Commencing a PhD with Utrecht University involves understanding a large amount of information that may be confusing and stressful for new candidates. This information does not only concern the important legal position of the PhD candidate, but also concerns matters such as the structure of the organisation in which he or she works, research compensations, and requirements that the PhD candidate is expected to meet during the PhD process. Because this information can be derived from a multitude of sources, which may cause problems when trying to obtain information from this variety of channels, PrOUt – the PhD Network of Utrecht University – assists candidates by collecting the most relevant information and references to websites in this useful digital guide.
The aim of this digital guide is to be relevant to all PhD candidates at Utrecht University therefore the collected information will be general and might not apply to every individual situation. If you are looking for specific details concerning the PhD process in your own faculty or department, bear in mind that you might need to consult additional sources. For example, some faculties have their own information booklet (e.g., the faculty of Law, Economics and Governance, the faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and the faculty of Humanities). Unfortunately, those faculty manuals are not always available online. In order to obtain one, we would advise you to ask around at your own faculty.
We need to stress that our guide currently has a large focus on PhD candidates who are employed by Utrecht University. However, PhD candidates without an Utrecht University employment contract (external or ‘buitenpromovendi’, who do not receive any allowance, and PhD bursaries, receiving an allowance from their home country) are also able to obtain a PhD degree as long as they comply with the PhD rules and regulations (‘Doctoral Degree Regulations’ or ‘promotiereglement’). PhD candidates who are not employed by Utrecht University will be subject to different processes, which will not be detailed further in this guide.