Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences

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.

PhD training programme

As a PhD candidate with employee status or contract PhD candidate you have to follow a programme over the full period of appointment, that comprises at least:  

• 140 hours of academic activities (training in the candidate’s specialism, conference attendance etc.), and 
• 140 hours of activities focusing on transferable skills, including the Leiden University PhD Introductory Meeting and a training course on scientific conduct. Transferable skills are skills which promote personal development and which can be applied to a wide range of (future employment) settings.

Please also check the Leiden University PhD guidelines on the regulations concerning the training programme.

Specification of the mandatory coursework

The details of the mandatory coursework are agreed at the start of the PhD programme and recorded in the Training and Supervision Plan which has to be uploaded to LUCRIS GSM.

If you have taken fewer training hours than agreed in the Training and Supervision Plan, you must request exemption from these requirements from the Dean on requesting the start of the graduation formalities. Please sent your request to the Graduate School Office. This rule applies to all PhD candidates enrolled in the Graduate School after February 2021.

You do not have to submit a request if your choice of courses is changed, but the same number of training hours is maintained. Changes in course choice do not need to be entered in LUCRIS GSM, but are mutually agreed upon by you and your supervisors.

Certificate on teaching

As PhD candidates spending time on teaching develop valuable transferable skills in this process, some teaching hours (a max of 20 hours) can be counted as part of the compulsory 140 hours of transferable skills. Please fill in this certificate and upload a version signed by your supervisor/line manager in LUCRIS (Converis).

PhD candidates with a Research Master’s degree

If you have been awarded a Research Master's degree, the hours of transferable skills and academic skills acquired in the course of your Research Master's degree can be included in your Training and Supervision Plan and will count as part of the required training hours.

List of courses counting as transferable skills courses

• Courses offered by HRM Learning & Development
• Courses offered by National Research Schools
  Some institutes and research schools also offer (obligatory) training courses for their PhD candidates. Please check the institute’s website or ask your supervisor and/or PhD mentor for more information or see the FSW PhD Guide for a list of research schools.
• Data Management Training
• Courses and events organised by the Institutes or the Graduate School (e.g. career events, Academic English, Summer & Winter Schools)
• Other courses and events concerning career orientation
• Partial BKO certificate (20 hours)
• Teaching (20 hours)
• Visit to non-subject-specific conferences
• Courses in the framework of a Research Master
• Other transferable skills courses offered by external research organisations

PhD candidates of the Institute of Psychology

The Institute of Psychology offers a tailor-made Data Management training which is mandatory for all new PhD candidates at the Institute (see also website of the Psychology Research Committee).

For additional information on coursework, please check the FSW PhD Guide.