The WIAS PhD Programme

Objective

The objective of the graduate school WIAS is to train PhD students to become professionally skilled scientists with strong theoretical backgrounds. WIAS strives to reach this goal by offering advanced education, opportunities for reflection on the scientific profession, and by exposing the PhD students to the national and international scientific community.

Components of the PhD study

• A PhD study at WIAS usually lasts four years. At least 75% of the study is dedicated to an externally refereed research project within the WIAS research programme.
• About 12-25% of the PhD term, i.e. 30-60 ECTS credits, are spent on postgraduate education and training. The WIAS Certificate will be awarded upon graduation when the PhD student has fulfilled the education requirements.

In 1993, WIAS began with 65 PhD students. At present, more than one hundred PhD students are enrolled. About 50% are international PhD students, many of whom are 'sandwich PhD students'. They spend part of their study programme (minimum two periods of six months each) in Wageningen and the rest abroad, where they actually conduct their research. Obviously, international PhD students must spend enough time in Wageningen to complete the education part of the programme.

Admission

Admission to the PhD study is open to Dutch university and polytechnic college (HBO) graduates, and MSc graduates from abroad. If an MSc title from a foreign country is not considered equivalent to the Dutch standards, applicants will be requested to take additional courses and to pass a Qualifying Exam before entering the PhD programme. Full proficiency of English is also required.
More information on admission can be found here .

The PhD research proposal

A PhD project proposal can be written by WIAS staff or by the PhD student him/herself, after having found a supervisor. Before submitting the PhD proposal, the entire funding of the PhD study must be secured, including the university tuition fee, research and travel costs, living and housing costs, etc. In the case of a sandwich PhD project, the commitment of the institute in the student's home country where the research will be conducted must be guaranteed.

The project proposal is submitted to two independent referees (usually from outside the Netherlands) who assess the scientific quality and the feasibility of the proposed research. In many cases, the suggestions of the external referees lead to further improvement of the project proposal.

The PhD project

Once the project starts, a PhD project Advisory Committee is established. This committee is comprised of the daily supervisor, the supervisor (i.e. the envisaged promotor ) and often a few additional assessors, who may come from outside WIAS. There may be more supervisors, but at least one must be a professor from Wageningen University. The daily supervisor may become the co-promotor at the PhD student's graduation.
The progress of the PhD student with his/her project is evaluated annually by the PhD student and his/her supervisors. The Annual Progress Report must be submitted to WIAS. If a PhD student ecncounters a problem with his/her supervisor, a PhD students confidant can be consulted. During the course of their research projects, PhD students publish in refereed journals. This serves as an additional independent quality control mechanism.

The PhD graduation

At the end of the project, the draft thesis has to be approved by the supervisor and is then submitted to a Thesis Committee. This independent committee is appointed by the University and decides whether the submitted thesis is of sufficient quality to be formally defended.
The graduation ceremony consists of a short public presentation of the work (10 minutes) by the candidate, an oral defence where the candidate answers questions from the Graduation Committee (45 minutes) and, if accepted by the latter, a ceremony during which the PhD title is officially awarded.

Training and Supervision

In close collaboration with his/her daily supervisor and supervisor, the PhD student is obliged to formulate a detailed, tailor-made Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) within six months of his/her assignment.
At this stage the exact courses and conferences for the next few years are not yet known. Therefore, the initial education plan primarily articulates the student's educational needs in view of the planned project while taking into account the requirements of the WIAS education and training programme.
The WIAS Education Committee approves the submitted TSP based on the advice of the WIAS education coordinator.
After two years, each PhD student's TSP must be updated. A midterm evaluation to monitor his/her progress also takes place.
At least three months before graduation, the completed TSP must be submitted. Based on the advice of the WIAS education coordinator, the WIAS Education Committee decides whether it meets the requirements for the WIAS Certificate.
The education and training programme does not conclude with a formal exam, nor are there formal exams for the WIAS courses. But active participation is required and total absences may not exceed 20% of the scheduled course time. Proof of completion of education activities outside WIAS may be requested, e.g. by submitting a certificate.

Education costs and budgets

Courses and seminars that are organised by WIAS are free of charge for WIAS PhD students.
Courses and symposia elsewhere usually are not free, however. For these activities Wageningen University provides an individual education budget. This budget becomes available only after the education plan has been approved by WIAS. Requests for spending the education budget should be submitted to the personnel consultant.

Information on courses and seminars

Through a WIAS e-mail list and on the internet, the PhD students are provided with information on courses and seminars within WIAS and relevant educational activities elsewhere. Wageningen University publishes an ' PhD Guide ' with information on courses at the University.

The WIAS Training and Supervision Plan

Most elements of the programme are optional, but some are mandatory. A minimum number of credits is required for the major elements of the programme; the total should amount to 30-60 ECTS credits. One ECTS credit is approximately equivalent to a study load of 28 hours.

The Basic Package (minimum 3 credits)

• WIAS Introduction Course Course (1.5 credit, mandatory)
• Course on philosophy of science and/or ethics (1.5 credit, mandatory)
• Introduction interviews with WIAS scientific director, education coordinator and PhD student confidant.

Scientific Exposure (conferences, seminars and presentations, minimum 8 credits)

• International conferences (minimum 3 credits)
• Seminars and workshops
• Presentations (minimum 4 original presentations of which at least one oral, 1 credit each)

In-Depth Studies (minimum 6 credits of which >4 at PhD level)

• Disciplinary and interdisciplinary courses
• Advanced statistics courses (optional)
• PhD students' discussion groups (optional)
• MSc level courses (only in case of deficiencies)

Statutory Courses

• Use of Laboratory Animals (mandatory when working with animals)
• Laboratory Use of Isotopes (mandatory when working with radio isotopes)

Professional Skills Support Courses (minimum 3 credits)

• Techniques for Scientific Writing (advised)
• Organising and supervising MSc thesis work (advised when supervising MSc students)
• Competence assessment or job assessment
• Courses on didactic and communication skills, oral presentations etc.
• Courses on project, research and time management, writing of research proposals, career planning, business starters' course etc.

Research Skills Training (optional)

• Preparing own PhD research proposal
• External training period
• Special research assignments (apart from PhD project)

Didactic Skills Training (optional)

• Lecturing
• Supervising practicals and excursions
• Supervising MSc theses
• Tutorship
• Preparing course material

Management Skills Training (optional)

• Organisation of seminars and courses
• Membership of boards and committees