The PhD programme is a nominal 4-year programme. The programme consists of writing a dissertation and completing 30 ECs in doctoral education.
The doctoral training programme at the University of Twente enables candidates to develop basic and advanced research skills, acquire disciplinary knowledge and transition effectively into their future careers. The programme, described in Art. 10 and 14 of the Charter for Doctoral Candidates, applies to all PhD candidates regardless of their PhD category. It requires a minimum of 30 European Credits (ECs), comprising approximately 50% disciplinary skills and 50% generic skills. The plan must be documented in the Training and Supervision Plan (T&SP; Art. 13 of the Charter for Doctoral Candidates). Both courses and hands-on learning activities count towards ECs:
- 2.5 ECs are allocated to mandatory courses (Data management and the PhD introductory workshop which includes academic integrity). In addition, if a PhD candidate will be lecturing, the Taste of Teaching bootcamp or a comparable course is compulsory.
- 27.5 EC training programme tailored to the PhD candidate’s needs in consultation with the promotor. The exact content and focus will be determined based on existing competences, the requirements of the research project and the development ambitions of the PhD candidate. This choice will support the research project and help the PhD candidate to achieve the exit qualifications of the PhD programme (see Art. 9 of the Charter for Doctoral Candidates).
The programme offers flexibility in multiple ways. For example, it can consist of subject-specific courses, academic skills training, career development activities and other relevant academic activities, such as presenting at conferences, attending scientific meetings and providing teaching.
The Charter for Doctoral Candidates describes the 30 EC doctoral training programme. Please read this carefully.
Training and Supervision Plan (T&SP)
The Training and Supervision Plan (T&SP) specifies the supervisors’ roles, the minimum time spent on supervision by each member of the supervisory team, supervisory meeting frequency, arrangements for feedback (including expected response times) and other agreed mutual expectations (see User Guide Expectations Form). The T&SP also lists the PhD candidate's individual 30 EC doctoral training programme with the courses or alternative ways to acquire the necessary exit qualifications (refer to Article 9 of the Charter for Doctoral Candidates for the exit qualifications list). The T&SP must be submitted within three months of the start of the programme. Timely submission is important so that the PhD candidate can act on feedback received and adapt the plan accordingly before the qualifier meeting. The T&SP is a living document; if needed, its contents can be modified throughout the PhD trajectory.
For each completed doctoral course or other training activity, the PhD candidate must upload completion evidence. The activity details provided by the candidates serve as input for the TGS Certificate, which is analogous to a transcript of records. The information provided must be accurate for auditing purposes and because some PhD candidates need to submit the TGS Certificate to the national diploma validation body when they return to their home country.
Courses
Generic courses
All candidates must follow the Data Management bootcamp and the online PhD Introductory workshop (including academic integrity) at University of Twente. The rest of the training can be done at UT or elsewhere.
The Data Management bootcamp is run by the faculty data stewards. The Academic integrity course consists of two parts. The first part covers the essential principles and concepts and is delivered online. On the second part, candidates discuss integrity cases from their own field in a come-back session. Candidates choose whether to have the discussion in intra or in inter-faculty discussion groups.
Below is a list with examples of UT-provided courses and activities. This list also includes links to recommended Nature Journal’s Masterclasses. The Nature Masterclasses are designed for a general audience of early career researchers, are not discipline-specific, and are open to all PhD candidates. For the Nature Masterclasses, the institutional login option and UT credentials are required to login. The Nature Masterclasses issues course certificates for every completed course.
The UT Coursefinder platform lists additional courses which might be relevant. PhDs can follow most of them and claim ECs, too.
Disciplinary courses
PhD disciplinary courses are available via national and international research schools. Summer/winter schools also provide disciplinary training at post-master level. However, depending on the field, sometimes a required course is not available; in that case a master course can be followed instead. Master courses offered at UT are listed in the Osiris platform, where the search engine can be used to access course descriptions. However, PhD candidates who wish to take a master course need to contact the lecturer to request permission to take the course and be given access to the learning environment i.e. Canvas. PhDs are strongly advised to request the lecturer to provide a post-master level final assignment.