Obtaining a PhD position without being employed by Utrecht University

Utrecht University offers very limited opportunities for applicants who are not employed to obtain a PhD. Only in exceptional cases do highly talented and motivated applicants gain admission to a PhD programme.

If you are not employed by Utrecht University, you can obtain a PhD in various ways:

A PhD on a scholarship

These scholarships can come from foreign governments, international organisations or Dutch funds for foreign PhD candidates.

Please note that Utrecht University has stopped participating in the NFP PhD scholarship programme in 2014.

A PhD as an employee of another employer

This is an option for employees of a university of applied sciences who have been given a PhD voucher.

A PhD as an external PhD candidate

In this case, you will work on your dissertation in your own time under the guidance of a Utrecht University professor. You will need to find a supervisor yourself. Once you have found a supervisor, the two of you will develop and agree on a plan of work.

China Scholarship Council

Utrecht University and the China Scholarship Council (CSC) have an agreement, which enables outstanding students from China to receive a grant to obtain their doctoral degree in Utrecht. To qualify for a CSC grant, PhD candidates undergo a special selection procedure, in which both Utrecht University en CSC participate. 
Are you a Chinese student and interested in obtaining your doctoral degree in Utrecht? Please contact the Graduate School that is relevant for your research field:

• Information form CSC
• Standard format letter of acceptance