PhD Vacancies

PhD vacancies are announced throughout the academic year. For positions open to external candidates, we encourage you to explore the opportunities listed in the PhD vacancies section below.

Please note: Tinbergen Institute does not directly offer PhD positions. If you have questions regarding available PhD positions or employment opportunities, please contact the affiliated schools.

PhD positions at the affiliated schools

View current openings  of the School of Business and Economics/ABRI (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), School of Economics and Business/Amsterdam Business School (University of Amsterdam) and Erasmus School of Economics (Erasmus University Rotterdam):

PhD Position: RESCUE (The Resilience of Evacuation Strategies on Compromised and Unreliable Evacuation infrastructure)

David Wozabal (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Bas Kolen (University of Amsterdam), Pascal Wissink (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), and Markus Leitner (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) have an open position for a PhD student in an NWO project.

School: School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Deadline: July 31, 2026
Apply: NWO Project title: RESCUE (The Resilience of Evacuation Strategies on Compromised and Unreliable Evacuation infrastructure)

PhD Position: AI for All - Enabling responsible AI Adoption for SMEs

The Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is opening a 4-year PhD position (full time) which focuses on measurable AI driven impact in SMEs. The aim is to be involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of AI systems that generate productivity gains while remaining transparent, accountable, and aligned with organizational autonomy.

School: Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Amsterdam
Deadline: Monday June 15, 2026
Apply: AI for All - Enabling responsible AI Adoption for SMEs | Work at the University of Amsterdam

PhD Position in Economics

Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) is opening a 4-year PhD position (full time) in the General Economics department as part of the NWO Vici project “Making Money Matter: Rethinking the Design of Income Support to Break the Cycle of Intergenerational Poverty”. This project focuses on understanding the intergenerational transmission of poverty and persistent inequality. It examines how the design of income support—its timing, security, generosity, and scope—can help break intergenerational cycles of poverty and improve children’s developmental outcomes.

School: Erasmus School of Economics
Position has been filled.

PhD position on Behavioral, Environmental and/or Development Economics

The Department of Spatial Economics at the School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, seeks a PhD candidate who is interested in research at the intersection of behavioral, environmental and/or development economics for a 3-year fulltime position (20% teaching) starting September 2026 or September 2027. 

School: School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Position has been filled.

PhD project: Resilient Network Concepts for Supply Logistics

The Econometric Institute is looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate for a joint project of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, TNO in The Hague, and the Netherlands Defence Academy (NLDA) in Den Helder. In addition to a solid background in Operations Research or related fields, the candidate should have strong communication skills including the ability to speak and write fluent Dutch

School: Erasmus School of Economics
Deadline: Sunday March 15, 2026

PhD Strategy Economics

The Strategy Economics research group in the Applied Economics Department is seeking a full time PhD student starting on September 1, 2026. The topic of the PhD will broadly fall within the area of strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship with an economics and quantitative empirical focus. The exact topic will be chosen in coordination between the successful candidate and supervisors.

School: Erasmus School of Economics
Deadline: Saturday 31 Jan 2026

PhD Urban Trends

Ambitious scholar in spatial data analysis? Explore how cities evolve  and apply for a joint PhD at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.

School: School of Business and Economics
Deadline: Saturday 31 Jan 2026