PhD Candidate in Law

Employment1.0 FTE

Gross monthly salary€ 2,960 - € 4,670

Required backgroundResearch University Degree

Organizational unitFaculty of Law

Application deadline10 September 2023

 

What is the connection between socioeconomic status and migration status? How can it be explained? And how does it affect long-term integration of third-country nationals in the EU? As a PhD candidate you will contribute to answering these research questions using legal and empirical research methods. The study will be performed in the Netherlands and another selected EU member state and will focus on selected nationalities (Turkish and/or Iranian).

Immigration laws and policies create bureaucratic categories of people by determining who is allowed to enter and reside on the territory, and which rights are attached to legal migration status. This way of categorising people will lead to a differential treatment between migrants. These differences will be exacerbated by the effects that are produced by the requirements for obtaining or securing a migration status: research has shown that the fulfilment of such conditions, such as income or civic integration requirements, disproportionately affect certain groups (such as women, people with disabilities, the elderly). Even though such requirements are often presented as meritocratic and therefore neutral, this research suggests that socioeconomic status or class will affect migration status. How socio-economic status, migration status and status specific entry conditions interact and impact long-term opportunities is however understudied.

Using legal and empirical research methods, the study will be performed in the Netherlands and another selected EU member state and will cover selected nationalities (Turkish and/or Iranian) and a variety of migration statuses (work/family/humanitarian/study). The research will contribute to theorising the intersection of class, migration and integration, paying specific attention to the functioning of the law and the way it is implemented by screen-level bureaucrats as an explanatory factor in this intersection.

The PhD candidate will be contributing to a larger research project running on the Class-Migration Nexus and will be focussing specifically on one of the selected nationalities. The PhD project will include empirical work in the form of interviews with immigrants as well as civil society actors and civil servants.

Profile

• You should have or shortly expect to obtain a Master's degree in a relevant discipline, such as law, migration studies or social studies.
• You have strong analytical skills and excellent academic writing skills, which should be apparent from your CV.
• You are able to demonstrate having a special interest in and preferably experience with conducting empirical research.
• You have the ambition to conduct academic research.
• You have an excellent command of written and spoken English.
• You have a good command of the language of one of the selected nationalities.
• Knowledge of Dutch and of Dutch migration law will be considered a plus.
• You are enthusiastic and have perseverance, willpower and the ability to independently conduct scientific research and publish the results.
• You have a proactive and flexible attitude.
• If you are not fluent in Dutch, you will be expected to take part in a Dutch language course.

We are

You will be conducting your research as a member of the internationally renowned Centre for Migration Law (CMR). CMR researchers conduct international and interdisciplinary research which focuses on European, international and Dutch migration law and minority protection, and is characterised by a strong empirical component.  The research conducted at CMR includes both legal analyses and socio-legal research into the effects of migration law and policy.

At CMR, you will be closely collaborating with your supervisors: Prof. Ashley Terlouw (professor of sociology of law) and Dr Ricky van Oers (assistant professor of sociology of law and migration law).

CMR is part of the Research Centre for State and Law (SteR), which is one of the main research centres of the Faculty of Law at Radboud university. SteR conducts research into developments in the field of public law, focusing on the relationship between state and law.

As a PhD candidate, you will also be part of the Faculty's Graduate School, which entails taking part in its activities, including following the PhD training programme.

For the last 100 years, the Faculty of Law at Radboud University has successfully carried out its mission of nurturing the sustainable learning capacity of the rule of law through the continuous cross-fertilisation between theory and practice.

Radboud University

We are keen to meet critical thinkers who want to look closer at what really matters. People who, from their expertise, wish to contribute to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This ambition unites more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University and requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!

We offer

• It concerns an employment for 1.0 FTE.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,960 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,413 from the fourth year onwards (salary scale 10).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be employed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract).
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Additional employment conditions

Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

Would you like more information?

For questions about the position, please contact Ricky van Oers, Assistant Professor at +31 24 36 13 099 or ricky.vanoers [at] ru.nl. Alternatively, you can contact Ashley Terlouw, Professor at 024 36 12 789 or ashley.terlouw [at] ru.nl.

Practical information and applying

You can apply until 10 September, exclusively using the button below. Kindly address your application to Ricky van Oers. Please fill in the application form and attach the following documents:

• A motivation letter.
• Your CV.
• Your project idea (max. 1,000 words). 

The first round of interviews will take place on Monday 25 September. You would preferably begin employment on 1 January 2024.

A PPQ (PhD Personality Questionnaire) test will be administered during the selection process.

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure. It offers a rough outline of what you can expect during the application process, how we handle your personal data and how we deal with internal and external candidates.