Info for Prospective Students

Thank you for your interest in doing PhD research at LIAS, in the Graduate School of Humanities at Leiden University.

ASIAN STUDIES AND MIDDLE-EASTERN STUDIES

LIAS staff have a strong track record in supervising internationally competitive PhD research in Asian Studies and Middle-Eastern Studies. Our graduates go on to work in a great variety of professional fields, academic and other. Be sure to have a look at our mission statement.

FEES AND FACILITIES

LIAS PhD candidates currently pay no tuition fees or bench fees. All registered PhD candidates are entitled to high-quality supervision, and have access to a University email account, the University Library including digital resources, LIAS PhD seminars convened by postdocs and senior staff, and LIAS social events. For more information on facilities, see below.

AFFILIATION AND FUNDING

You can apply for different types of affiliation, summed up as University-funded or self-funded. University-funded PhD research is normally full-time, meaning that candidates are expected to finish their dissertation and acquire other relevant professional experience (e.g. teaching) within four years at 1.0 fte, or five years at 0.8 fte, depending on circumstances such as overall planning for team projects. Self-funded PhD research allows for fulltime and part-time arrangements. Upon admission to the Graduate School (see below), fulltimers are generally expected to finish their dissertation in four years, and part-timers in six years.

University-funded PhD candidates (AiO’s) 

Under current law, Dutch Universities can only fund PhD research by giving PhD candidates employee status. Hence, academic ranks of employment at Dutch universities include that of AiO or Assistent in Opleiding, which pragmatically translates as PhD trainee. AiO status constitutes a four-year full-time (or five-year 0,8-fte) research position, with full funding sufficient for general subsistence.

Application is in response to advertisement by the University. AiO positions are advertized on the LIAS and Leiden University websites, and other online channels. They become available through external research funding (e.g. from NWO or ESF, with the University acting as grant-holding institution and employer: see this example and this example), or through special projects on the University, Faculty of Humanities, or LIAS levels (see this example).

About 15% of AiO time is spent on teaching, under the aegis of your supervisors, usually in the regular curriculum of the relevant BA program(s). In their second and third years, AiO’s are expected to contribute to co-taught courses, and to design and teach one full-term seminar course in the general area of their research.

LIAS will offer AiO’s office space and related infrastructure. Funding for research trips (conferences, library visits, fieldwork, etc) is normally included in overall project budgets.

Self-funded PhD candidates 

As noted, under current law, Dutch Universities can only fund PhD research by offering PhD candidates employee status. Accordingly, the research of many of our PhD candidates is self-funded, meaning that they bring their own funding for general subsistence, from other sources than Leiden University. They include full-time and part-time candidates (many part-timers do their research concurrently with employment in a range of professional fields). Self-funded candidates bring private funding and/or scholarship from foundations, government-supported internationalization schemes, etc.

Application is initiated by the prospective candidate (as distinct from AiO advertisement by the University). If the applicant has secured and/or plans to apply for institutional funding  from other sources than Leiden University, their application should include full and accurate information on same. This page provides some information on scholarships, but lays no claim to completeness.

Self-funded candidates are not allowed to teach in the regular curriculum, as this requires University employee status. They do have opportunities for presenting their work during research seminars, and through guest lectures in the regular curriculum.

On a case-by-case basis, LIAS will consider offering self-funded candidates (temporary) office space and related infrastructure, usually but not invariably for a fee; and limited financial support for crucial research trips (conferences, library visits, fieldwork, etc). Access to these facilities depends on the availability of resources, individual performance, and grant scheme detail.

APPLICATION AND ADMISSION

Admission minimally requires:

- The availability of and a recommendation by qualified supervisors
- Adequate academic qualifications of the applicant (including an adequate command of the relevant languages, as assessed by the supervisors)
- The fulfilment of formal requirements: for legal matters concerning foreign nationals, see here.

Admission is granted or denied by the Dean of Humanities, represented by the LIAS Academic Director.

University-funded PhD candidates

If your application in response to advertisement is successful, the project leader in question will nominate you to the LIAS Academic Director. If you are granted admission, you will be directed to the Faculty of Humanities HRM office to formalize your employment.

Self-funded PhD candidates 

Preferably, your prospective supervisors should declare their availability and support for your work before you enter the formal application procedure: see PROSPECTIVE SUPERVISORS, below. You will apply to the Humanities Graduate School Office, with LIAS as the Institute of your choice. Once the Office has ascertained that your application is complete, it will forward your application to LIAS. You will find the relevant form here. 

There are no deadlines for the self-funded trajectory: students can apply and projects start at any time in the academic year. Please bear in mind that application processing may be slower than usual from mid-June to mid-August, and from mid-December to mid-January.

Admission is followed by formal registration with Leiden University, whereupon you will receive an Admission Statement, a student card, and a ULCN (Universiteit Leiden Community Network) account, which provides access to Leiden University online facilities such as the Digital Library.

Queries 

For procedural queries on application and admission, please write to PhD-admissions@hum.leidenuniv.nl, with cc to lias@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

PROSPECTIVE SUPERVISORS

As early as possible, you should establish contact with your prospective supervisor(s). PhD supervision teams will normally consist of a first supervisor and a second supervisor, with the first/second division of labor determined by the proximity of their expertise to your proposed topic. Both supervisors must hold a doctorate, and one must hold the rank of full professor. If the first supervisor of your preference is willing to undertake supervision but is not a full professor, s/he will contact a full professor on your behalf. Usually and preferably, both supervisors are LIAS members. Depending on the needs of your project, supervision can involve scholars from other Institutes, other Faculties, and, exceptionally, other Universities.

If you haven’t made the acquaintance of the first supervisor of your preference, in person or through their published work, please have a look at the list of Asian Studies staff and Middle Eastern Studies staff. These lists identify staff members by their geographical / cultural / linguistic specialization (e.g., “Persian Studies,” or “ Japan”). More detailed info on individual expertise is found on the personal pages listed under their names.

If our general profile attracts you, but you need assistance in identifying the first supervisor of your preference, please indicate this on the form below.

INFORMATION REQUEST FORM

If you are interested in doing self-funded PhD research at LIAS and have not identified and/or contacted your prospective supervisors, please fill in the form below. While we will try to process your request without delay, we may take some time to get back to you, especially (as above) if your request reaches us between mid-June and mid-August, or between mid-December and mid-January

http://hum.leiden.edu/lias/request