We are seeking a highly motivated candidate for a PhD position (40 months) on the social psychology of aesthetics, which is part of the ARTIS project (Art and Research on Transformation of Individuals and Societies) funded by a Horizon 2020 consortium grant. ARTIS will address the need to capture, assess, and harness the societal impact of the arts by providing novel methodological tools, and building bridges among scientists, artists, and policy-makers. Within the project, you will have the opportunity to work closely together with other consortium members and other collaborators of the PI, including the University of Vienna, Humboldt University of Berlin, Royal Holloway University of London, University of Oxford, and University of California Berkeley. 

The PhD project will be conducted within the Social Psychology program group at the University of Amsterdam. Within the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, the discipline of Psychology offers a range of Bachelor's and Master’s degree programmes, while its research is carried out at the Psychology Research Institute (Psyres). The successful candidate will be part of the Social Psychology program group.

What will you be doing

The current project is about the ways in which artists deploy art to explore their role as social actors or agents of social change. Some of the questions we are asking are: What motives drive artists to make art? Through what phycological mechanisms can art induce social and cultural change? What contextual factors may contribute or act as barriers to art’s transformative potential? The PhD candidate is expected to build on their own strengths and methodological expertise to investigate the societal impact of the arts.   

The PhD candidate will work under the daily supervision of Dr. Eftychia Stamkou who is based at the Department of Psychology of the University of Amsterdam (UvA),  the Netherlands, which is ranked 15th in the QS World University Rankings. The University of Amsterdam has access to state-of-the-art research facilities to implement and coordinate the proposed research. The PhD candidate will report the research results at project meetings, conferences, and in international journals, ultimately leading to a PhD dissertation.

What do we require of you

• Master’s degree (preferably obtained in a research master program) in social psychology, cultural psychology, or equivalent program,
• Passion for research and a demonstrable interest in the topic of the project,
• Strong writing skills.
• Strong methodological and statistical skills.
• Excellent English proficiency.
• Experience with empirical aesthetics will be considered a benefit.

Fixed-term contract: 12 months.

Our offer

The PhD position is for three years and four months (initial employment is 12 months and after a positive evaluation, the appointment will be extended with 28 months). The project should lead to a dissertation. Based on a full-time appointment the gross monthly salary will be €2,395 in the first year, increasing to €3,061 in the third year according to the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. The PhD position may be extended by few months in case funding becomes available due to, for instance, teaching assignments. This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

University of Amsterdam

With over 6,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences – Psychology

We offer a motivating work environment with a variety of duties and sufficient scope for individual initiative and development within an inspiring organization. We cherish inquisitive minds and persevering spirits, and allow you the opportunity to dig deeper with your questions. Diverse, unique, dynamic, internationally oriented and ambitious: these are all characteristics which typify UvA staff. Strongly committed to the city of Amsterdam and the international society of which it is part, the UvA stands for independence, creativity, innovation, an international perspective and a critical yet open mindset.