PhD Position: Factual Belief Polarisation and its Attitudinal Consequences

1. Introduction

Join our PhD project exploring how polarised factual beliefs shape public opinion and fuel broader political divides.

2. Job description

What citizens believe to be true and whether they trust science and experts increasingly depend on where they stand on the political spectrum. As a result, political opponents are often divided not only in their attitudes, but also in their beliefs about reality. Left-wing and right-wing voters, for instance, have different perceptions of the causes of climate change, the magnitude of income inequality, and the number of immigrants in their country. We are recruiting a PhD candidate who will examine how this 'factual belief polarisation' influences public opinion and potentially contributes to broader polarisation.

You will apply new and existing experimental methods to examine when, how, and why factual beliefs about issues such as inequality, immigration, or government spending have an impact on issue attitudes and affective polarisation. Your results will be disseminated in international peer-reviewed journal articles and an article-based PhD dissertation. Your supervision team will consist of Dr. Roderik Rekker (main substantive supervisor), Dr. Hakan Çakmak, Dr. Bojana Većkalov, and Prof. Dr. Carolien van Ham. You will also have a limited teaching assignment of about 5%.

3. Profile

Required: 

• You hold (or expect to obtain before starting this position) a Master’s degree in political science (or another relevant discipline such as political communication or political psychology).
• You have a good command of quantitative research methods, particularly regarding the design and technical execution of survey experiments.
• You can work both independently and in a team.
• You have an excellent command of written academic English.
• Regular (but not daily) presence in Nijmegen is expected.

Desirables:

• You have completed or almost completed a Research Master’s programme and/or you have completed courses on advanced quantitative methods with good grades.
• You have experience conducting research on polarisation, misperceptions, or another related topic.

4. We are

The Department of Political Science examines the complexity and interconnectedness of contemporary politics with a focus on legitimacy and institutional change. The department consists of two chair groups: Empirical Political Science and International Relations. Together, they offer Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in Political Science.

You will be based within the Empirical Political Science chair group. This chair group is particularly strong in Comparative Politics, Political Theory, as well as Quantitative and Qualitative Methodology. Major research topics include populism, electoral behaviour, public opinion, labour movements, as well as the moral legitimacy of institutions and policies. Many of the group’s members contribute to more than one of these subjects, and are active in interdisciplinary Hot Spots and research collaborations across Nijmegen School of Management and beyond.

5. We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (1.0 FTE) of 1.5 years, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, your contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4-year contract).     
• You will receive a starting salary of €3,059 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week, which will increase to €3,881 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus. 
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20. 

6. Practical information and applying

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Roderik Rekker. In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application.

The first interviews (will take place either online or face-to-face (depending on the candidate’s location and preference) in the week of 6 April. This interview will include a short oral presentation of research ideas by the candidate. You will preferably start your employment on 1 September 2026.

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure. It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates.