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Courses and training programmes

As a PhD candidate, you invest in your professional and personal development by following an University education and training programme. The courses and trainings will help you to conduct your scientific research, write your dissertation, developing your career and gain self-insight.

Training and supervision plan

With the exception of external PhD candidates, all PhD candidates must follow a training plan that is established at the start of the doctoral process. The plan encompasses the entire doctoral process and consists of at least:

  • 140 hours of academic training activities (training in the candidate’s specialism, conference attendance, etc.)
  • 140 hours of training activities focusing on transferable skills (such as giving presentations, academic English, time management, career orientation, entrepreneurship), including at least one academic integrity training course.

External PhD candidates must at least take the ‘scientific integrity’ course.

The requirements for your training programme may vary by faculty and your personal situation. The costs are not for your own account. They will be reimbursed for you, as long as you coordinate your participation with your supervisor in advance. External PhD candidates must submit the course proposal to the Scientific Director or the dean before the start of the doctoral process.

For more information, see your faculty tab or view all courses for PhD candidates in our course calendar. For questions about the course offer, you can mail to hrmopleidingen@bb.leidenuniv.nl

Prices PhD courses

As of 1 January 2020, the transferable skill courses and career coaching for PhD candidates will be free of charge for employed (those who have access to SAP Self Service) and contract (those who are on a scholarship) PhD candidates at Leiden University and LUMC. In addition, you will no longer need financial permission from your supervisor to sign up. Please note that if you are an external PhD candidate (buitenpromovendus) you will still be charged for courses and will therefore have to provide a SAP number when you register. 

Cancellation fee

Even though the courses will be free of charge for you, some terms and conditions will still apply: if you register for a course, we expect you to attend. If you have signed up for a course but do not show up, or if you cancel within two weeks of the starting date of the course, the HRM department will charge a €100 cancellation fee. If you need to cancel your course participation, you should do so by sending an e-mail to the HRM-department

 Click here for the offer of courses

PhD Training Programme

The exit qualifications for the PhD Training Programme are laid down in the university PhD Regulations.

It includes components such as methodology, research design, academic accountability and academic integrity. The training is composed primarily of the guidance provided by the supervisor and other co-supervisors.  In addition, the training includes an obligatory training requirement amounting to 840 hours. The Graduate School’s training programme consists of three components: 1) research skills, 2) transferable skills, 3) individual part of the training programme.

1. Research skills (at least 420 hours)

Out of the 840 hours in total, the Graduate School prescribed that half of the courses followed (420 hours) are aimed at acquirement and improvement of methodological knowledge and skills. There are only two courses within this category that are compulsory: Scientific Conduct for PhDs in Law (15 hours), and Data Management Training Leiden Law School (28 hours). Compulsory courses can only be replaced (by other courses) in consultation with the dean of PhD studies. For the remaining hours, PhD researchers are free to choose any of courses offered by the Graduate School, but they can also take courses outside the Graduate School.

The Graduate School of Law currently offers the following courses:
Philosophy of Science for Lawyers (140 hours) - Start in November
- Legal Methodology (140 hours) - Starts on April 5th 2023
Qualitative Empirical Research Methods in Law (84-140 hours) - Start in March
Quantitative Empirical Research Methods in Law (140 hours) - Start in February
Scientific Conduct for PhDs in Law (15 hours) - in May and November

2. Transferable skills (at least 140 hours)
According to the PhD Guidelines, at least 140 hours worth of courses of must be followed in the area of transferable skills. Examples include Project management for PhDs, Teaching in Practice, Communication in science, Academics and (social) media, and Speed Reading. PhD researchers can make use of the offer within the University Training program PhDs'.

All PhD researchers with teaching tasks should follow the course ‘Teaching in Practice’, or at least one of the 5 modules of the University Teaching Qualification (BKO). 

3. Individual part of the training
PhD researchers can follow various training courses that benefit their personal development or that offer more in-depth substantive knowledge connected to the topic of their dissertation. Examples include courses from Master programs, language education (e.g., in relation to data collection abroad), Summer Schools, and conference participation.

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