We offer a four-year fellowship for the completion of a PhD dissertation in the history of medieval or early-modern philosophy or science up to the Enlightenment; ancient philosophy is not excluded. Applications are invited from high-quality prospective PhD fellows who have a documentable expertise in these research areas.

The candidate will be enrolled in the Groningen Graduate School of Philosophy. A PhD training programme is part of the agreement. Supervision will be carried out by the Groningen department.

The successful candidate is also expected to assist in some teaching. Knowledge of Dutch is no requirement.

The candidate should have a master’s degree in philosophy or related area, plus an excellent academic record. He/she should have a very good command of English and strong communication and academic writing skills.

Fixed-term contract: 12 months.

The University of Groningen offers a salary of € 2,222 (salary scale PhD candidates Dutch Universities) gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 2,840 gross per month in the final year, based on a fulltime position, excluding a 8% holiday allowance and a 8.3% end of the year bonus. The position requires residence in Groningen and must result in a PhD thesis within the 4-year contract period.

The position offered is for four years. The successful candidate will first be offered a temporary position of one year with the option of renewal for another three years. Prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year to indicate that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the contract period is to be expected.


The preferred starting date is 1 January 2018.

You may apply for this position until 17 August 23:59 hrs / before 18 August 2017 Dutch local time by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below the advertisement on the university website).

Applications should include:
- a brief letter of motivation
- a research proposal (up to two A4 pages)
- a curriculum vitae, including contact details of two academic referees
- transcripts of your academic degrees
- a writing sample of approximately 5000 words such as an essay or part of a master’s thesis.

Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.

Faculty of Philosophy

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative centre of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Balanced study and career paths in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the 30,000 students and researchers to develop their own individual talents. Belonging to the best research universities in Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.

The Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Groningen is a vibrant, international community of excellent researchers and teachers. It consistently receives the highest evaluations both for research and for teaching among philosophy departments in The Netherlands. The Faculty has three departments: History of Philosophy, Theoretical Philosophy, and Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy.

The PhD position is part of the Spinoza Prize Project of Prof. Lodi Nauta, who has received the Spinoza Prize 2016 from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).