOCTORAL STUDENTS (PHD STUDENTS)

Doctoral students with a fellowship who are associated with a department and/or research group. They conduct research a PhD, under the supervision of a promotor.

Job application procedure

Your application process will be conducted through the faculty. 

DC 5 PhD position

• Closes on 15-05-2024
• Faculty of Science

Vacancies at HIMS

Vacancies at the institute will be listed below..

PhD in "Techno-economics of Batteries"; closing date 30-05-2024 2 Post-doc positions in RoboChem initiatives and solar-driven reactor techonology; closing date 01-07-2024 Research Lab Technician; closing date 01-05-2024 Postdoc Position in Integrated Carbon Capture and Utilisation; closing date 30-05-2024 PhD Position in Cell-water Structure and Dynamics; closing date 31-12-2024 PhD in Computational Chemistry; closing date 30-06-2024 PhD in Quantum Simulations for Electronic Structure Calculations in Molecules and Materials; closing date 30-04-2024

All vacancies at the Faculty of Science

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Doctoral positions

Amsterdam Law School

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