The Amsterdam Public Health research institute (APH) aims to support, educate and guide the next generation of public health researchers. The PhD Education Committee has been installed to guarantee the Education Quality within APH. Moreover, APH provides support to PhD candidates that are affiliated to the research institute.

APH PhD candidates consist of PhD candidates who have an appointment at different organizations, including Amsterdam UMC location AMC (Faculty of Medicine, UvA), Amsterdam UMC location VUmc (Faculty of Medicine, VU) and VU Amsterdam (Faculty of Science & Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences). When it comes to the administrative aspects for APH PhD candidates, different work flows apply to each organization, so please make sure that you follow the right procedures.

Registration at Amsterdam UMC Doctoral School

APH PhD candidates appointed at Amsterdam UMC (AMC and VUmc) must start their PhD trajectory registration at the Amsterdam UMC Doctoral School. The Amsterdam UMC Doctoral School will continously harmonize their services for PhD candidates, nevertheless, differences in procedures concerning the PhD trajectories will continue to exist due to the different Doctoral Regulations of the two corresponding universities (VU and UvA). Please start the registration of your PhD trajectory, via the link below.

Register at Amsterdam UMC Doctoral School

PhD Plan

After the registration APH VUmc and AMC PhD candidates will receive an invitation to fill in the PhD Plan (see below). Please make sure that you fill in the PhD Plan together with your supervisors and send it to the Amsterdam UMC Doctoral School. At your intake interview with the PhD advisor of the Amsterdam UMC Doctoral School the PhD Plan (except for the Training Plan) will be discussed.

For APH VUmc PhD candidates additional steps have to be made after the registration at the Amsterdam UMC Doctoral School (and sending the PhD Plan) to fully register their PhD trajectory, including registration in Hora Finita (see below) and submitting the APH Training Plan, which is the addendum of the PhD plan.

For APH AMC PhD candidates it is also mandatory to complete the PhD plan including their education plan and send it to the Amsterdam UMC Doctoral School. However, since AMC PhD candidates follow the UvA Doctoral Regulations, completing 30 ECTS is not mandatory, so filling in the APH Training Plan (which is included as addendum) and following the APH education guidelines is not needed. Be noted that the APH Training Plan template and guidelines can serve as an example for AMC PhD candidates when planning their educational activities in their education plan.

APH Training Plan (VUmc)

According to the VU Doctoral Regulations VU/VUmc PhD candidates must develop a Training Plan (TP) including mandatory and elective courses of a minimum of 30 ECTS alongside the PhD trajectory. In the Netherlands, 1 ECTS is equal to 28 hours of workload. The overall aim of the Training Plan is to ensure a PhD course program that is tailored to the needs of the individual PhD candidate, research project requirements and the VU/VUmc and APH educational requirements.

The APH Training Plan is the addendum of the PhD Plan (see above) and must be filled in and submitted to the Hora Finita registration. The APH PhD Education Committee will subsequently review the APH Training Plan according to the VU/VUmc and APH educational requirements.

The requirements for APH VUmc PhD candidates (and APH VU PhD candidates of the Faculty of Science, department Health Sciences) can be found in more detail in the APH PhD Handbook, please read it carefully. Please consult the APH Training Plan example for extra verification and inspiration.

Registration in Hora Finita (VUmc)

Hora Finita is the digital system to administer and track PhD trajectories. The PhD trajectories of VU/VUmc PhD candidates must be registered in Hora Finita. The digital system has been implemented campus wide, but the work flow can vary per faculty.

Only applicable for VUmc PhD candidates (Faculty of Medicine)

VUmc PhD candidates must first register their PhD trajectory at the Amsterdam UMC Doctoral School (see above). The Amsterdam UMC Doctoral School will register VUmc PhD candidates in Hora Finita. VUmc PhD candidates that indicate that they are affiliated with APH, via the Doctoral School registration form, will automatically be sent to the APH research institute.

Following the initial registration in Hora Finita, the APH VUmc PhD candidate is requested to provide additional information and to upload both a filled in APH Training Plan (as a separate document or as part of the PhD Plan). A number of actors have to approve the submitted information before the registration becomes an official PhD trajectory in Hora Finita. As part of this ‘chain of approval’ the APH PhD Education Committee will upon its turn assess the APH Training Plan considering the educational requirements as set by VU/VUmc and APH.

For questions concerning Hora Finita, please send an e-mail to aph.horafinita@amsterdamumc.nl.

Registration in Hora Finita (VU)

Only applicable for VU PhD candidates (Faculty of Science, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement sciences)

VU APH PhD candidates must register their PhD trajectory in Hora Finita. The registration must be initiated by the Hora Finita key users of the VU faculty where you are appointed. Register your PhD trajectory in Hora Finita by sending the information below to the contact person of your faculty:

  • initials, first and last name of PhD candidate
  • e-mail address of PhD candidate
  • department and APH research program
  • names, titles, and email addresses of all supervisors (specify promotor(s) and co-promotor(s))
  • start date of the PhD trajectory
  • whether PhD candidate is external

For APH VU PhD candidates of Faculty of Science:
Faculty secretary: Maaike Croes: m.a.croes@vu.nl
Athena Institute: Justine Hazenkamp-Browne: secretariaat.athena.beta@vu.nl
Health Sciences: horafinita.agw.beta@vu.nl

For APH VU PhD candidates of Faculty of Behavioural and Movement sciences:
Faculty secretary: Chantal Beckers: bestuurssecretariaat.fgb@vu.nl
Graduate school FGB: Solveig Lund: pec.fgb@vu.nl

APH Training Plan (VU)

Only applicable for VU PhD candidates (Faculty of Science, department of Health Sciences)

Below you can find the APH version of the Training Plan template for VU APH PhD candidates of Faculty of Science, department of Health Sciences. VU APH PhD candidates of other faculties/departments, may use the Training Plan and follow the education requirements of APH, but it is not obligatory. Contact your own faculty for more information about the education requirements and guidelines.

To complete the registration of your PhD trajectory in Hora Finita (see above), an approved and signed APH Training Plan must be uploaded. Fill in the APH Training Plan with your supervisor(s) and send it via e-mail to the APH PhD Education Committee to request a review by the APH PhD Committee. The committee will review your APH Training Plan according to the VU/VUmc and APH education requirements.

The requirements for APH VU PhD candidates of the Faculty of Science (and APH VUmc PhD candidates) can be found in more detail in the APH PhD Handbook, please read it carefully. Please consult the APH Training Plan example for extra verification and inspiration.

Hora Finita Portfolio (VU/VUmc PhD candidates)

Once the PhD trajectory is official, APH VU and VUmc PhD candidates should specify the followed courses in their Portfolio in the Hora Finita dashboard. At the final stage of the PhD trajectory, APH VU and VUmc PhD candidates must request a review of the Portfolio via Hora Finita.

The APH PhD Education Committee reviews the Portfolio of VU and VUmc PhD candidates so that an official 30 ECTS certificate can be awarded. Before submitting your Portfolio, we recommend you to consult the APH PhD Handbook.

APH PhD Education Committee

The APH PhD Education Committee currently consists of two senior researchers, one postdoc researcher, one PhD candidate and a policy officer of APH, who are responsible for supporting the Education Quality within APH.

The core activities of the committee are:

  1. reviewing the Training Plan (TP) that is designed by the PhD candidate and supervisors at the beginning of each PhD trajectory & reviewing the 30 EC Portfolio filled in by the PhD candidate (VU/VUmc) with completed educational activities for a PhD trajectory;
  2. advising the APH Board of Directors about training, education, supervision and talent policy;
  3. attending meetings to introduce the APH research institute and the committee to new PhD candidates and postdoc members;
  4. supporting existing PhD and postdoc networks that aim to connect PhD candidates and postdocs in the research institute.

    Contact: aph.phdcommittee@amsterdamumc.nl 

    Committee members
    Eefje Sizoo (interim chair) Hanneke van Dongen
    Mariska de Wit Moira Goeman
    Elmi Zwaan

    General PhD information

    Below you can find a list of relevant groups or important general information for APH PhD candidates of the different institutions: