ASCA is home to more than 175 PhD candidates ( see list). Our PhD community is diverse in almost every respect. Some PhD candidates are directly funded by ASCA and the Faculty of Humanities, others by scholarships or loans from their home countries, and some combine their research with part-time jobs (within or beyond the university). Around half of our PhDs come from abroad. Together, these PhD candidates form an active and tight-knit intellectual community which is strongly committed to interdisciplinary research. ASCA’s PhD community is the backbone of our research school.

ASCA is organized in a non-hierarchical way. Every member—staff or PhD candidate—is invited to actively participate in and contribute to the program by initiating reading groups, lecture series, organizing conferences or workshops, and by making suggestions regarding the ASCA program and organization. You may always contact either the director, the vice-director or the managing director directly. In addition to these informal channels, bi-annual PhD meetings are organized for the entire PhD community.

ASCA’s director is Jaap Kooijman. ASCA’s vice-director, Carolyn Birdsall, is in charge of all matters concerning PhD candidates. Eloe Kingma is the managing director and can help you with practical matters and negotiating the bureaucracy of the UvA. All three of us can be contacted with questions or problems: j.w.kooijman@uva.nl; c.j.birdsall@uva.nl; asca-fgw@uva.nl.

PhD Representatives

Presently, Fairuzah Atchulo is the PhD representative on the ASCA board. She is also, member of the Faculty PhD Council. The PhD Council meets every six weeks with the director of the AIHR, Julia Noordegraaf, and the heads of the Research Support Department, Nanske Wilholt and Anne van Dam.