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Pre-PhD

In Holland the average duration of undergraduate study is between 4 and 6 years depending on the subject. The first period of study stresses the acquisition of theoretical knowledge, whereas the last year focuses on gaining practical experience by doing a limited research project or internship. There are ~190,000 undergraduate students (47% women) 1 and all titles awarded (Drs, Ir., Mr) are equivalent to a master's degree (e.g. MA, MSc). At present the equivalent of the bachelor's degree does exist in the Netherlands but is only awarded by separate institutes (called 'Hogeschool') that focus their education on practical subjects (at technician level).

However, in the near future, the Anglo-American model will replace the traditional Dutch system to provide a more internationally recognisable system. Students will be awarded a bachelor's title after 3 years, and a master's degree after two additional years.

Undergraduates receive some governmental support (f 147, or 66.71 Euro/month for those living at their parents, f 453, or 202.56 Euro/month for those living externally), but the majority of financial support is provided by their parents. Students can also take out a loan or may work part-time to support their study. Most students start at the age of 18 or 19 and finish at 22 or 24. Thirty percent of graduates have international experience 2. Of these many receive additional scholarships from European resources (mobility program) or private means. 1

PhD

In 1998 only 7% of the students with a master's degree continued into PhD study and numbers are declining still further (see table 1). Those studying for PhDs in the Netherlands aren't, as in some other countries, considered to be students. They are university employees and receive a small salary and health insurance. At the moment the University of Amsterdam makes the only exception to this system: Some of their PhD students are so called 'bursars' and receive only a grant.

The universities, the Netherlands Scientific Organisation (NWO), or Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), as well as some other bodies (industry, charities) provide funding. Salaries are listed in table 2. The majority of PhD students are called AIO and are funded by the universities or KNAW. The only difference with the NWO-supported OIO is that OIOs don't teach undergraduates, but the OIO system is being discontinued. In general, students apply to the future supervisor directly, rather than applying to the university or funding bodies.

A maximum of 25% of an AIO's time may be used for teaching duties; the rest is for research and education. Dutch PhD students are expected to take courses alongside their research but there are no official guidelines on time to be spent on these, relative to research. Courses may cover very general topics (i.e., management, English, or statistics) or be very specialised courses in the field of research. However, what courses are available depend on the research school or department to which the PhD student is attached. For each PhD there should be an individualised education plan.

In theory PhD study takes 4 years, and funding is provided for this period, but only 12% finish their thesis within this term. Trends are given in Figure 1.

Because of the increasing difficulty in finding PhD students, foreign PhD students are hired. At the moment between 20% to 37% of the PhD students comes from abroad (mostly Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia) 3.

Drop out Rates

About 75% to 80% of the PhD students will eventually finish their dissertation. Figures are given in Table 3. Most PhD students (57%) and Postdocs (85%) want to continue their careers in university research. But opportunities are limited. There are sufficient postdoc positions available, but there is no promise of anything more stable than a contract job in the future of Dutch science. At the moment there are about 2000 postdocs, of which 40% have had more than one postdoc appointment. 12% have held three or more postdoc contracts. 3

Table 1. Number of students beginning PhDs per year 4

Figure 1. Time needed to finish a PhD thesis per subject area 4

AGR. = AGRICULTURE; NATURE = NATURE STUDIES; TECHN = TECHNICAL STUDIES; HEALTH = HEALTH STUDIES; ECON = ECONOMICAL STUDIES; LAW = LAW STUDIES; H&S = HISTORY & SOCIETY; L&C = LANGUAGE & CULTURAL STUDIES Table 3. Number of PhD students started, finished, and dropped out per year 4 year 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 number of PhD students 401 1246 1404 1626 1734 1887 2012 1956 1805 1717 1818 1793 1994 dissertations 321 944 1051 1189 1227 1297 1187 967 422 97 16 6 1 stopped 27 83 118 116 101 134 127 107 107 83 78 44 8 still busy 53 219 232 321 406 456 698 882 1276 1537 1724 1743 1985 References 1. CBS, figures for 1992-1993, http://statline.cbs.nl/statweb/index.stm [2] 2. BISON Monitor of international mobility in education, November 2000 ( www.minocw.nl/download/doc/bison1.doc [3]) 3. Van Vucht Thijssen (2000) Talent voor de Toekomst, Toekomst voor Talent ( www.minocw.nl/wetenschap/talent.doc [4]) 4. KUOZ Kengetallen Universitair onderzoek (2000) 5. Schalen CAO Nederlandse Universiteiten: www.eur.nl/po/arbeidsvoorwaarden/cao/cao.html [5] 6. NWO: www.nwo.nl [6] 7. KNAW: www.knaw.nl [7] 8. UvA: www.uva.nl [8] 9. Technische Universiteit Twente: www.utwente.nl [9] 10. Technische Universiteit Eindhoven: www.tue.nl [10] 11. Technische Universiteit Delft: www.tudelft.nl [11] 12. Salariskompas: www.newmonday.nl/Salariskompas/intro.html [12]