PhD at ITC

There are approximately 170 PhD candidates at ITC, including research staff positions (AIO-positions). Most PhD candidates are full-time at ITC, aiming to submit and defend a PhD thesis within a four-year research period. Others are PhD interns spending periods of several months to one year at ITC as part of their studies.

Your tasks as a PhD researcher include research activities, attending training courses and teaching and supervising activities (in principle only for employees). Your research activities will provide you with the skills and experience you need to become an independent researcher. Part of your research also involves disseminating the knowledge you acquire, for example, through publications in academic journals.

During the 4-year PhD programme you do at least 30 credits worth of PhD courses or hands-on activities. These cover academic skills and career development, in depth disciplinary and wide-ranging courses. An integral part of a PhD is writing your PhD thesis and then, of course, presenting and defend your research in public. After successfully completing your PhD, you will be awarded the title of Doctor (Dr., equivalent to PhD).

For PhD candidates, the time trajectory for completing a PhD research project is four years. Continuation during this period is subject to quality assurance following TGS guidelines and the Hora Finita system.

If you would like to join the ITC research programme browse the Research themes to find a theme that accommodates your background and research interests. From the appropriate research theme page make a self-assessment of your eligibility for registration. At the end of the self-assessment, you can find a link to on-line application for registration in the Graduate Programme.

Please note that ITC does not offer fellowships or similar funding for PhD candidates (except for advertised vacancies for which ITC has already secured funding). Please also note the following which applies as of 1 January 2025: 

The University of Twente will only accept new scholarship PhD candidates who have a scholarship with a living allowance that meets or exceeds the IND income standard at the time of admission (the IND income standard is indexed twice per year. It is currently € 1,657 from 1 January 2025 to 1 July 2025). If a scholarship provider cannot guarantee a scholarship that meets the above-mentioned condition, the University of Twente cannot admit the PhD candidate. This means that scholarship PhD candidates cannot supplement or top-up their scholarship themselves (e.g., through personal funds, loans, or family contributions). A third-party organisation, like a university (other than the University of Twente), research institute, NGO, government agency or company may provide a top-up scholarship to the PhD candidate, ensuring that the total living allowance meets the IND income standard at the time of admission. Clear evidence, such as a scholarship agreement between the PhD candidate and the scholarship provider, must be submitted. 

This policy applies to: scholarship PhD candidates who will defend their thesis at the University of Twente and guest researchers with a PhD scholarship who come to the University of Twente for a research visit for a period longer than six months.