According to the VU Doctorate regulations every VU/VUmc PhD candidate must complete mandatory and elective courses for the amount of at least 30 ECTS. Besides mandatory VU/VUmc educational requirements, additional mandatory research institute specific requirements are set. The APH Board of Directors and the APH PhD Education Committee have jointly decided to adapt one of these mandatory educational requirements.
From now on every VU/VUmc APH PhD candidate must complete a minimum of 4 ECTS instead of 6 ECTS from courses focused on ‘advanced (methodological) research skills’. This applies to both current and new PhD trajectories. Be noticed that the total of a minimum of 30 ECTS, as well as the remaining mandatory educational requirements, must still be met.
By lowering the minimum of ECTS for this specific requirement, PhD candidates have more flexibility in setting up a Training Plan that meets the needs of the individual PhD candidate, their research and their contextual circumstances. Moreover, APH thrives to reduce the workload of PhD candidates in the upcoming years. This small change is one of the ways the research institute wants to support its PhD candidates.
Fore more information, see the official announcement letter: