As a PhD candidate in accounting, you will have the opportunity to make an impact by researching fundamental and societally relevant questions in the field of accounting. You will be part of the Accountancy Department Research Group at TiSEM, which is a high-quality and high-impact research group with 15 active researchers at the assistant, associate, and full professor levels, as well as 13 PhD and post-doc students. Our faculty members conduct and publish research on a wide range of topics, such as financial reporting, management accounting, and sustainability, using state-of-the-art experimental, analytical, and archival methods. Moreover, the research group is involved in research impact activities through the Tilburg University Academic Collaborative Center for Broad Prosperity. Our research group is highly ranked and has a successful track record of PhD placements at top institutions in- and outside of Europe.  

The task
You will be enrolled as a PhD candidate in the renowned PhD program of the CentER Graduate School of Business. At the start of the program, you will mainly receive extensive graduate-level training in theory and methods by taking several PhD-level courses. The courseload amounts to 36 ECTS credits, which is the equivalent of 6 full courses. The course program is composed by your (intended) supervisors and Graduate Program Coordinator and will be tailored to your research interests and background. This PhD training phase will provide you with a broad array of theoretical and econometric tools that are necessary to successfully develop original and pioneering scholarly research in accounting. All courses are taught in English. 

Next to your training, you will start conducting your dissertation research. A PhD dissertation at CentER requires the design and execution of three studies. The execution of the research work itself typically involves the conceptualization of the research questions and ideas, data collection, qualitative and/or quantitative analysis of the data, and writing and presenting of academic papers. You will often conduct this research in collaboration with faculty members and/or other PhD students. The aim is to publish your projects in high-quality academic journals. 

You will be guided by faculty in conducting your research. Based on your research interests and preferences, and supervisor availability, you will be assigned two advisors from the Accounting Research Group. More broadly, you will collaborate extensively with the members of the Accounting Research Group. You will be able to benefit from the department’s strong research focus and its numerous resources (e.g., databases, research seminars with external speakers, brown-bag presentation of faculty and students’ research, an active PhD reading group, career planning, skills-enhancement workshops, international conferences, contacts with practitioners, etc.).

As part of the CentER’s graduate school, you will also benefit from the excellent research and work environment that TISEM offers, with a large community of graduate students from many countries, access to a wide array of research databases, excellent facilities to conduct experiments, state-of-the-art library, a programming group, and support for grant applications. There is also a travel budget for attending PhD level courses outside of CentER, work visits, and conferences. 

Upon successful completion of your courses and your research work, as demonstrated by a submitted and approved PhD dissertation and the subsequent defense, you will be awarded a doctoral degree by Tilburg University.

80% of the position’s time will be dedicated to the completion of your PhD research, and 20% to the acquisition of academic skills through teaching courses and supervising master/bachelor theses within the department.

Please review the formal admission requirements here. In short, we are looking for the following:

1. An academic Master’s or MPhil/Research master’s degree in business and/or economics. You should have affinity or clear interest in accounting and a solid quantitative background.
2. Completed the previous degree with an excellent GPA (top 10% of class as guideline).
3. Excellent command of spoken and written English.
4. Ambition to perform top-level research and occasionally teach, ability to work autonomously and within a team, and interest in interacting and delivering within a group in an international environment.
5. For candidates with a master’s degree from a university outside Europe: a recent GRE or GMAT test score of at most two years old. 
6. In addition to the formal requirements: if you have evidence of any of the following additional skills, please include them specifically in your application, as they can be of value in the selection process:
   a.    Knowledge of Python / R programming and/or other evidence of data science skills. 
   b.    Evidence of prior research work, exemplified by a master’s thesis, or academic papers.
   c.    Excellent academic writing skills (a writing sample of a thesis or paper can serve as evidence).

Tilburg University is rated among the top Dutch employers and has excellent terms of employment. We offer the following: 

• A position based on 1.0 fte (40 hours per week)
• A salary of €2,901 gross per month in the first year, up to €3,707 gross per month in the fourth year for full-time employment, based on UFO profile Promovendus and salary scale P
• This is a vacancy for a temporary position in accordance with Article 2.3 paragraph 8 under b of the CLA DU. You will initially receive a temporary contract for the duration of 18 months to assess your suitability. The evaluation will take place after about 14 months. Upon a positive evaluation, this contract will be followed by a new fixed-term contract of 30 months. (N.B. program is 4 years, full-time).
• Vacation pay of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. 
• Reimbursement for sustainable commuting: walking, cycling and public transportation. 
• An Options Model in which you can exchange benefits for things such as additional leave, more pension, a bicycle or personal training at our Sports Center. 
• A moving allowance (subject to conditions). 
• Employees from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for the 30/20/10% tax facility.
• A pension with ABP; the most sustainable Dutch pension fund.
• Training in personal development, career development, leadership, education, and research or a language course at our Language Center. 
• A work culture in which we embrace differences, everyone is welcome and given equal opportunities. 
• A vibrant campus in green surroundings that is easily accessible by public transport. 

For more information, see our website and the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. 

Tilburg University

Tilburg University is an academic, inclusive, and engaged community. It is one of Europe’s leading universities in the fields of business and economics, ranking #5 in Europe in the field of Business Research (UT Dallas World Ranking) and #27 in Economics & Business Worldwide (US News Ranking 2023), #1 in Accounting & Finance (Netherlands) and #29 (worldwide) in the Shanghai Global Ranking.  The School of Economics and Management has 7,600 students (21% international) and 410 academic staff (54% international).  The campus provides a green, academically centered environment with modern facilities and convenient local transportation.  Tilburg’s central position in the Benelux offers excellent regional and international access.  Major airports nearby include Amsterdam (Netherlands), Brussels (Belgium) and Düsseldorf (Germany).  English is the working language of the university.

About TiSEM
Tilburg School of Economics and Management (TiSEM) is one of Europe’s leading centers for research in business and economics, with research rankings consistently among Europe’s top 10 across various business domain. In addition to the strong research focus and collegial research climate, it offers a wide variety of educational programs at the undergraduate and graduate level, with about 7,000 students enrolled. The School is well-connected to both policy makers and industry in the region and internationally, providing ample opportunities for creating impact with research. 
Tilburg School of Economics and Management

If you have any further questions regarding this opening, please do not hesitate to contact the Graduate Program Coordinator in Accountancy, Professor Edith Leung at p.y.e.leung@tilburguniversity.edu.

To apply for this position, please submit the following documents at your earliest convenience, but no later than March 1, 2025, when applications will be closed.  The only way to apply is online. 

1. Letter of motivation, including research area/topics of interest. Please address your letter to the Department of Accountancy.
2. Curriculum vitae.
3. Official copy of your university degree and grades (full transcripts of BSc and MSc).
4. A pdf copy of your master thesis or other research-oriented output (such as a Bachelor Thesis or a term paper).  This work must be single- or first-authored.  If you are currently working on your master thesis, feel free to submit your thesis draft.
5. The exact contact details of at least two academic references.
6. Proof of proficiency in English, or a request for exemption (only for the list of countries specified above). 
7. If applicable, a recent GRE or GMAT score.