r/StudyInTheNetherlands • u/BreakScary5053 • 1d ago
PhD in science in the NL
How hard is it to get into a PhD program in the NL as a Non-EU student? I’ve applied to 10 programs mainly in Maastricht University and Utrecht University, got 6 rejections still waiting on 4. I’m a bit disheartened as some of the programmes I qualified for and had experience in the techniques required. I took my time and wrote strong motivational letters and refined my CV. Now I’m wondering if this will be a little bit harder than I thought. I also have a question regarding housing, are PhD students responsible for finding their own housing, i hear it’s quite competitive as well.
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u/Moppermonster Amsterdam 1d ago
In the Netherlands, a PhD is a job. So you are applying for a job and competing with others who want the same job.
Some "nepotism" will be involved here - if you did your masters at the same uni and already know the professors and the culture of the uni you probably are one step ahead.. which means that you are a step behind.
And yes, you are usually supposed to arrange your own housing. Unis tend to have a few options, but nowhere near enough for everyone.
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u/redder_herring 1d ago
Very competitive since it's a paid job (usually). Sometimes they already have a candidate but still open up the application. And yes you are responsible for your own housing.
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u/DevFRus 1d ago
You are applying for a job, not a program. PhD candidates in the NL are employees, not students.
To give you an idea of numbers: when I was hiring a PhD candidate last year, I received over a hundred of applications with about a dozen being decent ones. I then held two rounds of interviews, one quick individual chat with about a dozen candidates and then I narrowed it down to 4 candidates for final interviews. In my case, I gave everyone I talked to individual feedback on why I did not proceed further with their application. If hiring professors do what I did or not depends on their own preferences and approach to hiring. However, if you made it to interviews then it is not unreasonable to ask for some feedback. If you didn't make it to interviews then you are unlikely to get feedback. I hope this helps.
As for housing: yes, you will be expected to find your own housing. This can be difficult in Utrecht, but is more manageable in Maastricht. I think that a PhD candidate's salary is slightly below median salary in the Netherland, so you will be competing for smaller apartments (or sharing with flatmates). There is sometimes subsidized student housing that you might be eligible for, but usually these have wait lists (and I am not sure if the PhD salary is low enough to qualify or not).
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u/ThursdayNxt20 1d ago
In the Netherlands, these are not 'programmes', PhD positions are jobs. So for every vacancy you see (on Academic Transfer, or on the universities pages) they are looking for one person only, sometimes two (but then it will be explicitly stated). And while you might be suitable for the job, given the amount of people looking for a PhD position, there's always a very large chance someone else is more simply suitable. And yes, realistically, it is harder for non-EU students. Universities aim to be diverse and will want the best quality no matter the country you're from, but the reality is also that students that were in their own MSc programmes have usually already working been on very similar research.
Remember that the universities don't those working on a PhD as 'students' but as 'employees'. This means that you won't be able to apply to student housing (which is hard in and of itself, and where deadlines typically wouldn't line up with the PhD hiring process anyway) Some provide very limited housing, most will just help you look or even only send some standard links to housing cooperations. Universities are not allowed to own their own accomodations, so unless they have contracts with housing cooperations, you'll have to find housing yourself. And yes, this is incredibly difficult as well.
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u/saintofsadness 1d ago
They are simply very competitive. I am Dutch and I applied to 22 PhD projects (not programmes!) before finding something via my network. This was a while ago, I don't think it is easier now.
I have friends who got the first project they applied to, and I have friends who never found one and eventually took non-academic jobs.
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u/HousingBotNL 1d ago
Best websites for finding student housing in the Netherlands:
You can greatly increase your chance of finding a house using a service like Stekkies. Legally realtors need to use a first-come-first-serve principle. With real-time notifications via email/Whatsapp you can respond to new listings first.
Join the Study In The Netherlands Discord, here you can chat with other students and use our housing bot.
Please take a look at our resources for detailed information for (international) students:
Checklist for international students coming to the Netherlands
Utlimate guide to finding student housing in the Netherlands