Our online academic writing courses were originally developed for PhD and Master’s students at the Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences (FHML*) in order to help the participants in a variety of aspects of the writing process. Students practise the writing skills required when developing their own texts, carrying out literature reviews as well as improving and editing their own texts and those of their peers. Upon successful completion of the course you receive a certificate of participation.
* If you are from a non-FHML discipline please see this page for the correct course.
For an overview of the English Academic Skills programme go to Communication in Scientific English.
Would you like to improve your English for work or study purposes and obtain an internationally recognised certificate that confirms your proficiency in English? Then you could consider taking one of our Cambridge English courses. For more information see Cambridge English.
Registration form
Costs and Funding
Master's admission requirements and Certificate
Courses
- focus on using precise and nuanced language
- it is possible to register for the courses several times a year
- 8 weekly sessions of 2 hours
- 2-3 hours of preparation each week
- you will receive a certificate of participation
- this course is considered to be worth 2 ECTS depending on faculty policy
I would like to thank you for the feedback you have given me on my introduction chapter. It was really helpful, and some tips I will definitely take with me going over the rest of my thesis. Thank you for all your insights and tips, I have learned a lot in this course. In my opinion, my writing skills improved substantially!
Carolien | Student FHMLImprove your academic writing!
For available times for the courses below please see the course dates and registration form. The registration form shows the currently available groups.
Costs and funding
Costs per course:
All academic writing courses: € 545 per module. Costs are exclusive course materials.
Funding for FHML PhD candidates
For FHML PhD candidates who are registered as PhD candidate at HR and in PhD TRACK of one of the Schools, MaCSBIO, M4I or MERLN, please provide your personnel number (700....) in the subscription form. A maximum of 3 courses will be funded by the Faculty.
For all other participants, the Language Centre will send you an invoice directly. Please note that registration is an agreement to pay.
I just wanted to say, thank you for the extensive and constructive feedback. I don't believe every tutor provides such extensive feedback. So, thank you for that!
Debbie Kuper | Student SBEAdmission requirements and Certificate
PhD-1 (FHML) is available to all PhD candidates and Research Master’s students at Maastricht University and from other universities.
Our PhD-2 courses are open to scientific PhD candidates at Maastricht University and other universities after assessment of previous academic writing experience.
At the end of the course you will receive a certificate, providing you have attended at least 6 out of the 8 sessions and submitted at least 5 of the writing assignments.
Advanced Scientific Writing (PhD-2)
The ability to write a coherent scientific article is essential to educational and career development, allowing researchers to engage with complex ideas and contribute to the intellectual life in their chosen field. The PhD-2 writing course aims to help candidates further refine and develop their writing ability at dissertation and publication level. As well as improving their overall writing technique and organizational competence, students learn vocabulary and language skills that will positively impact their wider academic and professional life.
At the beginning of the course, participants are placed in smaller groups with colleagues from similar research backgrounds. Groups work together on a variety of exercises during the first hour of the session before completing peer-reviews of one another’s work in the second hour. During the course, students are required to (re)submit 600-800 words of work weekly for review. The peer-review of this work focuses on structure, language, and coherence. The teacher provides feedback on the submissions immediately after class, so you can combine both the advice of your colleagues and teacher to help improve your work. While the course does follow an IMRaD pattern, meaning that a given week focuses on a given section of a scientific paper, you may resubmit an improved draft or a section from any part of your research for peer-review in class.
By the end of the course, students will have received up to 18 pieces of oral or written feedback across six submissions, including the written feedback provided by the course instructor. You will also have built up a portfolio of useful sample articles from both the course and from your own field. As such, the course aims to make you highly independent in your ability to scrutinize and redesign work in terms of structure, style and narrative, and to feel more confident when applying these skills throughout your writing career.
Learning Objectives
- Outline knowledge of redrafting to improve overall writing skills
- Expand knowledge of the theory and practice of scientific writing for journals
- Develop the ability to critically evaluate writing style, argument, and rhetoric
- Revise language skills and improve use of rhetoric
- Enhance ability to discuss research and writing with colleagues in English
Required Material
Glasman-Deal, H. (Second Edition 2020). Science Research Writing. London: Imperial College Press (available at the Randwijck Study Store) ISBN 9781786347848
For available times and registration please see the timetable and registration form
This is an online course via Zoom.
Registration
- Course code: PhD-2.
- Please register using our online registration form.
- Use status 'UM PhD candidate' if you are a PhD candidate of the UM.