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 most 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!
PhD Cohort Programme
The GSG PhD Cohort Programme is mandatory for all GSG PhD candidates who started their track from 1 November 2022 onward. The programme comprises four years and aims to provide the candidate with useful information, help the candidate with self development and provide a community of PhD candidates who started at the same time. Each year, there are two mandatory cohort meetings, as well as several optional meetings. Exemptions may be granted only in exceptional cases. Your supervisor must send a reasoned request to this effect to the Graduate School of Geosciences. The vice-dean of research will then be informed, and they will take a decision. Only explicit approval of the request is valid.
Responsible conduct of research
The PhD course “Responsible conduct of research” is mandatory for all GSG PhD candidates (including external candidates), who started their track from September 2017 onwards, and that did not follow the Scientific Integrity course organized by GSG in 2018 or earlier.
The course consists of three modules; all three modules are mandatory; for the third module there are two options, of which one should be followed. If you started between September 2017 and 1 January 2020, you should have started the course in December 2020 - you will follow modules until you graduate. If you started your track in 2020, you should have started the course in 2021 and will follow all modules. Discuss the planning each year in your annual progress review (or A&D). Have the course certificate available (upload it to the MyPhD portfolio tab when this becomes available) before you send your manuscript to the Assessment Committee. There are transitional arrangements for candidates who started before September 2017.
Exemptions may be granted only in exceptional cases. Your supervisor must send a reasoned request to this effect to the Graduate School of Geosciences. The vice-dean of research will then be informed, and they will take a decision. Only explicit approval of the request is valid.
Education training
All PhD candidates whose PhD tracks start from 1 September 2020 onwards at Utrecht University and have education tasks, should enroll in education training. This is mandatory. You should enroll in education training (preferably) before you start with your education tasks.
Exemptions may be granted if you have sufficient experience in teaching, for example, as a junior teacher. Your supervisor must send a reasoned request to this effect to the Graduate School of Geosciences. The vice-dean of education will then be informed, and they will take a decision. Only explicit approval of the request is valid.
The Graduate School of Geosciences primarily offers broad courses that may be applicable to every PhD candidate at the faculty, pertaining to:
- Communication skills for scientific audience
- Workshop figure-making
- PhD Cohort programme GSG (including Responsible Conduct of Research). Total time to be spent on this course: 120 hrs
See the Utrecht University Development Guide for courses. After clicking “View all”, you can easily filter on job position (promovendus, for example), faculty and development theme.
At corporate level, Utrecht University (UU Corporate) offers general courses suitable for all PhD candidates at the university, on the following topics:
- Communication skills for scientific audience
- Teaching
- Data management
- Communication skills for general public / Generating (societal and economic) impact
- Personal effectivity and development
- Career counselling and workshops
See the Utrecht University Development Guide for courses. After clicking “View all”, you can easily filter on job position (promovendus, for example), faculty and development theme.
It is in principle possible to take a PhD course at another graduate school at the UU. Please contact the relevant coordinator; if there is room, they will try to accommodate you. There may be costs associated with the course.
Some research fields at Geosciences are linked to National Research Schools that offer generic and domain-specific courses for PhD candidates. More information can be found at their respective websites:
Various universities offer discipline-specific courses by means of summer schools; these are often internationally oriented. An example is Utrecht Summer School, a broad collection of courses offered by, among others, Utrecht University. Relevant summer schools are often promoted through National Research Schools or professional/research associations. However, be sure to ask your supervisor(s) and colleagues, and search online yourself. We offer a brief overview of some summer schools and (providers of) discipline-specific courses.
It is wise to start thinking about your future career at an early stage of your PhD track. Therefore, PhD candidates employed by Utrecht University are offered different employment programmes before the end of their PhD, some of which are also accessible for other PhD candidates. These programmes often include personal development.
- The Utrecht University Development Guide is a website on which you can find opportunities for professional and personal development, linked to the development path that fits with your requirements. You can find self-tests, tools (such as coaching and feedback tools) and information on different learning pathways. For UU employees only.
- All PhD candidates are encouraged to take part in the PhD Activating Career Event (PhACE) during the third year of their track. This event aims to help PhD candidates at the end of the doctorate to explore different career steps. When you have participated in this event further coaching will be available through the career officer of the faculty.
- If you did not manage to find a job by the end of your employment contract, Work2Work will offer you a re-employment coaching programme (UU employees only).
- You can also plan an interview with the faculty’s Career Officer, Melissa Wolleswinkel, in case you have questions about how to continue your career, or if you would like to discuss your resume, or get advice about steps to take in your career orientation. For all candidates.
- Career Services for PhDs consists of online tests and instructional videos, individual coaching and workshops, in which PhDs will work on issues like a healthy work-life balance, interpersonal skills and career orientation. We believe that this will have a positive influence on productivity and well-being at work. A good investment, applicable both in and outside of academia. All services are free of charge and all PhDs are welcome, including those who have completed their PhD in the last 6 months.
Please note that other organisations offer career orientation courses as well (see External career orientation and personal development courses). Discuss opportunities with your supervisor(s) at an early stage, especially when it comes to courses or training on personal effectiveness, time management or other training related to the job market.
Various organisations offer generic courses for PhD candidate (e.g. on personal effectivity and career counselling). Some examples (without intending to be complete) are:
- ProActief is specialised in all aspects of career guidance for academic staff at every level. ProActief offers individual guidance, workshops, training courses including a training ‘Launch your Career’. This training is also accessible for PhD candidates from Utrecht University.
- Hertz Training for Scientists provides training programmes that are especially developed for PhD candidates, postdocs and professors.
Academic transfer offers three tools for young researchers who need to explore their next career step.
The Netherlands Centre of Expertise for Doctoral Education published a booklet that can be used for inspiration: 'Which grass is greener?'. With personal stories from PhDs about their careers within and outside of academia. The Rathenau Instituut researched the careers and labour market prospects of PhDs: 'The impact of a doctorate'. They concluded that 70% of PhDs find a job in the private or public sector outside of academia where they put their knowledge and research skills to good use.
Also, the following books may be useful:
- How to get a PhD (Phillips and Pugh)
- The art of Being a Scientist (Snieder and Larner)
- Klaar in vier jaar (in Dutch) (De Bruin and Hertz)
- Handboek Buitenpromoveren (Basten en Van Tiggelen) (also useful for other PhD candidates)
- The PhD survival guide (Julia Wijnmaalen)