Search term

Types of PhD programmes

Are you considering starting as a PhD candidate at our faculty? At FASoS, there are different types of PhD programmes you can follow. Check below what the degree requirements are, what the employment type of PhD candidates at Dutch universities is and what types of PhD programmes FASoS offers. You can also navigate via the box on the right.

fasos um

Go to:

Employment as a PhD Candidate

The Dutch PhD system differs from the situation in many other countries. In most cases, PhD candidates in the Netherlands are employed by their respective universities to do research and conclude this research with a PhD thesis. Usually PhD candidates are also involved in teaching. Since PhD candidates are employed by the university, they receive a salary. 

If you start as an internal PhD candidate at our faculty, you will be offered a salaried position. In coordination with your supervisor and your department head you may also do some limited teaching in one of our study programmes. As an internal PhD candidate, you will be part of one of our research programmes and/or centres. Within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences internal (paid) PhD candidates are mainly recruited by way of externally funded projects. Vacancies therefore are usually only advertised when a professor has obtained an external grant.

For external PhD candidates the situation differs: They have to find funding for their living expenses through other sources and in most cases will be required to pay tuition fees. They also are not formally part of the research programmes, even though they are welcome to attend their respective meetings.

More information can be found on the UM website.

Degree requirements

The key to success for any PhD candidate is an academic attitude and the ambition to become an excellent researcher. In addition, you should have the relevant educational background and skills required in the specific field you have chosen. You have completed a research master (MPhil) or an equivalent degree. In some cases, applicants may have to acquire additional qualifications, for example by entering the second year of one of the faculty's two research masters: European Studies (RMES) or Cultures of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST). Students with a regular master may be accepted in exceptional cases. Each application will be assessed by the selection committee. 

PhD training & education

Our PhD programme focusses primarily on offering you education, training and supervision to enable you to become an excellent researcher. You will also have the opportunity to develop a broad range of academic skills. Training and education consists of the following elements:

  • an orientation course introduces you to the university, the faculty, the teaching system, the staff and of course your fellow PhD candidates
  • a training programme offered by one of the national graduate schools enables you to acquire research skills and specific knowledge in your field of research (see below)
  • an additional training programme organised by the Faculty’s own graduate school focuses on general research skills, e.g. academic writing, insight into academic life, English and publishing
  • intensive supervision
  • discussion with and feedback from other PhD candidates and senior staff both inside and outside the faculty by presenting your work in seminars, workshops and conferences
  • participation in the faculty’s seminar series.

Internal PhD positions

PhD places may be opened in research projects at FASoS funded by for example the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) or European funding bodies. These places are always tied to a specific research topic. Vacancies will be announced at the faculty’s web pages and on Academic Transfer.

Academic transfer

External PhD positions

External PhD candidates are not employed by UM. If you consider applying for an external PhD position, you first need to find a professor who is willing to supervise you. You are expected to have a research topic for your PhD project in mind. When contacting a potential supervisor, please give a short explanation of the kind of research you would like to do and attach a research proposal and CV.

An overview of our professors and associate professors and their expertise is available here.

After you have found a supervisor, you can register at our Graduate School by sending us:  

The fee for external PhD’s is €500 per year and include the following services:

  • UM email and UM card;
  • UM Library subscription;
  • Graduate School meetings (attendance not mandatory);
  • Formalised connection to FASoS, i.e. can mention their FASoS connection when in the process of trying to get papers published;
  • Evaluation of research plans by Director of external PhDs.

Subscription to a national research school is not included in the fee.

The modalities for registration with fee include the following:

  • Subscription is on an annual basis and for a full year (i.e., 12 months);
  • Subscription is possible at any time in the period after the supervisor has agreed to supervise the external PhD candidate up to the defence – thus, at any time in the PhD trajectory;
  • The subscription will be automatically prolonged on an annual basis – cancellation is possible up to 2 months before the start of the next 12-month period;
  • The subscription is automatically terminated in the month following the PhD defence.

Formally, you can register with the FASoS Graduate School without paying a fee but this means you cannot use any of the services mentioned above.

More information on how to obtain a PhD at Maastricht University as an externally funded PhD, can be found here.

You may also want to consider the PhD for Professionals programme at our Brussels Campus which is focused on European Studies. 

PhD with a scholarship position

If you want to pursue your PhD and you have a scholarship, the tuition fee amounts to around €7,000 per year. Your scholarship preferably covers both the tuition fee and living expenses, but you can also apply if your scholarship only covers parts of these costs. 

If you consider applying for an external PhD position, you first need to find a professor who is willing to supervise you. You are expected to have a research topic for your PhD project in mind. When contacting a potential supervisor, please give a short explanation of the kind of research you would like to do and attach a research proposal and CV.

An overview of our professors and associate professors and their expertise is available here.

After you have found a supervisor, you can register at our Graduate School by sending us:

Please note: the faculty does not offer scholarships for a PhD position. For scholarships, please check the NUFFIC grant finder.

Visiting PhD Candidate

As a potential Visiting PhD you should first get in contact with one of the full professors of the faculty to discuss supervision possibilities by submitting:

Please note that in some circumstances it is also possible to be supervised by an associate professor.

The minimal duration of a stay is 2 weeks.

PhDs arrange their own housing during the visit and they are responsible for their living and housing expenses.

FASoS calculates with a contribution by visitors of € 475 per month for overhead costs and participation in the GS. In case that you have no sufficient own funding to cover these costs, parts or all of these costs may be covered by the department you visit. This should be discussed with your FASoS sponsors. Visiting FASoS without paying a fee remains possible as an exception.