PhD Position: Academia in Transition – Transforming Academic Institutions for Just Sustainability Transitions Erasmus University Rotterdam in Netherlands

The Erasmus School of Philosophy (ESPhil) at Erasmus University Rotterdam is offering a full-time PhD position within the NWO-funded research project “Academia in Transition.” This project critically examines the evolving role of academia in enabling just sustainability transitions, focusing on how academic institutions respond to urgent societal challenges and new forms of knowledge production. The research investigates the tensions and contestations that arise as transdisciplinary, participatory, and action-oriented research practices become institutionalised, often clashing with established academic norms, funding structures, ethical frameworks, and evaluation criteria.

As a PhD researcher, you will develop and carry out your own doctoral research aligned with the project’s objectives. Your work will include mapping and conducting qualitative case studies of social innovations in academic systems, particularly in areas such as funding, ethics governance, and academic activism, with a focus on the Netherlands and Canada. You will collaborate with researchers, funding agencies, research policy actors, ethics committees, and university leadership through the Academia in Transition Lab, which serves as a platform for experimenting with new solutions and co-developing pathways to support just sustainability transitions in academia.

The project draws on sustainability transitions research, institutional theory, and critical social science and humanities scholarship. It aims to provide both theoretical insights and empirically grounded understandings of how transformative research practices challenge dominant ideas of “good” research and drive institutional change. The ESPhil faculty is internationally oriented, with strong connections to universities abroad and a curriculum deeply engaged with current philosophical and societal debates. Students and researchers at ESPhil are encouraged to become critical thinkers and engaged scholars, practicing philosophy in multiple societal settings.

Employment conditions are excellent, including a salary ranging from €3,059 to €3,881 gross per month (full-time, scale PhD, 38 hours), a contract for 18 months extendable to 4 years, 41 days of paid leave, 8% holiday pay, and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus. Additional benefits include pension contributions, discounts on collective insurances, compensation for travel, working from home, and home internet use, as well as partially paid parental leave and support for international candidates (including eligibility for the 30%-ruling tax benefit and a dual career programme for partners).

Applicants must hold a Master’s degree in philosophy or in the social sciences and humanities, have familiarity with sustainability transitions and related fields, and possess experience with qualitative and participatory research methods. Excellent proficiency in Dutch (C1 level) and English is required. The application should include a CV, motivation letter, research outline, writing sample, academic reference letter, and proof of language proficiency if necessary. The deadline for applications is March 27th, 2026, with interviews scheduled for April 2026. For more information and to apply, visit the Erasmus University Rotterdam vacancies portal.