Full PhD

If you are a full PhD applicant, you will conduct your entire PhD research under the guidance of UMCG/UG and will receive a single PhD degree from UG. If this applies to you, please follow the outlined process in the two scenarios below:

• If you have not yet secured a scholarship for your PhD: You will need to receive a Letter of Acceptance for your external funding application and, upon award, gain admission to the GSMS PhD program. (See the ‘Letter of Acceptance’ section below)
• If you have secured a scholarship for your PhD: Follow the process to gain admission to the GSMS PhD program. (See the 'Unconditional Admission' section below)

This category of PhD students typically undertakes 48 months of PhD research at UG. If you are applying for a full PhD trajectory with a shorter duration, your supervisor will be the first person to assess the feasibility and quality of the PhD project within that timeframe.

Sandwich PhD

If you are a Sandwich PhD applicant, you will typically conduct your PhD research under the guidance of supervisors affiliated with both UMCG and a partner institution (exceptions may apply). You can follow the process outlined here to support your funding application, but you will need to follow a different process to secure your admission.

• Application for your PhD scholarship: your supervisor should submit the request form available for download below, together with your English-language CV. For Sandwich PhD students, a separate application for funding may not always be necessary. This will depend on your individual circumstances. In such cases, you may proceed directly to the "admission" process.
• Admission to the GSMS PhD program: follow the process outlined on the “ATTP Sandwich PhD” webpage.

Sandwich PhD students often obtain their degree from both UG and a partner university (exceptions possible). Because you will divide your research time between UMCG and a partner, the execution of Sandwich PhD projects can be more complex. The ATTP Sandwich PhD process has been developed to optimize the quality and feasibility of these trajectories. Be sure to submit your ATTP Sandwich PhD application package to the GSMS at least six months before your anticipated start date in Groningen, and preferably even earlier.

PhD Scholarship Top-Up

As a PhD student with an external scholarship, you may be eligible to a UG/UMCG-funded “Top-Up” of your scholarship in case your scholarship is less than €1.875. Consult this webpage to find out about some of the most important governmental funding agencies we have experience with at the GSMS.

The GSMS will allocate its Top-Up resources to selected Full and Sandwich PhD students. The actual number of students we can sponsor will depend on the duration of their stay at UMCG and the level of co-funding requested.

The following will apply:

• The Top-Up budget has been allocated across two separate categories: Full PhD students and Sandwich PhD students. Each category will be considered independently, meaning that if one category runs out of funds, it cannot automatically access the budget for the other category.
• Funding will be allocated on a “first come, first served” basis, with the main exception being Full PhD students who have secured a scholarship from a Chinese sponsor.
• The GSMS will only provide Top-Ups to new PhD candidates sponsored by a Chinese scholarship agency if their application pertains to the China Scholarship Council (CSC) PhD sponsorship program (with a spring application deadline) and they have passed the GSMS pre-selection procedure. Information on the 2025 CSC process will be published at www.groningenbiomed.com/csc.
• Students who receive a full PhD scholarship from a Chinese funding agency other than CSC are still welcome at UMCG, provided they: (a) meet the admissions requirements outlined on this webpage; and (b) have sufficient resources to meet immigration requirements. This should be proven through a Top-Up guarantee provided by the hosting department in case the external scholarship is below the combined allowance of €1.875. See section “Letter of Commitment” below.
• This limitation regarding eligibility for the GSMS-funded Top-Up does not concern applicants in the “Sandwich PhD” category.

Letter of Acceptance

The Graduate School of Medical Sciences (GSMS) will support your application for an external scholarship based on the submission of the following documentation by your supervisor to the GSMS:

1. Request Form (see template section below)
2. English-Language CV of the candidate
3. The minimum scores required for admission are TOEFL iBT 92 (with a minimum score of 20 in each skill) or IELTS 6.5 (with a minimum band score of 6.0 in each section). Home Edition tests are acceptable. Note that only test certificates that meet the requirements for all band scores will be considered valid. If you are unable to provide valid proof of English proficiency before the deadline for obtaining a Letter of Acceptance, the GSMS may issue a conditional Letter of Acceptance, provided you have your supervisor's support. However, please note that proof of English proficiency must be submitted at a later stage to finalize your admission and enable you to start the PhD program.
4. PhD Supervisor Statement (see 'Knowledge Security' & 'Templates' sections below)
5. PhD Proposal (see 'Templates' section at the bottom of this page): This is optional for Full PhD applicants at this stage, but admission to the PhD program of the GSMS will only be finalized upon the award of the scholarship and submission of a research proposal. It is mandatory to use the relevant template provided below for Full PhD applicants, and to follow the ATTP Sandwich PhD process for Sandwich PhD applicants. We recommend that the supervisor submit this proposal as soon as possible, but no later than four weeks after notification of the scholarship award.

Use the request form and supervisor statement templates available for download below. Supervisors should send the documentation to the GSMS, Mathilde Pekelaer, cc Joyce Fongers.

Letter of Commitment

In case you are a PhD supervisor supporting a “Full PhD” candidate for admission to the GSMS PhD program with a scholarship from a Chinese scholarship provider, read on. You may need to provide a “Letter of Commitment” agreeing to co-sponsor the PhD candidate should their application to funding be granted. This applies to you if:

• The level of the external scholarship is below the combined allowance of €1.875; and
• The funding source is a Chinese scholarship provider other than CSC; or
• The funding source is CSC, but the funding is awarded under a different call for applications than the one for which GSMS has allocated its Top-Up funding (spring call; consult www.groningenbiomed.com/csc for details).

The commitment letter confirms that departmental resources are available to fund the Top-Up if the scholarship is granted. If you require a budget estimate, please contact Désirée Jansen at the GSMS.

Knowledge Security

All PhD supervisors of prospective externally funded PhD students (i.e., receiving funding from a non-EU source) are required to complete a "knowledge security assessment" in line with requirements from the Dutch government.

Please note the following:

1. Obligation: The assessment conducted by the UMCG supervisor is mandatory.
2. Confidentiality: The assessment is primarily a confidential process designed to raise awareness of knowledge security issues and to clarify the responsibilities of supervising staff.
3. Consultation Requirement: If the outcome of this assessment indicates a need for further consultation, the supervisor must reach out to the University of Groningen’s “Advisory Team Knowledge Security” (links to UG intranet). UMCG supervisors are required to inform the GSMS about the results of the consultation process.
4. Failure to comply with these requirements may lead to the GSMS refusing to issue a Letter of Acceptance in support of the student’s scholarship application. In extreme cases, this could result in the rejection of the PhD candidate’s admission to the GSMS PhD program. The Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences has authorized the Director of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences to enforce these measures.

More information, including the self-assessment form, is available on the UG intranet. 

Unconditional Admission

Full PhD students

All Full PhD scholarship applicants must submit the following documentation to the GSMS to secure unconditional admission:

• Proof of funding: scholarship letter
• Proof of proficiency in English (if not submitted at an earlier stage)
• PhD research proposal as discussed and agreed upon between supervisor(s) and candidate (template* available for download below, if not submitted at an earlier stage)
• Certified copy of diploma of the highest degree, including transcripts.

*The research proposal template provided is obligatory. The PhD supervisor should submit it to the GSMS no later than four weeks after the candidate receives the scholarship award notification.

Sandwich PhD students

All Sandwich PhD applicants should follow the process outlined here and submit the ATTP Sandwich PhD application package a minimum of six months in advance of the anticipated start date at the UMCG, preferably sooner.