PhD: "Change and Inequality in Cultural Participation: Demographic and Sociological Perspectives''

PhD position “Change and Inequality in Cultural Participation: Demographic and Sociological Perspectives” at NIDI / KNAW

Cultural participation is changing—and understanding why is crucial for both sociology and the cultural sector. This PhD project investigates the long-term ageing of cultural audiences, a phenomenon widely observed in the audience for classical music but increasingly relevant for theatres, literature, and even selected rock music genres.

The central aim of the project is to explain why cultural audiences are ageing by developing and applying an age–period–cohort perspective. As a PhD candidate, you will work with rich survey data collected over several decades, contribute to the collection of new survey data on cultural participation, and analyze longitudinal data on cultural participation across the life course. This offers a unique opportunity to combine theoretical sociology, demographic perspectives, and advanced quantitative methods.

Key research questions include:

• How can age, period, and cohort effects be disentangled to understand—and predict—the future of cultural audiences?

• How do cohort differences relate to socialization in the parental home, educational inequality, and cultural capital?

• What role do life course transitions (e.g. family formation, employment, retirement) and changing time constraints play in cultural participation?

• How do inequality and status-seeking shape patterns of cultural engagement across the life course?

Beyond its academic contribution, the project has a societal and policy relevance. The findings will be actively communicated to the cultural sector through presentations, reports, and practitioner-oriented publications, giving you experience in translating academic research into real-world insights.

The project is funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and will be carried out at an academic research institute with a strong focus on high-quality, publishable research.

What you will be doing

In this four-year project, you will:
•    Carry out cutting-edge academic research within an international team of engaged researchers.
•    Publish national and international journal articles, resulting in a PhD thesis.
•    Participate in, and present at (inter-)national scientific meetings.
•    Contribute to project dissemination activities and communications with the cultural sector.
•    Collect new survey data on the (non)participation in various forms of cultural consumption.

What you will be contributing

•    A research master’s degree in the social sciences. Examples of relevant disciplines are sociology, population studies, leisure studies, gerontology, and social psychology.
•    A background in quantitative data analyses and skills in advanced statistical methods and programming (e.g., Stata or R).
•    Intellectual curiosity, engagement with social questions, creativity, and analytical rigor.
•    The capacity to contribute thoughtfully to academic scholarship and societal debates.
•    Good writing and presentation skills.

What do we offer?

We offer a 1-year contract which will be extended by 3 additional years after a positive evaluation.The PhD position offers close supervision, excellent training opportunities, and a solid foundation for an academic or research-oriented career.

Your workplace

The work climate is based on mutual respect, openness, and collaboration. The institute consists of about 80 employees of different levels of seniority.

NIDI comprises five thematic groups: (1) Families & gender, (2) Migrants & migration, (3) Demographic change and the labour market, (4) Health, ageing and mortality, (5) Data infrastructure and open science. Each group has approximately 10-15 members.

Application procedure

Candidates are invited to submit their application in English or Dutch. Applications must include, in a single PDF file:

•    A motivation letter.
•    A full curriculum vitae, including list of publications..
•    Full grade list of the (research) Master and Bachelor programs of graduation.
•    One or more samples of written work (e.g., master thesis, course paper)
•    Names and contact details of one referee

The deadline for submitting your application is April 3, 2026. Please address your application to the director of NIDI, prof. dr. H.A.G. de Valk.

More information

For additional information you may contact Matthijs Kalmijn (kalmijn@nidi.nl). 

About NIDI
The Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) is a leading European demographic research institute. NIDI is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and affiliated with the University of Groningen. It is located in the center of The Hague providing a unique and stimulating research environment in the broad field of population studies. Currently the staff of the institute consists of about 65 employees of different levels of seniority and organized in a rather horizontal structure within five thematic research groups. The working environment is highly international and NIDI provides ample opportunities for training and development.

Terms of employment
Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is 3.059 and the maximum salary is 3.881 gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale P cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment). 

For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.

Diversity & Inclusion
The KNAW considers a working environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated of great importance. A working environment in which attention is paid to individual quality and where development opportunities are paramount. Together we strive for an inclusive culture in which we embrace differences. We would therefore like to invite candidates who want to contribute to this through their background and experience. In the event of equal suitability, preference will be given to the candidate who thus enhances diversity within the Academy.

We will not respond to any supplier enquiries based on this job advertisement.