PhD Candidates for the Behavioural Science Institute Graduate School

Employment 0.8 – 1.0 FTE
Gross monthly salary € 2,541 – € 3,247
Required background Research University Degree
Organizational unit Radboud University, Faculty of Social Sciences
Application deadline 26 March 2023

Apply now

Are you an aspiring behavioural scientist? And would you like to work at an institute where multiple disciplines of behavioural science are studied under one roof? As a PhD candidate within the Behavioural Science Institute, you will conduct top-level research to further our understanding of the foundations of human behaviour. We help you acquire advanced skills and expertise to prepare you for an impactful research career in the future.

Each year, the Behavioural Science Institute (BSI) Graduate School offers seven Master’s students the opportunity to become PhD candidates. If you are interested in becoming a behavioural scientist and want to work at an institute where multiple disciplines of behavioural science are studied under one roof, we invite you to apply for our 2023 PhD positions.

Our seven research programmes are:

• Behaviour Change and Well-Being (BCW)
• Communication and Media (CM)
• Developmental Psychopathology (DP)
• Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment (EPT)
• Learning and Plasticity (LP)
• Social Development (SD)
• Work, Health and Performance (WHP)

As part of your PhD position, you will have a teaching load of 10%.

Profile

• You hold a Master’s degree (e.g. a taught or research Master’s degree in Behavioural Science, Psychology, Educational Science or Communication Science).
• You have excellent research, methodological and statistical skills.

We are

The Behavioural Science Institute (BSI) is a multidisciplinary research institute and one of three research institutes in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Radboud University. Our researchers collaborate across the boundaries of psychology, educational science and communication science. Our mission is to strengthen people through understanding the foundations of human behaviour, by creating synergy between different paradigms and by facilitating craftsmanship, curiosity and connection in academic research. BSI has seven research programmes covering three major research themes, namely human development, connection and health. BSI conducts fundamental as well as applied/translational research and has excellent facilities and support for lab and field research. Moreover, BSI is known for its successful graduate school and strong commitment to open science.

BSI is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and to building a culturally diverse intellectual community, and as such encourages applications from people of colour, women, people with disabilities, people from LGBTQIAP+ communities, and people from other diverse communities.

Radboud University

We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!

We offer

• It concerns an employment for 0.8 (5 year contract) – 1.0 (4 year contract) FTE.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,541 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,247 from the fourth year onwards (salary scale P).
• 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) or 3.5 years (5 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 Sander Berends, BSI Managing Director at sander.berends@ru.nl. Alternatively, you can contact Hanneke Hendriks, BSI PhD programme Director at hanneke.hendriks@ru.nl.

Practical information and applying

You can apply until 26 March 2023, 23:59 Amsterdam Time Zone, exclusively using the button below. Kindly address your application to Sander Berends. Please fill in the RU application form and attach the following documents as three separate PDF files:

• The BSI application form, where you can find more information about the seven BSI research programmes and their possible research themes. Please use the form to indicate for which of the seven BSI research programmes you are applying (up to three maximum).
• One general letter of motivation of not more than one and a half pages, in which you state 1) your research interests and expertise, and 2) your motivation for applying for the specific BSI research programmes (up to a maximum of three programmes) you indicated on the BSI application form.
• Your CV including overall grades obtained for the BSc degree and MSc degree.

Interviews will be held in May 2023. In the first round of interviews, applicants will be asked to briefly explain their motivation and research vision and subsequently answer a number of questions from the selection committee. Those shortlisted from the first round will be invited to a second interview and asked to write a short research proposal. During this second interview, candidates will be asked to present their proposal and again answer some questions posed by the selection committee.
You would preferably begin employment on 1 September 2023.

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.

Apply now 

Application deadline 26 March 2023