Education and development

As a PhD candidate you are encouraged to develop yourself by following courses and/or attending seminars. These may be courses offered by the GSG, or other courses offered by Utrecht University or any other university or research school. The Training and Supervision Agreement (TSA) should list the courses that you intend to follow during your PhD track.

The GSG has a few mandatory courses. You can read more about them below, under “Mandatory courses”. The GSG has no obligation regarding (a minimum number of) ECTS. Keep in mind that National Research Schools and/or your department may have additional requirements. 

You should discuss your educational needs with your supervisor(s). In principle, you will spend at least 80% of your time within the PhD track on research, at most 10% on education tasks, and at least 10% on following courses.

The time to be spent on training depends on your prior learning and experiences. The right to follow courses applies to time, not to financial resources. Courses provided by the GSG can be followed for free by PhD candidates that are employed by Utrecht University and that are members of the GSG. Other courses may cost money – be sure to ask your supervisor for approval!