The faculty does not offer PhD-courses on a regular basis, but employs PhD students on individual basis. They write a PhD dissertation under tutorship of a professor in the applicable subject. In addition, a supervisor is involved who provides substantive or process management - depending on the needs of the individual candidate.
The recruitment of PhD students is done by actively approaching students and through advertisement on the VU Amsterdam website.
Graduate School
Most PhD programs are embedded in our Graduate School, one of the National Research Schools or Interdisciplinary Research Institutes. The Graduate School is responsible for offering tailor made education to the specific elements of a PhD program, adapted to the needs of each student.
External PhD candidates
If your research proposal is of outstanding quality and will contribute to the research profile of our faculty, it’s possible to write a thesis at your own expense under tutorship of a faculty professor. As an external PhD candidate you are not officially a VU employee or student. The process of earning a PhD degree takes four years and consists of conducting research and writing a dissertation independently. External PhD candidates who are interested can mail their CV and research proposal to the relevant section of one of the departments.
PhD candidates from abroad
A PhD candidate from abroad with a research grant (from the country of origin or obtained through NUFFIC) can follow a PhD trajectory under tutorship of a faculty professor who agrees to the guidance of the candidate. CV and research proposal may be mailed to the appropriate section of one of our departments.
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