PhD Office
Whether you are commencing your PhD journey or reaching its culmination, the PhD Office, a division of Academic Affairs, serves as your primary point of contact. We maintain a comprehensive record of all your documentation and stand ready to assist with any organisational inquiries throughout your academic pursuit. When you are preparing for your public defence we are your initial point of contact. We offer guidance on all essential paperwork, facilitate communication with your supervisors and promoter, coordinate the logistics of the event (whether online or in-person), and provide dedicated support, allowing you to concentrate on your defence.
We are a small team of six people located at the Minderbroedersberg. You are always welcome to visit us or contact us via e-mail. Within these pages, you will find comprehensive guidance on the practical matters that need attention both before and during your doctoral research. We also provide detailed instructions on the process of preparing for your PhD defence.
More information on PhD defence ceremonies
Overview of upcoming PhD defences
FAQ and Support for PhD Candidates
Contact
Address
Minderbroedersberg 4-6
6211 LK Maastricht
043-3883096 | 043-3882551
phd-office@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Working days
Monday - Friday | 09.00 -17.30 hrs.
The PhD defence
The PhD defence is a formal occasion characterised by strict protocols dictating the roles, responsibilities, and language used by each participant. It bears a resemblance to a trial, hence the term 'PhD defence'. The ceremony begins with the gathering of the degree committee members presided over by the pro-rector. The pro-rector chairs the ceremony and ensures the protocol is followed.
The defence team comprises the candidate's supervisor and co-supervisor, both of whom have guided the candidate through the project and granted approval for an official PhD defence. Opposite them sit experts in the candidate’s field of research who assume the role of critical examiners, posing questions to assess the candidate's preparedness for a PhD.
The structure of the ceremony unfolds as follows: The candidate delivers a 15-minute presentation, followed by a 45-minute period during which the opposition questions the candidate. Subsequently, the degree committee members adjourn for a confidential evaluation of the defence.
Please consult the Model Letters on the Support for PhD Candidates page for more information on how to apply for you defence.
Upcoming PhD defences
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19 Mar13:00
PhD Defence Pia Brinkmann
"Altered listening changes the way we predict the auditory environment"
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19 Mar16:00
PhD Defence Jinmi Zou
"Transient and persistent aspects of human platelet activation"
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20 Mar16:00
PhD Defence Jacqueline Rose Mary Salguero Huaman
"Making trade work for gender equality: Essays on the trade and gender nexus in developing countries"
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21 Mar10:00
PhD Defence Daniëlle Johanna Henrica Kerkhofs
"Inflammatory cells and blood-brain barrier leakage in cerebral small vessel diseases"
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21 Mar13:00
PhD Defence Stephanie May Ashton
"Can’t Get You Out of My Head: Impairing and Improving Suppression of Unwanted Memories"
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22 Mar10:00
PhD Defence Anouk Tanja Rudy Weemaes
"Moving Beyond Exercise Oncology Rehabilitation"
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25 Mar10:00
PhD Defence Hansje Puck Smeele
"Sensational Breast Reconstruction"
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25 Mar13:00
PhD Defence Poramapa Poonpakdee
"Making sense of uncertainty in macroeconomic model"
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25 Mar16:00
PhD Defence Sharon D’Souza
"Investigating immune cell trafficking on the ocular surface and its correlation to disease stage and treatment outcome"
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26 Mar10:00
PhD Defence Qian Li
"AI-enabled Price Discrimination: A Competition Law and Economics Perspective"
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26 Mar16:00
PhD Defence Mathias Dirk Gilberte Van den Eynde
"Intervention strategies in the glycation pathway with methylglyoxal as the primary target"
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27 Mar10:00
PhD Defence Imke Demers
"New opportunities to decrease the impact of head and neck cancer Uncovering HPV awareness, viral integration, and treatment options in preclinical models"
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27 Mar13:00
PhD Defence Lies van de Kuilen
"Governance of complex early childhood education and care systems: Promising governance strategies for effective implementation of educational equity policy in early childhood"
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27 Mar16:00
PhD Defence Mirjam van der Ende- van Loon
"Health-Related Quality of Life and associated symptoms in Barrett’s esophagus patients"
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28 Mar10:00
PhD Defence Sorina Ruth Simon
"New insights into the diagnostic workup of oropharyngeal dysphagia in head and neck cancer patients: Integration of fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing and patient-reported outcome measures for clinical decision-making"
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28 Mar16:00
PhD Defence Robert Josephus Johannes van Gassel
"Protein nutrition and functional outcomes in critical illness"
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02 Apr10:00
Online PhD Defence Ricardo Morel Berendson
"Beyond money metrics: Essays on Multidimensional Poverty "
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02 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Pascal Hildebrand
"Analysing a collusion of truck manufacturers: A qualitative and quantitative multilevel approach"
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02 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Kenny Antonius Geert Theodorus van Kampen
"Towards the creation of an atlas of scaffold patterns: Mapping out the influence of scaffold geometry in tissue engineering"
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03 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Lex Marinus Greeven
"Decoding Beauty: Rare baryonic decays & SciFi detector commissioning"
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03 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Mirna Anđelić
"Neuropathic pain: Identification of tissue-specific molecular signature"
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04 Apr10:00
PhD Defence Ayatri Singha
"Gravitational Wave Astronomy With Current and Future Generation Detectors"
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04 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Yil Severijns
"My, your or our decision? Exploring, understanding, and optimizing the decision-making process for couples at risk of transmitting a genetic disease to their offspring"
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05 Apr10:00
PhD Defence Johanna Monika Kreutz-van Best
"Diet and celiac disease: From disease risk to management"
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05 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Freek Urbaan Verstraelen
"Treatment of conservative therapy resistant calcifying tendinitis of the shoulder Evaluation of minimal invasive and surgical treatment options"
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08 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Lena Schnitzler
"Identifying and Capturing Intersectoral Costs and Benefits Relating to Sexual Health"
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10 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Maud Theresia Anna Strous
"Identifying prognostic factors predicting impact of treatment and risk of cancer recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer: towards a personalized approach"
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10 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Marta Nazzari
"Leveraging Multi-Omics Technologies for Studying the Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals on Thyroid in Vitro Models"
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10 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Philippe Johannus Maria Pinckaers
"The anabolic properties of plant-derived proteins"
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11 Apr10:00
PhD Defence Milan Kovačević
"Crossing Borders of Employability: The Career Preparedness of Dutch Liberal Arts Graduates"
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11 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Svenja Cremer
"Undervalued & Unexplored: Underpinning and Guiding Nursing Care in Activities of Daily Living"
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11 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Geertruida Petronella Bijvoet
"The role of cardiac MRI in the treatment of patients with atrial arrhythmias"
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12 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Mirjam van den Brink
"The flavor of chemotherapy: Exploring smell and taste function in children with cancer"
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15 Apr10:00
PhD Defence Najim el Khababi
"Rectal MRI staging: a web-based approach for teaching and research"
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15 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Sabine Rosalie de Wild
"Axillary strategies in breast cancer: filling the gaps"
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15 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Tim Alexander Reissner
"Learning to Speak Up: A Socialization Perspective on Newcomer Voice Behaviour"
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16 Apr10:00
Online PhD Defence Rawia Abdalla
"Health outcomes measurement for value-based healthcare: Evidence from Saudi Arabia"
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16 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Adriana Maeve (Jenna) Barrett
"Money Matters: Understanding and Improving Financial Well-Being"
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16 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Andrés Horacio Cáceres-Solari
"Modern insurgency warfare's incompatibility with the principle of distinction"
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17 Apr10:00
PhD Defence Alejandro Pallares Robles
"Multifaceted analysis of coagulant activity in venous Thrombo-inflammation"
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17 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Matthew Anthony Davies
"Colonisation of the gut microbiome by Escherichia coli during international travel"
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17 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Carlos Julio Peniche Silva
"Advancing Tendon-to-Bone Enthesis Repair: From Biomimetic Materials to microRNA Modulation"
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19 Apr10:00
PhD Defence Ignazio Condello
"Effects, Management and Optimization of Extracorporeal Techniques and Technologies in Contemporary Cardiac Surgery"
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19 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Sonja Zaar
"Leader identity development: The role of schemas, meaning-making, and experiences"
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22 Apr10:00
PhD Defence Pascal Heß
"How does salient information on economic prospects shape human capital investments?"
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22 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Eveline E. Schippers
"How does sexual deviance develop?"
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22 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Valentina Golunova
"Silenced by Default: Algorithmic Content Moderation and Freedom of Expression in the European Union"
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23 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Suvarnalata Xanthate Duggirala
"The role of prediction and attention in phantom voice perception"
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24 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Muriël Reudink
"Reshaping perioperative colorectal care"
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25 Apr16:00
PhD Defence Kuni Vergauwen
"Physical activity, participation and health-related quality of life in chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple osteochondromas"
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26 Apr10:00
PhD Defence Nicky Adinda Beelen
"Natural killer cells in the tumour microenvironment: Enhancing immunotherapy by exploring the communication between NK cells and tumour cells"
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26 Apr13:00
PhD Defence Doris Lijsbeth van Abbema
"Bridging the age gap Impact of age on treatment, survival and patient outcomes in older patients with cancer"
More information
Below you will find additional information such as frequently asked questions and practical information.