Doctoral programme duration and assessment

Depending on the type of doctoral programme, a programme takes between four and six years to complete. At the start of the first year, you devise your own teaching and supervision plan (opleidings- en begeleidingsplan, OBP). This involves further developing your research proposal and making agreements with your supervisors on the content, planning and supervision of the trajectory. In the OBP it is also established what will be expected of you during the assessment interview, which will take place between one and two years after the start of the programme.

Assessment interview

PhD candidates who are employees of the Amsterdam Law School undergo an assessment interview after nine months. For PhD candidates who are not employed by the Amsterdam Law School, the date of the assessment interview (i.e. the Go/No Go assessment) will be recorded in the OBP. This must be no later than two years after the start of the doctoral programme.

During this interview, which also involves an external assessor, the supervisors determine whether the PhD candidate is likely to obtain final approval of his/her manuscript before the end of the doctoral programme. They base their conclusion on the manner in which the PhD candidate has conducted their research (as determined from the paper to be submitted in accordance with the OBP) and the PhD candidate's participation in the education component of the doctoral programme.

During the first year, all PhD candidates must take part in the mandatory PhD study programme. If the outcome of the assessment is positive, the programme can continue. PhD candidates who are employees will then also have an annual consultation. The progress of external PhD candidates is assessed every two years. If the supervisors approve of the final manuscript, the doctoral programme can be completed. Between the preparation of the final draft of their manuscript and the doctoral thesis defence ceremony, PhD candidates must complete a large number of (mostly administrative) tasks in accordance with a strict timetable.