This year Leiden Observatory invites applications for a number of PhD positions as part of a general call, which has a deadline of December 1. The call covers PhD positions in a large number of fields in both theoretical and observational astronomy. Follow this link to the application site, which also contains example projects.
In addition we would like to encourage outstanding candidates to also consider applying for the Prieneke van Hoeve fellowship.
This prestigious fellowship is for excellent students with an ambitious
PhD research plan. A good candidate will have a proven track record of
highly successful research project(s) at the master level. The
application will provide a 1-page research project that (i) formulates
the big questions in the field that he/she would be working in, and (ii)
gives a sketch of a work plan detailing which aspects of these questions
would be addressed and how. The development of such a plan can be done
in close collaboration with a prospective supervisor, but this is not
strictly required.
The "Leiden de Sitter Cosmology Programme" is a joint effort with the Leiden Lorentz Institute for theoretical physics. This interdisciplinary programme focuses on the interplay between observational cosmology and the physics of the early universe. PhD students in the de Sitter programme will be supervised jointly by members of the physics and astronomy departments, and are invited to (help) propose their own research programme. This year, we aim at appointing one students in this challenging programme. For more details, go to www.leidendesitter.nl. The application procedure and deadline are the same as for the general PhD call, but please indicate in the cover letter your interest to be considered for the de Sitter fellowship.
SwB Holland is part of the Brazilian scholarship programme Science without Borders, through which the Brazilian federal government aims to send abroad 75,000 academics, at bachelor's, PhD and post-doc level, between now and 2015. See: http://www.nuffic.nl/en/news/latest-news/science-without-borders-opens-continuous-phd-and-post-doc-call