PhD position in Language Evolution

We are looking for a full-time PhD candidate to join the research group ‘Language Evolution and Adaptation in Diverse Situations’ (LEADS), led by Dr. Limor Raviv, at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.

Job description
The PhD project will focus on testing the social, environmental, and/or cognitive pressures that shape the evolution of human language as well as its ongoing diversification and change in present day. The exact research topic is flexible (under consultation and as long as there is a focus on language evolution and adaptation), meaning that candidates are welcome to propose a specific topic of their choice, or pick from a variety of research topics advanced by the supervisor. The project will use a diverse toolkit of experimental and computational methods, and should eventually promote our understanding of the potential drivers of language emergence in our species.

What we expect from you:
Essential

• A Masters’ degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., linguistics, psychology, biology, cognitive science, neuroscience, artificial intelligence). Students who expect to have received their Master’s degree by summer 2025 are welcome to apply.
• A keen interest in language evolution, language change, language learning, human evolution, and communication.
• Experience in conducting empirical research (e.g., experimental design, stimuli selection, recruitment, participant testing, report writing).
• Experience with experimental software (e.g., Presentation, PsychoPy, E-Prime, Gorilla).
• Experience in data analysis and programming in R and/or Python.
• Experience in, and aptitude for, complex statistical modelling (inc. mixed effects regression models and/or Bayesian statistics).
• Excellent written and spoken English.

Desirable (traits that would give you an advantage)

• Experience in computational modelling (e.g., agent-based Bayesian models, cognitive learning models, machine learning, robotics).
• Experience in annotation software such as ELAN and PRAAT.
• Hands-on experience with Virtual Reality experiments.
• Existing peer-reviewed journal publications and conference presentation experience.
• An explicit interest in, and commitment to, Open Science.

What we offer you

• Intended starting date is September 2025. A later start date is negotiable but the candidate should be in place by end of 2025.
• Full time PhD position (39 hours per week), fully funded for 4 years.
• Starting gross salary is approx. €3,008 per month (based on full-time employment, as determined according to the German TVöD (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst).
• 30 holidays per year, based on full-time employment; in addition, we honour both Dutch and German public holidays.
• Enrolment in a personal pension scheme to which both employer and employee pay a monthly contribution.
• Access to state-of-the art research and training facilities and a generous conference and travel budget.
• Educational training programme provided by the International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences.
• Doctoral degree conferred by Radboud University, our partner university.

Application procedure
The deadline for applications is Monday, June 2nd, 2025. Please submit your application directly via our application portal. For questions and informal enquiries, contact Dr. Limor Raviv (limor.raviv@mpi.nl).

Applications should be in .pdf format and include

1. One-page statement of why you are interested in this position, why you consider yourself a good match for it, your relevant qualifications, and what your research interests are. In this statement, candidates are strongly encouraged to include a brief description (max one paragraph) of the specific topic or topics they wish to investigate in their PhD project. This is meant to provide us with an impression of your interests, yet is not a binding or definite proposal.
2. One-page summary of your MA/MSc dissertation.
3. A current CV including publication list, education, and relevant work.
4. Names and email addresses of at least two referees who would be willing to provide letters of recommendation (upon request: referees will not be contacted unless you are invited to interview).
5. Your availability for an online interview between Monday 16th of June and Friday 27th of June.

The employer
About our institute
The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics is a world-leading research institute devoted to interdisciplinary studies of the science of language and communication, including departments on genetics, psychology, development, neurobiology and multimodality of these fundamental human abilities.
We investigate how children and adults acquire their language(s), how speaking and listening happen in real time, how the brain processes language, how the human genome contributes to building a language-ready brain, how multiple modalities (as in speech, gesture and sign) shape language and its use in diverse languages and how language is related to cognition and culture, and shaped by evolution.

We are part of the Max Planck Society, an independent non-governmental association of German-funded research institutes dedicated to fundamental research in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunities employer. We recognise the positive value of diversity and inclusion, promote equity and challenge discrimination. We aim to provide a working environment with room for differences, where everyone feels a sense of belonging. Therefore, we welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

Our institute is situated on the campus of the Radboud University and has close collaborative links with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and the Centre for Language Studies at Radboud University. We also work closely with other child development researchers as part of the Baby & Child Research Center.
Staff and students at the MPI have access to state-of-the art research and training facilities.

About the “Language Evolution and Adaptation in Diverse Situations” (LEADS) group
Why are there so many different languages in the world? How and why did languages emerge? And what are the social, environmental, and cognitive pressures that shape the evolution of language in our species? In the independent Research group “Language Evolution & Adaptation in Diverse Situations” (LEADS) led by Dr. Limor Raviv, we are looking into these fascinating questions by simulating the cultural evolution and social origin of human languages de novo and in silico. We do this by combining novel experimental paradigms and computational models, including group communication games, agent-based simulations with deep learning neural networks and swarm robots, virtual reality experiments, animal communication research, and more. In a range of projects, we show that languages can effectively be seen as a mirror for communities’ socio-demographic properties, and that pressures associated with language usage and social dynamics influence the emergence, distribution, and acquisition of different grammatical structures.

About our graduate school
The International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences is a joint initiative of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and two research institutes based at Radboud University - the Centre for Language Studies and the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour. The graduate school serves to bring together outstanding doctoral students from diverse disciplines in the language sciences on campus, and offer them high-quality training in an environment that both broadens their interdisciplinary experience and prepares them for fulfilling careers in the language sciences. Our education and training program involves both core and individually chosen coursework to complement the PhD research, and training in soft skills such as writing and presentation.