GSH PhD Fund

More information

• For whom?

  The GSH PhD Fund is meant for PhD candidates (internal as well as external) who are in the final stages of their research and have no bench fee or travel expenses in their project budget left, or do not have any bench fee or allocated travel budget at all. PhD candidates with a bench fee or travel budget are not eligible for funding.

  PhD’s can apply for a grant from this fund in order to:

  • visit a conference, symposium, workshop etc. in the Netherlands or abroad;
  • visit an archive, library, museum or other relevant institute;
  • other research activities that fit the research project.

• Funding amount

  Each PhD student without any bench fee can apply for funding up to a max €1.500,- during their whole PhD project. CSC candidates can apply for funding up to max. €3.000,-. The amount funded depends on the activity for which funding is requested like conference visits. Funding is subsequent to available funds. Once funds are depleted no further applications will be granted.  

• What is funded?

  The GSH funds the following costs:

  • Travel costs;
  • Accommodation costs;
  • Fees for conference/symposium/workshop etc.;
  • Entry tickets for museums and libraries.

• When to apply?

  You can apply at any moment, but always before the event takes place. Applications will normally be processed within 3 weeks after all relevant documents are received. You will not receive funding if you apply after the event.

• How to apply?

  The applicant must submit the following documents:

  • Letter of motivation (max. 1 page A4);
  • Detailed budget estimate of a max. €1.500,- ;
  • An overview of your bench fee signed by FGW Project Control*;
  • List of deliverables.

  The application should be addressed to the bureau coordinator of the GSH, Ms. Rita van der Schriek-Hermans and sent to graduate.school.fgw@vu.nl. 

  As soon as all documents have been received, the applicant will be sent a message of confirmation.

  * Overview bench fee: this is only mandatory for PhD’s who are enrolled as staff member at the Faculty of Humanities. The bench fee is a fixed amount within the project in which the PhD does his/her research. Not all projects provide a bench fee for their PhD’s. If this is the case for your application, please mention this in your motivation letter.

• What are the assessment criteria?

  All applicants will be assessed by the director of the Graduate School of Humanities according to the following criteria:

  • The relevance of the research activity for which a grant is asked;
  • The feasibility of the research activity;
  • The necessity of the costs stated in the budget overview.

• How to report?

  At the end of the funding period or funded activity, the applicant has to send a final report and an overview of the actual costs within six weeks after the funding period of activity has ended to graduate.school.fgw@vu.nl.

  • Report: the applicant has to write a short report (ca. one A-4 page) in English about how the funding has been used. This includes any deliverables (e.g.: lecture, poster presentation, research data).
  • Overview of actual costs: together with the grant letter, the applicant receives a financial form for the final calculations. All costs and revenues (i.e. other grants/ income) have to be mentioned in this financial form.