Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS)

Support & Representation

This section contains information on:

Support and facilities
Representation
Finding your way
If you need help

Support and facilities

The LIAS management works hard to mitigate differences in the support and facilities provided to employee candidates on the one hand, and scholarship candidates and self-funded candidates on the other, but some differences remain. (These differences have long been controversial nationwide, but this discussion lies outside the scope of the present document.) On the whole, a fair level of support and facilities is in place for all candidates, regardless of the status of their funding.

Library

All PhD candidates have full access to the University Library, including its rich digital resources and the Special Collections.

Work space

Candidates with employee positions are entitled to personal desk space and desktop computers. Scholarship candidates and self-funded candidates are welcome to use the flex desks and the common room in the basement of de Vrieshof building 3 (down the stairs just outside the Secretariat). In addition, the University Library has many study areas, some with computer facilities.

Web page and LUCRIS

Ideally, all PhD candidates should have a personal web page on the University website, and access to LUCRIS to register any publications and a publications tab on their web page. As with other aspects of the administration of PhD research in the Faculty of Humanities (e.g. online registration for coursework), development of these facilities across all categories of candidates is ongoing.

Scanning, photocopying and printing

PhD candidates can make scans, photocopies, and print-outs using their Leiden University card (LU card). In LIAS the same rules hold for all candidate categories:

Scanning is free.
Fulltime candidates may make a maximum of 750 A4 photocopies and/or printed pages (€25) per year free of charge, for a period of four years. They will be charged for any additional copies/prints.
Part-time candidates may make a maximum of 500 A4 copies/prints per year, for a period of six years. They will be charged for any additional copies/prints.

Incidental financial support

For PhD candidates with externally funded employee positions, all incidental financial support (for travel, equipment, training, etc) will normally come from the project budget. For any employee positions that are funded from the regular institute budget, incidental support for the candidates in question will be made available according to the rules for self-funders (see below).

Scholarship candidates:

DIKTI, KEMENAG, and LPDP scholarship candidates should contact the manager for individual arrangements.
Other scholarship candidates: see under self-funded positions, below.

Self-funded candidates may apply to LIAS for a total of EUR 1.000 in financial support for the full duration of their project, starting from year two. This funding is meant for coursework and training only. Candidates and their supervisors are advised to plan carefully, and to keep an eye out for other funding sources, including local research networks, dedicated foundations, and so on.

Priority will be given to travel funding for conference participation and study trips (fieldwork, library visits, etc). Applications for travel funding will only be considered if the training and supervision plan shows that optimal use is being made of opportunities to obtain funding from LUF during the course of the project.
If the project’s supervisors are considering inviting examiners based abroad and will require financial support in this respect, they must clear this with the management ahead of time. Resources for travel by and accommodation for examiners are limited.

Financial support will only be granted if the candidate is in good standing and the project is making good progress.

Expenses for printing the dissertation

Candidates may be obliged to supply printed copies of their dissertation for the examination committee and the defense. Employee candidates on externally funded projects are sometimes supported from the grant money. Requests for support from LIAS will be considered with rules provided above, under ‘Incidental financial support.’
The University Library offers each candidate EUR 500 for the printing costs of the dissertation.This compensation is paid by the UBL after receiving four printed copies of the dissertation, a digital copy of the dissertation and the signed license for the non-exclusive publication of the dissertation in digital form. More information on the University Library webpage Submitting your PhD dissertation.

Representation

Representative bodies for PhD candidates exist at the institute, university, and national levels.

PhD Council

The PhD Council represents all PhD candidates affiliated with LIAS and promotes their interests. The Council regularly meets with the Academic Director to monitor the PhD program. It also organizes academic and social events. Council membership is for a period of two years, but practice is flexible. New members are recruited through an open call for expressions of interest.

Advisory Council

Two of the seats on the LIAS Advisory Council is held by a LIAS PhD candidate, University-level and national bodies

At the University level, PhD candidates are represented by the Leids Promovendi Overleg (LEO). LEO maintains contacts with other PhD candidate organizations in the Netherlands. It also organizes social events.

At the national level, PhD candidates are represented by the Promovendi Netwerk Nederland (PNN).

Finding your way

Candidates who have recently joined Leiden University and/or arrived in the Netherlands may want to have a look at these web pages (one primarily addresses employees, but has some information that is potentially useful for stipendiates and self-funded candidates as well).

Student website: click “Visit the website as a guest” and check the menu on the left (Study & studying, administrative matters, etc)
Service Centre International Staff

If you need help

If candidates encounter problems, they should ask for help early on. Their supervisors are their first port of call. If the supervisors are unable to help, or if the candidate wants to see someone else – for instance, because the problem is with the supervisors – there are several options. At the candidate’s request, consultations can occur in confidence.

If you are looking for support from your peers, you may want to get in touch with the PhD Candidate Support Groups.

The main idea behind these groups is to generate a space where group members can talk freely about how they are doing, their current situations and anything else that might be on their minds. Moreover, this is also for students and PhD candidates to receive as well as provide support to fellow students and build up networks and connect to others.

A group consists of a member of support staff, a student mentor, and five students. We would like to highlight at this point that PhD candidates will form their own group(s), as their university experience is slightly different from Bachelor and Master students. The group meets for one hour once per week. During these meetings, we talk about how everyone is, and about anything else that you want to discuss. Between the weekly meetings, you will be in touch with some of the other members to discuss some personal goals for the week.

Students and PhD candidates from all faculties are welcome to join. For more information and to join one of the groups, please email The Hague Popcorner.

Overview

For an overview of all chapters of information on PhD research in LIAS see the left sidebar at the PhD-research page.