PE&RC Graduate Programme 2021

PE&RC Graduate Programme 2021 call
(submission deadline final proposal: 8 September 2021 14.00 CE(S)T)
(submission deadline candidates interested: 1 July 2021 14.00 CE(S)T)

The PE&RC Graduate Programme call involves the funding of (a maximum of) three PhD positions and aims to stimulate talented MSc students of Wageningen University (WU) to obtain their PhD through research that is embedded in one of the WU-PE&RC chair groups and where the daily supervisor/promotor is a PE&RC member. The grant covers the 4-year salary costs of the candidate plus related overhead (~34% of the salary costs). Direct research costs exceeding the overhead are to be covered by the chair group that is hosting the PhD candidate. Applications are written and submitted by candidates who have obtained or will obtain their WU MSc-degree between 1st of January 2020 and the 8th of September 2021. Also candidates are eligible who have not formally received their MSc-degree but who have completed their MSc work the 8th of September 2021 at the latest. All applications need to be accompanied by a motivated letter of support from the main supervisor(s) of the project.

Because of the continuing Corona-situation, candidates are also invited to apply who, (1) have completed their MSc courses and thesis work before September the 8th but who have not completed their internship and, (2) who will complete their MSc study on December the 1st at the latest and are able to start their PhD position at that time.

Registration candidates interested:
In case a candidate is interested in this call one must pre-register before the 1st of July 2021 at the latest.
A candidate is asked to mail her/his name, foreseen supervisor, chair group, and research area of interest (a two-line description) to  theo.jetten@wur.nl.
This pre-registration is among others needed for the composition of the selection committee in time.

Selection of the candidates:
A PE&RC selection committee, composed of PE&RC executive and academic staff members, will assess the submissions based on:

1. Quality of the candidate as shown by the Curriculum Vitae (50%);
2. Motivation of the candidates as shown by the motivation letter (20%);
3. Scientific and/or societal impact of the proposed research (20%);
4. Relevance of the proposed research to PE&RC given its mission: “Understanding the functioning of natural and managed ecosystems to improve the quality of life” (10%).

Regarding the quality of the candidate a rule of thumb of a grade of 8 or higher for the MSc-thesis is needed to qualify for the grant (in case a grade is not available yet an argued statement with respect to the expected grade for the MSc thesis should be provided by the supervisor of the thesis). We would like to stress that in 2020 more than 25 very good to excellent candidates applied which made the competition very stiff. While we are happy to see so many excellent MSc-students graduating from Wageningen University, this also clearly demonstrates that applications need to convincingly show that the candidate not only belongs to the top of their class but also have a variety of talents needed to shine as a PhD-candidate.

From the applications a maximum of six candidates will be invited to present themselves and their research in an interactive session with the selection committee. This will be towards the end of September / beginning of October 2021. In the presentation the candidate is asked to elaborate the research project with a focus on innovative aspects and scientific impact. On the basis of the presentation and the interview, the selection committee will then conclude its judgement and will announce the grant winners no later than mid-October 2021. The granted PhD projects must start before the 1st of December 2021.

The application form for the final proposal has been annexed here.