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Graduate School Law

The Graduate School offers PhD candidates a framework for training, guidance and support.

The Graduate School offers PhD candidates a framework for training, guidance and support. But the Graduate School is more than that. Within the context of the Graduate School, seminars, master classes, courses and meetings take place that enable researchers from all corners of the faculty to engage in discussion about content, methods and ethics. Through these events the Graduate School aims to achieve the research mission of the Faculty and to contribute to an environment in which researchers show interest for each other’s work, inspire each other and keep each other focused.

Director: prof. dr. mr. B.C. (Britta) van Beers

PhD training

Anyone who started his or her PhD-research after April 1, 2015 with the goal to eventually defend the thesis at Vrije Universiteit, has to acquire a total of 30 EC (European Credits) worth of training during the PhD track. This requirement applies equally to PhD candidates employed by VU (internal PhD candidates) and to external PhD students who do research in their own time.

At the Faculty of Law, the PhD training is offered by the Graduate School. The training consists of several mandatory, mandatory optional and optional components. Details of the training program can be found on the Graduate School webpage. PhD students can also choose to take courses offered by other Graduate Schools or research institutes. 

At the start of your PhD track, you are requested to draft a training plan in consultation with your supervisor(s). The training plan is a rough sketch of how you plan to obtain the mandatory 30 EC in the course of your PhD track and can always be adjusted at a later stage.

Exemptions
It is possible to request an exemption from obtaining a number of credits and/or taking certain courses of the training program, for example because a PhD candidate has already acquired relevant knowledge or skills elsewhere or followed an equivalent training course previously. A request for a (partial or full) exemption should be submitted to the Graduate School by the PhD student and his/her supervisor.

Hora Finita
Each PhD candidate is responsible for registering his/her own training activities in Hora Finita, the registration system for PhD students, and to upload proof of participation if possible. The Graduate School shall then approve these activities and assign the appropriate number of credits (ECs).

Assistance

PhD candidates are conducting research under the supervision of their (co-)supervisors. However, sometimes it can be nice to discuss certain (confidential) matters with others than the promoters.

PhD candidate advisor
The PhD candidate advisor acts as a low-threshold point of contact for PhD candidates, see Help, support and advice for PhD candidates. The PhD candidate advisor is available for PhD candidates to exchange ideas about the trajectory and day-to-day issues, and to act as a sounding board. In addition, the PhD candidate advisor also pays attention to the mental well-being of PhD candidates and monitors the progress of the PhD research. The PhD candidate advisor can refer PhD candidates to (decentralised) confidential counsellors, ombudsman, coaches and other counters if the help of these persons is deemed desirable by the PhD candidate. The Faculty of Law's PhD candidate advisor is PhD coordinator Manon Mulders.

PhD counsellor
The PhD counsellor is a confidant for PhD candidates. PhD candidates can contact the PhD counsellor for confidential discussions. The PhD counsellor of the Law Faculty is prof. dr. mr. Willemijn Roozendaal. Willemijn Roozendaal is always available to speak to PhD candidates.

PhD student psychologist
The PhD candidate psychologist is there for all PhD candidates at the VU who experience psychological complaints during the PhD trajectory. The PhD psychologist offers short-term treatment in accordance with scientific guidelines. More information about the PhD psychologist can be found on this page

Nature of the PhD Graduate School training

The Graduate School of the Faculty of Law aims to offer research activities that act as a means to:

  • discuss one’s own research;
  • receive and give feedback;
  • talk about the strategic, ethical and professional aspects of doing research;
  • discuss broader developments in Law, Criminology and scientific research in general;
  • get acquainted with ‘big shots’ in the field;
  • develop a lasting professional network.


Activities organized by the Graduate School are usually part of the PhD training, but they are always open to all researchers and interested parties. If you would like to organize an activity yourself in the context of the Graduate School, please let us know..

PHD Training Programme 

As a general guideline, 1 EC equals 28 hours of course load. The information listed here will be updated from time to time.

Mandatory components (min. 9 EC)

  • Academic Integrity (2 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s)
    Bart van Klink, Vincent Geeraets

    Target group
    All PhD students

    Credits
    2 EC

    Period
    April 9

    Fee
    N/A

    Registration
    Graduate School

    Additional information
    PhD students in their final year will be given priority for registration

  • Methodology option 1: Empirical Research Design (3 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s)
    Henk Elffers, Berber Laarman (contact person: b.s.laarman@vu.nl) & Wouter Steenbeek

    Target group
    All PhD students but especially starting PhD candidates who engage in empirical research (although empirical element in research may be limited)

    Credits
    3 EC

    Period
    Autumn, 2023, (ca. medium October- Christmas), 9 weeks, weekly one afternoon, 1.30 pm – 5 pm

    Fee
    N/A

    Registration
    Please express your interest in this workshop by e-mail to the Graduate School, indicating your research project (½ A4) and your methodology background or lack of it. Use ERD2022 in the subject line of your e-mail. Upon registration you get a small syllabus. There is only place for a limited number of participants, so don’t wait too long.

    Additional information
    See course description 

  • Methodology option 2: Tutorial Legal Research Lab (3 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    Bart van Klink

    Target group 
    All PhD students but especially PhD candidates in their 3rd or 4th year

    Credits
    3 EC

    Period 
    To be scheduled on an individual basis

    Fee
    N/A

    Registration
    Graduate School

    Additional information
    The course Legal Research Lab focuses on the question how the methods used in legal research have be justified. PhD students are asked to reflect on the methodological challenges in their research and how to deal with them. To begin with, they write a paper in which they reflect on some methodological issues in their research, concerning legal interpretation, selection of sources, key concepts, the normative framework and the relation with other disciplines (if applicable). Subsequently, a concept version will be discussed with the lecturer. After that, a final version is submitted. Preferably, this text can be included in the introduction of their thesis when the methods used have to be described and justified.

  • Congress participation with paper and presentation (2 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    N/A

    Target group
    All PhD students

    Credits
    2 EC

    Period
    N/A

    Fee
    N/A

    Registration
    N/A

    Additional information
    N/A

  • Seminars and masterclasses (2-6 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    N/A

    Target group
    All PhD students

    Credits 
    2-6 EC (as a minimum, PhD candidates have to present their research at least on one occasion)

    Period 

    Fee 
    N/A

    Registration
    Graduate School

    Additional information 
    This component involves active participation in four seminars throughout the year and in (occasional) masterclasses with international top researchers. During the seminars, PhD candidates are expected to present their research, provide feedback on each other's work and in general engage in discussions with their peers. Participation in seminars and masterclasses is mandatory for internal PhD students. We acknowledge that external PhD students may not always be able to attend, but we encourage them to participate as well.

Mandatory optional components (min. 5 EC)

  • Academic writing (4 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    Taalcentrum

    Target group 
    All PhD students. Especially for second- or third year PhD students 

    Credits 
    4 EC

    Period 
    September - October 2024

    Fee 
    N/A

    Registration
    Graduate School

    Additional information
    Taalcentrum VU has designed a course in Academic Writing specifically for the PhD candidates from the Faculty of Law. This course is interesting for both PhD candidates writing a monograph and PhD candidates writing an article based thesis.

     Academic Writing is an interactive, hands-on course, in which PhD candidates learn to write reader-oriented texts that are formulated in an accessible, appealing and active way. Both the structure of texts and the linguistic aspects of writing will be addressed. Topics that will be discussed include: main elements of monographs/articles (introduction, discussion), structure and coherence of paragraphs, structure of sentences (basic word order, sophisticated word order), how to bring clarity and conciseness to your text, and finally possible pitfalls, tips and tricks.

  • How to conduct a scientific interview (4 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    Nieke Elbers

    Target group 
    All PhD students, junior researcher and (junior) lecturer-researchers

    Credits 
    4 EC

    Period 
    1 May - 26 June 2024

    Fee 
    N/A

    Registration
    Send an email to the course coordinator Nieke Elbers n.elbers@vu.nl or nelbers@nscr.nl for more information and to enroll.

    Additional information
    Are you eager to enhance your qualitative research skills? The Scientific Interview Course is designed to equip you with the essential tools to excel in your qualitative research journey. You'll gain invaluable insights into setting up, conducting, analyzing, and reporting interviews

    Throughout the course, you'll explore topics such how to structure your interview, asking the right questions, research ethics and data management. We will discuss what to consider when interviewing different types of respondents, such as professionals and respondents with a criminal history. We will explore different qualitative methods: focus groups, participatory action research (PAR) and ethnographic research. Additionally, you'll acquire advanced interview techniques: listening, summarizing, and non-verbal techniques. Our course also covers the use of software Atas.ti for data analysis, as well as using AI for transcribing. We will teach you different analysis methods and talk about the reproducibility. 

    This comprehensive course spans eight sessions, taught on Wednesday afternoon at the VU University, starting 1 May 2024- 26 June 2024. Each session lasts 3.5 hours, and are taught in English. You will get 4 ECTS for active participation. The course will be facilitated by guest speakers from the NSCR and VU who are experts in the art of interviewing. The maximum number of participants is 20

  • PhD success and personal efficacy / Succesvol promoveren (2 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    VU Learning & Developement

    Target group 
    First year PhD students (with three months to one year of experience)

    Credits 
    2 EC

    Period
    Each year, five editions of this course are organized

    Fee 
    VU employees: free of charge
    External PhD candidates: €2350

    Registration
    via the Learning Management System (LMS)

    Additional information
    To be found in the LMS

  • University Teaching Qualification / Basiskwalificatie onderwijs (5 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    VU Learn! Academy

    Target group 
    Teaching staff with <5 years of experience of teaching at university level and who do not have a first-level teaching qualification for secondary school teaching

    Credits 
    5 EC

    Period 

    Fee 
    VU-employees: €75 (administration costs)
    External PhD candidates: €2500

    Registration
    learnacademy@vu.nl

    Additional information
    See website VU Learn! Academy (Dutch and English version)

  • Fast-track University Teaching Programme / Basiskwalificatie onderwijs - verkort (2-4 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    VU Learn! Academy

    Target group 
    Teaching staff with >=5 years of experience of teaching at university level and who do not have a first-level teaching qualification for secondary school teaching

    Credits 
    2-4 EC

    Period 

    Fee 
    VU-employees: €75 (administration costs)
    External PhD candidates: €2500

    Registration
    learnacademy@vu.nl

    Additional information
    See website VU Learn! Academy (Dutch and English version)

  • Concise formulation

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    Academic Language Programme (Faculty of Humanities)

    Target group 
    PhD researchers who are in an advanced stage of writing

    Credits 
    3 EC

    Period

    Fee 
    €475

    Registration
    Registration form

    Additional information
    See online course description

  • Presenting and pitching your research (2 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    Taalcentrum-VU

    Target group 
    Researchers and scientists who need to give concise and persuasive presentations of their research in English

    Credits 
    2 EC

    Period 


    Fee 
    €495 (open-enrolment workshop)

    Registration
    Registration form

    Additional information
    See factsheet and online course description

  • Writing a scientific article (3 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    Taalcentrum-VU

    Target group 
    PhD students who are preparing their dissertation in English, and for scientists and researchers who want to publish in an English-language specialist journal.

    Credits 
    3 EC

    Period 

    Fee 
    €695 (open-enrolment workshop)

    Registration
    Registration form

    Additional information
    See online course description

Optional components

  • Embedded researcher (18 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    N/A

    Target group  
    All PhD students

    Credits  
    18 EC

    Period  
    N/A

    Fee  
    N/A

    Registration
    N/A

    Additional information 
    PhD students may choose to spend three months as an embedded researcher in a non-academic setting, such as law firms, banks, ministries, etc. PhD students will have to make their own arrangements. See for more information also the Professional PhD Program of Promovendi Netwerk Nederland (Dutch only).

  • Career orientation for PhD candidates and postdocs (1 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    VU Learning & Development

    Target group  
    PhD students employed by VU University towards the end of their 3rd or beginning of their 4th year

    Credits  
    1 EC

    Period  
    This training is scheduled twice each year, once in the spring and once in the fall

    Fee   
    PhD candidates can participate for a fee of € 750. For VU-paid PhD candidates (employees of the VU) the costs will be borne by your faculty and can be settled with the transition fee. Every PhD student is entitled to this fee.

    If you are an external, self-funded PhD candidate, please consult your graduate school or department prior to applying and check if you can use their cost center and paying these costs to them. In order to register you need at least an internal cost center so that we can charge the costs.

    Registration
    Via the Learning Management System (LMS)

    Additional information
    To be found in the LMS.

  • Congress participation without paper or presentation (1 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    N/A

    Target group  
    All PhD students

    Credits  
    1 EC

    Period  
    N/A  

    Fee  
    N/A

    Registration
    N/A

    Additional information 
    N/A

  • Privacy and data management for research (1EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    Tycho Hofstra - VU University Library

    Target group  
    All PhD students

    Credits  
    1 EC

    Period  
    Workshop 1: 07-05-2024 14:00-16:00
    Workshop 2: 28-05-2024 14:00-16:00
    Peer review: 04-06-2024 13:00-18:00 (self paced window to review) 

    Fee  
    N/A

    Registration
    You can sign up through this link. More information about the course content can be found on the Research Support website. If you have questions about this course, please get in touch with rdm@vu.nl.

    Additional information
    In this course you learn how you write a good Data Management Plan (DMP) for your research project, in which you discuss:

    • which laws and codes of conduct your research should comply with,
    • where you are going to store your data,
    • where you are going to archive them for the long term,
    • how you can make them FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).

    This version of the course is tailored to research including personal data in the sense of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), that is, data with which an individual could be identified, either directly or indirectly.

    The course is aimed at PhD students at the beginning of their research project (± 1st year) from the Faculty of Law. The course consists of 2 online workshops and a self paced online peer review session. Please make sure that you are able to participate in all three events.

  • Organization of a panel, conference, masterclass or course (2-4 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    N/A

    Target group  
    All PhD students

    Credits  
    2-4 EC

    Period  
    N/A  

    Fee 
    N/A

    Registration
    N/A

    Additional information 
    N/A

  • Editorial work (TBD)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    N/A

    Target group  
    All PhD students

    Credits  
    TBD

    Period  
    N/A  

    Fee 
    N/A

    Registration
    N/A

    Additional information 
    N/A

  • Teaching / thesis supervision (1-5 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    N/A

    Target group  
    All PhD students

    Credits  
    Max. 1-5 EC for teaching activities during your PhD trajectory

    Period  
    N/A  

    Fee 
    N/A

    Registration
    N/A

    Additional information 
    N/A

  • VU Graduate Winter School

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    N/A

    Target group  
    All PhD students

    Credits  
    Depends on the course

    Period  
    2-week courses from 9-20 January 2023

    Fee  
    Depends on the course

    Registration
    How to apply

    Additional information 
    See the website of the VU Amsterdam Graduate Winter School

  • Valorisation activities (max 2 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    N/A

    Target group  
    All PhD students

    Credits  
    Max 2 EC

    Period  
    N/A  

    Fee 
    N/A

    Registration
    N/A

    Additional information 
    N/A

  • IXA events (TBD)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    Innovation Exchange Amsterdam (IXA)

    Target group  
    All PhD students

    Credits  
    TBD

    Period  
    Various dates (workshops and other activities)

    Fee  
    Depends on the event

    Registration
    Through the IXA website

    Additional information 
    See the IXA website for more information.

  • Career Thursdays (TBD)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    VU International Office

    Target group  
    All PhD students

    Credits  
    TBD

    Period  
    TBD

    Fee  
    €17,50 per workshop

    Registration
    Contact: phd@vu.nl

    Additional information 
    See online description of workshops

  • Peer coaching for PhD candidates and postdocs (0,5 EC for facilitators)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    VU Learning & Development

    Target group  
    PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers

    Credits  
    0,5 EC for facilitators

    Period  
    This peer coaching is organized once each year

    Fee  
    €65 

    Registration
    Via the Learning Management System (LMS)

    Additional information 
    To be found in the LMS.

  • Editorial Team - The Amsterdam Law Forum (ALF)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    Anja Eleveld 

    Target group  
    PhD candidates 

    Credits  
    6 EC 

    Period  
    1,5 years
    Meetings throughout the year

    Fee  
    None

    Registration
    Send a short motivation letter and description of your own research (2 sentences) to Manon Mulders at graduateschool.rechten@vu.nl  

    Additional information 
    ALF is a student-run international legal journal. The ALF team consisting of Bachelor's and Master's students is ready to expand and is looking for PhD candidates for a senior role.

    Amsterdam Law Forum aims at being a forum in the proper sense of the word, offering a meaningful platform where established scholars and young academics meet to discuss, analyse and interpret issues of an international and transnational legal nature. The articles in this quarterly, open-access online publication contribute to an interdisciplinary understanding of current international and transnational legal developments. Currently, ALF publishes 3 to 4 issues per year and organizes a conference. The form of ALF is open to change, for example deviate from set issues and publish articles as soon as they are edited or by introducing a blogpost to discuss new developments.

    PhD candidates will have a senior role in the editorial team. They will be affiliated to the journal for 1,5 years and play a role in the hiring of new student editors and responsible for a smooth transition to the new team. Supervision and a start-up meeting will be led by Anja Eleveld and the Taalcentrum will provide editorial trainings.

    Participating in ALF can be a meaningful experience. By critically reading and editing other people's articles, you will sharpen your own writing skills. In addition, you gain organizational skills by leading an editorial team.

    In other words, a great opportunity for you to help develop ALF and to learn more about publishing peer-reviewed articles!

    For more information about the Amsterdam law Forum, see website.

  • Case law commentaries/ annotations (max. 3 EC)

    Lecturer(s)/coordinator(s) 
    N/A

    Target group  
    PhD candidates 

    Credits  
    Max. 3 EC 

    Period  
    N/A

    Fee  
    N/A

    Registration
    N/A 

    Additional information
    PhD candidates can obtain credits for writing commentaries on case law for law journals or other legal-academic forums.

Questions?

Contact us (Manon Mulders)