PhD Position in Social Sciences

VU University of Amsterdam

Netherlands

Institution: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty of Social Sciences
Department: Political Science and Public Administration
Contract Type: Full-time PhD, 4 years (initial 1-year contract extended to 4 years)
Salary: €3,059 – €3,881 gross/month (scale PhD, full-time)
Application Deadline: Not explicitly stated; interviews May–June 2026
Preferred Start Date: 1 September 2026

Research Focus

The PhD is part of the VIDI project “Emotion-Infused Risk Regulation”, led by Dr. Dovilė Rimkutė and funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

Objective: Investigate how citizens’ emotions (e.g., anger, fear, anxiety) influence regulators’ responses and regulatory legitimacy across multiple EU and national regulatory domains (health, environment, financial regulation).

Key Research Activities:

Study when and how regulators respond to emotion-laden citizen concerns.
Analyze regulatory discretion in emerging societal risk contexts.
Employ mixed-methods research: survey experiments, semi-structured interviews with EU/national regulators.
Disseminate findings through conferences, high-quality journals, and policy outputs.

Lab: Regulatory Behavior Lab – participate in shaping research profile, collaborative projects, and bridging academia-practice knowledge.

Candidate Profile

Required:

(Research) Master’s degree in public administration, political science, psychology, or related field by 1 September 2026.
Interest in emotion’s role in regulatory governance.
Skills or willingness to develop skills in quantitative (experiments, R) and qualitative research (elite interviews).
Excellent academic English writing and communication skills.
Autonomy, responsibility, diligence in research and publication.
Fluency in English and at least one additional EU language.

Desirable:

Interdisciplinary collaboration and clear communication across teams.
Commitment to diversity, inclusion, and innovative research.

Responsibilities

Conduct and analyze quantitative survey experiments and qualitative interviews.
Complete a cumulative 4-year PhD dissertation (~6 chapters, journal-article style).
Disseminate results at conferences and through policy reports.
Engage with Regulatory Behavior Lab activities and co-organize workshops/events.
Participate minimally (approx. 5%) in departmental teaching.