The Department of Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy at the University of Groningen is inviting applications for a fully-funded PhD position. Candidates are encouraged to submit their own research proposal that engages with questions in moral philosophy, conceptual engineering, and ethics of emerging technologies. Proposals may, for example, address themes such as conceptual ethics, meaningful human control, responsibility and control gaps, value-sensitive design, and the ethics of…
autonomous and AI-driven systems, as well as related questions.
What are you going to do?
Possible topics for your proposal include, though are certainly not limited to:
- How do emerging technologies challenge our moral, legal, and political concepts, and how should those concepts be revised in response?
- What makes human control over autonomous or AI-driven systems genuinely meaningful, and how should this shape their design?
- How should we understand and respond to gaps in responsibility or control created by autonomous systems?
- How can autonomous systems in public contexts be designed and governed in ways that are democratically legitimate?
- When, if ever, is it morally justified for predictive systems used by public authorities to expose some citizens to greater risks of investigation or sanction?
- Under what conditions should universities use generative AI, and how does this affect power relations in institutional contexts?
We look forward to receiving innovative and thought-provoking research proposals that engage with these questions or related topics at the intersection of these areas.
Requirements
We are looking for candidates who have finished, or are close to finishing, a Master’s degree in philosophy and who have a substantial prior training in philosophy. Typically, this consists of either a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in philosophy or a two-year Master’s program entirely devoted to philosophy. Additionally, candidates should have:
- A strong motivation for doing a PhD and demonstrable time management and organizational skills.
- A demonstrable capacity to cooperate in an academic research environment.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
Conditions of employment
Fixed-term contract: Temporary employment of 1.0 FTE for a period of four years.
What can you expect from us?
- 232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.
- End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.
- Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.
Employer
University of Groningen
At the University of Groningen (UG), researchers from all fields of academia and technology are working on academic challenges and societal questions. Lecturers prepare their students for meaningful careers within or outside the academic world. Interdisciplinary research and teaching, sharing of knowledge, collaboration with businesses, government institutions, and societal organizations are aspects that are of the utmost importance to this European top university. The UG aims to be an open academic community with an inclusive and safe working climate that invites you to add your value.
Department
Faculty of Philosophy
The Faculty of Philosophy is a small-scale faculty within the University of Groningen. With approximately 90 staff and 480 students, we are a close academic community known for its openness, approachability, and an informal working culture. We value both fundamental and applied research, often working in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary settings. Our teaching and research have long been held in high regard by national and international review committees. The Faculty is widely recognized as one of Europe’s leading philosophical centres. We are organized into three departments: Theoretical Philosophy, History of Philosophy and Ethics, and Social and Political Philosophy. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Philosophy, visit rug.nl/wijsbegeerte.
The Department of Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy at the University of Groningen at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Selection process
We expect to hold a two-step selection process, with a first round of online interviews in October or November 2026 and in-person interviews in November or December 2026.
Feel free to reach out with any further inquiries to Dr Herman Veluwenkamp (h.m.veluwenkamp@rug.nl).
Additional information
Do you have any questions or need more information?
Questions about the content of the job?
Herman Veluwenkamp (Assistant Professor): H.M.Veluwenkamp@rug.nl
Questions about your application process?
Herman Veluwenkamp (Assistant Professor): H.M.Veluwenkamp@rug.nl
Working at University of Groningen
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