Up to and including 2024 the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) will be working with the ‘PhDs in the Humanities’ funding instrument.

The ‘PhDs in the Humanities’ offers talented researchers a paid PhD position. It is a so-called ‘open’ NWO instrument: applicants are free to choose their own research topic. Applications are granted funding on the basis of the excellence of the candidate and of the research proposal. More information on PhDs in the Humanities can be found in the call for proposals on the NWO website.

Every Humanities Faculty in the Netherlands may nominate a selected number of candidates (Leiden University 4.5 FTE; 4 or 5 candidates) for this competition. The selection of candidates for Leiden University is made by the Committee for the Practice of Scientific Research (Commissie voor Wetenschapsbeoefening) plus a representative from the Faculty of Archaeology. Each Leiden Humanities’ institute may submit a limited number of candidates to the committee. Please check the NWO website for the specific deadline.

If you are interested in becoming a candidate for one of the institutes, you first need to find a supervisor. After the supervisor has confirmed to accept you as a PhD candidate, the institute will make a pre-selection. Please check with your institute’s management about the procedure, deadlines and your opportunities before the end of the (calendar) year.