Monitoring your PhD candidate

The supervisory team is responsible to schedule the Annual PhD Progress Meetings with their PhD candidates. They are also responsible for the formal go/no-go decision at the end of the first year of the PhD journey and – together with the PhD candidate – for the completion plan approximately one year before the provisional end of the PhD journey. 

Go/no-go

At approximately the end of the first PhD year, the supervisory team makes the formal go/no-go decision, which varies across institutions and among different types of PhD candidates. A no go should never be a surprise, meaning that progress should be discussed regularly so PhD candidates have time to improve. More details on the meeting and decision can be found on the PhD website. 

Annual PhD progress meeting

As outlined in the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) of Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht, all employees, including PhD candidates with a paid contract, must have an annual performance review. The supervisor conducts this review, known as the Assessment & Development Interview (Utrecht University) or Performance & Goals interview (UMC Utrecht), following institutional guidelines. A written report is submitted to the HR department of the relevant faculty or research institute. 

In addition to their role as employees, PhD candidates are also students pursuing an academic title. Moreover, many PhD candidates fall into PhD categories without employment status (see the PhD website). To monitor their educational progress, all PhD candidates must submit an GSLS Annual PhD Progress Report, which is discussed with the supervisory team and mentors during the annual PhD progress meeting. This report evaluates the past year’s work, project progress, and training activities, and includes a re-evaluation of the project’s expectations. A copy is sent to the PhD programme coordinator. The format for the Annual PhD Progress Report is available on the Tracking your progress page for PhD candidates. 

While the Annual PhD Progress Report overlaps with the institution’s annual performance review, they are distinct documents but can be efficiently combined. Often it is possible to upload the GSLS report in the institutions system. 

Completion plan

The final Annual PhD Progress Report contains a Completion Plan designed to assist the PhD candidate and supervisory team in completing the PhD research and doctoral thesis on time. The thesis should be submitted to the Assessment Committee via MyPhD before the contract ends.  

Mentors

At the start of the PhD, the PhD candidate and supervisory team jointly select one or, preferably, two mentors (previously known as independent advisors, supervisory committee, or AIO begeleidingscommissie). This is mandatory, and they must be registered in MyPhD. Mentors provide independent advice to both the PhD candidate and supervisory team regarding the progress of the PhD track and participate in Annual PhD Progress Meetings.

More information about the role of the mentors can be found on the PhD website.