Assistant Professor of Sociology: Social Inequalities and Change

Within the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the team of Public Issues and Imaginaries is accepting applications for colleagues as part of a cluster hiring initiative for scholars of color. We seek to hire two colleagues (one Assistant and one Associate Professor level) whose focus fits within the field of “Social Inequalities”. We define “Social Inequalities” broadly, and scholars from a wide variety of specializations are encouraged to apply.

We seek scholars who are passionate educators, researchers and academic leaders to contribute to our team, our faculty and our university. The Public Issues and Imaginaries team prioritizes understanding and addressing power structures and social inequalities through research, through the classroom, and through engaging with communities outside of academia. There are no specific research specialization nor methodology requirements. We particularly encourage applicants whose work incorporates and centers perspectives from the “majority world”/”global south” and/or who are able or willing to focus their academic attention to the city of Rotterdam.

The teaching responsibilities include joining the collaborative team of the English-taught, international master programme Social Inequalities and Change, one of the specializations of the Master in Sociology. The colleagues will add to the course(s) “Social Institutions” and/or “Social Change” where they will have the opportunity to collectively develop and hone our curriculum and pedagogical approaches. We are open as to the expertise that our future colleagues will bring to these courses. For instance, the area of expertise may be within decolonial studies, critical race theory, educational inequalities, health care inequalities, disability studies, social activism, power and agency, gender studies, queer theory, geography, or one of many other areas.

Commitment to integrating progressive, antiracist and social justice resources and pedagogy in the classroom is an essential component of both positions. The ideal applicants will demonstrate a strong commitment to teaching that critically engages with systems of power, identity, and social change. We welcome scholars who foster respectful dialogue and practice inclusive teaching pedagogy both in the classroom and across the campus community.

We welcome international candidates to apply; the EUR has an excellent track record of supporting international scholars in relocations for work.

Job description
In principle, the Assistant Professor position includes teaching (60%) and research (40%), although different specialization trajectories (i.e., teaching focused, management focused, impact focused) are negotiable. The position contains, among others, the following responsibilities:

• Performing teaching tasks in the Department of Public Administration and Sociology such as coordinating/teaching courses in the MA and the faculty’s BA programmes and supervising theses. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, courses and theses of the English taught Master specialization Social Inequalities and Change;
• Conducting and publishing research within the Department of Public Administration and Sociology;
• Contributing to writing research grant proposals;
• Working collaboratively to advance the goals of the Public Issues and Imaginaries team;
• Contributing to administrative tasks in the team and the department.

• PhD in a social science (such as sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, geography, political science or other) completed by May 2026.
• Expertise and/or clear potential for teaching, particularly in the fields of “Social Inequalities in Institutions” and/or “Social Change”. Any one of a number of areas of expertise is welcome, for example: decolonial studies, critical race theory, educational inequalities, health care inequalities, disability studies, social activism, power and agency, gender studies, queer theory, geography, or one of many other areas.
• Ability to create a safe classroom environment for all students, particularly cognizant of historically oppressed groups; i.e. skills in managing “uncomfortable” conversations about inequalities among students.
• Expertise and/or clear potential for conducting research and publishing in the social sciences.
• Ability to teach in English.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Research focus on “majority world”, outside of Western Europe/US and/or an ability or willingness to engage academically with the city of Rotterdam.
• Certified skills to teach in higher education (such as the Dutch University Teaching Qualification, BKO).
• Ability to supervise Masters and Bachelors theses with either quantitative or qualitative methods
• Commitment to mentor and support students and junior colleagues
• Ability to teach in Dutch, or willingness to learn Dutch with a vision of future teaching (see resources at the Language Training Center). We anticipate one of the cluster hires to have future Dutch-teaching responsibilities.
• Ability to start the position July 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 01-JUL-2026 and you will be based at [class.26087] in Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB). This position is for 0.8 fte - 1 fte. The salary is dependent on your experience and knowledge and ranges from a minimum of € 4.728 to a maximum of € 7.297 gross per month Scale 11 or 12 on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The contract is offered for a period of 1 year and can be converted into an employment contract for an indefinite period if suitability is proven and if continued in the same position, if (financial and/or organizational) circumstances remain the same.

Everything else we offer you; you can find below!

• Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!
• Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.
• Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget and free access to our university library.
• Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.
• Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare (daycare not paid for by EUR).
• Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB)
Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB) combines various disciplines such as public administration, pedagogical sciences, psychology and sociology. In addition, the Erasmus University College is affiliated with the faculty. Within ESSB, we work in teams on education and research, emphasising interdisciplinarity, diversity, inclusion and sustainability. Together, we strive for societal and scientific impact.

ESSB distinguishes itself through inter-, multi- and transdisciplinary research, in which academics and students work together on complex social issues. Thanks to this approach, ESSB successfully attracts national and international research subsidies and funds, with which we continuously strengthen and renew our education and research.

ESSB serves almost 6,000 students annually with a wide range of bachelor's and master's programmes and has more than 600 employees. These programmes are highly rated by students and alumni. Within ESSB, developing new insights and realising positive societal impact are central, always with a focus on people and society.

Visit our website for more information about the faculty, and click here for more information about our academic teams.

Department of Public Administration and Sociology (DPAS)

DPAS encompasses the disciplines Public Administration and Sociology: two related scientific fields each with a unique profile. Public Administration studies governance capacity and policy interventions. It focuses on institutional power to organize and intervene in the relations between different social, political and economic actors. Public Administration in Rotterdam goes far beyond the public realm to also pay attention to public-private cooperation and the networks of organizations. Sociology investigates the social structures of societies and the way these evolve. Sociologists in Rotterdam focus, inter alia, on processes of globalization and individualization, and the effects of these processes on international social relations, the labor market and family relations. Social issues that are studied under this banner include migration, flexibilization and solidarity. The perspectives of Public Administration and Sociology complement each other. Together they guarantee a highly relevant and scientific approach to topical administrative and social issues. The bachelor- and master programs of DPAS are built on this profile and develop students into scientifically schooled professionals.

Team Public Issues and Imaginaries (PI&I)

The Public Issues and Imaginaries (PI&I) team comprises 30 interdisciplinary lecturers and researchers. They have backgrounds in Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, Public Administration and Media Studies, with connections inside and outside the university. We generate knowledge to imagine forms of living together (human and more-than-human) that are less exploitative, extractive and inequitable and more democratic, sustainable and liberatory. We develop teaching and research focused on major contemporary public issues, such as urban politics, work and digitalisation, migration, race, gender, socio-economic class, inequality, climate change and sustainability, to connect with a diverse range of audiences.

Our way of working together is distinctive in three ways:

1. We are critical in our analyses and constructive in our interventions on public issues;
2. We see teaching and research on public issues as ways to engage others in the production of knowledge and possibilities for more just futures;
3. We aim to transform existing scientific and academic practices by choosing quality over quantity, engagement over isolation, diversity over monoculture, and good working relationships over a competitive rat race.

For more information, please visit our website.