Leiden University
Closing soon
Just Landed
New Today
Two PhD Candidates in Descriptive/Documentary Linguistics in Indonesia Leiden University in Netherlands
Degree Level
PhD
Field of study
Computer Science
Funding
Two fully funded PhD positions within an NWO-funded project. Employment is for four years, with an initial 12-month contract and extension for 36 months contingent on positive performance and compatibility. Salary ranges from €3,204 gross per month in year 1 to €4,051 in year 4, plus holiday and year-end allowances; candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a tax break.
Deadline
Oct 25, 2026
Country
Netherlands
University
Leiden University
How do I apply for this?
Sign in for free to reveal details, requirements, and source links.
Apply for this position
Keywords
Suggested positions
About this position
Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University, is inviting applications for two fully funded PhD positions in descriptive/documentary linguistics as part of the NWO project “Usku and Banda: Automated Documentation of Endangered Languages of Eastern Indonesia.”
One PhD will focus on Usku (Afra), a Papuan language spoken in Papua (western New Guinea), and the other on Banda, an Austronesian language spoken on Kei Besar in Maluku. The project combines fieldwork in Indonesia, language documentation, corpus creation, lexicography, and grammatical analysis of phonology, morphology, and syntax. A distinctive feature of the project is the testing and evaluation of AI tools for transcription, translation, morphological segmentation, and glossing of underdocumented languages.
The positions are based in Leiden and are expected to lead to a PhD thesis within a four-year appointment. The salary is stated as €3,204 gross per month in the first year, rising to €4,051 in the fourth year, plus holiday and year-end allowances. The project is collaborative and involves PI Marian Klamer, external partner Eline Visser (Uppsala University), and research engineer Sophie Villerius.
Applicants should have a Master’s degree in linguistics by the start date, strong academic English, interest in language documentation/field linguistics/descriptive linguistics, and either working knowledge of Indonesian or willingness to learn it quickly. Fieldwork experience in a non-western context is an advantage, and candidates from Indonesia may be preferred when equally suitable.
Deadline: 25 October 2026. Start date: between February and July 2027, by mutual agreement. Apply through the university application system and include a cover letter, CV, transcripts, a writing sample, and two references’ names and email addresses.
Funding details
Two fully funded PhD positions within an NWO-funded project. Employment is for four years, with an initial 12-month contract and extension for 36 months contingent on positive performance and compatibility. Salary ranges from €3,204 gross per month in year 1 to €4,051 in year 4, plus holiday and year-end allowances; candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a tax break.
What's required
A Master’s degree in linguistics completed before the start date; demonstrated interest in language documentation, field linguistics, descriptive linguistics or similar; excellent research and academic English skills; working knowledge of Indonesian or willingness to acquire it within the first half year of the project; strong cooperative attitude and interest in collaborative research; fieldwork experience in a non-western context is a plus; preference may be given to candidates from Indonesia in cases of equal suitability.
How to apply
Submit the application via the university application system by 25 October 2026. Include a cover letter stating which of the two positions you want, a full academic CV, transcripts for all Bachelor and Master modules, a writing sample, and the names and email addresses of two references.
More information can be found here
Ask ApplyKite AI
How do I apply for this?
Sign in for free to reveal details, requirements, and source links.