On the whole, European doctors attach great importance to matching. If your master's research direction is highly matched with your boss's laboratory direction, the chances of getting an offer will be greater.

Of course, in addition to degree matching, there are also your graduate and undergraduate thesis, and the recommendation letter from your boss is very important.

For this process, please refer to our previous article:

Little goldfish study abroad studio: little goldfish study abroad: comparison of doctoral applications in the United States and Europe -2: process comparison

European doctoral application:

The first step: rhetoric

1. 1: Find interested schools, laboratories and professors.

Doctoral positions in Europe are equivalent to jobs, and people can be recruited at any time according to the project situation. Most of them have no unified enrollment time. According to the funding situation, it can be roughly divided into three types: post system, scholarship and self-funded doctor.

Post system: after universities or research institutions apply for funding, they publish job advertisements; Students, as employed researchers, obtained doctoral degrees in schools or scientific research institutions during their employment (some students also completed their degrees in companies). As school staff, students are paid according to the local salary level, pay social security and endowment insurance on time, and enjoy the legal holidays in their country. With the increase of working years, the salary level also increases slightly with the increase of working years. Because the contract during doctoral study is a work contract, it is easier for students to change their visas and obtain permanent residence status after graduation.

Scholarships: Full scholarships can generally cover tuition and living expenses. Mainly divided into school scholarships and CSC scholarships, CSC scholarships are not introduced in detail here. Scholarships provided by general schools or colleges will introduce the scholarship coverage, application conditions, methods, applicable population, deadline and so on in detail on the scholarship page.

1.2: Write an email to the professor to briefly introduce yourself, indicating your willingness to join the laboratory.

Magnetization is one of the most important steps in applying for a doctorate in Europe. It not only helps you to better understand the professor's enrollment plan, but also provides an opportunity to show the professor the applicant's scientific research potential and self-recommendation.

The writing of magnetic cover letter will be introduced in detail in the following article.

Step 2: Interview

Almost all positions with awards require interviews. If invited for an interview, it means that the applicant's application has left an impression on the Committee or its favorite laboratory, and let them take it as a candidate for the position. At this time, the applicant needs to fully demonstrate his research potential in the interview, which has a high degree of matching with the research direction of the laboratory, so that the boss can believe that he is not only capable of completing the project independently, but also can cooperate with other members of the laboratory to jointly promote the project.

Different professors or schools have different interview styles. As far as my own interview experience is concerned, there will be three different situations: the boss interviews alone; The Committee interviews separately, and the boss interviews with the Committee together.

Single-board interview: This usually happens when the boss uses his own funds to recruit students, and the boss has great decision-making power, which can be directly decided and then go through the application process;

Committee interview: this kind of interview is usually provided by a college or school and paid by students. The Committee judges whether students are eligible for admission according to their background.

Step 3: Admission

For the requirements of applying for a doctorate from Leiden University, please refer to official website:

Doctoral application:

Admission requirements

Master's degree or equivalent in related field. At the request of the applicant and his future tutor, the dean of the School of Humanities may grant exemption on behalf of the doctoral committee of the university.

The overall qualification of the proposed project evaluated by the potential supervisor, including full mastery of relevant languages; Good English level (recommended level: IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL 600/250 or IBT 100).

Admission requirements

Master's degree or equivalent in related major. At the request of the applicant and his future tutor, the dean of the School of Humanities may grant exemption on behalf of the doctoral committee of the university.

According to the evaluation of the future tutor, he has enough overall qualifications to complete the proposed project, including a comprehensive grasp of relevant languages; Good command of English (recommended level: IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL 600/250 or IBT 100)

Application procedure

Employee position: Applicants should follow the guidelines provided in the application notice to which they responded.

Self-funded position:

Potential candidates should first email the person they want to be the first supervisor. Please attach at least one resume and research plan.

Once future tutors announce their availability and support, students enter the formal application process of graduate school.

This will include research proposals drafted in consultation with future supervisors. The general guidelines for this proposal are provided below.

After the graduate school registration is completed, usually within four to six weeks, the dean of academic affairs approves or refuses admission on behalf of the dean. Once accepted, the doctoral candidate will be notified by the liaison officer, and will receive the admission statement, LU card, university email address, digital library access details, etc. from the graduate school office.

Applicants should follow the guidelines to which they respond.

Self-funded doctoral position

Potential candidates should first send an email to the person they want to be the first mentor. Please attach at least one resume and research plan.

Once the future tutor announces that he can provide support, students enter the formal application process of graduate school.

This will include research plans drafted in consultation with future mentors. The general principles of the plan are as follows.

After the graduate school is registered, the dean of academic affairs will approve or reject the admission on behalf of the dean, usually within four to six weeks. After the doctoral students are admitted, they will be notified through the contact center, and will receive the admission notice, LU card, university e-mail address, digital library access details, etc. From the graduate school office.

Scholarship position: see above, under self-funded item. If students need to apply to a specific funding institution (such as CSC and DIKTI), they can issue an admission notice in advance to guarantee scholarships; In this case, please contact the Secretariat.

In September 2022, I began to accept new doctoral applications. The deadline for submitting applications is February 2022. What is the annual management fee charged by LIAS? 450,000 scholarships and self-funded doctoral students.

Scholarship location: see the above self-funded projects. If students need this to apply for a specific funding institution (such as CSC and DIKTI), they can issue an admission guarantee after obtaining a scholarship in advance; In this case, please contact the Secretariat.

Now I will accept new doctoral applications and enter school in September 2022. The deadline for submitting applications is February 2022.

LIAS charges an annual management fee of 450 euros for grants and self-funded doctoral students.