For each PhD-student, the educational programme should consist of a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 30 ECTS. PhD-students have two options with respect to their educational programme:

• PhD-students can follow an existing educational programme from one of the national graduate schools (see below). The total number of required ECTS is dependent on the graduate school. If you follow the educational programme of a research school, you do not have to follow any other external courses for points. The certificate of the graduate school is then sufficient.
• PhD-students can choose the content of their own individualized educational programme together with their promotor. The total ECTS per course needs to be specified in the educational plan. PhD-students and promotor should check whether the listed courses are open for PhD-students (e.g., research master courses may only be available when there are spots left). A template for the educational plan can be found in the Canvas course ‘PhD Monitoring’.

The educational programme contains all academic activities the PhD-student is planning to attend. These may consist of courses, conference visits, seminars, summer schools, journal clubs, etc. A clear educational plan needs to be provided, specifying the content and timeline of the programme, as well as educational criteria the PhD-student must meet in order to qualify for an extension of their contract beyond the first year (see §4 “Appointment”). When deviating from the standard educational program of a Research School, this educational programme needs to be pre-approved by the director of the GSP.

National Graduate Schools

Most PhD students enroll in a national graduate school. These schools organize courses, workshops, and/or meetings throughout the year. There is a wide range of graduate schools, depending on your field of interest. If you fulfil the requirements of the school, you will receive a graduate school certificate at the end of your PhD trajectory. The exact requirements differ per graduate school, so it’s best to look up these requirements before you start! Apart from attending courses, several graduate schools also organize workshops dealing with research skills or (yearly) meetings. It’s a great way to meet other PhD candidates from different universities!

The national graduate schools with which the UvA has formal arrangements can be found below. Discuss the options of alternative education programs with your supervisor.

• EPP (Experimental Psychopathology)

The mission of EPP is to provide post-graduate training to PhD students from several institutions: workshops, seminars, hands-on training, etc., in the field of mental health problems. This graduate school focuses mostly on experimental clinical research in particular. For more information, visit the EPP website:

• IOPS (Interuniversity Graduate School of Psychometrics and Sociometrics)

The Interuniversity Graduate School of Psychometrics and Sociometrics (IOPS) is an institute for advanced dissertation training in psychometrics and sociometrics; it also coordinates high- quality research in this area. The IOPS is officially accredited by the KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) as a Graduate School (’onderzoekschool’). For more information and the course schedule, visit their website:

• KLI (Kurt Lewin Institute)

The Kurt Lewin Institute is a centre for graduate training and research focusing on the analysis of the psychological factors contributing to the shaping of social behavior. Many PhD’s in the programme group of Social Psychology and Work and Organizational Psychology are members of KLI. KLI organizes courses to enhance your academic skills, your theoretical knowledge, your research skills, and career orientation. For more information and the course schedule visit their website:

Courses at UvA

The Graduate School of Psychology further offers the opportunity to follow courses from the range of courses available. The complete range of Psychology courses is outlined in the Psychology study guide, which can be consulted online at: https://studiegids.uva.nl. PhD students do not register as regular UvA students, but instead pay a fee per course. As contract students, you pay per credit.

Contract students do not officially receive credits but rather written proof that they have completed a particular course (the summary of results).

Please note that you have to meet the entry requirements applicable to the course, and that regular master students have priority over contract students in placement for the course.

Other interesting courses, such as Mastering your PhD, Academic Writing, Launch your career (for PhD candidates), courses on didactic skills, and many more can be found through the course finder for courses, workshops, and training programmes for UvA staff.

For more information and registration, please turn to the Psychology Student Desk (onderwijsbalie@psy.uva.nl).