Academia - PhD

PhD officially stands for Doctor of Philosophy and it is the highest academic degree you can obtain. In the Netherlands, a PhD position takes about four years, in which you conduct scientific research. You will be supervised by a university professor. The aim is to publish a book/monograph or several articles, and to contribute to the development of scientific knowledge and understanding in a particular field of research.

Core activities during your PhD:

• Research proposal
• Research plan
• Budget proposal
• Developing research techniques/methods
• Research
• Supervising research support staff
• Publication of research
• Doctoral thesis
• Teaching
• Supervising students

In the Netherlands we mainly distinguish four PhD categories:

1. Employee PhD
   Most PhD’s in the Netherlands are employed by the university/PhD-awarding institution. Next to getting a salary, other advantages are social security, employee protection and building up retirement savings.
2. Bursary PhD
   As a bursary PhD you are not employed by the university, but you receive funding by a scholarship provider.
3. Externally funded PhD
   You are somehow funded for doing a PhD or your employer allows you to do a PhD during working hours.
4. External PhD
   As an external PhD you do research in your own time, with your own resources.

• (Research) master’s degree in related academic field
• Experience or interest in specific research field
• Good communication skills
• Good organisational skills
• Good experimental and analytical skills
• Fluency in English
• Willingness to teach and supervise students

Scale Promovendus, Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch universities, Collective Labour Agreement University Medical Centres, Collective Labour Agreement for the Research Institutes