Being a PhD candidate

Compared to graduate schools in other countries, there is limited mandatory coursework during a PhD at the LUMC. In our academic community, we strongly believe in training candidates on the job and providing them with knowledge and skills for their future career. We do offer a variety of in-depth scientific and transferable skill courses from which you and your supervisors can pick the relevant learning opportunities that prepare you for your future career. We also organize lectures and summer schools with universities that are part of the League of European Research Universities (LERU).

At the start of your PhD program at the LUMC, you will be registered in the research management system of the Graduate School and officially accepted as a PhD candidate by the dean. You will make a training and guidance plan with your supervisors and start building your portfolio

Your portfolio documents the courses and practical training you undertake to develop your academic and research skills. It also includes other activities that are part of your PhD journey, such as presentations you give, conferences and symposia you attend, awards you receive, and students you supervise.

Progress meetings with your supervisors are part of the process. Throughout your PhD, you will attend several mandatory courses and lectures. At the end of your PhD track, you will finalize the academic formalities and defend your thesis before a committee of experts.

PhD candidates and their supervisors at LUMC follow the LUMC PhD Thesis Framework for their thesis. This framework outlines the general expectations for a PhD thesis and serves as a starting point for the conversations between you and your supervisor in which you discuss and plan your work.

For a PhD candidate, the thesis reflects the entire learning journey. It is more than a collection of research papers. During your PhD, you may have worked in international research teams, contributed to teaching, or helped create societal impact. That is why your portfolio forms an important part of your thesis.

Throughout your PhD track, we will encourage you to think critically and creatively. These skills will be useful for the future career path that you will choose, whether that is academia, industry, education or research management.

Having started, the LUMC career guidance center can assist you with practical workshops and personal advice. This might be helpful for your next step as PhD.

There are several steps in the graduation phase before you obtain your PhD degree. First, your supervisors must approve your thesis manuscript. The PhD thesis Framework helps PhD candidates and their supervisors to discuss throughout the trajectory what is expected of the thesis in terms of quantity and quality.

After the supervisors approve the manuscript, the doctoral committee will assess your work on four domains: soundness and rigor, relevance and innovation, sharing and openness, and collaboration and independence.

After the doctoral committee approves your thesis, you schedule your public PhD defense at the academy building. During the PhD defense, you start by explaining your work for the general public, in the so-called lay talk. After this, the formal PhD ceremony starts during which you will defend your work in front of the opposition committee.