PhDs in the University of Groningen

It is crucial to consider all possible factors when applying for a PhD position. Instructions on how to apply depend on the Graduate School where you would be affiliated and the type of PhD position you apply to. Amongst others, we offer two main categories:

1. 3- or 4-year position PhDs: Candidates are employed to pre-established projects with allocated funding.These are offered by individual researchers or research groups that set their selection criteria.
2. Sandwich PhDs: Co-supervised PhD trajectories in cooperation with foreign higher education institutions. Students bring their own project and co-funding as agreed with supervisors at both institutions.

Externally funded PhDs and Sandwich PhDs are also subject to our (quite unique) top-up policy!

Finding a co-supervisor

Finding a (co-)supervisor is essential for admission at the University of Groningen. Supervisors will not only guide your PhD trajectory, but will also support your application to register at the UG according to their affiliation.

To get in touch with a possible (co-) supervisor in Groningen, you can always contact our UG Representative in Mexico, Sofia Marcado, our International Strategy and Relations (ISR) Coordinator for Latin America, Joyce Fongers, or the Academic Ambassadors for Latin America. Interested candidates should send a CV in English and a brief description/summary of the research they plan to carry out. When in contact with the UG Office in Mexico, candidates may also suggest one or two possible co-supervisors, whose profiles can be found in the following links:

• For biomedical and health research
• For all areas

Funding

The University of Groningen is open to help you obtaining external funding for your PhD trajectory. For more information about the requirements to obtain a Letter of Acceptance to apply for an external scholarship, please follow this link.

Historically, for Latin America, we have hosted fellows with scholarships from:

• Brazil: CAPES-PrInt & FAPESP
• Chile: ANID - Becas Chile
• Colombia: MINCIENCIAS , COLFUTURO & Sapiencia
• Mexico: CONAHCYT

Note that this list is non-exhaustive. In case of questions, contact the UG Representative in Mexico.

Top-up policy

Since 2016, the University of Groningen, applies a unique policy to top-up selective external PhD scholarships to the standard for PhD students, in 2022 this approximately amounted to 2.000 euros per month. No other Dutch university implements such a policy!

This means that any student who has been admitted to the UG PhD program, and who has access to selective (partial) external funding for the period of research at the UG or UMCG, will receive a top-up of their external scholarship to amount to this standard allowance. This applies to scholarships from ANID, CAPES, FAPESP, CONAHCYT, MINCIENCIAS and Sapiencia, amongst others.

Note that the standard allowance is significantly higher than the minimum requirement set by the Dutch Immigration Services (IND) as a requirement for visa approval of individual PhD researchers.

UG's monthly standard guarantees that PhD students will be fully able to focus on their research project instead of worrying about finances. UG offers you an opportunity that is unique in The Netherlands!