Lecturer-PhD Candidate in French Linguistics and Language Acquisition Leiden University in Netherlands

Leiden University’s Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL) is offering a Lecturer-PhD candidate (1.0 FTE) position in the field of French language and culture, with a particular emphasis on French linguistics, French in the Francophone world, and language acquisition. The appointment combines doctoral research and teaching: you will devote about 75% of your time to PhD research and 25% to teaching.

The successful candidate will conduct independent linguistic research leading to a PhD, with freedom to shape the research focus as long as it relates to the French language and fits one or more of LUCL’s research programs. Teaching duties include courses in French on French language and culture and the Francophone world, with a focus on French linguistics and language proficiency; depending on expertise, there may also be opportunities to contribute to French culture and history courses.

This is a good opportunity for an early-career scholar with a strong interest in linguistics and higher education teaching, within an international and collaborative PhD community at LUCL. The department highlights its supportive environment, joint courses, reading groups, peer feedback sessions, and workshops, offering strong academic networking and supervision by highly qualified faculty.

Eligibility highlights: a completed (Research) Master’s degree in linguistics; demonstrable teaching experience, preferably in French linguistics and/or language proficiency; excellent French at minimum CEFR C1; preferably Dutch at CEFR B1 or higher; and interest in one or more linguistic areas such as computational, descriptive, theoretical, sociolinguistic, experimental, historical, or comparative Indo-European linguistics. Strong communication skills are also important.

Funding and terms: this is a five-year fixed-term 1.0 FTE appointment under the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. The salary is €3,546 gross per month in the first year, increasing to €4,241 gross per month in the final year, with an 8% vacation allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus. Leiden University also notes additional employment benefits and a collegial work environment in Leiden.

Application deadline: 14 September 2026, 23:59 (Europe/Amsterdam). Applicants should apply online and include a motivation letter, CV, names and contact details of two referees, a PDF or link to the MA thesis, a PDF of an article or term paper, transcripts of Master-level modules, and a brief one-page outline of a possible PhD project including the names of potential supervisors within LUCL. Interviews are planned for October.