Graduate School of Archaeology
NWO funding possibilities
The Dutch Research Council (NWO) offers two grants that may support PhD candidates.
PhDs in the Humanities
PhDs in the Humanities grant offers a paid PhD position to talented researchers. Applicants can choose their own research topic, and funding is awarded based on the excellence of both the candidate and their research proposal. More information on PhDs in the Humanities can be found on the NWO’s PhDs in the Humanities website.
Each humanities faculty in the Netherlands may nominate a limited number of candidates, who are selected through the pre-selection process. In the case of the Faculty of Archaeology, the pre-selection process has two phases:
The faculty’s Research Committee assesses and ranks the proposals on behalf of the Faculty Board. A limited number of candidates will continue to the next selection phase. The application deadline is usually in the autumn, for grants that would start the following September, and the details are announced in the call on the Faculty of Archaeology website.
The selected candidates from the previous phase may incorporate feedback, and then their research proposals are resubmitted and assessed by the joint Humanities and Archaeology Committee, who determine the top four or five candidates (4.5 FTE). Those candidates will be allowed to submit to NWO on behalf of Leiden University.
Please note that if you wish to apply for the pre-selection process at the Faculty of Archaeology, you first need to find a supervisor willing to accept you as a candidate (a maximum of two candidates per supervisor). For more information about the pre-selection process, you can contact researchsupport@arch.leidenuniv.nl.
Doctoral Grant for Teachers
The Doctoral Grant for Teachers supports qualified educators who aspire to pursue doctoral research alongside their teaching careers. Teachers working in primary, secondary, vocational, higher professional, or special education may apply. The grant offers up to 0.4 FTE exemption from regular teaching duties for a period of five years, allowing recipients to conduct research while remaining employed by their schools. At Leiden University, these educators are appointed as external PhD candidates and receive supervision and guidance from faculty staff.
The final round of applications is scheduled for 2026, after which the programme will be discontinued due to budget cuts.
For further details, you can consult the NWO’s Doctoral Grant for Teachers web page or contact researchsupport@arch.leidenuniv.nl.