All PhD candidates are required to have attained a Master of Science degree or equivalent education. There are two ways to enter a PhD research programme at UT, each with its additional application requirements.
In all cases, the decision to admit an applicant to a doctoral programme is made by the thesis supervisor (this should be a full professor), after the approval of the faculty dean.
REGULAR PHD POSITION
Most PhD researchers in the Netherlands are paid employees, often working directly for the university. Research projects are defined by the chair of the research group, and for these projects, graduate students are recruited to carry out the research.
You can apply for a regular PhD position at our vacancies website. All relevant additional requirements are described in the respective vacancy descriptions. For international applicants, additional language requirements (see box above) apply.
OWN FUNDING
Another way of enrolling on a PhD programme at UT is by arranging your funding, for example, using a scholarship or sponsorship from your employer. In this case, all research projects are initiated based on proposals submitted by graduate students as part of their application procedure.
Please note: we will only consider a proposed research plan after you have made clear that an application to a scholarship provider or any other way of funding has been submitted or planned. UT cannot offer fellowships or similar funding for PhD candidates. The department of your envisaged PhD supervisor may be able to help you with a letter of academic eligibility to apply for (scholarship)funds.
If you're funding the PhD track yourself, you can contact the professor under whose supervision you want to obtain your doctoral degree directly. You must, however, first have completed a relevant Master's degree and meet all other admission requirements to start a PhD phase.
How to apply
To be considered for a PhD project under your funding or with a scholarship, you need to contact the head of the research group you would like to join, indicating your qualities, intended research topic and motivation (at least the first three items on the list below).
A full professor must indicate interest to become your PhD supervisor. In that case, you can start to complete all documents listed below. You may ask the department of the prospective PhD supervisor for a letter of conditional admission (i.e. academic eligibility), that you may use to apply for a scholarship. If the final decision of the full professor (who is willing to be the prospective PhD supervisor) and the faculty dean is positive, the department will register you as a guest researcher and arrange your arrival (including your visa).
NECESSARY DOCUMENTS
- Statement of interest and motivation
- Curriculum Vitae (listing the time of education/degrees and work experience and any relevant scientific publications)
- Outline of research proposal (2 pages)
- If English is not the native language, language requirements (see above) apply.
- Two letters of recommendation from scientists who are familiar with the candidate’s academic work and can judge his or her potential as a PhD student
- Copies of exam results (both bachelor's and master's) and transcripts of certificates
- Optional: Copies of (up to 5) scientific works, including master's thesis
- Name of the provider to whom you have applied/will apply for funding or who has granted already
FEES
Policy about fees and waivers non-employed doctoral candidates: All faculties apply a fee of €15,000 per year. Every faculty defines their own policy with regard to waivers on their website.
This fee compensates for the following components:
- Administration: facilities, library, intranet, workspace
- Education and training: graduate school, courses, memberships, etc
- Research: labs, fieldwork, data (benchfee)
- Supervision by university staff