Our PhD programme

Our supervisors are there to get the best out of you. They will offer advice and you will benefit from their research expertise. Preferably, based on the transdisciplinary perspective in CAPHRI research, your supervisors work at different departments, the Maastricht University Medical Centre, or research institutes elsewhere in the Netherlands or abroad.

Your supervisors will help you to identify the training and development you need to achieve your goals which will be drawn up in your Training and Supervision Plan (TSP). You will be encouraged to grasp the opportunity to develop your skills as a researcher and professional to be successful in your future career in or outside academia.

Besides our CAPHRI courses, you can choose from a wide range of courses within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML) / Maastricht UMC+ (overview here).

The progress of your project and the quality of the supervision is constantly monitored through an online PhD track system.

In case of questions or experienced difficulties, there is always someone there for you.

Chantal Claessens functions as a principal point of contact for all CAPHRI PhD candidates and supervisors. She provides information in case of questions related to PhD trajectories or Track issues. You can contact her at info-phdcaphri@maastrichtuniversity.nl.

Francine Schneider (francine.schneider@maastrichtuniversity.nl) is our PhD Community Coordinator. Her role is to enhance an attractive environment that fosters connection within our CAPHRI PhD community. She welcomes new PhD candidates and organizes (social) events for the PhD community, in collaboration with the PHD representatives. Besides, she is responsible for the further development of our CAPHRI PhD programme, PhD policy and PhD course portfolio and she monitors the quality and progress of PhD projects and the quality of the supervision. 

For problems and advice regarding the relationship between you and your supervisor(s) or colleagues, confrontations with undesirable or unacceptable behaviour or personal matters you can consult the confidential advisors Milena Pavlova (m.pavlova@maastrichtuniversity.nl) or Inge Houkes (inge.houkes@maastrichtuniversity.nl). All information shared with the confidential advisor remains confidential and will only be shared with others when you have given permission.

You can find more information about what Chantal, Francine, Milena and Inge can do for you here. 

Well-being 
Doing a PhD is an exciting journey, but can at times be challenging and/or stressful. At CAPHRI you are not doing a PhD alone, you are embedded in a larger academic community. On this webpage you will find practical advice and resources to help you manage and improve your mental well-being as a PhD candidate.

You will join a community of over 400 PhD candidates. Over 50% of them are coming from abroad.

PhD representatives 
CAPHRI has five PhD representatives. They are the voice and ears of all PhD candidates within CAPHRI. In the monthly CAPHRI PhD Infomail the representatives provide information on relevant matters, upcoming courses and events. Besides, they organize (social) activities for all CAPHRI PhD candidates. You can contact Diogo Lopes Leao, Chrissy Moonen, Quincy Merx, Giselle Menting and Esther van Santbrink via caphri-phdreps@maastrichtuniversity.nl.

CAPHRI trains highly employable and skilled PhDs for professional positions in the research, education, health care, governmental and NGO labour market. Our alumni analysis shows that about all (100%) of CAPHRI PhD graduates have found a new job at the time of their PhD defense (or earlier!) and in case of external PhDs, continue working at their current employer. A high number in comparison with national figures, namely up to 42%, stay in research-related fields in and outside academia, often combined with teaching activities (16%). About a quarter works in the health care sector and 13% in consultancy or policy advice.

For high potential junior researchers CAPHRI offers a ResearchTalent Program. Selected PhD students (in the 3rd or 4th year of the PhD program) and postdocs are offered training to strengthen their academic CV, grant writing skills and further develop their own research ideas with the aim to increase their chances of obtaining personal grants. The program consists of workshops, (individual) training sessions and outreach activities.

Reach more about the ResearchTalent programme here.

In line with a strong and longstanding tradition, societal impact is high on CAPHRI’s agenda. Most of CAPHRI ‘s research is implemented in (clinical) care or public health. You will be challenged to outreach and share your research results with the professional and lay community.