Join Us!
Are you looking for a PhD position in the burgeoning field of neurosymbolic artificial intelligence at a thriving interdisciplinary institute in Amsterdam? Join us in the research unit of Natural Language Processing at the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC), a home to a thriving community of scholars, including philosophers, logicians, mathematicians, computer scientists, linguists, musicologists, and cognitive scientists, who share a fascination with the interdisciplinary study of information.
This is what you will do
Neural approaches to artificial intelligence are extraordinarily effective, with a proliferation of large models trained on correspondingly massive datasets. However, these models still fail on some tasks that humans, and symbolic approaches, can easily solve -- particularly involving abstract and flexible reasoning. There is therefore a need to integrate symbolic and neural approaches, firstly to potentially improve the performance of large neural models, and secondly to analyse and explain the representations that these systems are using.
As a PhD candidate, you will conduct independent research in Neurosymbolic AI. This continues to be a growing field, and there is substantial room to contribute. We are interested in developing techniques that can improve on current AI performance, model human cognition, and in using neurosymbolic methods to analyse system internals.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and creative individual who is interested in the following:
- Developing novel methods to model human cognition and/or improve AI performance;
- Building frameworks for assessing human and AI abstract and flexible reasoning abilities;
- Connecting neurosymbolic architectures to the internals of modern AI systems;
- Publishing and presenting your findings at international conferences and journals such as ACL, EMNLP, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI, TACL, TMLR etc;
- Completing and defending a PhD thesis during the official appointment of four years;
- Participating in and contributing to the organisation of research activities at the ILLC.
The exact topics and the work plan of the PhD will be defined together with the selected candidate.
You are expected to take an active role in departmental activities, ranging from attending research seminars to board memberships. The ability and willingness to take on some (light) organisational tasks is welcome.
What we ask of you
You should have:
- An MSc in a relevant discipline. This could be Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Mathematics, but also Cognitive Science or Psychology;
- The technical skills and scientific interest to conduct fundamental research in AI;
- An excellent academic track record;
- The ability to work with a high degree of independence and eagerness to contribute your own ideas;
- Good writing and presentation skills with full proficiency in spoken and written English.
Please note that if you do not meet all these requirements, we are still interested to hear from you. In particular, members of underrepresented communities in computer science are encouraged to apply.
This is what we offer you
A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years). The preferred starting date is 1 September 2026. This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. You will also be expected to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.
The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 3,059 to € 3,881. This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile PhD Candidate is applicable. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.
Curious about our extensive secondary benefits package? You can read more about it here.
You will work in this team
The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 8,000, as well as 1,800 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.
The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Amsterdam in which researchers from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities collaborate. Research at the ILLC brings together insights from various disciplines concerned with the study of fundamental principles of encoding, transmission, and comprehension of information, such as computer science, AI, computational linguistics, mathematics, logic, philosophy, and cognitive science. The institute offers a friendly and international research environment with world-class faculty in all of its areas of specialisation.
Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.
Here's a great opportunity! A PhD position in the burgeoning field of neurosymbolic artificial intelligence at a thriving interdisciplinary institute in Amsterdam? Join us in the research unit of Natural Language Processing at the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC).
Join Us!
Are you looking for a PhD position in the burgeoning field of neurosymbolic artificial intelligence at a thriving interdisciplinary institute in Amsterdam? Join us in the research unit of Natural Language Processing at the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC), a home to a thriving community of scholars, including philosophers, logicians, mathematicians, computer scientists, linguists, musicologists, and cognitive scientists, who share a fascination with the interdisciplinary study of information.
This is what you will do
Neural approaches to artificial intelligence are extraordinarily effective, with a proliferation of large models trained on correspondingly massive datasets. However, these models still fail on some tasks that humans, and symbolic approaches, can easily solve -- particularly involving abstract and flexible reasoning. There is therefore a need to integrate symbolic and neural approaches, firstly to potentially improve the performance of large neural models, and secondly to analyse and explain the representations that these systems are using.
As a PhD candidate, you will conduct independent research in Neurosymbolic AI. This continues to be a growing field, and there is substantial room to contribute. We are interested in developing techniques that can improve on current AI performance, model human cognition, and in using neurosymbolic methods to analyse system internals.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and creative individual who is interested in the following:
- Developing novel methods to model human cognition and/or improve AI performance;
- Building frameworks for assessing human and AI abstract and flexible reasoning abilities;
- Connecting neurosymbolic architectures to the internals of modern AI systems;
- Publishing and presenting your findings at international conferences and journals such as ACL, EMNLP, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI, TACL, TMLR etc;
- Completing and defending a PhD thesis during the official appointment of four years;
- Participating in and contributing to the organisation of research activities at the ILLC.
The exact topics and the work plan of the PhD will be defined together with the selected candidate.
You are expected to take an active role in departmental activities, ranging from attending research seminars to board memberships. The ability and willingness to take on some (light) organisational tasks is welcome.
What we ask of you
You should have:
- An MSc in a relevant discipline. This could be Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Mathematics, but also Cognitive Science or Psychology;
- The technical skills and scientific interest to conduct fundamental research in AI;
- An excellent academic track record;
- The ability to work with a high degree of independence and eagerness to contribute your own ideas;
- Good writing and presentation skills with full proficiency in spoken and written English.
Please note that if you do not meet all these requirements, we are still interested to hear from you. In particular, members of underrepresented communities in computer science are encouraged to apply.
This is what we offer you
A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years). The preferred starting date is 1 September 2026. This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. You will also be expected to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.
The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 3,059 to € 3,881. This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile PhD Candidate is applicable. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.
Curious about our extensive secondary benefits package? You can read more about it here.
You will work in this team
The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 8,000, as well as 1,800 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.
The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Amsterdam in which researchers from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities collaborate. Research at the ILLC brings together insights from various disciplines concerned with the study of fundamental principles of encoding, transmission, and comprehension of information, such as computer science, AI, computational linguistics, mathematics, logic, philosophy, and cognitive science. The institute offers a friendly and international research environment with world-class faculty in all of its areas of specialisation.
Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.
If you feel the profile fits you, and you are interested in the job, we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply online via the red button. We accept applications until and including 1 May 2026.
If you have any questions or require additional information, please email dr. Martha Lewis at m.a.f.lewis@uva.nl including “NeSy PhD” in the subject line.
Applications should include the following information (all files besides your cv should be submitted in one single pdf file):
- Letter of motivation, including a description of your research interests, an explanation for why you are applying for this position, and how you meet the requirements (maximum 1 page);
- List of all Master-level modules you have taken, with an official transcript of grades;
- Writing sample, such as a Master’s thesis, a term paper, or a publication (in case of joint authorship, please clearly indicate your own contribution, you can refer to the CRediT framework (https://credit.niso.org/) to inform your answer);
- Detailed CV including the months when referring to your education and work experience;
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to include a link to their GitHub repository, portfolio website, or any projects they have designed or developed, showcasing their work, and demonstrating relevant skills.
Please make sure to provide ALL requested documents mentioned above.
You can use the CV field to upload your CV as a separate pdf document. Use the Cover Letter field to upload the other requested documents, including the motivation letter, as one single pdf file. A knowledge security check can be part of the selection procedure (for details: national knowledge security guidelines). Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered. We will invite potential candidates for online interviews soon after the expiration of the vacancy. If you encounter Error GBB451, reach out to our HR Department directly. They will gladly help you continue your application.
Please note that knowledge of the Dutch language is not required for this position, nor is it required for being able to live in Amsterdam. However, PhD candidates at the ILLC have the opportunity to attend Dutch language classes if they wish.
A knowledge security check may be part of the selection procedure.
(for details: national knowledge security guidelines)
Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered.
