Vrije University Amsterdam, Netherlands invites online Application for number of Fully Funded PhD Degree at various Departments. We are providing a list of Fully Funded PhD Programs available at Vrije University Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Eligible candidate may Apply as soon as possible.
(01) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD position specialized in statistical modeling of long-term survival and cure.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is offering a fully funded, four-year PhD-position in statistics on survival analysis and extreme value theory, as part of the NWO-funded project “Seeing beyond the study duration: extreme value theory for long term survival and cure chances”.
This project will develop statistical methods and theory for analysing time-to-event data when a fraction of the population is immune to the event of interest (‘cured’). For example, in oncology the event of interest is cancer relapse/death, and the cured patients after treatment will never experience the event. However, in absence of a lifetime follow-up, cured patients cannot be distinguished from the uncured ones who do not show signs of the disease. A major constraint of most existing methods for cure models is the sufficient follow-up assumption, i.e. the study duration should be longer than the time span of possible events, which is rarely satisfied in practice. In this project, we will develop methods that relax this assumption by making use of extreme value theory (EVT) to extrapolate beyond the study duration. EVT has been well established for tail modeling and statistical inference on rare events that lie outside the range of the available data. We foresee applications of the developed methodology in several fields, but within this project we will focus on applications in oncology and credit scoring (for default prediction).
As a PhD candidate, you will join a collaborative team of two PhD candidates and two senior researchers, Dr. Juan Cai (VU Amsterdam) and Dr. Eni Musta (University of Amsterdam), who will also be your supervisors. Your research will center on developing cutting-edge estimation approaches for the cure rate and the survival time of the uncured depending on covariates (risk/prognostic factors, treatments). Your work will focus on developing statistical learning approaches that allow for high dimensional covariates and a non-linear dependence response, supported by theoretical guarantees on the accuracy of the method.
Deadline : 15-10-2026
(02) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD: Learning interactions in collective cell migration
Our theory group is a worldwide leader in studying the statistical physics of living systems. We currently have an opening for an Vici funded 4-year PhD position position. We seek to uncover the fundamental interaction rules that govern collective cell migration—a central biological process underlying development, immune responses, and cancer progression.
We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate with an interest in combining non-equilibrium statistical physics, active matter physics, and statistical inference/AI to unravel how cell–cell interactions shape collective cell migration. A central goal of the project is to develop and apply data-driven theoretical frameworks that infer interaction rules directly from multicellular migration experiments. We therefore seek a candidate who is excited by rigorous statistical mechanics and data-driven modelling, and who is eager to use these approaches to understand how complex biological functions emerge from interactions between individual cells.
Deadline : 30-09-2026
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(03) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD student (4 years) on Nihilistic Violent Extremist Groups
We will be hiring a PhD student on a project to investigate Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE) groups – that is, radical online groups (consisting of mostly adolescents and young adults) that are notorious for committing a broad range of crimes, consisting of members who appear to be driven less by a clear ideology than by general desires for chaos and online status. You will work within an interdisciplinary research team that includes Prof. dr. Jan-Willem van Prooijen, Prof. dr. Arjan Blokland, and Dr. Elanie Rodermond. You will investigate these issues with a mixed-method approach, combining sophisticated data science techniques (i.e., statistically analyzing a large volume of social media data) with qualitative analyses. You will present the findings at conferences and publish them in academic journals. You will also write a PhD thesis and publicly defend it at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The targeted starting date is 1 January 2027 at the latest.
Deadline : 24-08-2026
(04) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position on Resilient Landscapes and the Values of Restoration
The PhD position focuses on: (i) developing and testing approaches to assess ecosystem services and their plural values across spatial and temporal scales; (ii) quantifying how the proximity, accessibility, and characteristics of restored nature affect human wellbeing and physical and mental health, and translating these relationships into spatially explicit indicators; (iii) integrating plural valuation, wellbeing, health, ecosystem-service, and land-system indicators into dynamic spatial assessments of freshwater restoration, including ecological–societal feedbacks over time; (iv) assessing the distribution of restoration benefits, costs, and trade-offs across places, stakeholder groups, and translating these insights into regional- and EU-level scenario analysis.
Deadline : 07-08-2026
(05) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Climate Risk Modelling accounting for adaptation
As a PhD candidate, your goal is to develop new methods for assessing climate risk due to consecutive droughts and at different scales in Europe. Based on these risk assessments, the PhD will develop methods to assess the impacts of adaptation measures to reduce climate risk. This will be done by collecting large-scale datasets and using these data sets in a new modelling framework (GEB) which integrates Agent-Based Models, hydrological and flood models. GEB can simulate the dynamics between multiple hazard risk, how these risk impact society, vulnerability of different sectors, and how society can respond to reduce risk (adaptation). This will enhance the climate risk assessment under compound events in the EU. The work will be carried out in strong interaction with international project partners.
Deadline : 01-09-2026
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(06) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Three PhD positions on VICI project MAGMAS: Mantle plume sources and impact
The three PhD positions are part of a larger Vici project funded by the Dutch Research Council.
The MAGMAS project aims to couple the geochemistry and geodynamic behaviour of various mantle plume localities within the Atlantic Ocean to better understand how the Earth’s mantle composition influences convection. The project includes one field campaign to a remote volcanic island and various research visits to collaborators in the UK and Germany.
The 3 PhDs will apply advanced analytical techniques to analyse minerals and melt inclusions (MI) in volcanics from various plume localities and will use that data in geochemical and geophysical numerical modelling.
The team will work on three main tasks:
- Improve the accuracy of plume source composition
- Quantify changes with tectonic setting and time
- Determine the impact on convection behaviour and element exchange
Topic 1 will be addressed by determining the elemental and radiogenic- and stable isotope compositions of minerals and melt inclusions. Topic 2 requires comparing the analytical data for various plume localities (Iceland, Azores, St Helena, Ascension, Tristan-Gough). Topic 3 will be addressed by geochemical and geodynamic modelling. The 3 PhDs will work on all three topics by using different techniques.
Deadline : 10-09-2026
(07) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD in soil fauna supporting multifunctionality in regenerative agriculture
Are you interested in a PhD focusing on the role of the soil fauna in regenerative agriculture? Working with pioneer regenerative farmers across the Netherlands, this PhD will investigate which combinations of practices can support healthy multi-functional soil fauna communities. This PhD will quantify the role of soil fauna in supporting a range of soil functions for eight different regenerative agricultural business systems, working with 40 plus regenerative farms. The research will include questions like: 1) How do different soil fauna communities contribute to multi-functionality? 2) Can we recommend different combinations of management practices to enhance soil fauna diversity and associated multi-functionality? 3) What are the best indicators for wider monitoring of soil fauna and their functions in regenerative systems?
There is steadily growing pressure on agriculture and the entire food system to increase global production while promoting sustainability in terms of farmers’ incomes, soil health, input use, and environmental and climate impact. Regenerative agriculture is a promising avenue to support a healthy, multi-functional and future-proof soil and farming system. Together with regenerative Dutch farmers, ReGeNL is developing a future-proof agricultural sector in which agriculture goes hand in hand with soil health and nature restoration, and a good revenue model for farmers. Between now and 2030, ReGeNL will start the transition to regenerative agriculture with 1000 farmers. The aim is to make regenerative agriculture the new normal by 2040.
Deadline : 31-07-2026
(08) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD positions on Sustainability transitions through microbiome innovations
We expect to select a team of 3 PhD candidates that will work on a variety of topics within the project. Each PhD candidate will focus on one of the following research themes:
- PhD 1: Policy and governance for sustainability transitions
This PhD candidate will focus on analyzing the (mission-oriented) innovation systems around microbiome innovations in the Netherlands, with a particular focus on the role that policy and governance can play in supporting these innovation systems. This entails studying how policy mixes for mission-oriented innovation can best be developed and implemented, what the roles of government in transitions are, and which governance strategies help to steer large-scale projects through Theories of Change.
- PhD 2: Transdisciplinary collaboration and learning in innovation systems
This PhD candidate will focus on advancing understanding of how learning and transformative change can be organized, facilitated and analyzed in complex transdisciplinary innovation ecosystems. This also means that there is room to explore for instance the power dynamics between different organizations and stakeholders, how transformative change can best be monitored, and how innovation ecosystems can be best supported.
- PhD 3: Valorisation and (institutional) entrepreneurship for microbiome innovations
This PhD candidate will focus on developing strategies for valorisation (in the broad sense) of microbiome innovations. They will investigate the role of businesses and (institutional) entrepreneurs, the regulatory and market challenges these actors face, as well as the strategies that they (can) deploy in developing viable business models and value creation for microbiome innovations in different domains, such as human health, agriculture and food.
Within your PhD, together with your promotion team and the broader Holomicrobiome project team, you will conduct different studies. These studies will be largely qualitative and action-oriented (comparative) case studies of which the insights will also support the Holomicrobiome project. The studies will be further specified depending on the different interests of the PhD candidates and the team.
Deadline : 14-08-2026
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(09) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD position Governing transitions towards a sustainable greenhouse sector
As a team, we will work on understanding the social, political and economic dimensions of innovations and sustainability transitions in the greenhouse sector. During your PhD you will be conducting social science studies into (1) innovation systems and the factors that help contribute to diffusion and adoption of sustainable innovations and (2) policy instruments and governance at different levels (local, national) in the Netherlands and the United States. Data collection strategies can include conducting interviews, document analysis and organizing workshops with stakeholders, such as policymakers, growers and businesses. Together with the promotion team, in the first year you will make a research proposal where you outline your own ideas and interests for the PhD research.
Deadline : 14-08-2026
(10) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Optimizing evacuation decisions under infrastructure failure
Climate change is rapidly increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. The Netherlands, where 26% of the territory lies below sea level, is particularly vulnerable to flooding and other climate-related hazards. Effective a priori evacuation plans are known to reduce loss of life, yet uncertainty surrounding both the spatial development and temporal progression of disasters often renders theoretically optimal evacuation decisions unviable in practice. Designing evacuation strategies that remain efficient, feasible and resilient when critical infrastructure is threatened by large-scale disruptions therefore remains a major challenge in Operations Research.
The RESCUE project develops new multi-stage optimization models for pre-disaster evacuation decisions on critical road and shelter infrastructure subject to failures. Combining robust optimization, stochastic programming and copula theory, the project assesses the resilience of both self-evacuation and shelter-in-place strategies. For this purpose, the project draws on concepts from network flow problems and assignment problems. Models are validated using hydrodynamic simulations of Dutch flash flood scenarios.
Deadline : 31-07-2026
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(11) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Three fully funded PhD positions in Competition Law and AI
Together, we will build the legal regime for computational antitrust.
The team has one legal-track PhD candidate dedicated to Project A, one legal-track PhD candidate dedicated to Project B, and one (more) computational-track PhD candidate working across both projects. The computational-track candidate will provide the empirical and technical scaffolding needed by the two legal-track candidates. The legal-track candidates will provide the competition law expertise that keeps the technical work tied to live antitrust problems. All three candidates will obtain a doctorate.
A postdoctoral researcher with expertise in institutional economics will join the team about a year after the PhDs start.
Project A: making computational antitrust accurate (one PhD position)
This legal-track PhD will work on the legal framework for data access by competition agencies. The core question is whether Regulation 1/2003 and Directive (EU) 2019/1 need to be updated so that the European Commission and national competition agencies can collect the data their computational tools require while preserving fundamental rights. The project will address data protection, business secrecy, the right to remain silent, and proportionality.
Project B: making computational antitrust fair (one PhD position)
This legal-track PhD will work on the legal regime governing the use of AI by competition agencies. The core question is how to mitigate bias and ensure procedural fairness when agencies rely on AI tools. The project will address transparency, explainability, AI-generated evidence, and standards of proof.
Cross-project computational position (one PhD position)
This PhD will work across Projects A and B and provide the technical backbone of the team. On Project A, the focus will be on data: documenting what data agencies collect, through which channels, in which formats, and where computational bottlenecks arise. On Project B, the focus will be on AI methods: auditing bias in publicly documented agency AI systems and prototyping explainability techniques on representative cases. Although more computational in nature, this position will lead to publications in law venues.
Deadline : 15-09-2026
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(12) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD position in AMO Physics – QuEST for APV
We are searching for a motivated and interested PhD-student, with a degree in physics or related topics or with experience in quantum technology, spectroscopy, and/or laser physics, who wishes to work with us in the international and stimulating environment of the joint Quantum Metrology group at LaserLaB Amsterdam.
This project aims to develop a new experimental apparatus that enables quantum enhanced sensing in trapped barium ions for tests of electroweak theory. At the basis of the project lies a unique high-precision radio frequency ion trap in which single Ba+ ions will be confined and cooled to their motional ground state. With optical standing waves the individually ions will be addressed to drive an extremely weak parity forbidden transition. In order to detect the signals from driving such a weak transition, quantum entangled states will be used that reject external perturbations. Based on measurements of atomic parity violation in Ba+, its electroweak charge will be extracted to test the electroweak theory at low energies with unprecedented precision and search for possible signal that may hint towards new physics.
Deadline : 30-09-2026
(13) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: PhD Position in Formal Methods for Concurrent Cryptographic Protocols
The goal of this project is to use formal methods to develop a systematic way to describe concurrent cryptographic protocols and to reason about their security. If this sounds interesting to you, please apply at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU).
Deadline : 30-10-2026
About The Vrije University Amsterdam, Netherlands –Official Website
The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880, and consistently ranks among the top 150 universities in the world by major ranking tables. The VU is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The literal translation of the Dutch name Vrije Universiteit is “Free University”. “Free” refers to independence of the university from both the State and the Dutch Reformed Church. Both within and outside the university, the institution is commonly referred to as “the VU”. Although founded as a private institution, the VU has received government funding on a parity basis with public universities since 1970. The university is located on a compact urban campus in the southern Buitenveldert neighbourhood of Amsterdam and adjacent to the modern Zuidas business district.
In 2014, the VU had 23,656 registered students, most of whom were full-time students. That year, the university had 2,263 faculty members and researchers, and 1,410 administrative, clerical and technical employees, based on FTE units. The university’s annual endowment for 2014 was circa €480 million. About three quarters of this endowment is government funding; the remainder is made up of tuition fees, research grants, and private funding.
The official university seal is entitled The Virgin in the Garden. Personally chosen by Abraham Kuyper, the Reformed-Protestant leader and founder of the university, it depicts a virgin living in freedom in a garden while pointing towards God, referring to the Protestant Reformation in the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th century. In 1990, the university adopted the mythical griffin as its common emblem.
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