Start of the PhD project

• Development, submission and approval of PhD project proposal
• Letter of acceptance and other documents
• Registration at Maastricht University
• Registration as ICO PhD student
• SHE Presents
• PhD budget, including budget for courses
• Registration in TRACK
  • Registering the expected completion date in TRACK
  • Personal Research Plan (PRP)
  • Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) 

PhD project proposal: Development, submission and approval  

Each PhD project is defined in a PhD project proposal in terms of starting date and expected completion date of the project, the studies to be conducted, the team of promotors/supervisors, and the planning of the studies. A template for the PhD project proposal, as well as more information about admission and application, can be found here. Many PhD candidates will prepare this proposal as part of the SHE course “Writing a PhD Research Proposal”. 

Once final, the proposal has to be submitted to SHE, through the Journal of SHE PhD Projects (JSHEPP). The PhD project proposal will be reviewed and must be approved by the SHE scientific director. The PhD project proposal of all full time internal PhD candidates must also be approved by the Interuniversity Centre for Educational Research (ICO, see further below). 

In some cases, an internal prospective PhD candidate without approved PhD project proposal is appointed as PhD candidate. This will be done if (internal or external) funding is guaranteed and if the PhD candidate has been recruited through a selection procedure. In this case, the PhD candidate will write the PhD project proposal at the start of their project guided by the supervisors.

Letter of acceptance and other documents 

Once the proposal has been approved by the SHE scientific director, external PhD candidates are asked to sign a Letter of Acceptance and Agreement that stipulates the conditions of the PhD program. By signing this letter, external PhD candidates also state that they are familiar with and will commit to the 2018 Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, the SHE Data Management Policy, and the Maastricht University Doctoral Regulations. Internal candidates will be informed about these documents in a welcome meeting with the PhD coordinator. 

All candidates are asked to endorse the Code of Conduct for Research Integrity through the online PhD monitoring system TRACK (see further details about TRACK below). 

In addition, candidates are asked to submit a number of documents, e.g. certified copy of diploma and transcript, and for external candidates, a letter of approval of the candidates’ involvement in the PhD program from the candidates’ institution.

On behalf of the promotor, the SHE PhD office will assist with applying for formal approval from the Dean of the candidate’s registration and the members of the supervisory team. The candidate’s Master diploma, diploma check and signed Scientific Integrity statement need to be included with this application.

Registration at Maastricht University 

All PhD candidates are registered at Maastricht University and will receive a Maastricht University user name, password, email account, and registration (SAP) number. This will also grant access to the online library of Maastricht University and other resources, courses and services. As a registered SHE PhD candidate, it is important to include your SHE affiliation on all your publications during the course of the PhD trajectory. See section “During the PhD project” for specific guidance on this.

Registration as ICO PhD student (internal candidates)

The Interuniversity Centre for Educational Sciences (ICO) is the Dutch research school accredited by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science. All full time internal SHE PhD candidates are strongly encouraged to register as member of ICO. More information about the application procedure can be found on www.ico-education.nl. 

As part of the ICO application procedure, the candidate’s project proposal needs to be submitted to and approved by ICO. After approval, ICO PhD candidates need to fill out a training and supervision plan as used by ICO (ICO-OBP plan). Other SHE PhD candidates can also be involved in ICO if they meet ICO’s requirements. SHE covers the ICO membership fees of all full time, internal PhD candidates. Other PhD candidates need to cover their fees independently. Pascal van Gerven is the SHE contact person for ICO matters.

SHE Presents (new candidates)

SHE organises online ‘SHE Presents’ sessions in which new SHE PhD candidates are invited to present and discuss their research plans with the SHE community (virtual or onsite). These sessions contribute to the SHE community by allowing presenters and audience to share thoughts and ideas on ongoing research and by getting to know peers within SHE who are working on similar and different topics. For access to previous SHE Presents sessions, visit our SHE YouTube channel.

PhD budget, including budget for courses 

The costs for internal PhD projects financed by other institutions than SHE are paid for by the respective institutions. The same holds for external PhD projects; external PhD candidates are responsible for financing their participation in courses, conferences and other activities themselves. There are scholarships available for external candidates who struggle with covering research costs.

Internal PhD candidates whose projects are financed by SHE or funded by a scholarship need to submit further details about their budget to SHE. This includes budget for conferences, courses and other activities. They should contact SHE’s financial contact person, Joost von Weersch. He will share the budget template (Excel file) with the PhD candidate and assist in creating reasonable budget estimations. The budget needs to be approved by the SHE Research management team as soon as possible after completing the PhD project proposal.

Registration in TRACK 

Progress of the PhD project is monitored by the PhD candidate and their team through an online program called TRACK. All PhD candidates receive a TRACK account at the start of their project and are asked to complete information about their projects. Email notifications are sent out to the PhD candidate and PhD team whenever action in TRACK is required. If you have any questions about the use of TRACK, contact the SHE PhD office. 

Registering the expected completion date in TRACK 

The default duration of a PhD project for internal candidates is 4 years. For fulltime internal candidates, this duration is fixed and aligns with the employment contract. For other candidates, the duration might differ. External candidates on average take 5-6 years to complete the program. It is important for SHE to have an accurate overview of the expected completion dates of PhD projects. 

PhD candidates and supervisors are asked to discuss a realistic, feasible expected completion date within the team. The PhD candidate has to register this in TRACK (Field: Expected completion of PhD). Expected completion date = the date that the manuscript is ready to be sent to the assessment committee. Preferably, this is done before generating the Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) in TRACK (see below). The expected completion date is then automatically registered in the TSP when this is generated from TRACK. 

Personal Research Plan (PRP) 

Candidates are asked to upload a Personal Research Plan (PRP) within 12 weeks after the starting date. TRACK provides a template for the PRP, but the approved SHE PhD project proposal in the SHE template can be uploaded for this purpose as well. 

Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) 

Candidates will also receive notifications and instructions from TRACK to complete a Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) and to discuss it with their team of supervisors within the first 12 weeks of their project. The TSP is best completed based on a conversation between the candidate and the supervisory team about the candidate’s professional development, training needs, teaching opportunities during the PhD trajectory, and a feasible expected completion date. This conversation is supported by the PhD Team Tool. The PhD Team Tool can be found in TRACK under ‘documents’. Also within 12 weeks after starting the PhD project, candidates are reminded to use this tool. 

TRACK can generate the TSP form automatically based on the information that the candidate adds in TRACK, after which it can be discussed in the team. The TSP needs to be signed by the PhD candidate and the team of supervisors, after which it should be uploaded in TRACK, where the PhD coordinator of SHE will then check and approve the TSP on behalf of the Dean. For internal PhD candidates, the TSP needs to be forwarded to the HR office as well, and a member of the HR office will sign the document.

Overview of starting documents