Peter Kerkhof is Full Professor of Social Media at the Department of Communication Science and Vice Dean of Education at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He holds a PhD (1997) in social psychology from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Over the course of his academic career, he has published extensively on the individual use of online media and the relationship between individuals and organizations in online environments. His work has appeared in leading journals including Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Human Communication Research, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Tourism Management, New Media & Society, and Journal of Medical Internet Research.
From 2010 to 2014, Peter Kerkhof held a special chair in Content Marketing at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR, University of Amsterdam). Since his appointment as Full Professor of Social Media at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2014, his research has focused on the use of social media by organizations and individuals. His current research interests center on online health communities, including those found on Reddit.
Peter Kerkhof has held numerous administrative positions. He served as Vice Dean of Education of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 2007 to 2010 and again from 2018 to 2025. He chaired the Department of Communication Science at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 2010 to 2018. Prior to 2007, he served as chair of the Department of Communication Science and as program director of the bachelor's and master's programs in Communication Science.
