PhD Position in Social Sciences

Your job

In the Netherlands, adolescents with a migration background are less likely to find (adequate) internships and first-time jobs compared to their peers without a migration background. To date, research primarily tends to focus on how a multicultural background can lead to difficulties when entering the labor market, including more discrimination, less social support, and fewer relevant working experiences compared to monocultural peers. In the current project, we take a novel approach by examining the recognition of beneficial strengths that adolescents with a migration background may bring to the labor market.

People growing up in difficult conditions develop enhanced abilities, not despite, but precisely because of their challenging experiences. Research suggests that by navigating and negotiating diverse cultural contexts, multicultural individuals can gain rich knowledge and valuable skills (e.g., perspective taking, flexibility, creativity) that can benefit youth in their internships and jobs. Yet, how does the recognition of multicultural strengths emerge among migrant youth? Do employers also recognize and value such multicultural strength among migrant youth? And can the recognition of multicultural strengths be leveraged by both youth and employers to increase chances on the labor market?

This PhD project consists of two research objectives.

Objective 1: examining how social networks contribute to the recognition of multicultural strengths in multicultural youth and potential employers. Social networks refer to the web of social relationships individuals are embedded in, such as connections with friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, and acquaintances. These networks are not merely sources of emotional support but play a central role in influencing attitudes and perceptions, as well as migrants’ chances on the labor market. You will collect ego-centric network data using a novel visualized network-data collection tool specifically designed to survey complex personal networks.

Objective 2: examining the effect of recognizing multicultural strengths among multicultural youth and potential employers on the labor market integration of multicultural youth. You will design experiments to test the direct influence of a) adolescents’ recognition of their multicultural strengths on job-related emotion, motivation and behavior and b) employers’ recognition of multicultural strengths on job applications from multicultural youth.

Supervision Team

The project will be supervised by Verena Seibel (Interdisciplinary Social Science), Sheida Novin (Development Psychology), and Tobias Stark (Interdisciplinary Social Science). We are an interdisciplinary team, combining insights from sociology, developmental psychology, and social psychology.

Your tasks

• Together with your supervisory team, you will design and conduct novel empirical studies;
• You will integrate new insights across disciplines, including sociology, developmental psychology, and social psychology;
• With our support, you will be in charge of all aspects of data collection (from recruiting participants, to conducting ego-centric network studies and experiments at Dutch schools and Dutch companies);
• You will use advanced statistical methods to process and analyze data (e.g., social network analysis);
• You will write international peer-reviewed scientific papers;
• You will work in a collaborative environment that seeks to improve one another’s research;
• You will present your work at international conferences for academics, policy makers, and educators.

Your qualities

• You hold a Master’s degree in sociology, psychology, educational science, or an associated field, or you will obtain such a degree this academic year;
• You have experience with conducting quantitative research and are motivated to design and conduct your own quantitative research; 
• You have excellent English writing and presentation skills;
• You are sufficiently proficient in Dutch, as you will be interacting frequently with Dutch youth and Dutch employers;
• You have great organisational skills.

Our offer

• A job for 1 year, with an extension to a total of four years upon successful assessment;
• a working week of 38 hours and a gross monthly salary between €2.901 in the first year and €3.707 in the fourth year (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU)); 
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus; 
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU. 

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

About us

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences is one of the leading faculties in Europe providing research and academic teaching in cultural anthropology, educational sciences, interdisciplinary social science, pedagogical sciences, psychology, and sociology. Almost 7,000 students are enrolled in a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programmes. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has some 1,100 faculty and staff members, all providing their individual contribution to the training and education of young talent and to the research into and finding solutions for scientific and societal issues.

The faculty is located at Utrecht Science Park near the historical city centre of Utrecht.

More information

For more information about this position, please contact Verena Seibel (v.m.k.seibel@uu.nl) or Sheida Novin (s.novin@uu.nl).

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.

Apply now

As Utrecht University, we want to be a home for everyone. We value staff with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and identities, including cultural, religious or ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. We strive to create a safe and inclusive environment in which everyone can flourish and contribute.

To apply, please send your curriculum vitae, including a letter of motivation (in English) where you explain why you are interested in this position and where you refer to the qualities listed above, the contact information of two referees and an overview of the courses you took and the grades you received during your master program, via the ‘apply now’ button.

Please note that international candidates that need a visa/work permit for the Netherlands require at least four months processing time after selection and acceptance. Our International Service Desk (ISD) can answer your questions about living in the Netherlands as international staff. Finding appropriate housing in or near Utrecht is your own responsibility, but the ISD may be able to advise you on that matter. In case of general questions about working and living in The Netherlands, please consult the Dutch Mobility Portal.

The first round of interviews takes place on September 1^st, 2025. Our preferred start date is October 1^st, 2025.

The application deadline is 17 August 2025.