Beginning to end

As a supervisor you have to make sure that PhD candidates registers themselves in MyPhD, as described on the UU pages on PhD registration. Your PhD candidate should register within 14 days after the start of their research. Before submission, the registration must be approved by the supervisors and other involved parties. Please note that at most two promotors and two co-promotors may be involved. The minimum is one promotor and one (co-)promotor.

The Faculty Board has decided that if, at the start of a PhD candidate’s programme, a promotor has less than three years remaining until retirement, at least one other member of the supervisory team must have Ius Promovendi at the Faculty of Geosciences. The dean may, in exceptional cases, deviate from this policy.

Within three months after the start of the programme, also the Training and Supervision Agreement (TSA) should be completed. This sets out the rights and obligations of you and your PhD candidate during the PhD programme. Your PhD candidate completes the agreement in consultation with you and co-supervisors. The candidate then uploads the TSA in MyPhD. You and your co-supervisors will receive an invitation via MyPhD to approve the TSA, in MyPhD, where it will also be stored.

For each PhD candidate a mentor is available if they request one. As their supervisor you do not have to arrange this, but it is good to ensure the PhD candidate is aware of the option.

At the end of 2026, an adapted GROW form for PhD candidates will become available. The A&D will then be replaced by GROW.

You have a Progress Review with your PhD candidate at least once a year: a meeting to discuss the candidate’s progress and the supervision. For UU employees, this is the Assessment and Development Interview (A&D). You are responsible for the planning and conduct of the interview, but the candidate can also take the initiative for this interview themselves. A second person is present at the Progress Review meetings, according and following the conditions of the four-eye principle of the Faculty of Geosciences.

Before the meeting, the candidate writes a progress report and sends it to you at least one week prior to the meeting. Be sure that you discuss the agreements made in the TSA and / or previous progress review: are these agreements still valid or workable or do they need to be adjusted? If still valid, what is the state of affairs? You record the assessment and the agreements made in the meeting in a report. If the candidate is a UU employee, the A&D form is used for both the progress report and the meeting report. For non-employees, the Progress review form GSG for non-employees is used. The candidate confirms the written, confidential report. You upload it to the PhD candidate’s digital personnel file.

Please note: The first progress review (month 6) also forms the basis for the go/no-go decision in month 9. During the meeting one year before the intended defence date your PhD candidate needs to draw up a completion plan with the supervisory team. See next sections for more information.

There are two special progress reviews: one after 6 months and one after 9 months after the start of the PhD research. 

• At six months, you will review your PhD candidate’s progress and performance so far. 
• A second progress review, the so-called “go-/no go” interview, follows in month 9. If areas for improvement for the PhD candidate were agreed upon in month 6, a review will be carried out to assess the extent to which those improvements have been achieved. From practical considerations, the nine-month progress review will be combined with the first annual progress review.

A negative review in both progress reviews may lead to dismissal from the PhD programme. A “Go” in month 9 means that a continuation of the PhD trajectory (“Go on”). Please note! In case of unsatisfying results of a UU-employed PhD candidate during the first six months, you should contact your HR adviser about this before the A&D interview in the sixth month. It is recommended to invite the HR adviser to this A&D interview.

This applies to all types of PhD candidates, except for employees with a combined junior lecturer and doctoral candidate position: they do not have sixth- and nine-month meetings, but a regular A&D at the end of their first year instead.

The completion plan is intended to assist your PhD candidate and their supervisory team in ensuring the timely completion of the PhD research and doctoral thesis. It establishes mutual agreements for the last year to which both parties are committed. The plan should be drawn up during the progress review one year before the end date of your PhD trajectory. Usually this is the review at the end of the third year. The PhD candidate completes the plan together with their supervisory team, using this template.

There is no need to upload the form in MyPhD. Store it in a convenient location for easy access. We encourage you to review the plan regularly with your PhD candidate (at least every three months) and adjust it, as necessary.

As of 1 September 2022, the course Supervising PhD research is compulsory for researchers who start supervising PhD candidates. Completion of the course is a prerequisite for obtaining the SKOz. The Faculty of Geosciences has adjusted its promotion policy accordingly. You can read more about this topic, including transitional arrangements, on the Education and Development site, under “Mandatory and recommended courses”.

The UU and the GSG have a few mandatory courses. See the education website for PhD candidates (under “Mandatory courses”) for more information.

Please note that you, as the supervisor, are responsible for checking whether the courses have been followed:

• PhD Cohort Programme: this one-year programme is mandatory for all candidates with a starting date of 1 November 2022 onwards, who are part of the Graduate School of Geosciences. More information about attendance and exemptions for the programme is available on the UU intranet. The promotor is responsible for apprising the secretariat of their department of a starting PhD candidate, so that the Graduate School can invite the PhD candidate to the programme. Attendance of programme sessions should be discussed each year, in the candidate’s progress review (or A&D).
• PhD course “Responsible conduct of research”: The course is now part of the PhD Cohort programme. The promotor is responsible for checking which modules have been followed so far. The entire RCR course should be completed before graduation. The promotor performs a last check before the manuscript is sent to the Assessment Committee – the course certificate should be available by then (portfolio tab in MyPhD, when this becomes available).
• Educational training: The course should be followed in the first year of the PhD track. The promotor is responsible for checking whether the PhD candidate followed an appropriate course. The topic should be discussed in the candidate’s progress review (or A&D).

Your PhD candidate and you (the supervisors) each have a role and responsibility in the supervision process. It is good to make these explicit and to express expectations to each other. To support this, the UU has developed a vision of PhD supervision - an overview of "guiding principles" for PhD candidate and supervisor. The GSG has adopted the UU vision without modifications (GSG vision). We recommend to use this vision as a guide to discuss your mutual expectations with your PhD candidate.

The requirements for the thesis are described in the Doctoral Degree Regulations of Utrecht University. The thesis should state the PhD candidate’s contribution for each chapter written with co-authors.

You have to approve your PhD candidate's thesis at least six months before your candidate's intended date of defence. MyPhD plays an important role in the approval and a number of subsequent formal steps, as described by the UU pages on the required actions to complete a PhD programme.

Additional for GSG: Read on Intranet what the members of the Assessment Committee receive, via MyPhD.

The Doctoral Degree Regulations (on the university website for PhD candidates) stipulate, among other things, how the First Supervisors and Secondary Supervisors are appointed. As of 1 January 2018, some Associate Professors (i.e. senior university lecturers, or UHD's in Dutch) can also be awarded the Ius Promovendi. For more information, see Ius Promovendi at the Faculty of Geosciences.

Public funding is based on a predefined amount per doctoral degree obtained in the Netherlands (commonly known as “promotievergoeding” or “promotiebonus”). At the Faculty of Geosciences, this funding shall be paid to the department of the primary supervisor. This applies to collaborations between departments within the Faculty of Geosciences, with other faculties, with other universities and with other research institutions (such as IHE, TNO, NIOZ, etc.). There are two special cases, however: University College Roosevelt (please contact the GSG) and joint doctoral degrees (please read the Joint doctorate regulations and procedures, to be found here).

• Utrecht University offers various courses on leadership and on supervising PhD students for your own education and development.  
• Also see tips and tricks for supervisors.