PhD in Mathematics at VU Amsterdam

5 Reasons for a PhD in Mathematics at VU Amsterdam

• 1. Research & Collaborations

  The Mathematics Department of the VU does research in a wide variety of topics, ranging from fundamental to applied mathematics. Collaborations between researchers in different research areas, by actively exchanging ideas, lead to cross fertilization, all in an international environment. This not only happens within the department but also within formal collaborations with different research institutes and mathematics clusters, as well as other departments of the VU.

• 2. Employment

  In the Netherlands, PhD students are considered academic researchers rather than students. This includes a 1+3 year contract, a salary according to the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities, and other benefits such as an individual choice model. Typically, a PhD position also comes with duties and responsibilities, such as teaching (e.g., tutorials, grading assignments and exams).

• 3. Training opportunities

  During your PhD you have different possibilities for your personal and professional development. These training opportunities can include:

  • regular research seminars and colloquia;
  • funding for extended research stays abroad;
  • attendance of international conferences to present your research and schools or workshops for specialized topics;
  • transferable skills courses developed for PhD students such as Academic Writing and Presenting in Academic English;
  • language courses;
  • possibility to obtain a teaching certificate.
  • specific training for career opportunities after your PhD, such as Career Orientation.

• 4. Social life

  The Math department has an active and international community of PhD students. There is a regular colloquium for the whole department and a seminar run by PhD students for PhD students. After the talks, there is informal discussion over drinks. Next to this, for the whole department there is a Social Life Committee organizing social events regularly.

• 5. Support

  In addition to the day-to-day supervision of the research activities, there are other support structures to help you succeed in your PhD. These include:

  • To help you get settled, new PhD students are assigned a “buddy”—a mathematics PhD student who has been part of the Department for one year or longer. 
  • Each PhD student is assigned a PhD Candidate Advisor—a staff member who is outside of the set of supervisors and can provide advice for the PhD trajectory and beyond.
  • Faculty counselors are available for any other matters that require confidentiality.

  The Department also has a PhD Committee consisting of both staff and PhD students to discuss any matter relating to PhD education in the Department. Moreover, the Faculty PhD Council represents the interests of PhD students within the University structures. The VU also offers access to a PhD psychologist.

• What a typical workday as a PhD student may look like

  “I arrive at the department in the morning and drop my stuff at my desk. As I grab a coffee, I run into some colleagues at the coffee machine. I start to work on a research problem that I have been stuck on for a while. Later in the morning, I meet my supervisor to discuss the problem; together, we manage to make some progress. Then I have lunch together with other colleagues in the common room, taking a break from chatting about math. In the afternoon, I teach a Calculus tutorial for first year students; I explain some exercises on the blackboard and I answer questions students have. After the teaching, I have a bit more time to think about math and have a quick afternoon coffee before the Department Colloquium. Today, there is a speaker from the United States, who is talking about his research in network dynamical systems. Over drinks after the talk, the discussions with the speaker about their research talk continue for a bit but then shift towards life as an academic in the US and other topics not related to mathematics.”

• Ready to go?

  Current openings for PhD positions are posted on the vacancies page.