Graduate School of Governance and Global Affairs

Current PhD Candidates

You have been admitted to a PhD track at Leiden University. What do you need to know when you start conducting your PhD research?

A PhD track involves several important components. In addition to key administrative steps, there are introductory activities, supervision arrangements, required training, and regular moments to reflect on your progress and development. Throughout the track, you will also find resources to support you in areas such as academic integrity, research data management, wellbeing, and career orientation.

On this page, you will find practical information organised by phase: Getting started, the Research phase, Graduation formalities, and Other.

Getting started

Starting essentials

Starting a PhD can be both exciting and overwhelming. The starting essentials help to get you off to a smooth start.

Training and supervision plan

Within three months of the start of your PhD project, your supervisors and you will draw up a Training and Supervision Plan (Opleidings- en Begeleidingsplan, OBP).

PhD introductory meetings

Your career as a PhD candidate at Leiden University starts with the introductory meeting. 

Research phase

PhD support

Who can you contact for support and advice?

Progress assessment & Go/No-go Guidelines

An important part of the PhD trajectory is discussing progress.

Mandatory Coursework

As a PhD candidate you will need a set of different skills in order to successfully complete your PhD and to get ready for your next step in your career. Therefore, Leiden University has set up a PhD Training Programme that supports you in this process.

Research Data Management

Data management is crucial for the success of research projects. It offers advantages for researchers for creating, saving and archiving research data.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a cornerstone of responsible research and essential to the credibility of science. At Leiden University, we are committed to ensuring that all research is conducted in a scrupulous, fair, verifiable, impartial, and independent manner.

Partial BKO certificate

The partial University Teaching Qualification (Basis Kwalificatie Onderwijs, BKO) certificate provides recognition that a PhD candidate has gained knowledge and experience as a teacher.

PhD regulations and guidelines

The PhD Regulations of Leiden University set out who is eligible to be a PhD candidate, what the tasks of the supervisor and co-supervisor are and which criteria the dissertation has to meet.

Graduation formalities

Final steps to the defence

When you are ready to proceed to the defence procedure, you have to initiate the graduation formalities in LUCRIS (Converis) and submit the manuscript of the dissertation to the (co-)supervisors for approval.