PhD candidate in Cognitive Modelling

The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strongly international profile in a large number of disciplines in the field of language and culture. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the Faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutes in the capital city. There are over 1,000 employees affiliated with the Faculty, which has about 8,000 students.

To strengthen its Research Priority Area Brain & Cognition, the Faculty of Humanities invites applications for

A PhD candidate in Cognitive Modelling,

starting on 1st September 2012.

Applications are now invited from excellent candidates wishing to conduct research in the field of cognitive science and cognitive modelling in the context of the Brain & Cognition Research Priority Area. In addition to the Brain & Cognition subthemes, possible topics include, but are not restricted to, the cognitive modelling of music, language, evolution of cognition, and/or cultural transmission. The PhD candidate will be part of the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (http://www.illc.uva.nl/research). Researchers from both the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities collaborate in the Insitite for Logic, Language and Computation. Its central research area is the study of fundamental principles of encoding, transmission and comprehension of information. Research at ILLC is interdisciplinary, and aims at bringing together insights from various disciplines concerned with information and information processing, such as logic, mathematics, computer science, linguistics, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, musicology and philosophy.

Tasks

• Complete and defend a PhD thesis within the official appointment duration (see text below).
• Regularly present intermediate research results at international workshops and conferences, and publish them in proceedings and journals
• Collaborate with the researchers in other relevant parts of the research institutes of the Faculty of Humanities
• Participate in the organization of research activities and events within the research field of Brain & Cognition, such as conferences, workshops and joint publications

Requirements

• A Master's degree with excellent grades in a relevant field
• Good academic writing and presentation skills
• Good social and organizational skills

Appointment

The PhD candidate at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam will be appointed for 4 years for 0,8 fte under the terms of employment currently valid for the Faculty. In the first instance, a contract will be given for 16 months, with an extension for the following 32 months on the basis of a positive evaluation

The salary for the position (on a full-time basis) will be € 2042 during the first year (gross per month) and will reach € 2612 during the fourth year, in accordance with the CAO for Dutch universities.

Application

Applications for the PhD position should include a letter of motivation, a CV, a list of grades obtained for your Bachelor and Master (or equivalent) programmes, as well as names and contact details of two academic referees. Please supply each document separately in .pdf format, giving the files self-explanatory names (e.g. CV NAME.pdf). Please also include a writing sample (such as your MSc thesis or a term paper), preferably a link to an online version. The letter of motivation (max. 2000 words) should outline what kind of research you wish to undertake and in which of the four research institutes of the Faculty you would feel most at home.

You are welcome to contact welcome to contact professor Henkjan Honing (honing at uva.nl) to discuss your plans ahead of applying formally.

Completed applications should be submitted by 4 July 2012, 23.59 hrs. The address for applications is solliciteren2012-fgw at uva.nl. Please state the vacancy number W12-127 in the subject field. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Further information

Research at the Faculty of Humanities: http://www.hum.uva.nl/onderzoek.
Working at the UvA: http://www.english.uva.nl/vacancies
For general information, you may also contact the Faculty's research office at onderzoek-fgw at uva.nl.