National PhD Candidates Survey Results

Attention to Privacy and Data Protection

In preparation for the national survey, the national project group extensively discussed the risks of exchanging data files and results, the privacy of PhD candidates, and data protection. Before the pilot in 2021, these risks were identified through a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), and the measures and agreements were recorded in a Joint Controller Agreement (JCA; in Dutch: Gezamenlijke Verwerkingsverantwoordelijken Overeenkomst (GVO)). All 14 institutions signed the JCA for the 2023 survey. PhD candidates were informed about the purpose of the national PhD project, what data is collected and by whom, and how the data would be processed. PhD candidates actively consented to the processing of their data.

Response, Representativeness, and Sample Description

A total of 8,314 PhD candidates from 14 institutions participated in the survey. The response rate varied among the institutions (11%-39%), with an average of 21%.

More than half of the PhD candidates in the sample are under 30 years old (60%), just under a third (31%) are between 30 and 40 years old, and 10% are over 40 years old. Slightly more than half (56%) of the sample comprises female PhD candidates.

Half of the sample comprises PhD candidates with Dutch nationality (50%). Nearly 20% have a nationality from another EEA country, and the remaining 30% have a non-EEA nationality. The distribution across the different categories in the 2023 sample is similar to that of the pilot in 2021.

Less than a quarter (22%) of the PhD candidates are in the first year of their PhD trajectory. The majority of the PhD candidates in the sample are employed as employee PhD candidates (69%). The proportion of scholarship PhD candidates is 13%. The percentage of externally funded PhD candidates and external PhD candidates is below 10% (8% and 10%, respectively). These percentages differ somewhat from the percentages known to UNL. In the reporting year 2023, based on the KUOZ data request, 53% were counted as employee PhD candidates, 11% as scholarship PhD candidates, 12% as externally funded PhD candidates, and 15% as external PhD candidates.

Results

An overview of all national evaluation questions and details about data collection and analysis are compiled in a report. Appendix 1 of this report contains an overview of all national evaluation questions. The outcomes per evaluation question are detailed for the total sample and per group (PhD candidate type, phase, gender, and nationality group) in separate fact sheets, included as appendices to the report.

Satisfaction with the PhD Trajectory

General satisfaction with the PhD trajectory was surveyed with the question: "In general, how satisfied (or dissatisfied) are you with your PhD trajectory?" PhD candidates could choose from a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied).

• Overall, PhD candidates are reasonably satisfied with their PhD trajectory; the average score is 7.2 (on a scale of 1 to 10). 12% of the PhD candidates rated it 5 or lower, while 51% rated it 8 or higher.
• Employee and scholarship PhD candidates are close to the sample average in the general satisfaction with the PhD trajectory. Scholarship PhD candidates are the most satisfied, and external PhD candidates are the least satisfied.
• PhD candidates in the first year of their trajectory give a higher satisfaction score to their PhD trajectory than those in later years.
• PhD candidates with Dutch nationality or a non-EEA nationality are generally more satisfied with the PhD trajectory than PhD candidates from the EEA (excluding the Netherlands).

Number of Supervisors

The number of official supervisors was assessed with the question: "Please state the number of people who are officially part of your supervision team." Respondents could enter a number between 0 and 15.

• 97% of the PhD candidates have at least two supervisors. This is 3% more than in 2021. The average number of supervisors is 2.7, which aligns with the "four eyes principle" that all universities adhere to all PhD candidates are supervised by at least two (co-)supervisors.
• External PhD candidates less frequently have more than two supervisors. Conversely, PhD candidates with Dutch nationality often have more than two supervisors.

Satisfaction with Supervision

Satisfaction with the received supervision was assessed with the question: "In general, how satisfied (or dissatisfied) are you with the supervision you receive?" PhD candidates could respond on a scale from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied).

• Overall, PhD candidates are reasonably satisfied with the supervision they receive. 43% of the PhD candidates in the sample were satisfied, and 34% responded with "very satisfied". 4% of the PhD candidates were very dissatisfied, 8% were dissatisfied, and 12% chose a neutral response. These percentages are the same as in 2021. 
• As in 2021, first-year PhD candidates are more satisfied with their supervision than those in later years.

Perceived Workload 

The perceived workload in the PhD project was assessed with the question: "How would you describe the workload in your PhD project?" PhD candidates could choose from the following options: a) too low, b) low, c) normal, d) high, or e) too high.

• Nearly 50% of the PhD candidates perceive the workload as normal, 42% think the workload is high, and 8% find the workload too high. Overall, the workload is perceived as slightly lower than in 2021.
• Employee PhD candidates experience more workload compared to other types of PhD candidates.
• Senior PhD candidates experience a higher workload than beginners.
• PhD candidates from the EEA (including the Netherlands) experience a higher workload than PhD candidates from outside the EEA.

Well-being

The overall well-being of PhD candidates was assessed with the question: "How would you rate your general well-being?" PhD candidates could choose from the following options: a) very poor, b) poor, c) fair, d) good, e) very good.

• Almost half (47%) of the PhD candidates rated their well-being as good and 13% even as very good. 29% rated it as fair, 10% as poor, and 2% as very poor.
• Externally funded and external PhD candidates rate their well-being higher than employee and scholarship PhD candidates.
• Starters rate their well-being higher than seniors do.
• Dutch PhD candidates rate their well-being higher than non-Dutch PhD candidates.

The effect of the PhD project on personal well-being was assessed with the question: "Overall, what impact does your PhD project have on your well-being?" PhD candidates could choose from the following options: a) negative, b) rather negative, c) neutral, d) fairly positive, e) positive.

• Slightly more than a quarter (27%) indicated that the PhD project has (somewhat) negatively affected their well-being, 30% responded neutrally, and 43% indicated a (somewhat) positive effect.
• Employee PhD candidates indicate more often than other types of PhD candidates that the project harms their well-being.
• Senior PhD candidates more frequently than starters indicate that the PhD project negatively affects their well-being.

Progress According to Plan

To gauge the proportion of PhD candidates who are on schedule and those who are delayed, the question was: "Are you currently on schedule with your planning?" PhD candidates could choose from the following options: a) Yes, I am on schedule, b) No, I have fallen behind schedule, c) I don’t have a schedule, or d) I don’t know.

• Nearly half of the PhD candidates are on schedule (49%). Approximately 10% of the PhD candidates indicated they do not have a schedule, and 7% are unsure if their project is on schedule.
• About a third (34%) of the PhD candidates are behind schedule. This is a lower percentage than in 2021 when 45% reported being behind schedule.
• Similar to 2021, external PhD candidates more frequently than other groups indicated they do not have a schedule. Scholarship PhD candidates are more likely to be on schedule than other groups. They also have more insight into their planning.

Only PhD candidates who indicated they were not on schedule ('No, I have fallen behind schedule') were asked the follow-up question: "How long is the expected delay?" PhD candidates could choose from the following options: a) less than 3 months, b) between 3 and 6 months, c) between 6 and 9 months, d) more than 9 months, or e) I don’t know.

• Among the delayed PhD candidates, nearly one-fifth (18%) expect the delay to be less than 3 months, and less than a third (29%) anticipate a delay between 3 and 6 months. Similar to 2021, about 40% expect a delay of more than six months. Just over 10% of PhD candidates are unsure of the expected duration of the delay.
• A relatively high percentage of external PhD candidates expect the delay to be more than 9 months.

Career Ambitions

To gain insight into where PhD candidates aim to work after completing their PhD, the following question was asked: "What career perspective do you aspire most after graduation?" PhD candidates could choose from a) as a researcher within academia, b) as a researcher outside academia, c) other career perspectives, or d) I don’t know.

• Over 60% of PhD candidates aspire to a career in academia; 36% within the university and 25%  outside academia. Just under 20% aspire to a career outside of academia. Just over 20% indicated they do not yet know their career aspirations. This group includes a relatively high proportion of employee PhD candidates and PhD candidates in their first year.
• Similar to 2021, a relatively high percentage of scholarship PhD candidates and PhD candidates from non-EU countries aspire to a career as a researcher within academic science.

Experience with Unwanted Behavior   

New to the questionnaire is a question about experiences with unwanted behaviour: "Have you yourself experienced any undesirable behaviour in the past year?" PhD candidates could choose from a) never, b) sporadically, c) monthly, d) weekly, or e) daily.

• Nearly 80% (78%) of PhD candidates indicated they have not experienced any unwanted behaviour themselves in the past year. Almost 20% experienced this sporadically, 2% monthly, 1% weekly, and less than 1% dealt with it daily.
• Scholarship PhD candidates experience undesirable behaviour more often than other PhD candidate types.
• Starters and Dutch PhD candidates experience undesirable behaviour less often than seniors and non-Dutch PhD candidates.