Doctoral fellow

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15.000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities. 

With its 11 faculties and more than 85 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.

The Department of History at Ghent University is looking for three PhD students (four years) to do interdisciplinary research on biodiversity in Northern Europe during the Late Middle Ages (15-16th centuries) as part of the ERC research team ECOLENT.
The ERC-funded project Ecological Entanglements and Biodiversity in Late Medieval Northern Europe, 1400-1600 (ECOLENT) develops a new conceptual-methodological framework to study biodiversity in a historical context. It will do so by using the late medieval Hanseatic League as a case study. This merchant association bought food products and raw materials in Scandinavia and the Baltic, and exchanged them for manufactured goods in the urbanised Low Countries and England. In this way, they created both economic and ecological connections between different regions of Northern Europe.
The main focus of the project is not human activities as such, but rather how biotic communities responded to anthropogenic pressures. More specifically, the project studies the impact of the socio-economic pressures generated by the Hanseatic trade network on animal and plant diversity in six regions (the county of Flanders, the duchy of Guelders, the duchy of Schleswig, the duchies of Brunswick-Lüneburg, East Prussia, and Kraków Voivodeship) from 1400 to 1600 by using both historical and archaeological sources.
The project engages with current debates in ecological conservation, such as the use of historical baselines to set conservation goals and the importance of human activities to maintain biodiversity. It also considers ecological questions about adaptation and fundamental versus realized niches. The successful candidate is encouraged to actively disseminate the research results and communicate them to different stake-holders in and outside academia.

YOUR TASKS

• Studying biodiversity in one of the six regions mentioned above. This means identifying wild animals and plants in printed sources (medieval financial accounts, early botanical works etc.), archaeological reports, and unpublished archival handwritten sources in various archives, libraries and (digital) archives.
• The exact scope of the research will be determined jointly by the PhD Candidate and the project’s principal investigator.
• Doing research abroad (the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and/or Poland; depending on the region selected for research) for longer periods of time. Main place of employment is Ghent University, History Department, Campus Ufo, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
• Analysing data on wild fauna and flora in their proper ecological and historical context.
• Publishing the research results in international peer reviewed journals, single-authored and/or co-authored with other members of the ECOLENT team (the principal investigator, a postdoctoral researcher and two PhD students).
• Contribute to setting up an international research network on the history of biodiversity during the medieval and early modern period.
• Help disseminate the research results among non-academic stakeholders.
• Your research is part of a team effort, but you will also be given the freedom to develop your own voice in your PhD thesis.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• An MA degree in History, Archeology, or the Life Sciences.
• Experience in working with handwritten historical sources from the late medieval or early modern period, proven by (un)published studies or theses.
• Knowledge about historical ecology and/or environmental archaeology is recommended.
• Able to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent knowledge of English in order to function as part international team, and contribute to publication of research results in international journals.
• Good passive knowledge (reading) of the language(s) used in the historical sources you will work on (depending on whether you want to focus on a particular region, or on comparing particular communities between different regions). This means Dutch, French, and Latin for Flanders and Guelders, German and Latin for Brunswick-Lüneburg, German, Danish and Latin for Schleswig, German and Latin for East-Prussia, and Polish and Latin for Kraków Voivodeship).

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• We offer a full-time position as a doctoral fellow, consisting of an initial period of 12 months, which - after a positive evaluation, will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months
• The preferred starting date is October 1, 2026.
• The possibility to do an interdisciplinary PhD (history and archaeology, or history and biology, or history and bio-engineering).
• The option to write a PhD Thesis in English or Dutch (other languages, such as German or French, are possible as well, but require a prior application with the Faculty Council, and have to be well motivated).
• An opportunity to do research as part of an interdisciplinary team, and in an international research environment.
• Become part of a team that will develop a new methodology to study the history of biodiversity.
• A chance to connect ecological processes in the distant past with current ecological conservation challenges.
• The option to follow PhD-training courses provided by Ghent University and/or the Posthumus Institute.
• The fellowship amount is 100% of the net salary of an AAP member in equal family circumstances. The individual fellowship amount is determined by Team Personnel Administration based on family status and seniority. A grant that meets the conditions and criteria of the regulations for doctoral fellowships is considered free of personal income tax. Click here for more information about our salary scales
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits.

INTERESTED?

Candidates can send their cv, a copy of their MA degree, and a motivation letter to dr. Sander Govaerts (sander.govaerts@ugent.be) before March 31, 2026. The best candidates will be invited for an interview with a selection panel. These interviews will be organised online (Microsoft Teams) in May 2026.

Your motivation letter should state clearly on which region you want to focus.

Candidates that are interested in doing an interdisciplinary PhD (history and archaeology, or history and biology, or history and bio-engineering), should also mention this explicitly in their motivation letter.

For more information with regard to this job offer, please contact sander.govaerts@ugent.be

Ghent University has a diversity and equal opportunity policy and encourages everyone to apply.