PhD – Position in Strategy Economics (Education/Sports) – Netherlands

The Strategy Economics research group in the Applied Economics Department is seeking a full time PhD student starting on September 1, 2025. The topic of the PhD will broadly fall within Personnel Economics, with applications to sports and/or education contexts. The exact topic will be chosen in coordination between the successful candidate and supervisors.

This PhD project is situated in the Strategy Economics research group. Building on the group’s expertise in firm organisation, the vision of this project is to apply concepts from Personnel Economics to sports and/or education contexts. Specific topics may include (but are not limited to): peer effects, work team design, rank effects, and managerial effects. The PhD project will be primarily empirical, with a focus on applying modern micro-econometric methods to administrative data. The exact topic will be chosen in coordination between the successful candidate and supervisors.

The successful candidate will be part of the Strategy Economics group within the Department of Applied Economics. This group contributes to theory-based empirical research on the organisation of firms, industries and markets. The group has produced a large set of publications in international leading academic journals.

As a final output, the candidate is expected to write at least 3 academic papers (cumulative PhD thesis) with the aim to be submitted to journals in Economics and related fields during or after the PhD trajectory.

The successful candidate will be able to choose an affiliation with ERIM or Tinbergen Institute depending on personal preference and the specific research topic.

Requirements:

• MPhil or Research Master’s degree in Economics, Econometrics, Mathematics or Physics is preferred
  • Candidates with an MSc or MA degree are required to successfully complete 1 year of courses at the graduate school they are part of (Research Qualifications at the Tinbergen Institute or courses at ERIM)
• Excellent study results for both the bachelor and master’s degree
• Interest in and strong motivation for scientific research explained in a statement of purpose.
• GRE test is required for all entering PhD students. Valid GRE (revised) General Test results are required from all PhD applicants (all 3 sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing). Successful applicants typically perform among the top-10% of test-takers on the quantitative part of the GRE; applicants with a Q score below 160 will not be considered.
• Excellent command of English (IELTS/TOEFL). Students whose native language is not English are therefore required to demonstrate English proficiency by:
  • holding a degree from a Dutch university or an institution at which English is the language of instruction, or
  • scoring at least 100 on the TOEFL iBT test or 7 on the IELTS test.
• Two reference letters
• Curriculum Vitae

Benefits

They offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 1 September 2025 and you will be based at Erasmus School of Economics (ESE). This position is for 1 fte. The salary ranges from a minimum of € 2.901 to a maximum of € 3.707 gross per month on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The PhD track lasts 3 years (following an MPhil or Research Master) or 4 years (following an MSc). The initial contract is entered into for the duration of 18 months.

Organization/Company – Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)

Research field – Economics

Research profile – First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country – Netherlands

Application Deadline – 16 Jun 2025 – 21:59 (UTC)

More information: Euraxess