There are two open PhD positions involving games at my alma mater Utrecht University. One of the positions is “Game design as narrative architecture”, the second “Persuasive rhetoric in game design”. I hope some foreign PhD’s will apply, ‘we’ could use some fresh perspective. Most of all I look forward to more game PhD’s, the more the merrier. Although I’m not affiliated with this particular project, if you want to apply and need help/my take on it/whatever, please let me know. The full vacancy and project descriptions are online here.

I would say, there are three very good reasons to apply for this.

1. Utrecht is a grate place and the university and their game group is very good (both in staff and the way games are part of the teaching curriculum). I should know, I taught game courses there and graduated in Utrecht and miss them very much (disclaimer: I am very happy in Amsterdam).

2. You got to work with prof. Uricchio (my PhD supervisor) and he’s very inspiring and you got to work with associate prof. Joost Raessens and his team.

3. Check out the project outline of project #2: “This project investigates how the medium-specificity of computer games make them suitable for persuasive purposes and to what extent and in what ways persuasive strategies can be designed to convince serious-game players of the veracity of a certain point of view – as in games for change – or the necessity of a behavioral change – as in health games.” That’s is a very groovy project if I may say so.