Prospective PhD students
There are several ways to obtain a PhD degree at Tilburg University:
- PhD candidates (employed by Tilburg University)
This category of PhD candidates are temporary employees of Tilburg University, usually for a period of three or four years. The Dutch term for this category is Promovendus. - External PhD candidates (not employed by Tilburg University)
PhD candidates in this category are not employed by Tilburg University. The link with Tilburg University is primarily through the supervisor. - PhD candidates with grant
This category consists of international PhD candidates who are not employed by Tilburg University, but have a grant which allows them to carry out their research. - Dual PhD
Dual PhD candidates are partially employed by Tilburg University and partially employed by another party (e.g. a company, a ministry, a hospital).
PhD candidates (employed by Tilburg University)
1. Availability of departmental PhD positions
The departments or research groups of the School of Humanities and the School of Theology regularly offer vacancies for PhD tracks. The PhD tracks are a three or four years offer, with the option of a part-time appointment of 80%.
Teaching tasks
A 10% teaching load relevant to the project falls within the regular conditions of appointment. A higher teaching load, or one that is not relevant to the project, is possible with extra funding by the department.
2. Announcements
The profile of a departmental PhD position is determined in general terms by the program director of the research group, having regard to the preferred lines of research in the concerning program and leaving enough scope for candidates to write proposals. The announcement is submitted to the Board of the Graduate School for approval. The position is announced internally, nationally and internationally through the appropriate channels (such as relevant job advertising websites, mailing lists) and via the employment officer of the School.
3. Applications
Graduate School policy is to stimulate candidates to propose high-level projects. Thus,
- advertising for the position is broad and open; no content of a project is specified;
- the research program and the lines of research expounded there are the guiding framework;
- candidates submit research proposals which at a later date are assigned to a supervisor;
- only in exceptional cases it is possible to file detailed project proposals with or without a candidate who is to carry it out; if no such person is indicated, an open recruitment track will be followed.
4. Assessment criteria
Assessment takes place on the basis of the general NWO (The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research) assessment criteria:
a. Academic quality
- importance of the proposed research
- originality of the research question and/or method
- clarity of the problem or issue
- appropriateness of the approach/methodology
- feasibility of the research proposal, as apparent from:
- quality of the proposed researcher who is to carry it out (if applicable)
- quality of the relevant research group, supervisor(s)
- infrastructure
- work plan
- international orientation
- multidisciplinary cooperation
The extent to which the proposal fits into the research program and the central research lines pursued in it.
Project proposals are assessed by experts in terms of their being feasible or not (A (feasible), B (possibly feasible after adjustments), C (not feasible)). In addition, these experts present a motivated prioritization to the Faculty Research Platform, which also looks into further funding possibilities.
5. Selection and allotment
The program director appoints two experts for the selection of projects and candidates. Both internal and external senior researchers can be approached to fulfill this task. The program director presents his/her findings (also based on interviews with the applicants) together with those of the experts to the Faculty Research Platform, which formally decides about the selection of the candidate and the advice to appoint her or him.
External PhD candidates (not employed by Tilburg University)
The Graduate School is committed to improving the involvement of external PhD students in the faculty by allowing them to take part in the faculty's training programme and by offering them certain facilities.
1. PhD track
External PhD students (i.e. PhD students without an employment contract of Tilburg University) in principle follow the same PhD track as PhD student-employees. Regardless of their legal employment status with respect to the university, all PhD students are entitled to:
- a project description;
- a training and supervision plan;
- the possibility of calling in the help of the MSS (Methodology and Statistics Support) coordinator;
- a set of facilities.
2. PhD training
The Graduate School Board, on the basis of the advice of the intended supervisor, determines if and in what way these students are to take part in the training program offered by the Graduate School and generally how they are to be involved in the Graduate School's academic program. The Graduate School can ask for a financial contribution for this.
3. Application procedure
Please send in the following documents:
- Project description
- Certified copies of your university diplomas, including a list of results (plus English transcripts).
- A copy of the master's thesis or a comparable essay.
- Proof of sufficient financial means.
4. Assessment criteria
Assessment takes place on the basis of the general NWO (The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) assessment criteria:
a. Quality of the Research Proposal
- Scientific importance/impact
- originality of the research question and/or method
- clarity of the problem or issue
- appropriateness of the approach/methodology
- feasibility of the research proposal, as apparent from:
- quality of the proposed researcher who is to carry it out
- quality of the relevant research group, supervisor(s)
- infrastructure
- work plan
The extent to which the research proposal fits into the research program and the central research lines pursued in it.
5. If the application is successful...
- If desired, the personnel affairs staff may help you with immigration issues.
- If desired, the personnel affairs staff may help you with finding accommodation.
- Your intended supervisor will contact you regarding the facilities you need to be able to carry out your research, and will contact the faculty's Management Team to inquire if the faculty can meet with these requirements.
- You will be asked to apply for assignment of a supervisor by way of the formal application form. As a consequence you will be informed on the activities of the Graduate School for Humanities.
PhD candidates with grant
The Graduate School is committed to improving the involvement of PhD students with a grant in the faculty by allowing them to take part in the faculty's training programme and by offering them certain facilities.
The application procedure for PhD candidates with a grant resembles the procedure for External PhD students.
Dual PhD
The Graduate School for Humanities is currently developing policy for Dual PhD students. For more information please contact the Graduate School Office.
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