PhD Museums, Cultural Policy, and Institutional Change

Organisational unit Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC)

Employment 0.8 fte - 1 fte

Introduction The Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC) at Erasmus University Rotterdam invites applications for a fully funded four-year PhD position within the research project Museums, Diversity Policies, and Cultural Communities.

Project Description

Museums across Europe and North America are increasingly navigating contested political and social debates surrounding diversity, inclusion, public accountability, and cultural representation. In a context of shifting policy environments, public scrutiny, and evolving expectations from communities and stakeholders, museums face competing pressures regarding their public role in encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This project examines how museums respond to these dynamics and how different institutional and political contexts shape museum-community relations. Using a comparative research design across multiple countries, the project focuses on museum governance, partnerships, funding structures, and audience engagement.

The PhD candidate will focus primarily on case studies in Manchester (UK) and Rotterdam (NL), contributing to a broader comparative framework that includes additional international contexts.

The project is grounded in cultural sociology and institutional analysis and combines qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, archival and policy analysis, and structured analysis of institutional relationships.

As a PhD candidate, you will conduct independent research within the project while contributing to its comparative and collaborative structure. You will:

• Conduct fieldwork and interviews with museum professionals, policymakers, and community stakeholders
• Collect and analyze archival, policy, and institutional data
• Contribute to the development of original research databases (e.g., partnerships, funding, governance structures)
• Apply mixed methods, including qualitative analysis and structured comparative approaches
• Present findings at international academic conferences
• Publish research in peer-reviewed academic journals
• Write and defend a PhD dissertation within four years

You will also contribute to collaborative outputs, including workshops and reports for museum partners. PhDs are required to contribute 15% teaching time per year at the Department of Arts and Culture.

What You Will Gain

This PhD offers strong academic and professional development opportunities, including:

• Advanced training in mixed methods research (qualitative, comparative, and structured data analysis)
• Experience with international fieldwork in the Netherlands and the UK
• A publication-oriented PhD trajectory (article-based dissertation)
• Engagement with cultural institutions, policymakers, and museum professionals
• Opportunities to present at leading international conferences
• Integration into an active research environment within cultural sociology and cultural policy

What We Offer

We offer a fully funded four-year PhD position at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

• A full-time position (1.0 FTE)
• A salary in accordance with the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) for Universities (P-scale), including holiday allowance (8%) and end-of-year bonus (8.3%)
• A dynamic and international research environment
• Funding for fieldwork, conferences, and training
• Participation in the Graduate School's doctoral training program

Job requirements We are looking for a candidate with strong research potential who is able to work both independently and collaboratively in an international research environment.

Required qualifications

• A completed Master's degree in sociology, cultural sociology, cultural policy, museum studies, political science, or a closely related field
• Excellent academic results
• Strong training in qualitative research methods (e.g., interviews, ethnography, document analysis)
• Familiarity with quantitative or mixed methods approaches
• Strong analytical and writing skills
• Excellent command of English (C1; written and spoken)

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with fieldwork or interviews
• Interest in cultural sociology, institutional analysis, or cultural policy
• Ability to manage long-term research projects

Additional advantages

• Knowledge of Dutch
• Experience with database construction, structured data analysis, or network-based approaches
• Prior research on museums, cultural organizations, or cultural policy

Fieldwork in Rotterdam (NL) and Manchester (UK) is required; candidates should be willing to spend extended research periods abroad. The expected start date is September 2026 (negotiable).

We particularly value candidates who are intellectually curious, able to navigate complex research settings, and interested in connecting academic research to real-world cultural and policy challenges.

Employment conditions and benefits We 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 2026 and you will be based at the Department of Arts and Culture Studies in Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC). This position is for 1 fte. The salary ranges from a minimum of € 3.059 to a maximum of € 3.881 gross per month Scale PhD on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The contract is entered into for the duration of 1 year, and can be extended with another 3 years.

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

• Everything you need for a good work-life balance : the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre
• Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Employer Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission 'Creating positive societal impact'. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way - Making Minds Matter. We're global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR's distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. .

ESHCC offers high quality education based on scientific research at the intersection of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Our ambitious Dutch and international students are educated in a stimulating learning environment. Upon graduation, they have acquired the knowledge, insight and skills to make important and inspiring contributions to an increasingly international society in which diversity plays a major role.

The faculty offers three bachelor's programs and three master's programs with a total of seven specializations, as well as two Erasmus Mundus programs and a research master. Most programs are internationally oriented and taught in English.

ESHCC hosts the research institute ERMeCHS (Erasmus Research Institute for Media, Culture, History & Society). Researchers at ERMeCHS are dedicated to conducting interdisciplinary research in the fields of media, communication, culture, history, and society. Our research agenda focuses on strengthening interdisciplinary research, increasing external funding, and enhancing our societal impact.

ESHCC is housed in the Van der Goot (M) Building on the Woudestein campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam. Approximately 2400 students study there, and there are 240 staff members.

Department You will be based in the Department of Arts and Culture Studies at ESHCC and supervised by Dr. Laura Braden. You will be embedded within the ERMeCHS research institute and participate in its doctoral training program, including coursework, seminars, and research workshops. You will join a collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment with strong international networks in cultural sociology, museum studies, and cultural policy.

Please include the following documents in your application:

• A cover letter outlining your motivation and research interests
• A curriculum vitae, including publication list (if applicable)
• A writing sample demonstrating independent research and analytical ability (e.g., thesis chapter or research paper, 5,000-10,000 words)
• A brief statement (max. 1 page) explaining how your research interests connect to the project and how you would approach the research design
. click apply for full job details