PhD position at ILLC

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is a research institute at the University of Amsterdam in which researchers from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities collaborate. 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, natural language processing, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, music cognition, and philosophy. Research is organized in three research groups: Logic and Computation (LoCo), Logic and Language (LoLa) and Language and Computation (LaCo). Check here for an overview of the research being carried out in the different groups. For the research carried out by the individual staff members of ILLC, see their personal pages via People at ILLC.

The ILLC currently has one PhD position available at the Faculty of Science, starting on 1 September 2017. Applications are now invited from excellent candidates wishing to conduct research in an area within ILLC that fits naturally in the Faculty of Science.

Job description

• Complete and defend a PhD thesis within the official appointment duration of four years;
• 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 ILLC;
• assist in teaching activities at ILLC and/or the Faculty of Science;
• participate in the organisation of research activities and events at ILLC, such as conferences, workshops and joint publications. 

Requirements

• A master's degree with excellent grades in a relevant field, such as logic, computer science, mathematics, artificial intelligence, linguistics, philosophy, musicology or cognitive science;
• good academic writing and presentation skills;
• good social and organisational skills;
• strong interest in a scientific career. 

Further information

For general information, you may contact:

• Dr. Raquel Fernández, director of the ILLC PhD Programme
• Prof. Frank Veltman, chair of the selection committee

Appointment

The appointment will be on a temporary basis for a period of 4 years for 38 hours per week. In the first instance, a contract will be given for 18 months; if positively evaluated, the contract will be extended for another 30 months.

On the basis of a full-time appointment, the gross monthly salary will be €2,191 during the first year, rising to €2,801 during the fourth year, excl. 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end of year bonus. The Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) for Dutch Universities is applicable.

Starting date: 1 September 2017 (later starting date negotiable). 

Job application

Applications for the PhD position should include the following:

• a curriculum vitae;
• a list of grades obtained for your Master (or equivalent) programme; at this stage a certified document is not yet necessary;
• the name and contact details of one or two academic referee;
• a letter of motivation (max 2 pages) listing the research topics of your interest, and describing some concrete research questions that you would like to work on;
• the name of an ILLC staff member whom you would like to supervise your PhD project;
• a writing sample, such as a project paper or master’s thesis.

Please supply this information in one single file in .pdf format (not zipped), using your initials and surname as a file name.

Please note the following:

• you may apply even if you have not yet completed your Master's degree. If this is the case, we need a signed letter from your supervisor stating that you will graduate before 1 September 2017;
• you are encouraged to contact an appropriate member of the scientific staff at ILLC to discuss your plans before applying formally.

Completed applications should be submitted by 23.59 hours (CET) on 15 February 2017 to application-science@uva.nl stating your name, vacancy number 16-620 and 'PhD ILLC' in the subject field. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.