Doctoral Programme
The Institute of Social Studies offers a four-year programme leading to the internationally recognised degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies. Under the Higher Education and Research Act, ISS has the right to award its own Doctoral degree.
About 60 students are enrolled in the Doctoral programme, all in a different phase of their doctorate. Most of them are at work in their own office in the ISS building, refining their research proposal, based on one of the ISS’s research themes, or conducting a literature search, or they are in the final phase of writing their thesis. Those in the second year of the programme are away doing fieldwork.
Students benefit from access to a multidisciplinary faculty working on different aspects of development problems, combined with fieldwork under local guidance and with institutional support.
Programme and Structure
The Doctoral programme takes four years and is organised in four phases. In order to accommodate the constraints arising from the professional obligations of mid-career applicants, the Doctoral programme offers flexible academic arrangements. Well-prepared and well-supported candidates who are based in a research-oriented organisation or university elsewhere may be able to follow a tailor-made track, with shorter periods spent in The Hague. Read more about this through the right-hand toolbar.
Research
| Applications for the Doctoral programme are welcomed from qualified candidates wishing to undertake research on a specific topic within one of the Institute’s broad research areas. It is assumed that before submitting an application for entry to the Doctoral programme, applicants will have done some preparatory work on the proposed topic of study. Admission will depend on the quality of the applicant’s research proposal and its relevance to the Institute’s research interests. Applicants are required to submit a research proposal of approximately 5,000 words which incorporates: |
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- a statement of the research issue, setting out the temporal, geographic and conceptual limits of the work
- the potential contribution of the research to theory and/or policy making
- a concise formulation of the research issues
- a brief review of the theoretical background and the main analytical approaches to be followed
- identification of the main expected methods of data collection and processing
- proposed table of contents for the thesis
- references and bibliography
| As a reference you can download the |
research paper example (8.96 MB)
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Please review the programmes, research and admissions for further details about the Doctoral programme.
ISS participates with other academic institutes in the Netherlands in the CERES Research School (Rsearch School for Resource Studies for Development). All ISS Doctoral research is part of the CERES Research School and Doctoral students participate in the School’s activities. These activities include special courses and workshops, which provide an opportunity to interact with Doctoral students from other universities in the Netherlands. Read more about this through the right-hand toolbar.
Click here to go to the Doctoral profile page.
Page last updated: 17/08/2010
Doctoral Programme