Starting a PhD track with the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

There are different options for PhD trajectories at the FSBS.
As a PhD candidate in the Netherlands, you are not a student but a university employee in most cases. Please bear in mind that Utrecht University offers very limited PhD opportunities for people who are not employed at a PhD position. Most PhD candidates will be employed by Utrecht University. If we cannot employ you, you may want to look for funding in your country of residence for private scholarships.

Obtaining a PhD as an employee

Most often PhD positions become available on major research projects in which candidates work on defined sub-projects. Another option is that employees who already teach in the faculty can apply for a PhD.
Applying for a job as a PhD candidate is only possible if a vacancy exists, usually following from a research grant (for example, EU-H2020, NWO, ERC).
A selection procedure will be in place, in which the quality of the applicant is leading.

Obtaining a PhD without being employed

• You may have a scholarship grant that has been granted to you by an external organisation.
  Please note that Utrecht University does not provide PhD scholarships.
   
• Another option could be that you work for an institution (such as CBS, GGz, NSCR, ARQ, Trimbos, etc.) and through the institution you are given time (and budget) to work on a PhD track. In both cases a selection procedure is in place, in which not only the quality of the applicant is important. The proposed project should also fit in the research group and the Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences. If you do get accepted, you will become a guest PhD candidate.