The School for Public Health and Primary Care CAPHRI facilitates talented Master graduates to obtain a PhD by offering high-quality supervision by expert senior researchers of CAPHRI. The research trajectory results in a PhD thesis and is awarded with a PhD degree from Maastricht University.
In the CAPHRI PhD student brochure, all information on the support provided by CAPHRI to PhD students and regulations (e.g. the PhD student budget) and contact persons can be found.
PhD student brochure
CAPHRI produces more than 30 PhD theses on average per year. CAPHRI PhD students work alongside research staff and are supervised by a team of excellent researchers. They are trained to look across traditional boundaries and make use of various scientific perspectives by learning from other departments, disciplines, institutes, universities and international scholars.
A PhD co-ordinator is available, dr. H. van der Boom, for all kinds of questions, advice and problems (e.g. related to the progress of the project, supervision, personal problems). Problems can also be discussed with CAPHRI’s confidential advisor, Prof. dr. T. van der Weijden.
CAPHRI has 2 PhD student representatives and a PhD student representative in the Interfaculty PhD student committee (IPC), who communicate with all CAPHRI PhD students on a regular basis, to inform them of developments, courses, and the CAPHRI PhD student meetings that they organise twice a year. These representatives regularly discuss matters relevant for PhD students with CAPHRI’s scientific director, PhD co-ordinator and confidential advisor in the Board of Education.
Policies and developments
The CAPHRI Board of Education (the scientific director, PhD co-ordinator, confidential advisor, 3 PhD student representatives) regularly meets to discuss PhD student policies and developments.
Number of CAPHRI PhD students
In November 2011, 142 internal PhD students were employed at CAPHRI (as PhD student, researcher or AIOTHO (GP specialisation)). In addition, 163 persons are registered as external PhD candidates who are working at institutions in the Netherlands and abroad. The latter fund their PhD trajectory themselves or via a Scholarship. 40% of the PhD students is non-Dutch.
Possibilities after obtaining your PhD
In general, there is virtually no unemployment under the CAPHRI PhD graduates. Of all CAPHRI PhD students who graduated from 2004 to 2009, 70% is still working as a researcher (often combined with policy, care, or teaching) in the academic world, 15% work in the health care sector, 10% of the CAPHRI PhD graduates currently have a policy job, a small percentage (1-2%) works in trade and industry (or other). At the FHML-level the HRM-department has investigated the career perspectives of all its PhD graduates and has drawn the following conclusions: approximately 10% of the PhD graduates is offered a permanent job within the FHML. 30% of the graduates gets a temporary postdoc position (which can be extended in some cases). Approximately 40% moves to positions in the health care sector, education and the non-profit sector. The remaining 20% starts a career in trade and industry. It can be concluded that compared with the total graduates in the FHML, CAPHRI graduates tend to remain in research more often.