Call for collaborative PhD projects

The Graduate Schools of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Wageningen University PhD Programme 2026

Background Information

In 2016 Wageningen University and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) set up a collaborative PhD programme to strengthen their collaboration where joint PhD projects are the vehicle to strengthen the collaboration. In the first and second phase 20 PhD candidates annually enrolled in the programme. This year the third phase of the programme has started. It will run for a period of 5 years and now allows for an annual enrolment of 25 PhD candidates. This is the first call of the third phase. 

PhD candidates of the programme are registered at Wageningen University as a sandwich PhD candidate. This entails that the PhD candidates perform the major part of their research at CAAS and spend an average of 18 months in Wageningen, with a minimum of 14 months. The time in Wageningen is divided over two main periods: 6-8 months at the start of the project and 8-12 months at the end of the 4 years, where the division can vary depending on the project and supervisor agreements. The candidate is supervised by WU and CAAS supervisors and a WU promotor, as the defence will be in Wageningen. 

Each year the call is released at the beginning of the year with a deadline for submission being set in June. After evaluation, the applicants are informed in July if their application has been accepted. The programme accordingly starts in September with a WU start-up training in Beijing, followed by a set of CAAS specific courses. From December onwards, PhD candidates can travel to Wageningen for the first phase of their PhD programme.

We hereby invite WU and CAAS scientists interested in setting up or strengthening collaboration to submit a proposal. 

Please note the following:

1. The proposed project must be jointly submitted by the WU and CAAS supervisors.
2. Conditions to apply can be found in the Annex 1 below.
3. Deadline for submission: 15 June 2026. Send your submission to the CAAS and WU coordinators:
   • CAAS: Mingjun Zhang (zhangmingjun@caas.cn)
   • WU: Claudius van de Vijver (claudius.vandevijver@wur.nl)
4. When WU or CAAS scientists would want to collaborate, but do not have a point of entry with the other institute, please contact the two programme coordinators mentioned above.
5. PhD candidates cannot submit an application or initiate the contact for collaboration. They are either listed in the application as a potential candidate or can apply via the CAAS website (http://gs.caas.cn/).
    

Application criteria:

For applications to be eligible the following criteria must be met: 

1. Commitment
   • Given that the programme has been set up to strengthen collaboration between WU and CAAS, the applicants must formulate a clear objective of the collaboration and how the PhD project will contribute to reaching this objective. Besides being of importance for the progress of the PhD project, the intent of collaboration must also be demonstrated by a statement in which the WU and CAAS scientist commit themselves to visiting each other’s institute during the trajectory of the PhD project.
2. Financial arrangements

• The CAAS Institute will cover:

• A basic allowance for living costs for the duration of the project, including the required living allowance of the PhD candidate in the time that (s)he is in Wageningen. According to Dutch Immigration law this latter allowance must be equivalent to the IND budget threshold of € 1735,- per month (from 01-01 to 01-07 2026) and a guaranteed future adherence to the IND budget threshold. The IND budget threshold is adjusted twice yearly (1 January and 1 July). The financial admission policy for PhD candidates with a scholarship will be adjusted accordingly. Please check the webpage regarding the entry requirements for PhD candidates when needed. 

  Note that a formal statement must be included in the application indicating:

• The monthly scholarship amount for living.
• Where the money comes from.
• That the amount will be adjusted, when needed, to meet the IND budget threshold 
• A bench fee of € 1000,- per month that the PhD candidate is in Wageningen, to be paid to the chair group, of which € 900,- is covered by the CAAS supervisor/institute and € 100,- by the board of Wageningen University. Here too it should be formally stated by the CAAS supervisor how this allowance will be paid.
• At least one trip of the CAAS supervisor to Wageningen.
• All local research expenses.
• Travel costs of candidates (2 return tickets).
• The Wageningen University Chair Group will cover:
• All local facilities required for the candidate at Wageningen University.
• The candidate’s visa costs.
• At least one trip of the Wageningen supervisor to China (CAAS Institute).

• € 4000,- to cover training and education activities.

  Note that, like all other PhD’s of Wageningen University, the Graduate School of Wageningen University that the PhD candidate will be part of, will cover an additional € 2600,- for organisation of PhD training and education.

3. The PhD candidate

• Must have met the Wageningen University requirement in English proficiency (see: https://www.wur.nl/en/Education-Programmes/PhD-Programme/English-language-requirements.htm).

• Must have an MSc degree or will obtain it before 31 August 2026.

  Note that when the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education (NUFFIC) does not recognise the MSc degree, as an MSc comparable to the Dutch standards (this is evaluated upon registration in the WU PhD Programme), the candidate will have to do an entry exam (generally a set of MS courses) in the first year of the PhD track.

The application should include:

1. Title of the proposed project
2. A short proposal (max 700 words) of the intended research including:
   • Background
   • Objectives
   • Scientific originality / novelty
   • Methodology
   • Possible societal relevance

   • Agreement of data ownership and authorship rules.

      

3. The following information of the WU and CAAS scientists involved in the project:
   • Name 
   • Email
   • Affiliation (CAAS Institute / WU Chair Group)
   • Position and role/ responsibility in the programme
   • Graduate school the WU scientist is affiliated to
   • Email addresses
4. A statement, signed by both WU and CAAS scientists/supervisors that states:
   • The joint intent of collaboration in this PhD project between the WU chair group and the CAAS institute indicating:
   • Why they want to set up their collaboration
   • What their long-term goal of collaboration is
   • When the WU and CAAS supervisors intend to visit each other’s institute 
   • The specifics of the financial arrangements as stipulated in the “ Application criteria”.
   • Note: When the WU chairholder is not involved an applicant, (s)he too must sign the agreement. 
5. Information about the PhD candidate:
   • Name of candidate
   • Email
   • His/her CV
   • Proof that the candidates has met the Wageningen University requirement in English proficiency
     (see:https://www.wur.nl/en/Education-Programmes/PhD-Programme/English-language-requirements.htm) (IELTS, TOEFL or Cambridge Test).
   • University where candidate has obtained an MSc degree.

Note:

• All potential candidates must apply to the programme at the Graduate School of CAAS (GSCAAS).
• Registration at WU occurs after the project, the candidate and financial arrangements have been approved and the WU course in Beijing has been given (September of the given year). The actual starting date of the candidate can vary and can be:
  • The first date that the candidates travels to the Netherlands for the first period of the stay in Wageningen
  • The date that the candidate starts with the research when they do not first go to Wageningen.