Responsibilities

In the framework of the MSCA Doctoral Network “TESTAMENT”, the Doctoral Candidate will have the following responsibilities:

• Researching the regulatory framework and societal context concerning joint last wills of spouses in Leuven (15th-16th centuries), and preparing a doctoral dissertation on this topic.
• Actively participating in the activities of the TESTAMENT-network (summer and winter schools, monthly online meetings, concluding conference).
• Presenting the research at at least one international conference.
• Writing at least one peer-reviewed scientific article.
• Actively participating in the activities of the Research Unit and of the Doctoral School of KU Leuven.
• Conducting a six-month research stay at the University of Warsaw (which can be divided in several shorter terms).
• Conducting a three-month internship at the City Archives of Leuven, where the DC will be involved inter alia in a citizen science project on the transcription of relevant documentation from the Leuven court of aldermen.

Profile

We are looking for a candidate who meets the following requirements:

• You are creative and ambitious, hard-working, and persistent.
• You have a master’s degree in law or history or you will have it by August 2026.
• You have good communicative skills, and the attitude to partake successfully in the work of a research team.
• You have a good command of the English language (spoken and written).
• You have a good passive command of Dutch (or its early modern variant) and/or French (or its early modern variant). Active command of Dutch is an advantage.
• You have a good passive command of Latin.

Eligibility criteria

• Supported researchers must be doctoral candidates, i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment.
• Recruited researchers can be of any nationality and must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary (Belgium) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent by the researcher as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not considered.

Offer

• Full-time employment for three years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after 1 year.
• The gross amount of the doctoral scholarship (tax-free) will be approximately 3.055,61 euro per month if you are single with no dependent family members. It will be higher if you have a registered partner without income and/or dependent child(ren); it will be lower if you have a registered partner with income.
• Additional benefits are in accordance to KU Leuven regulations.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher.

Application process

More information?

Where to apply