Hall of Fame Social and Behavioural Sciences 2025
The past year was once again a year of outstanding achievements and strong engagement for the Faculty of Social Sciences. In this hall of fame, we proudly highlight a selection of awards, grants and appointments as part of the many valuable contributions — visible and behind the scenes — that together shape the strength and visibility of FSW.
January
Prizes & Awards:
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Presentation of the Master’s Thesis Awards by Vice-Dean for Education Kristaan van der Heijden: the achievements of Elleke Schreur (MSc Global Ethnography, CADS), Heleen de Lange (Research Master Education and Child Studies), Yanna Naeije (MSc Health and Medical Psychology), Arian Memarpouri (Research Master Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology), Nina Schmal (MSc Political Science) and Kelly Gort (MSc Education and Educational Sciences) were celebrated with AI-generated posters.
February
Prizes & Awards:
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Elleke Schreur (CADS, MSc Global Ethnography) wins FSW Thesis Prize 2024 with thesis on the experiences of homeless people differ based on their gender.
Grants & Funding:
- Lenneke Alink (Education & Child Studies) has been awarded a prestigious Vici grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
- Jelena Belic (Political Sciences) and Tom Theuns (Political Sciences) Receive NWO XS Grants to develop innovative research lines.
- Jean-Louis van Gelder (Education & Child Studies) has received European funding to prepare the YourFutureU project for implementation.
Special Appointments:
April
Prizes & Grants:
- Juan Masullo (Political Science) has been named a 2025 Harry Frank Guggenheim Distinguished Scholar for his research on security policy in the favelas.
Special Appointments:
May
Prizes & Awards:
- Katharina Natter (Political Science) wins the Gratama Science Prize for her research on migration policy under different political regimes.
Grants & Funding:
- A new healthcareb knowledge network including Renske Gilissen (Psychology) receives €900,000 from ZonMw for a project on suicide prevention in healthcare.
- Anne Urai (Psychology), Veronique de Gucht (Psychology), Rebecca Schaefer (Psychology), Linda de Voogd (Psychology), and Jelena Belic (Political Science) have won the Kiem Grant 2025-2026 with their interdisciplinary team.
June
Grants & Funding:
- PhD candidates Dilara Erzeybek (CADS) and Oumaima Hajri (CADS) have each been awarded a NWO Mosaic 2.0 grants.
- Andrea Evers (Psychology) and Diana Suhardiman (CADS) each received the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant.
July
Prizes & Awards:
- Sonja Weckroth (CADS), Leonardo Costa (CADS), and Ilse Zwart (CADS) have won the prestigious Speckmann Prize for their project on healthcare provision within LGBTQ+ communities.
Grants & Funding:
- PhD candidate Francesca Sofia Selano (CADS) and Dr. Radhika Gupta (CADS) received the LDE GMD Seed Grant for research on diasporic aid and care in crisis situations.
- Tanja Ahlin (CADS) has been awarded a Veni grant, by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), for her project on social robots in elderly care.
August
Prizes & Awards:
- Katharina Natter (Political Science) received the IMR Book Review Award 2025 for her book on migration policy.
September
Prizes & Awards:
- Juan Masullo (Political Science) received the APSA Alexander George Best Article Award for his article on interviews and process tracing.
October
Prizes & Awards:
- Honorary doctorate awarded to Safiya Umoja Noble during Dies Natalis 2026.
- Ronny Wijling (Political Science) and Michelle Fairman (Political Science) win the Political Science bachelor's thesis awards 2025.
Grants & Funding:
- Vivian Kraaij (Psychology) and Nadia Garnefski (Psychology) receive the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility grant for an exchange project on online mental healthcare in Botswana.
November
Prizes & Awards:
- Mariska Kret (Psychology) receives the Dr. Hendrik Muller Prize from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) for her groundbreaking research on emotions.
- Anne Urai (Psychology) wins the Rising Stars of Neuroscience Award 2025 for her dedication and research on sustainability.
- Aïsha MacDougall (Political Science) wins the Political Science Master’s Thesis Prize 2025 for her thesis on nonviolent Palestinian resistance.
Special Appointments:
December
Prizes & Awards:
- Psychology Prizes of 2025: Laura Nawijn (Psychology) has won the Education Prize. David Hof (Cognitive Neuroscience research master, Psychology) won the Research MSc Thesis Prize. Max Kalisvaart (Clinical Neuropsychology) won the MSc Thesis Prize. Lee Aldar (Social Economic and Organisational Psychology) won the PhD Paper prize. Anastasiia Myronenko, Anne Versluis, Annemarie ten Kate, Ashley Smit, Fabian Wolters, Gita Nadinda, Hans van Lennep, Isra Al-Dhahir, Jessy Terpstra, Pien van der Velde, Renée IJzerman, Renske Krijt, Sara Hondmann, Simone Meijer, Theo Dimitriadis, Patzelt, Victor Leong, and Vivian Pijnenburg (Psychology) have won the Resilient Scientist Wildcard for the flexibility and resilience they've shown after losing Andrea Evers as their PhD supervisor.
- A portrait of Judi Mesman (Education & child Studies) was proudly unveiled in the Senate Chamber in recognition of her unique research and commitment to inclusion.
