
Admission at the GSMS
All PhD candidates from the Faculty of Medical Sciences need to be officially admitted to the PhD programme by the Graduate School of Medical Sciences (GSMS)*. You can request your admission by using our registration form. It is important that you do this as soon as possible. This is possible up to two months before your starting date.
*Without the admission by the GSMS, your are not officially a PhD candidate and not able to defend the thesis.
Requirements for admission in the PhD programme:
-
Candidates whose degree is not equivalent to a Dutch MSc degree are not automatically admitted. For international candidates, the diploma must always be validated and verified:
-
Candidates who are enrolled in a Master programme and do not have a Dutch Master’s degree (or equivalent) are not admitted to the PhD programme, except for (D)MD/PhD candidates.
-
If the prospective PhD candidate does not have a degree equivalant to a Dutch master, please follow the procedure described below.
-
The prospective PhD candidate must enter an original copy of the masters diploma, a translated version of the diploma in English (original translation or statement in English provided by the University) and a transcript of the results.
The department must have verified the originality of the diploma by comparing the diploma with a copy of the candidates passport.
-
-
For international candidates from non-English-speaking countries/studies, an average IELTS score of 6.5 is required, as well as a minimum score of 6.0 on each part in the same test; or TOEFL score of 92 with a minimum score of 21 on the parts in the same test. These requirements have been established by the Doctoral Board of the RuG.
-
PhD candidates will only be considered for admission once funding, either salary or scholarship, for the full duration of the project has been guaranteed. GSMS will follow up on projects with less than three years of funding, with exception for (D)MD/PhD and sandwich PhD projects. Extensions are possible if additional funding becomes available and – where applicable – the partner university agrees.
Procedure admission request for a candidate without a recognised master’s degree in the relevant field (or equivalent to a Dutch Master's degree)
Admission is only possible in exceptional cases. Hereto, the primary supervisor needs to send a motivation letter to the Admissions Committee, stating why the candidate’s background and experience – in the supervisor’s point of view - is sufficient for a PhD trajectory. This request must be substantiated with as much proof as possible.
Last modified: | 15 July 2025 2.38 p.m. |