Starting a PhD at Maastricht University

PhD programmes at UM are not education programs as such. These may consist of a combination of research, teaching and courses, depending on the type of PhD candidate that you are. Below, you will find an overview table of what in general applies to which specific type of PhD candidate. 

UM has a decentralised structure. At the following links, you can find more specific information for the different programmes that are offered at the different faculties:

 Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences 
 School of Business and Economics 
 Faculty of Science and Engineering
 Faculty of Law
 Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience
 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Here you will also find information on how to apply for a PhD position, on eligibility criteria, application deadlines, submission procedures and registration. 

People & Development (P&D) is the department responsible for safeguarding a consistent and carefully structured HR framework, in which employment conditions, legal position, information provision, and working conditions are clearly defined and applied uniformly. P&D is responsible for processes such as onboarding, progress (including Go/No-Go decisions) and exit processes at the end of your PhD, safeguarding equality of legal treatment between faculties and PhD candidates, and plays a role in HR-policy and the implementation thereof.

People & Organisation Advisors (POAs) within the faculties can provide advice to PhD candidates on anything related to their legal position and employment conditions, including questions related to e.g. holidays and time off, questions about the contract, social security, and safe working environments. Although the role of P&D is most clear for internal (employed) PhD candidates, it also has a responsibility of safeguarding working conditions of external PhD candidates. For these PhD candidates, however, P&D and the POAs may be more limited in what support they can provide. Individual supervision is always the responsibility of the supervisor, but there are many questions you can ask to P&D/the POAs as a PhD candidate. 

Specifically for scholarship PhD candidates, the scholarship provider needs to adhere to several conditions. Please ask the International Staff Support Office for the latest hereon: 
 

 If you have general inquiries about pursuing a PhD degree at one of the six UM faculties, you can find contact details to the responsible staff members here.