About the PhD Position (Job Description)

The current project will make use of an online intervention that has shown to be been extremely successful in raising academic performance and retention rate of students. Especially clearly defined and articulated goals give students purpose and meaning. In the current project, we aim to advance our understanding of these effects by investigating (a) specific changes in student behavior as a result of participating in this program and (b) the extent to which the program enhances academic performance of students in a problem-based learning context.

High rates of dropout are a cause of concern for most universities and high schools and may in turn detrimentally affect public opinion about university quality (Braxton, Hirschy, & McClendon, 2004). The loss of human potential by high drop-out rates is especially worrying (Kuh et al, 2007), and many publicly-funded universities are under pressure to improve completion rates (e.g., Charlton, Barrow, & Hornby-Atkinson, 2006). A recent meta-analysis of Richardson et. al. (2002) concluded that specific performance-focused interventions are more likely to enhance students’ academic achievement rather than more general well-being measures such as counseling or stress management. Also, they suggest that interventions early in students’ university career may be most effective. Indeed a study by Morisano et al. (2010) showed that a goal-setting intervention was most effective in improving students’ academic performance. Taking conclusions of these authors as a starting point, the present project aims to assess the effect of a three-stage intervention program implemented at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). This intervention program is an online exercise for incoming students, designed to improve academic performance and increase retention. A puzzling effect seems to be that the positive effect is independent of whether student set academic goals or not  (Schippers, Locke, Morisano, Scheepers & Peterson, 2016). The current study is aimed at unraveling the underlying mechanisms explaining the effects of the program.

More information about the position can be found on: http://www.erim.eur.nl/doctoral-programme/phd-in-management/phd-projects/detail/1402/

Admission Requirements

To be considered for a PhD position in Management at ERIM, candidates are expected to have:

• MSc, MA or MPhil degree in business or economics, or from related fields such as psychology, sociology, education, etc. (depending on the PhD project)

• Excellent results in their first degree/graduate study.

• Explicit interest in and motivation for scientific research.

• A GMAT or GRE test is required for all entering students. The test results should not be older than five years and an indication of the required score is 85%.

• TOEFL or IELTS test results; ERIM requires a TOEFL score of at least 100 on the internet based test and 600 on the paper based test. For IELTS there is a minimum score of 7.5. The language test results should not be older than two years.

• In addition to these formal requirements, candidates for the Programme are selected on the basis of their CVs, academic references, and interview(s) with the potential supervisor(s)

  For this specific PhD position, the candidate should ideally have a degree in management and/or psychology. In addition, experience with survey research, as well as qualitative research, and basic knowledge of theories of goal-setting and team development and team effectiveness is a pre. At minimum, the candidate should have an active interest in, and some experience with, quantitative behavioral research, good (English) writing skills, and a strong interest in organizational behavior and psychology.

Fixed-term contract: Temporary, 4 years.

Conditions of employment

The PhD project is a fully funded and salaried position, meaning that the appointed PhD candidate is an employee (promovendus) of Erasmus University Rotterdam. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU). Starting monthly salary is € 2125 in year 1, € 2476 in year 2, € 2593 in year 3, and € 2717 in the final year (all mentioned figures are gross and fixed amounts). Successful candidates are appointed on a full-time basis for a total of 4 years (or 3 years in case the candidate possesses a relevant research master’s degree). Preferred starting date of PhD appointment is 1st September 2017.

Working at the Erasmus University Rotterdam means working in a professional environment, where development is encouraged through an active career and mobility policy. The Erasmus University Rotterdam highly appreciates flexibility and offers a 38-hour workweek, flexible working hours, maternal/paternal leave, holiday allowance, end year bonus etc. Moreover, the University has a company childcare scheme, possibilities to participate in a terms of employment option model, company savings program and life insurance schemes and favourable collective insurance schemes. Employees can also make use of facilities such as sports facilities and library. For more information about the employment conditions please click here.

Furthermore, PhD candidates also benefit from the state-of-the- art research facilities and financial support programme (ERIM Support Programmes - ESP), which ERIM set up for a wide range of research-related activities like conference participation and visit, international job market visit, external courses, scientific and educational literature, working visit to international supervisor, international research study/visit, etc.