The Department of Sociology of the  Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) and the  Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) at the University of Amsterdam are looking for a PhD candidate to work on the project ‘FamilyComplexity: Intergenerational Reproduction and Solidarity in an Era of Family Complexity’ (2015-2020), for which Matthijs Kalmijn, Professor of Sociology at the UvA, has been awarded a € 2,5 million advanced grant by the European Research Council (ERC).

Project description

The ERC advanced project examines the consequences of family complexity for intergenerational reproduction, intergenerational relations, educational careers, and health and well-being. These issues will be analysed with newly collected large-scale multi-actor survey data as well as with register data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). There is also room for more methodological themes relating to the quality of survey data and register data. The specific theme of the PhD project will be decided depending on the interests and qualities of the candidate and the other projects already going on.

Tasks include:

• participate in the AISSR PhD programme;
• conduct empirical research using relevant research methods;
• write and complete a PhD dissertation within four years;
• participate in international conferences, workshops, seminars and other scholarly activities;
• work in a team on collective reports about the new survey;
• contribute to teaching (10% of the time, upon availability).

Successful applicants will have the following credentials:

• a completed Research Master in sociology, demography, epidemiology, or another relevant social science discipline;
• a good record in quantitative research methods;
• good writing skills;
• a good research and publication record relative to career stage;
• experience with the analysis of complex survey data;
• experience with the collection of survey data and/or the development of questionnaires is a plus;
• experience with participating in larger research projects;
• ability to work in a team.

The appointment will be full-time (38 hours per week) and will last for a period of four years (12 months plus a further 36 months contingent on a satisfactory performance during the first year). The position will start on 1 September 2017.

The gross monthly salary will range from €2,191 in the first year to €2,801 in the final year, based on a full-time position of 38 hours per week, plus 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of- year allowance, in conformity with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 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.

Department of Sociology

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) is the largest social-science educational and research institution in the Netherlands. The Faculty serves around 7,500 students in numerous Bachelor's and Master's programmes in Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication Science, Psychology, Social Geography, International Development Studies and Educational Sciences. The academic staff is employed in education as well as research. There are over 1,100 employees at the Faculty, located in a number of buildings in the centre of Amsterdam.

The Department of Sociology is one of the Departments in the FMG. Research and education are carried out by special institutes. The College of Social Sciences (CSS) and the Graduate School for the Social Sciences (GSSS) are responsible for the undergraduate and graduate teaching programmes in the social sciences. Research takes place under the aegis of the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), a multidisciplinary research institute, the biggest one of its kind in the Netherlands and possibly in Europe. The broad scope and pluralism of our education and research programmes are inspired by and reflect a strong degree of internationalisation.