Centre for Science and Technology Studies
PhD supervision
Are you considering doing a PhD at CWTS? On this webpage we provide you with the necessary information about the application process, the Graduate School, and all relevant regulations.
Our PhD community at CWTS consists of a diverse group of about 30 PhD candidates. While some of them pursue full-time PhD research at CWTS, we also supervise part-time PhD candidates who are working in professional domains in science policy, higher education, or industry next to their research. As a CWTS PhD candidate, you will be embedded in one of our three Focal Areas. You will be supported by onboarding activities (including a buddy), activities organized by our PhD council, and meetings with our PhD coordinator. In this way, we offer you a professional and supporting environment for realizing your scholarly ambitions.
At CWTS we supervise PhD candidates working on a broad range of topics such as science studies, scholarly communication, Open Science, research evaluation, citizen science, science/society interactions, science for policy, and innovation and sustainability studies. Research topics should have demonstrable connections to the CWTS knowledge agenda and the three Focal Areas of CWTS.
There are three different ways to obtain a PhD at CWTS:
The University may offer a (typically) four-year appointment with 10% other duties. If we have relevant job vacancies, we advertise them on this website and on our Social Media channels. The application procedure will be specified in the job vacancy.
For example, scholarships by a foreign government or an international organization. If you have already secured a scholarship or have a specific scholarship option in mind, please follow the application procedure specified below:
- Prepare a 3-page outline of your research proposal (incl. main research questions, a contextualization of these questions in relevant literature, a description of research methods, a motivation for why and how the proposal fits the CWTS knowledge agenda, a rough research time plan, a bibliography of cited literature).
- Send your proposal incl. your academic CV to the CWTS PhD coordinator.
- The PhD coordinator will inform you about our decision within 2 months.
Candidates work on their thesis in their own time, and the projects are self-financed or paid for by another employer. If you are interested in the possibility of pursuing doctoral research at CWTS as an external PhD candidate, please follow the application procedure specified below:
- Prepare a 3-page outline of your research proposal (incl. main research questions, a contextualization of these questions in relevant literature, a description of research methods, a motivation for why and how the proposal fits the CWTS knowledge agenda, a rough research time plan, a bibliography of cited literature).
- Send your proposal incl. your academic CV to the CWTS PhD coordinator.
The PhD coordinator will inform you about our decision within 2 months.
Admission
Note that admission of PhD candidates is initially provisional. Admission for the full duration of the PhD research depends on a go/no-go decision before the end of the first year (for external PhD candidates, the decision is made before the end of the second year). The details of the process will be explained to PhD candidates by their supervisors upon starting their research at CWTS. A template for the research proposal that forms the basis for this decision can be downloaded here.
Please check our PhD policy for more detailed information on doing a PhD at CWTS, incl. travel and education budgets. For more information on admission and coursework requirements, you can also check the website of the Graduate School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
If you have further questions, please contact the CWTS PhD coordinator.